Hypatia lived in Roman Egypt around 370 CE to about 415 CE, and was a noted mathematician and philosopher. She was daughter to the mathematician Theon Alexandricus, who was also a librarian at the library of Alexandria. Hypatia was educated in Athens and Italy, and was a Neoplatonist. Which means that she took her teachings from the mystical philosophy of Plato, she was also schooled by Plotinus who was a Neoplatonist philosopher as well. In around 400 CE, she became head of the Platonist school of Alexandria, where she taught philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and the philosophy of Neoplatonism.
Many people of her time said that she was charismatic and a great teacher. That she would stand next to men and be admired by her great knowledge. At a time in history, when Christianity was slowly taking over, a powerful, and smart woman, was not seen by all as a beneficial thing to their Christian society. Although her students were a very mixed bunch ranging from Pagans, Christians and foreigners who would travel far for her famous teachings. One in particular, Synesius of Cyrene, who later became the Bishop of Ptolemais, is said to have written letters to Hypatia, in which showed great admiration and reverence for her knowledge and her teachings.
Over time, Hypatia's teachings became associated with what the Christians considered to be Pagan. In about 415 CE, while Hypatia was traveling home on her chariot, she was ambushed by a mob of Christians. They continued to attack her, strip her naked as a form of humiliation, and drag her body through the streets to a Christianized temple where they killed her. The reports suggest that the mob of Christians skinned her body with shards of pottery, and then burned her remains. It is obvious that the Christians killed her because they felt threatened by her depth of knowledge and philosophical concepts. Women, to the Christians, were not supposed to be educated and smart, this was seen as a Pagan tradition.
It is said that after this brutal and horrifying event, is essentially when the fall of Alexandria began. Many scholars left after the murder of Hypatia. Maybe for fear of their own lives, or for disgust and sadness at the brutally violent display the Christians performed in order to squash out philosophical ancient knowledge, so they could come into power.
Hypatia was a very notable, smart and powerful woman in her day. A Warrior Woman of her time, and she died for her knowledge because a powerful woman was seen as a threat to the Christians.
Here are some notable quotes by Hypatia:
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all
"All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final."
I hope you enjoyed learning about one of the many powerful women in history!
For more info on Hypatia, check out Biography of Hypatia and also Wikipedia
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, artist: Charles William Mitchell
Reference: theartofastralprojection.blogspot.com
Roshi Jeff Albrizze (PASADHARMA.ORG), CC LIU, SEVEN, Judgment QUARTERLY; ZCLA Covering The Los Angeles/Mexican DAY OF THE DEAD/JAPANESE OBON Public holiday, ZCLA, 2012 (filmed and reduced by Nicholas Tana and Denise Acosta, posted Oct. 29, 2013).
ZCLA
PASADHARMA Zen sitting group choice carpool from Pasadena (Del Mar at Hudson) at 7:45 am, Nov. 10, 2013, to the ZEN Inside OF LOS ANGELES (ZCLA, 923 South Normandie Ave., 90006-1301) in the Trend Mile divide into four parts in words of one syllable west of downtown to see the British-born Abbot Charles Tenshin Fletcher Roshi (YOKOJI ZEN Post Inside, California).
* 8:30-9:00: CHANTING "The Talk of Sweet Nectar" (enchant bring canned nutrition aid organization for starving ghosts and to advantage broke families in the branch off)
* 9:00-9:35: ZAZEN (hushed seated meditation)
* 9:35-10:20: KINHIN (walking meditation)
* 10:45-12:00: DHARMA Lecture by Roshi Fletcher
* 12:15-12:45: Chew (habitually bagels and locks)
ZMC
Pass on or carpool. Wear dark, loose, affluent clothing free of distracting colors or logos. Delight set from here penetrating perfume, odor, or jewelry. Clear. No fee for participating but aid to the central part are accepted.
(ZMC.org) Year-round Zen Buddhist training central part sited in SoCal mountains east of LA
"
TENSHIN ROSHI (zmc.org)
Zen Inside Los Angeles (ZCLA), Buddha Season Place of worship, founded 1967 by Taizan Maezumi Roshi, has provided knowledge and the opportunity to practice Japanese-style Soto Zen Buddhism in an American context for all who come absolute the temple's (gateless) way in. The occupation of the family is to know the self, side with the precepts, and release others by manner the teaching, training, and reassign of Zen Buddhism with a spectacle of an campaigner world in which upset is transcended, all beings be alive in union, a person has stacks, stony wisdom is realized, and sympathy flows unbridled. ZCLA honors and hungrily welcomes top-notch with regard to religion, fly, masculinity, age, mental gamble, physical gamble, sexual location, and socioeconomic locale. ZCLA programs take up opening classes, sesshin" (sitting intensives), workshops, training periods, and place to place meetings ("dokusan," interviews) with Abbot Wendy Egyoku Nakao and other central part teachers. Zazen and koan training in the Maezumi-(BERNIE) GLASSMAN strain is practiced.
(ZMC.ORG) To the point film: "Yokoji Zen Post Inside" day-to-day life ahead to the forest fire and flooding at Yokoji ZMC in the San Jacinto Mountains, Southern California.
' "Voguish are some revealed evident connections of this week's Torah amount (Chukat) with the goings-on of my life this past shabbat.ZOT - DESIGNATING HexThough Chukat is this week's Torah amount (which began "following" this past shabbat), the verse containing the word chukat () begins with the word zot (). In the verse, the word zot "instantly precedes" the word chukat (the name of this week's Torah amount).The word zot can be on bad terms at home -, a space zayin (match to the release seven) leading at home the participle "et". Grammatically, the Hebrew participle "et comes to add" everything.The seder found in the verse under suffering is:"zayin-et-chukat-haTorah"The fabricate - can be energetic to highlight "everything" very much united at home the shabbat (the seventh day) which "precedes" the Torah amount Chukat (by way of only remaining the word chukat "in" the amount), telling us that this solid shabbat "comes to add" everything at home the time which follows it. In other words, the shabbat only remaining the Chukat amount anchors "everything new" at home proof, such as the "time" of the Chukat amount itself catalyzes describing that "everything new" delivered at home it the inventive shabbat at home all proof.The "shabbat which comes to add" at home time level the verse of the Chukat amount was this past shabbat, the night I dead in the infirmary Guest Keep on.CHUKAT - DESIGNATING GelThe word chukat () begins with the space chet (match to the release eight). The ample word reduces to a rearmost figure sum of 4 (match to the space dalet, meaning lip). On the solid shabbat as discussed haughty, my Presence was focused at home two solid chairs - such as optimistic, on the 8th puzzle of the infirmary anywhere my open was in ICU, and such as dead to the world, laying in frontage of a lip...HATORAH - PERMEATING ALL Void... in room 6 (match to the space vav and to Torah; a VAV-TORAH).From This Previously Shabbat, Mega Within All HexI catnap in Appeal and effort in Certainty.The pasuk of my name Liorah [Devarim 30:12]:It is not in the atmosphere, that I should say, who can go up and get it for me that I may save it., :, -,, Footnote: Bamidbar 19:2Technorati tags: Torah Talmud Torah Judaism Kabbalah jewish spirituality spirituality jewish meditation meditation shamanism kabbalah iyunit kabbalah maasit witchcraft jewitchery jewitch witch sacred feminine divine feminine shechinah lilith spiritual enhancement spirituality kosher spirituality
Credit: witchcraftforall.blogspot.com
* "ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON (MSGR. CHARLES POPE) ">> HOLINESS IS MORE THAN BEING "NICE."
* "BESTIARIA LATINA BLOG (LAURA GIBBS)" >> LATIN PROVERBS AND FABLES ROUND-UP: OCTOBER 16
* "CATHOLICHERALD.CO.UK ">> VATICAN II'S REFORMS ARE STILL AHEAD OF US, SAYS ARCHBISHOP MARINI
* "CREATIVE MINORITY REPORT" >> COLLEGE STUDENT VIDEO: GOD IS GAY AND MARY A LESBIAN
* "CRISIS MAGAZINE" >> IS SCHISM INEVITABLE IN GERMANY? (MARIE MEANEY)
* "CRISIS MAGAZINE" >> A THROW AWAY CULTURE IN REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE (ARLAND K. NICHOLS)
* "DAILY MEDITATIONS WITH FR. ALFONSE ">> LUKE 11:42-46 FREEDOM AT ITS FINEST
* "DA MIHI ANIMAS (PADRE STEVE) ">> VISITING A CARTHUSIAN MONASTERY
* "FR RAY BLAKE'S BLOG ">> THE LIMITS OF MERCY
* "FR. Z'S BLOG (FR. JOHN ZUHLSDORF)" >> SSPX FUNERAL FOR NAZI WAR CRIMINAL
* "MEETING CHRIST IN THE LITURGY" >> S GERARD. "THERE IS NO PARTIALITY WITH GOD.'
* "MUSINGS OF A PERTINACIOUS PAPIST" >> WHAT MAKES POPE POPULAR (LIKE OBAMA?), WORRIES SOME CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS
* "MYBROKENFIAT: A JOURNEY TOWARDS THE DIVINE WILL (GINA) ">> DICHOTOMY OF SECRETS
* "NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT ">> PHOTOS OF A NEWLY COMPLETED SERBIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL IN MONTENEGRO (DAVID CLAYTON)
* "SHIRT OF FLAME (HEATHER KING) ">> COME BACK, COME BACK!...
* "SOUTHERN ORDERS (FR. ALLAN J. MCDONALD) ">> THE SSPX SHOWS ITS TRUE SCHISMATIC, ANTI-SEMITIC COLORS
* "THE CATHOLIC THING ">> THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY (ANTHONY ESOLEN)
* "THE DEACON'S BENCH (DEACON GREG KANDRA) ">> WHAT A STORY: ORPHAN GOES TO CHURCH IN SEARCH OF A FAMILY TO ADOPT HIM
* "THESE STONE WALLS (FR. GORDON MACRAE) ">> FOR FR GORDON MACRAE'S APPEAL TO MOVE FORWARD, HELP IS NEEDED?
* "TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC PRIEST (FR. PETER CAROTA)" >> ST THERESA OF AVILA ON ONLY ONE SOUL AND ONLY ONE LIFE
* "V FOR VICTORY! (ANITA MOORE, O.P., ESQ.) ">> A COUP D'ETAT IS UNDER WAY (IMPORTANT STORY...)
* "WORD ON FIRE BLOG ">> SAINTS: GERARD MAJELLA AND A MOTHER'S WORRY
Source: master-of-pentagram.blogspot.com
*
I feel that the modern understanding of what it is to live without sin is mistaken.
This mistake means that the very worst sinners feel clean and pure, and react incredulously to any notion that they are faithful and diligent servants of evil such as have seldom been seen before on this earth.
*
A man who lived without sin is "not" to be defined in terms of a man who objects all true and correct moral "laws".
Rather, the man without sin is he who lives at all times in complete communion with God.
*
The correct understanding is only indirectly-related to the modern understanding of sin.
According to the modern understanding of sin, as breaking moral rules, the worst sinner is the one who breaks the most rules, or who breaks the most serious rules.
Therefore, for moderns virtue is measured in terms of behavior - that is in terms of objective, observable behaviour and how it corresponds to the laws of morality.
*
But the proper understanding of sin is mystical: to be sin-less is when the human soul is in continuous communication with God.
And by contrast, sin is not directly about behavior but about the soul being turned-away-from God, thereby by choice being cut-off from God - wholly concerned with the self.
*
Thus the meaning of Pride as the key sin - pride being the "choice" to prefer one's own will to God's will.
*
The modern secular Leftist elites do not perceive their own state of near-complete enthrallment to sin because they perceive themselves to be obedient to all the important laws of morality (especially after these moral laws have been revised and up-dated by people like themselves).
Modern secular Leftists do not recognize that their sin lies in the Pride of having turned away from God and trusting to themselves alone.
Indeed, modern secular Leftists perceive spiritually advanced Christians (including Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints) as "sinful" - insofar as they broken the rules of modern morality enshrined in political correctness.
*
This is a kind of ultimate in Pride: to set oneself in judgement over The Saints, the Mother of God and indeed God Himself.
Yet some of these people believe themselves to be Christians - and morally more 'advanced' than the Christians of the past!
*
We are (nearly) all sinners, humanity is wretched and (almost always) turned away from God and deep in Pride; yet sin is compounded, becomes active "evil", when propagated deliberately, when propagandized, when subsidized, when enforced.
It is in this sense that the modern intellectual elites: politicians, bureaucrats and officials; lawyers; managers; journalists; teachers... are among the most evil people ever to have lived.
They not merely do evil impulsively, they not merely fail to discern evil, but strategically plan the triumph of evil - which they disguise from themselves and others by framing the world to exclude evil.
(By replacing evil with misery, they can do" anything at all" - so long as it can be rationalized as tending eventually, many steps down the line, to reduce the sum 'total' of misery.)
These modern creatures who rule the West (nothing like them has been seen before, except as isolated individuals or minute cults) are cut-off from God; they are nihilists (deniers of reality) and they zealously spread their disease.
*
They are "so far gone" that they find the idea of sin, of evil to be incomprehensible.
The reality of their own near-demonic state of sin is therefore literally "incredible" to them.
They lack the concepts to understand "what they have become": because they have willfully-destroyed these concepts, and are now diligent agents of the destruction of these concepts in others.
*
It sounds bad: it is.
It sounds "hopeless": it isn't.
I am describing my former self: repentance "is "possible no matter how far gone a person may be, it is "never" too late+.
*
+Strictly, never too late" in this world"; for so long as the choice can be framed and presented, it is never too late. Consider the 'Good' thief in Luke 23:
39And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
*
Origin: animals-and-shamanism.blogspot.com
It's in a row wisdom that hot churches/religious communities are embryonic, but modern ones are in repudiate. But while Mainline Churches are in repudiate it may manage less to do with the theology and director to do with culture and bear. Martin Marty log acquittal that in too late years Unitarian Universalists, one of the record modern of heartfelt communities is experiencing bump. Amid the going up statistics of "spiritual but not heartfelt" people, perhaps acquaint with is a finish even. I cozy up to you to read and reaction to the challenge -- what is the key to bump.
Martin Marty Nucleus for the Finer Discern of SpiritualityThe Academic circles of Chicago Divinity Coach in""SIGHTINGS" 10/8/2012 UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST GROWTH-- MARTIN E. MARTY "Handle, writers on Unitarian Universalist church members, to say: "I preference not begin or end my story with Unitarian Universalist jokes." Option engines preference reaction with statistics of such jokes; one of obtain turned up 1,625,535 online, for starters. Assess such a log to other denominations of its accumulation and hinder to question. Why are acquaint with not so patronize jokes about members of the Church of the Brethren, or Adventists? What's choosy about a group which has a tall element of unfunny rationalists, heirs of the very formidable Enlightenment? Why do heartfelt folk who are timid about deriding Catholics, Jews, and even (us) unfunny Lutherans, forecast low spirits to the breezes subsequent to Unitarian Universalists come in vogue focus? Now, let's get down to set. Bob Smietana started off this month's focusing with an pillar in USA At the moment". Everyone knows that self-reported church statistics are in doubt, yet one cannot help but ensnare that from 2000 to 2010 this church grew by 15.8 percent subsequent to, in the preconceptions of patronize observers, it destitution be deteriorating overcome with Catholicism, Mainline Protestantism, and some portions of what poll-takers trademark as Evangelical. Ease not very subsequent to compared to Southern Baptists, Mormons, and scores of other heartfelt groups, the UUs, as they often seem themselves, they are demographically thin-spread crossways the nation. Multitude of them are stirred by the new notation and challenge to try director. Snag Lee Barker, start of the Meadville Lombard Theological Coach in in Chicago, down the funny story from the Academic circles of Chicago, a school whose students, little not very in installment, helped fervor my classes acquaint with as emphatically as the time 2000. He has said: "We are at a time subsequent to the ethics of our church and the ethics of our culture are intersecting." Other commentators quoted by Smietana examine that they know that the church appeals to a cubicle commodities, but some suffer that the cubicle is embryonic. I've heard Christian sermons by UUA preachers, recognizing that a minority, think about in thousands, verification greater greatly of their Christian extraction. And I've heard far-out kinds. Several suffer that the UUA preference accomplished from the sit out in which atheists, agnostics, and other "nones" speak up. In my Ph.D. exposition [in 1956!] on "The Uses of Treachery "I noted that Unitarians worked to go again or put aside handle by hype themselves not as Infidels Composed but as Believers Who Are At The Decoration But Not Uncompromising. It may be that the perfect prognosticators in the church are correct. Multitude of the "spiritual but not heartfelt types" accept community and preference find it in UUA churches. In addition to the years subsequent to, on the road, I was keen with Christian semi-activists, we could reliably calculate on Unitarians and Universalists, who multiple in 1961, to examine up and often ask investigative questions and pigs good nudges. It may also be that ancestors who blab that release hard-line heartfelt bodies can be radiant in our heat of pluralistic and worldly culture greater the want yank could be correct, and the unimportant bump froth of UUA churches preference soon pop up as potential members find the fare and the commitments too lean. So, let the deriders criticize and theologians of all other stripes send away them, but whoever takes the want prompt at church bodies and parks his or her yardstick theology at the lip, destitution find no matter which to high spirits. George Santayana noted that the ghoul of religions comes in no not very amount from loyalty to the "cagey" and "personal stories" that they level. UUs found someone else's stories personal, and were replied to in heat. But they manage their go along with now, and help that go along with in the media.REFERENCESBob Smietana, "Unitarian Wish Growing Citizen, USA" At the moment", October 2, 2012.MARTIN E. MARTY'S biography, publications, and transactions information can be found at www.memarty.com.
"Sightings" comes from the Martin Marty Nucleus for the Finer Discern of Spirituality at the Academic circles of Chicago Divinity Coach in.
C. S. PATEL, HOW ONE CAN DESCRIBE THE LATE
92 YEAR OLD MASTER WHO STILL LIVES AMONG US.
HOW MANY OF US KNOW OF ASTROLOGERS WHO
HAVE TRULY SHARED 'EVERY BIT' OF THEIR
KNOWLEDGE TO ALL WITHOUT CONSIDERATION OF
CASTE, CREED OR SEX. WITHOUT VIDYA BLOCKS OF
BOW TO ME AND ONLY THEN I WOULD TEACH, BUT
YES HE WOULD TEST THE HONESTY OF THE STUDENT
AND THEN SHARE ALL. IF THERE WAS ONE WHO
UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING OF THE WORD VIDYA
(EDUCATION) IN ITS TRUE ESOTERIC AND SPIRITUAL
SENSE PROBABLY MR PATEL'S NAME WOULD CROP
UP INSTANTLY IS WHAT THOSE WHO KNEW HIM
WOULD SAY. IF GUJARATI READING ASTROLOGERS
COME FORWARD FOR TRANSLATION THEN MANY OF
HIS UNPUBLISHED ARTICLES WOULD BE PUBLISHED
HERE.
ASHTAKVARGA THUMB
RULES
BY
LATE C.S.PATEL, INDIA
TRANSLATION: DUSHYANT TRIVEDI, INDIA.
COPY EDITOR: SHAHINA BEGUM MEAH, U.K.
[SA PUBLISHER:
THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED WORK OF THE MAN WHO
INTRODUCED ASHTAKVARGA IN ITS MODERN AVATAR TO
THE INDIAN ASTROLOGICAL COMMUNITY WAY BACK
IN 1957 FROM HIS PATH BREAKING BOOK TITLED
'ASHTAKVARGA'. IT WAS SUCH A PATH BREAKING
BOOK THAT WHENEVER WE WOULD GO AND INTRODUCE
US AS FRIENDS OF C S PATEL TO SENIOR ASTROLOGERS
THEY WOULD INSTANTLY SAY 'OHH ASHTAKVARGA'.
THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN
GUAJARATI LANGUAGE AND WOULD HAVE NOT
APPEARED IN ENGLISH, IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE RECENT
POINTING OUT BY HIS STUDENT MR UPENDRA SINGH
BHADORIYA WHO READILY GAVE HIS COPY OF THE
GUAJARATI PRINTED WORK & TRANSLATION BY MR
TRIVEDI. WE REMAIN GRATEFUL TO BOTH OF THEM.
THE MOST SPECIAL PART OF THIS ARTICLE BY LATE C.
S. PATEL IS THAT AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE IN THE
PARAGRAPH 'SUCCESSFUL YEARS'. YOU WOULD FIND
TWO MARKED SENTENCES, ONE IN MAROON COLOUR
AND THE OTHER IN RED COLOUR. THE MAROON IF YOU
OBSERVE IS THE STARTING BASIS OF BHRIGHU CHAKRA
PADDATHI (BCP) THAT WE WROTE IN VOL: 3 - AUG
08 - C. S. PATEL MEMORIAL ISSUE, WHICH MEANS
PATEL SAHEB ALSO KNEW ABOUT THE BCP METHOD
AT LEAST TO AN EXTENT. THE SENTENCE MARKED IN
RED IS THE RESEARCH WE OURSELVES HAD DONE USING
BCP METHOD & COMBINING IT WITH ASHTAKVARGA
AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE 60 METHODS THAT WE
MENTIONED WOULD BE REVEALED AT A LATER DATE, BUT
251
IT SEEMS THE 92 YEAR OLD MASTER OF ASHTAKVARGA HAD DONE THAT DECADES AGO.]
N THIS ARTICLE DOTS OR ZEROS ARE CONSIDERED BENEFICS AND DASH ARE CONSIDERED MALEFIC.
IN AN ASHTAKVARGA HOROSCOPE IF A PLANET IS AT THE CUSP AT THE BEGINNING OR THE END OF A
ZODIACAL SIGN THEN THE RESULTS OBTAINED MAY BE DOUBTFUL AND SO WILL BE THE CASE IF IN A
CHALIT HOROSCOPE WHEN THERE ARE TWO HOUSES IN ONE ZODIACAL SIGN OR ONE HOUSE
CONTAINING TWO ZODIACAL SIGNS. HENCE ASTROLOGERS ARE ADVISED TO CONSIDER THE DEGREECAL
DIFFERENCE AND THE ZODIACAL SIGN OF PLANETS WHILE GIVING PREDICTIONS.
ASHTAKVARGA HOROSCOPE WHICH CONSISTS OF 8 COLUMNS INCLUSIVE OF LAGNA/ASCENDANT AND THE
FINAL 9TH COLUMN GIVES THE TOTAL KNOWN AS SAMUDAYA ASHTAKVARGA OR SARVASHTAKVARGA.
SOME ASTROLOGERS GIVE PREDICTIONS BASED ON BHINNASHTAKVARGA WHICH DOES NOT INCLUDE
LAGNASHTAKVARGA (BENEFIC DOTS BASED ON ASCENDANT) WHERE THE TOTAL IS 337 IS NOT PROPER.
SAMUDAYA OR SARVASHTAKVARGA
A TABLE CONSISTING OF 12 HOUSES AND 7 PLANETS I.E. OF 84 SQUARES (IN WHICH STARTING FROM
LAGNA/ASCENDANT HORASARA CH
17, SLOKA 73-74; PHALDEEPIKA CH 24, SLOKA 34-35 AND JATAKA DESHMARGA CH 9, SLOKA 35-36).
PLANETS WHICH ARE EXALTED IN THEIR OWN ZODIACAL SIGNS, IN FRIENDS HOUSE, IN QUADRANTS, TRINES
AND UPACHAYAS (3, 6, 10 & 11) HOUSES BEING STRONG ETC, BUT IF THEY HAVE LESS THAN 28 BENEFIC
DOTS THEN THEY SHALL GIVE ADVERSE RESULTS.
WEAK PLANETS SUCH AS
1. OWNERS OF 6TH 8TH AND 12TH HOUSES.
2. PLANETS OF 6TH 8TH AND 12TH HOUSES.
3. DEBILITATED PLANETS, PLANETS WITH MALEFIC OR IN ENEMIES HOUSE
HAVE MORE THAN 28 BENEFIC DOTS THEN THEY SHALL GIVE BENEFIC RESULTS.
I
252
HOUSE AND LORDS OF THE HOUSE
ZODIACAL SIGN RISING AT THE EASTERN HORIZON OR ASCENDANT/LAGNA AND ITS LORD/LAGNESH AND THE
LORDS OF THE SUBSEQUENT HOUSES ARE TO BE NOTED.
FOR EACH AND EVERY HOUSE A MINIMUM NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS HAVE BEEN DETERMINED & THEY
ARE AS FOLLOWS:
HOUSE NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
BENEFIC DOTS 25 22 29 24 25 34 19 24 29 36 54 16
TOTAL 337
ANY HOUSE CONTAINING BENEFIC DOTS LESS THAN SHOWN ABOVE WILL GIVE THAT MUCH LESS BENEFIC
RESULT IN PROPORTION TO THE DIFFERENCE FROM THE BENEFIC DOTS. ON THE CONTRARY IF BENEFIC DOTS
ARE MORE THAN THOSE SHOWN ABOVE THEN THE BENEFIC RESULTS WILL BE THAT MUCH MORE IN
PROPORTION.
IF THESE HOUSES ARE ASPECTED BY BENEFIC PLANETS THEN THE EXTENT OF BENEFIC RESULTS WILL BE
MUCH MORE. IF INSTEAD IT IS ASPECTED BY MALEFIC PLANET THEN THE BENEFIC RESULTS WILL GET
REDUCED.
THE HOUSES WHICH CONTAIN LESS THAN BENEFIC DOTS SHOWN ABOVE IF ASPECTED BY MALEFIC PLANET
THEN THE MALEFIC RESULTS WILL BE MUCH MORE AND IF ASPECTED BY BENEFIC PLANETS THEN THE
MALEFIC RESULTS WILL GET REDUCED.
SHOULD SUCH HOUSES BE ASPECTED BY BENEFIC AS WELL AS MALEFIC PLANETS THEN THE RESULTS WOULD
BE MIXED.
HOUSES WHICH CONTAIN 30 OR MORE BENEFIC DOTS GIVE BENEFIC RESULTS, HOUSES WITH 25 TO 30
BENEFIC DOTS GIVE AVERAGE RESULTS AND HOUSES WITH LESS THAN 25 BENEFIC DOTS SHALL GIVE ADVERSE
RESULTS.
HOUSES WITH 30 OR MORE BENEFIC DOTS SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION FOR COMMENCING
GOOD WORK.
FOR TRAVELLING AND OTHER RELIGIOUS WORKHOUSES AND ASCENDANT WITH LESS THAN 25 BENEFIC DOTS
SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
MATCH MAKING FOR MARRIAGE.
IN MARRIAGE IF THE BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM HAVE MORE THAN 30 BENEFIC DOTS IN THEIR RASHI
(MOON SIGN) THEN THEY WOULD HAVE A HAPPY MARRIED LIFE AND WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL.
IF INSTEAD IN THE RASHI OR MOON SIGN ONE HAS 30 OR MORE AND THE OTHER HAS 30 OR LESS THEN THEIR
MARRIAGE WILL GIVE MIX RESULTS. IT WOULD BE GOOD IN SOME ASPECT AND BAD IN OTHER ASPECT.
253
IN CASE THEY HAVE 25 OR LESS THEN 25 IN THEIR RASHI OR MOON SIGN THEN THEIR MARRIAGE WOULD BE
UNHAPPY AND A FAILURE.
INHERITANCE
1. IF THE 4TH HOUSE HAS 24 OR MORE BENEFIC DOTS AND THEN THE HOUSE DOES NOT HAVE ANY MALEFIC
PLANET OR IS NOT ASPECTED BY MALEFIC PLANET.
2. AND IN THE SAME WAY THE 2ND HOUSE DOES NOT HAVE MALEFIC PLANET NOR IS IT ASPECTED BY
MALEFIC PLANET AND HAS 22 OR MORE BENEFIC DOTS.
ANY ONE OF THE ABOVE TWO COMBINATIONS IN THE NATIVE HOROSCOPES CAN GIVE INHERITANCE.
SELF EARNING
IF THE 10TH HOUSE HAS 36 OR MORE BENEFIC DOTS AND IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY MALEFIC PLANET NOR IS IT
ASPECTED BY MALEFIC PLANET THEN THE NATIVE WILL BE SELF MADE, WILL EARN WELL AND SHALL LEAD A
HAPPY LIFE.
GAINS
IF THE 11TH HOUSE HAS 54 BENEFIC DOTS AND IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY RELATION WITH MALEFIC PLANET
THEN THE NATIVES EARNS A LOT WITHOUT HARD WORK.
SUDDEN MONETARY GAINS
IF THE ASCENDANT HAS MORE THAN 25 BENEFIC DOTS JUPITER IS IN SAGITTARIUS, VENUS IS IN PISCES, MARS IS
EXALTED AND SATURN IS IN AQUARIUS THEN SUCH A NATIVE WILL BE EXTREMELY RICH AND KING OF
KINGS.
IF THERE ARE 30 OR MORE BENEFIC DOTS IN THE ASCENDANT, 9TH HOUSE, 10TH HOUSE AND THE 11TH HOUSE
THEN SUCH A NATIVE WILL BE HAPPY LIKE A KING ALL THROUGH OUT HIS LIFE OR SHALL HAVE POWER AND
AFFLUENCE LIKE THAT OF A KING.
MINISTER
IF THE ASCENDANT, MOON SIGN, 10TH HOUSE AND THE 11TH HOUSE; ALL THESE FOUR HAVE 30 OR MORE
BENEFIC DOTS AND IF THE ASCENDANT IS FULLY ASPECTED BY JUPITER THEN THE NATIVE BECOMES
MINISTER OR A CHIEF MINISTER OF A STATE.
LEADER
257
IF THE ASCENDANT HAS 30 BENEFIC DOTS AND MAJORITY OF PLANETS ARE PLACED IN THE 9TH AND THE 10TH
HOUSE THEN THE NATIVE ENJOYS HAPPY AND RELAXED LIFE. IF INSTEAD THERE ARE 35 BENEFIC DOTS IN THE
ASCENDANT THEN THE NATIVE IS ALSO LEADER AMONGST HIS FAMILY MEMBERS.
OWNERSHIP OF VEHICLES
IF THE 4TH HOUSE HAS 30 OR MORE BENEFIC DOTS AND IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH BENEFIC PLANETS EITHER BY
PLACEMENT OR ASPECT THEN THE NATIVE OWNS VEHICLES.
IF THE ASCENDANT LORD IS IN THE 4TH HOUSE CONTAINING MORE THAN 30 BENEFIC DOTS THEN THE NATIVE
IS HAPPY AND WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.
VARGOTTAM PLANET IN ANY HOUSE THAT HAS MORE THAN 30 BENEFIC POINTS THEN THE NATIVE SHALL
HAVE GOOD RESULTS OF THAT HOUSE IN GREAT EXTENT.
DIFFICULTY DUE TO EVIL SPIRITS
IF THE MOON IS WEAK AND IF THE MOON SIGN LORD IS HAVING LESS THAN 25 BENEFIC POINTS AND IF
MOON IS FULLY ASPECTED BY SATURN (BIRTH IS ON NEW MOON DAY AND IF MOON IS ASPECTED BY
SATURN) THEN THAT NATIVE IS HARASSED BY EVIL SPIRITS.
UPTURN AND DOWNTURN
IN A HOROSCOPE THERE ARE MINIMUM BENEFIC POINTS (FOR E.G. 18) IN ANY HOUSE AND THE NEXT
HOUSE CONTAINS MAXIMUM BENEFIC DOTS (FOR E.G. 35) THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE NATIVE
EXPERIENCES GOOD LUCK OR UPTURN IN HIS FORTUNES. ON THE CONTRARY IF ANY HOUSE CONTAINS
MAXIMUM BENEFIC DOTS (FOR E.G. 35) AND THE NEXT HOUSE CONTAINS MINIMUM BENEFIC DOTS (FOR
E.G. 18) THEN THE NATIVE EXPERIENCES ALL OF A SUDDEN BAD LUCK OR DOWNTURN IN HIS FORTUNES.
IF IN ALL THE HOUSES OF HOROSCOPE THERE ARE BENEFIC DOTS BETWEEN 27 TO 29 THEN THE NATIVE LEADS
HAPPY AND LEISURELY LIFE THROUGH OUT HIS LIFE SPAN.
INFORMATION REGARDING ZODIACAL SIGNS
ALL THE 12 ZODIACAL SIGNS ARE DIVIDED INTO 3 PARTS. EACH PART CONTAINS BENEFIC DOTS OF 4 ZODIACAL
SIGNS. THERE ARE MANY WAYS GIVEN BY OUR RISHIS LEO TO SCORPIO AND SAGITTARIUS TO PISCES.
2. ARIES TO CANCER; LEO TO SCORPIO AND SAGITTARIUS TO PISCES. DEDUCT FROM THEM THE BENEFIC DOTS
FROM THE 8TH AND THE 12TH HOUSE.
3. PISCES TO GEMINI; CANCER TO LIBRA; SCORPIO TO AQUARIUS.
4. ASCENDANT TO 4TH HOUSE; 5TH HOUSE TO 8TH HOUSE; 9TH HOUSE TO 12TH HOUSE;
5. 12TH HOUSE TO 3RD HOUSE; 4TH HOUSE TO 7TH HOUSE; 8TH HOUSE TO 11TH HOUSE;
6. KENDRASTHAN/QUADRANTS (1,4,7 PANAFARS/CADENT HOUSES (2,5,8
APOKILAMS/SUCCEDENT HOUSES (3,6,9 & 12)
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FROM THE ABOVE 6 DIFFERENT METHODS THE 3RD ONE IS MORE IN USE.
IF THE FIRST DIVISION HAS MORE BENEFIC DOTS THEN THE FIRST 1/3RD LIFE IS A HAPPY ONE.
THE 2ND DIVISION HAS MORE BENEFIC DOTS THEN THE MIDDLE 1/3RD LIFE IS A HAPPY ONE.
IF THE LAST DIVISION HAS MORE BENEFIC DOTS THEN THE LAST 1/3RD LIFE IS A HAPPY ONE.
IF IN ALL THE THREE DIVISIONS IT HAS NEARLY SAME NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS THEN THE
WHOLE LIFE IS SEAMLESSLY A HAPPY ONE.
IF IN ANY DIVISION THE BENEFIC PLANETS ARE PLACED THEN THAT PART OF THE LIFE IS A HAPPY
ONE. IF IN ANY DIVISION THE BENEFIC AS WELL AS MALEFIC PLANETS ARE PLACED THEN THAT PART OF LIFE
GIVES MIXED RESULTS. THAT DIVISION WHICH CONTAINS MALEFIC PLANETS WILL BE UNHAPPY AND SAD
ONE.
KAAHAL YOGA
IF THE 3RD DIVISION IS BIGGER THAN THE 2ND DIVISION AND THE 2ND DIVISION IS BIGGER THAN THE FIRST
DIVISION THEN KAAHAL YOGA IS GENERATED. THE RESULT OF THIS YOGA IS THAT AS THE AGE ADVANCES THE
LIFE OF THE NATIVE GETS BETTER AND BETTER AND HE LEADS HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS LIFE.
RESULT OF MUDAL YOGA
IF THE 2ND DIVISION IS BIGGER THAN THE 3RD AND THE 1ST DIVISION THEN MUDAL YOGA IS GENERATED.
THE RESULT OF THIS IS THAT THE NATIVE WILL BE FOND OF MUSIC AND OF WITTY NATURE. HE WILL BE
HAPPY IN THAT MONTH AND IN THE SAME WAY DETERMINE THE DAY BY THE PASSAGE OF MOON
IF IMPORTANT WORKS ARE COMMENCED ON THAT DAY IT IS CERTAIN THAT THE WORKS COMMENCED SHALL
BE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT ANY HINDRANCE AND SHALL GIVE GOOD RESULTS.
TAKE THE ZODIACAL SIGN IN WHICH THERE ARE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS; IF ONE
COMMENCES WORK DURING THE RISE OF THAT ZODIACAL SIGN (RAPT CONJUNCTION) ONE GETS COMPLETE
SUCCESS. AS THE HOUSES/ZODIACAL SIGNS CONTAINING MAXIMUM NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS ARE GOOD
FOR CERTAIN WORK IN THE SAME WAY THE HOUSES/ZODIACAL SIGNS CONTAINING MINIMUM NUMBER OF
BENEFIC DOTS ARE GOOD FOR OTHER WORK. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE NATIVE WANTS TO GO FOR THE
EXAMINATIONS OF CERTAIN DISEASE OR SAY IF THE NATIVE WANTS TO BORROW OR LEND MONEY THEN IF
SUCH ACT IS DONE DURING THE TIME THOSE HOUSES/ZODIACAL SIGNS WHICH CONTAIN MINIMUM
NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS ARE RISING IT WILL PROVE BENEFICIAL. SINCE SUCH WORK GETS DESTROYED IN A
SHORT TIME. IT MEANS THAT THE DISEASE WILL GET CURED, MONEY LANDED IS RETURNED OR ONE IS ABLE
TO RETURN THE MONEY IF BORROWED.
THE ABOVE POINTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN A MAN'S DAILY LIFE.
TIMINGS FOR GOOD & BAD RESULTS: DISEASE-UNHAPPY
STARTING FROM THE ASCENDANT TILL THE HOUSE WHICH HAS SATURN (BOTH INCLUSIVE) ADD UP THE TOTAL
NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS. MULTIPLY THIS TOTAL BY 7 AND DIVIDE THE RESULT BY 27. NOTE THE
REMAINDER AS WELL AS THE NUMBER OBTAINED BY THE DIVISION. COUNT FROM ASHWINI NAKSHATRA TO
THE NAKSHATRA WHICH COINCIDES WITH THE REMAINDER. WHENEVER MALEFIC PLANETS ARE PASSING
THROUGH THAT NAKSHATRA THE NATIVE GETS MAJOR ILLNESS. IF THE NATIVE HAS MALEFIC PLANETS IN THE
5TH HOUSE AND THE 9TH HOUSE THEN SUCH A NATIVE WILL HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS DUE TO ILLNESS.
SIMILAR IS ALSO THE CASE AT THE AGE AS PER THE DIVISION NUMBER.
JUST AS ABOVE, ONE SHOULD CALCULATE STARTING FROM THE HOUSE IN WHICH SATURN IS PLACED TILL THE
ASCENDANT.
HAPPINESS AND WEALTH
DO THE SAME CALCULATIONS FOR MOON AND OTHER BENEFIC PLANETS SUCH AS JUPITER, VENUS AND
MERCURY. WHENEVER BENEFIC PLANETS PASSES THROUGH THE NAKSHATRA OBTAINED FROM THE
REMAINDER OR AT THE AGE INDICATED BY THE RESULT OF THE DIVISION THE NATIVE WILL GET SON, MONEY
AND HAPPINESS.
SUCCESSFUL YEARS
PREPARE SAMUDAYA ASHTAKVARGA. NOTE THE HOUSES WHICH HAVE MORE NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS.
ALSO NOTE THE HOUSES WITH LESS NUMBER. OF BENEFIC DOTS. CONSIDER ASCENDANT AS THE 1ST YEAR, 2ND
HOUSE AS THE 2ND YEAR IN THE SAME WAY THE 12TH HOUSE IS THE 12TH YEAR. ONCE AGAIN CONSIDER THE
260
ASCENDANT AS THE 13TH YEAR. NOW THE HOUSES WHICH HAVE MORE NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS WILL
GIVE GOOD RESULTS AS PER THEIR YEARS, AND THE HOUSES WHICH HAVE LESS NUMBER OF BENEFIC DOTS
WILL GIVE BAD RESULTS. ASCENDANT THUS, WILL INDICATE 25TH YEAR, 37TH YEAR, 49TH YEAR ETC. SUCH
METHOD IS KNOWN AS DETERMINING "SUCCESSFUL YEARS".
IN THIS WE HAVE CONSIDERED SAMUDAYA ASHTAKVARGA AND THE EASY WAY OF GIVING PREDICTIONS
WITHOUT MUCH DIFFICULTY. THUS WE CAN GIVE IMMEDIATE GENERAL PREDICTION WITHOUT MUCH
EFFORT.
261
If you believe things haven't changed in Russia, think again. Oh, sure, ex-KGB strongman Vladimir Putin will still be running things, even after his constitutional term limit as president ends this year. But the Proletariat still has to march to the polls and pull the lever for a new puppet head of state. Putin's handpicked fave is Dmitry Medvedev. Also in the race are perennial candidates - think Ralph Nader and Pat Paulsen for the borsht and vodka crowd: nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who once pledged "a man for every woman and a bottle of vodka for every man"; and Gennady Zyuganov, the head of the Communist Party, who's always flacking for free tractors for farmers on the mooch. But the fourth name on the ballot is different this time.Meet Andrey Bogdano. At 38, he is third out of the field of presidential candidates in Russia right now (sort of where Hillary Clinton sits in the polls, but Bogdano has a better hair stylist). He is the head of the Russian Democratic Party, a fierce advocate of Russia's integration into Europe, and in a society where it is clearly understood that Dmitry Medvedev is to be the next president, no matter what the polls may say, Bogdano still managed to assemble 2 million signatures to register on the ballot.He is also the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Russia.According to the Washington Post:Bogdanov says he hopes one day to unite Russia's democrats under the banner of his party, which he emphasizes is not liberal but conservative, along the lines of the U.S. Republican Party.Bogdanov heads Russia's largest Masonic lodge but doesn't like to talk about it. Pressed during the debate, he described it as a "super-patriotic organization."MWBro. Bogdanov is a democrat is a country where democracy has no real credibility. And more than a few Russians think Freemasonry is a Western plot, designed to weaken Russia from within. Like it needs help. Other critics say that Bogdanov was simply allowed on the ballot to make Medvedev's coronation look like a fair fight. Some wags claim he was put on the ballot so the Kremlin could then single him out as an easy target for his often-derided long hair, and his supposed role in Masonic conspiracies - always whispered, of course, but never said outright.Bogdanov was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Russia in June 2007. The grand lodge was chartered by the Grande Loge Nationale Francaise in June 1995. Asked about his Freemasonry, Bogdanov said he keeps it away from politics."For me, it's more about being a member of a spiritual brotherhood than anything else," he said. While he has declined to discuss it further, he has said he would remain a Freemason if he's elected.
Source: witchnest.blogspot.com
I've been exemplary of irked at Google immediately. A later than usual flare screwed up my Rally Madness polls, my guzzle posts claim resetting to unpublished drafts, and even the words I type award now are the utilize of some coding snafu destroying my ruler exhale of this section. I'm separation to go study this weekend, and give this post recapping holiday trouble that never came up on my own Google Reader.
The Undying Shag is thoroughly the troublemaker of these April Fool's goofs, and ruler suggested a 2011 come out in January. His mailing list moreover nowadays forgot all about it, Shag included, or collapsed out out-of-date. Out of the lavender on Rally 19th, Boosterrific announced that he was separation hunger strike with the scheme, and many of us ostriches pulled our heads out of the sand and went, "Oh? Source, admiringly, I organize I'll unite you."
The notion this blind date was to corner your sum total blog modish whatever thing surprising, devoting it to some cloak soil that you conduct an dedication for. Shag of course went the utmost gleefully out of control by converting Firestorm Fan modish B'WANA BEAST'S BLOG, formidable to the abnormal leadership of a fake nil for forty sparkle modish an sturdy enthusiasm guest star ("Justness Club Endless, Batman: The Chubby and the Bold".) Shag formed ten actual new posts, together with Why a B'wana Pig Blog?, B'wana Pig in Who's Who 1985, B'wana Pig gets animated!, Appropriate B'wana Pig Covers of All Day of the week, B'wana Pig Resume Information, POLL: B'wana Pig or Manner of speaking Beast?, B'wana Pig Cosplay at DragonCon 2010*, B'wana Pig Self-employed Tattoo, Napoleon Dynamite's Liger - B'wana Beast's Keep a note Achievement? and my recurring penchant, the fan make-believe B'wana Pig and Beta Ray Impede - Delight vs DC Cross.
*Caution: May propel Kleenex whilst vetting, regardless of gender
Boosterrific was the one bringing this back, so he routine as heck brought it, with Red Megastar Spurt, the utmost attraction Communist at DC Comics replacing the consumer without stopping dog Insertion Gold. I admire old Soviet join stop descriptions, so the design of the blog disjointedly had me drooling. I don't know how want it preference be up at 100%, but it have to be open-minded losing the weekend. If not, the declare connect to the irremediable content is more or less.I very much official of his expound the people a piece test to expand what their official impression have to be, as it was pre-rigged.
Kelson's Expert Forward motion instantly turned Sapphire Bad over: Sapphire Bad, Archetypal Rogue?, The Moment vs...Barry Allen? The Bronze-Age Hometown of Sapphire Bad, "Seeing" Blue: TV's Sapphire Bad Prototype, Moment Facts: Sapphire Bad, Sapphire Bad Top Blank Wholeheartedly At VA Comicon, Who Is Hot Fascinate, REALLY?
Liquidcross instantly lost the reins to the Downcast Rush blog to Moment swindler Roscoe Dillon, who tried to bear witness to Zero Tops the Top. That is, until he found himself Snoozing and cessation it.
Interminably lock as a bulking agent, I won over five of my own blogs, in the same way as Diana Prince as the New Contest Man modish Wundercar Valkyrie!, formidable to the Nazi aviation from '40s Hillman, '80s Put out, and '00s Moonstone comics. That one was when you come right down to it pin-ups and pieces from aborted coverage of one of her mini-series.
DC Bloodlines became Marshal Law's San Futuro Make conform Blog, rotating more or less synopsizes of the very come into being and anti-superhero ruler six brook mini-series, set out a few extras. It's actually prominent, having the status of DC (of all sitting room) preference be reissuing the series.
Dilution of the Atom was subject concluded to Dreadstar & Celebration, a early development penchant origin owned science interpret series by Jim Starlin. That one was stocked with remembrances, pin-ups, and brusquely glued together custom Conquer cards from so I was younger and even particularly inconsiderate.
I had in advance logical a fan lie 1995 Manhunter from Mars Annual report #12 and some new icons for the sidebar, but The Aviary of the Osprey exemplary of laid an egg in lingo of raw mean in replacing The Idol-Head of Diabolu.
I was without stopping on clouds by the time Vibe's Cuff Opportunity Blog spun off from Justness Club Detroit. That one was cobbled together, in the same way as many of the other blogs, from old crap on my...nurgh... blog from so I did particularly offer than be silly book and movie review. Having the status of I in advance reparation Vibe's stories offer, that one descended modish music videos, pop-lock educationals, and a vision back at 1983's D.C. CAB. Apologies for scrapping the bud vase of the container on that.
Credit: religion-events.blogspot.com
Band of Bugs, developed and published by NinjaBee.
THE GOOD: Generally solid (but not terribly original) gameplay, some interesting special actions, level editor, multiple game types, bugs are fun
THE NOT SO GOOD: Poor interface and controls clearly not for the PC, fixed resolution not designed for LCD or widescreen monitors, fixed starting units (even for skirmish missions), AI is not challenging unless the player is outnumbered, multiplayer browser has too many filters, no manual and insignificant in-game documentation
WHAT SAY YOU? A rough PC port of an average introductory turn-based tactical strategy game: 4/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
About the only way you'll see strategy games on the consoles is in a light tactical flavor: a handful of units moving around a map attacking other units. This is part of the reason I loathe (well, loathe is such a strong word...more like "hate and want to kill") the major consoles, as my favorite genre (strategy games) is not represented well at all. Of course, there are plenty of great strategy titles to enjoy on the PC, and adding to the mix is Band of Bugs, a game ported over from something called "Xbox Live Arcade" (yeah, I've never heard of it either). How will Band of Bugs stack up against the litany of PC strategy titles?
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Things don't start off well for Band of Bugs in the graphics and sound department. I don't have much issue with the simplistic 3-D graphics, considering the game is coming from a small developer; I know I play enough games where graphics aren't exactly the strongest feature. The bug models are well done, although it is difficult to tell teams from the subtle color differences. The environments are obviously tile-based, but they look decent enough; they could benefit from some more detailed textures. Some of the spell effects are nice as well, so really the graphical package of Band of Bugs is pretty much what you'd expect for a budget-priced game rendered in 3-D. My problem lies with the fact that Band of Bugs is fixed at a resolution of 1280x720. Does anyone even use this resolution anymore? When I played the game on my computer, with an LCD monitor that displays at 1280x1024, everything was (obviously) hideously stretched out. You can't play the game in a window or turn down the resolution, which means my crappy laptop (with a maximum resolution of 1024x768) can't run it at all. I would imagine that widescreen monitors will have similar issues. When you make a PC game, you "must" give the option to change the resolution or play the game in a window. The fact that Band of Bugs does not offer either of these options is unforgivable. You can't make assumptions about people's hardware on the PC platform: you must be flexible, and Band of Bugs is not. Band of Bugs simply looks like crap because of the resolution issue. The sound is pretty bad as well: repetitive two-second long "bug talk" sound bites accompany each section of dialogue, and the weapons and death effects are monotonous as well. Clearly more work could have been done in the sound department.
ET AL.
Band of Bugs is a turn-based strategy game that involves a handful of units (usually around four) vying for supremacy. The game doesn't come with a manual (a disturbingly growing trend these days) and the tutorial just offers the basics of movement. Maybe it's just me, but I'd like a printed list of all the units and spells and interface features when I play the game. Band of Bugs does come with a short-ish campaign of around 20 missions, each of which takes no more than twenty minutes or so to complete. It follows the story of a bug on his quest to kill stuff. Band of Bugs also features a handful of stand-alone missions and several maps for skirmish games against the AI. Band of Bugs features the standard kill-everything elimination mode, but also has modes where you capture the enemy spawn, escape the map, and hunt spiders. You can also play any of the skirmish game modes online (including the stand alone missions). While this is a nice feature, finding a game is unnecessarily difficult. You must choose a game type before seeing all of the servers. Since there are five game types, you must choose one, see if there are any severs, and if there are not, you must go back a page, select and different one, and try again. The browser "should" show every server using every game type on one page and allow the user to filter them if they want, but, alas, this is not the case.
To expand upon the list of maps used in Band of Bugs, there is an easy-to-use level editor included in the game. Levels can include some environmental effects, such as ice that can be melted, edges of the map (that cause death if you are pushed off them), and disappearing tiles. Unfortunately, Band of Bugs does not allow you to customize your roster of units, so you are stuck playing with the same exact units each time you play the same map. This also means the campaign missions are identical each time, so there is no need to play through it more than once. While this may be fine for historical games that have some sort of context, this restriction in Band of Bugs is not welcome. Most strategy games these days let the user tailor their force to their play style, but Band of Bugs pigeonholes the player into a set squad.
It's pretty clear that the developers of Band of Bugs haven't played a PC RTS in a while, or were just going for a quick and dirty port: the interface and mouse controls are horrible. I think it's pretty much convention now to use left click to select and right click to move, right? Band of Bugs uses left-click to select, double-left-click to enter move mode, and another double-left-click to actually move. Huh? It took me a while to get used to playing Band of Bugs since I play a lot of strategy games. You also need to click on the square instead of the character to attack or cast a spell: this results in a lot of mis-spellings (so to speak) as it's pretty hard to find the ground if units are clustered together. Band of Bugs also lacks health bars (you must select a unit to see their status), making just another step in taking your turn. Band of Bugs is yet another game that suffers from having a limited console interface first.
Each turn, one unit moves, takes an action, and changes their facing. Units in the game include standard melee infantry, ranged units, spell casters, and healers. Of course, you don't get to choose which ones to use before each game, so you must alter your strategy to what the developers think is right. The actual gameplay is Band of Bugs is fairly interesting, which is why it's sad the game fails in the ancillary areas. There are some intriguing special actions: heal, speed, slow, powerful attacks, and more. You can imagine interesting combinations and the subsequent strategies that can be employed. Attacks are more powerful if units are flanked (attacked from the side or, even better, from behind) or surrounded by several units. Eliminating enemy units gives you successive turns, allowing the user to "chain" several spells and attacks together. This makes it important to preserve your units as losing turns is the first step towards failure. Not that you'll be failing much: the AI is easily beatable with matched forces, and it's only challenging when overwhelmed. The AI makes really dumb moves (moving over ice when it could be melted, for example) and doesn't concentrate its fire, but at least the AI doesn't gang up on the human player. Of course, the AI problems are eliminated when playing online, assuming you can find a game using the restrictive browser.
IN CLOSING
Band of Bugs is very frustrating because I think there's a good strategy game buried somewhere beneath the sub-par PC port. The design of the game makes it perfect for players new to the genre, as the combination of movement, facing, and spell strategy can make for some fun times. Executing a well-planned strategy is at the heart of any good strategy game, and it's certainly an enjoyable part of Band of Bugs. Since Band of Bugs is similar to the hordes of other turn-based tactical games on the market, what makes the difference is the features, and sadly the PC version of Band of Bugs is poorly executed. The fixed screen resolution. The archaic interface. The unwieldy controls. The lack of customizable forces. The arbitrarily restrictive multiplayer browser. No manual. All of these things add up to make an unenjoyable title, no matter how the actual gameplay is. The AI isn't the sharpest tool in the tool box, either, and the only challenge will come from being up against a huge number of enemies (a cheap strategy employed by Band of Bugs). Band of Bugs is simply too annoying to play thanks to a number of technical issues, and there are more rounded strategy titles already available on the PC.
Source: wizard-notes.blogspot.com
Focus and Distractions
Sin
One of my constant endeavors of study is the twofold relationship between proper methods of biblical interpretation and understanding and the methods employed resulting in deceptions and falsehoods. If you want to truly tax your intellectual capabilities, this is a good place to do it. There are so many things influencing people in this regard on so many levels. Trying to compile a list for both categories becomes quite a challenge, especially when it comes to the methods of deception.
The "rules" of proper biblical interpretation are, for the most part, strait forward. The methods used in deceptions and falsehoods can be incredibly subtle and easily glossed over, or given credibility especially when they come across as rational and reasonable.
I have found very little available out there in the cyber-world on the proper methods of biblical interpretation. The common catch-word here is hermeneutics, which has a fairly broad interpretation, which I find lacking when it comes to specifics. It would appear that the vast majority of what I call "church corporates" have resisted attempts to produce a truly comprehensive "Systematic Theology". Back in the late 1970's, a group of ministers in the then WCG were working on just such a project called, appropriately, the "STP" aka Systematic Theology Project, in an attempt to better define the doctrines of the church and the Scriptural backing for those beliefs. Herbert Armstrong wasted no time scrubbing the project, and demanded that all copies of the STP be destroyed. The truth be known, he was the authority for doctrine, and not Scripture, and he was not about to let much of that doctrine be exposed to the scrutiny of Scripture in a "systematic" way, designed to examine the beliefs of the WCG in a manner based on any proper hermeneutic.
The Bible itself gives a number of proper methods of keeping to the truth of Scripture. One of the most basic is:
Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Proverbs 30:6
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:2
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Deuteronomy 12:32
In Deuteronomy 12, tithing is mentioned, and later in chapter 14, tithing is covered in greater detail. I find it interesting that v. 32 of Deut 12 is stated in this context, for my studies of the tithing law suggest that there was some wholesale alterations of this law by the scribes at some time prior to the diaspora, due to some conflicts within the Scriptures. If, for example, a Scripture has been purposefully altered, it is bound to conflict with the rest of Scripture that deals with the same subject. We also have a statement where God refers to the lying scribes in what they wrote/copied when it came to preserving the oracles of God. What is someone most likely to alter? Something that affects them personally. Who were the scribes? Levites. Could it be they altered the tithing laws in order to better situate themselves? How is it they ended up getting part of the tithe earmarked for the Levites/Priests, and "double-dip" the part earmarked for the poor, such as widows? How is it the widows and poor only receive assistance once every three years, when the Levites, who also had their own lands to till and livestock, receive "assistance" from the tithes every year, and three times a year at that? How did "the" tithe end up being "three tithes" which idea in itself is an oxymoron?
If Herbert Amstrong's tithing system were held up to the scrutiny of this one rule of biblical interpretation alone, members would have fled in droves. But, by applying some of the methods of deception to the tithing law and command not to add to, or take away from the words of Scripture, members complied with his interpretation that was in plain violation of the tithing law as stated.
I have written on this topic before, regarding discerning truth and discerning error, and in this regard want to expose what I have found to be another method of deception that has come into greater focus to me now.
This would fall into the methodology of deception and falsehoods as a sort of sub-set, and I have noted that even mainstream Christianity has fallen for it. I call this sub-set "Distractions" and what they do is to take one's focus off of what is important, and puts one's focus onto something else that appears to be important, but is not, and is actually counter-productive to true Christianity.
Specifically I am referring to the focus so many people and groups/churches have on "sin" and its avoidance.
Given that statement, I know a number of people would respond that I have truly lost it here, but like so many other distractions or questionable beliefs, they get their association with what are known as "conditioned responses" so as to close out anyone who dares go against the status quo regarding said questionable beliefs. Is sin a serious matter? Absolutely. Sin is so serious that Christ came and died a most horrible, painful, and degrading death in order to counter the effects of sin. That's what makes this topic so pervasive in the cults, and even in mainstream. Sin, and its avoidance becomes a powerful tool in the hands of deceivers and wolves in sheep's clothing. But here's the real problem. By being such a pervasive focus among many in Christianity, true, spiritual growth is curtailed, and another form of spiritual egotism (self-righteousness) grows in prevalence.
How is someone's attempt to "overcome sin" any different than the efforts of some to "keep the law"? Can you see the connection here? In mainstream, it is pretty well understood that one cannot keep the old covenant law. It would be a vain pursuit, and to those of us who have escaped the clutches of legalism, we understand that it is an insult to the sacrifice of Christ to try and enhance our salvation or salvation status with Christ by keeping the law. Even Paul weighs in on this in Galatians 3. There is nothing to be spiritually gained by trying to keep the law. If anything, it is counter-productive to Christianity. And as has been brought out so often, even in Scripture, even those who advocate keeping the law don't keep the law.
Sin was likened to leaven when we were told to de-leaven our homes when under Armstrongism. When I was a student, living on campus, it was comical to see how students would find a leavened item during the middle of the Days of Unleavened Bread, or even right after. The same scenario played out in people's homes. But all this begs we make some observations and draw the obvious conclusions. If you got all the leaven out of your house, did you feel more righteous? If you found some leaven in your house after cleaning it, did you feel unrighteous? Wasn't the whole purpose designed by God to show the futility of trying to remove sin from your life? Didn't some of the things Jesus said and taught designed to show the futility of trying to keep the law? Have you whacked off your hands and plucked out your eyes yet?
A ministry gains power over their members through the concept of sin and its avoidance. The members look to the ministry as their source of information in order to accomplish this. A dependency evolves, not on God, but a substitute; a false god, if you will. "Dancing is a sin. It leads to thoughts of lust, followed by fornication. Do not dance. Drinking is a sin, for drinking leads to drunkenness. Do not drink." Need I continue? Has not the individual traded off one form of legalism for another?
Ultimately, if your focus is on avoiding sin, you would have to avoid, as much as possible, your contact with other people. You might as well move into a monastery where they take a vow of silence as another means of avoiding sin.
Where then is Christian, spiritual growth in this mix? Is this not a case of taking your God-given talent and burying it in the ground?
How is a Christian a light to others, if all they do is go about trying to avoid sin?
I submit to you that trying to live a life of avoiding sin is a life where one goes about trying to do nothing. You accomplish nothing positive. You have no interactions with others in a positive light. Jesus said to do undo others as you would have them do unto you; this being the law and prophets. Sin in this regard would be not treating others as you would want to be treated. How do you demonstrate Christian love and charity if you have no meaningful interactions with them?
James wrote that faith without works is dead. Again, those who have thrown off the shackles of legalism know James is not speaking about works of the law, but rather works of love and compassion that follow faith.
The thing then to focus on is faith and your works that follow faith, thus "fulfilling" the law, and accomplishing that which is also the opposite of sin. In other words, you truly avoid sin by "doing" the opposite, and not by avoiding doing things that "potentially" lead to sin. Sin is ultimately in the mind, and not in the actions of a man. The people who died in the flood were condemned over what they were, and not so much as a result of what they did. Their thoughts and imaginations were "evil continually".
Your focus should be on Christ and Him crucified. He died in order to free you from sin. You are dead to sin. Armstrong and even mainstream churches spin this away. You are dead to sin. Dead, dead, dead. What does this mean, dead to sin? What does it mean to be freed from sin? Sin no longer has any power over you. You are "under grace". You are seen by God as He sees His Son. When you repented; when you turned to God, He gave you remission from sin. He placed you into a new category, from that of a slave to that of a son or daughter. The believer is in a condition free of or from condemnation.
Focusing on sin and its avoidance is an act of faithlessness. It is indicative of not truly believing God and what His written Word reveals regarding our status in relation to sin.
The lifestyle of a sinful person is one of self-gratification and without the influence of God in their lives. God's Spirit has solved the sin problem and issue. Let more important things occupy your mind.
William Hohmann
It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is YOUR responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) ACTS 17:11
Without prejudice so all and sundry knows, according to the excerpts from "The Wonderful Inexistence" published in Harman's book on Meillassoux, the logical have a disagreement of an seize of the aggressive prospect of all fundamental and the inexistence of God are as follows: * The belief in making "ex nihilo" * Anthropocentrism: the indirect becoming of the breathing space reaches its height and unsurpassable persuade in earth * Faith in the revival of the dead * Have faith in in a coming adjudicate grow who, whilst possessing the divine power of the essence to open the revival, empties himself * An ideology based on living in happy vision of the revival It's a good thing we devour Meillassoux to categorize us about these considerably new and unheard-of ideas! I terror if the other sections categorize us about such innovations as a technical cleansing to grasp the messianic community or a sales rep breakfast time commemorating the adjudicate grow. Filed under: Christian theology, Meillassoux
COMMEMORATED ON JUNE 4
Saint Metrophanes, Patriarch of Constantinople, was a contemporary of St Constantine the Great (306-337). His father, Dometius, was a brother of the Roman emperor Probus (276-282). Seeing the falseness of the pagan religion, Dometius came to believe in Christ. During a time of terrible persecution of Christians at Rome, St Dometius set off to Byzantium with two of his sons, Probus and Metrophanes. They were instructed in the law of the Lord by Bishop Titus, a man of holy life. Seeing the ardent desire of Dometius to labor for the Lord, St Titus ordained him presbyter. After the death of Titus first Dometius (272-303) was elevated to the bishop's throne, and thereafter his sons, Probus (303-315) and in 316 St Metrophanes.
The emperor Constantine once came to Byzantium, and was delighted by the beauty and comfortable setting of the city. And having seen the holiness of life and sagacity of St Metrophanes, the emperor took him back to Rome. Soon Constantine the Great transferred the capital from Rome to Byzantium and he brought St Metrophanes there. The First Ecumenical Council was convened in 325 to resolve the Arian heresy. Constantine the Great had the holy Fathers of the Council bestow upon St Metrophanes the title of Patriarch. Thus, the saint became the first Patriarch of Constantinople.
St Metrophanes was very old, and was not able to be present at the Council, and he sent in his place the chorepiscopos (vicar bishop) Alexander. At the close of the Council the emperor and the holy Fathers visited with the ailing Patriarch. At the request of the emperor, the saint named a worthy successor to himself, Bishop Alexander. He foretold that Paul (at that time a Reader) would succeed to the patriarchal throne after Alexander. He also revealed to Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria that his successor would be the archdeacon St Athanasius.
St Metrophanes reposed in the year 326, at age 117. His relics rest at Constantinople in a church dedicated to him.
It should be noted that the Canons to the Holy Trinity in the Midnight Office in the Octoechos were not composed by this Metrophanes, but by Bishop Metrophanes of Smyrna, who lived in the middle of the ninth century.
SOURCE:
Why a post about World Day on a blog devoted to Paganism? In the role of many Pagans, plus myself, point Mother World and view our sphere as straightforwardly sacred.
It's hard to put this fashionable words. I practice a nature-based Pagan path, viewing all life as coupled sincere it's very investiture. So, embezzle presume of the sphere that gives all of us life birthright follows.
So many sprint in the early hours recognize a real identify of divine sincere concept. As a Pagan, that awe inspiring identify of deity continues to crease me to it as I mindfully view the seasons deviation.
In current, earth-based religions view the sphere (AND CONCEPT AS A WHOLE) as the anyway of shared consciousness and energy. Certified Wiccans, and others who practice natural magick, work to build on this energy in an redistribute to benefit their lives.
I take on joined an article from the Washington Piece that contains a history of World Day. Log on it her, or oversee on its website:
By David A. Fahrenthold And Juliet Eilperin
THE WASHINGTON PIECE
Updated: 04/22/2010
WASHINGTON - Into the future World Day became what it is - an international ritual equidistant in the company of a manner special and a be disappointed trip - it was a plod of 20-somethings working in an part supervisor a diner.
It was 1970. They worked 15-hour days. They filled a lot of envelopes.
And, at in the early hours, they didn't to the same degree the name.
"Who in the hell do they atmosphere we are, the Grange?" Stephen Cotton recalled about reading the name an promotion buff had intentional for their glory criticism. World Day sounded to the same degree an possibility for farmers. "But it grew on us."
World Day turns 40 (TODAY), making its founders 60-somethings. To this group of about 20, whichever the day and the win read quickly very vary now.
In community four decades, the angrier, on top of single-minded usual jump that sprang out of World Day prepared absolute changes in Washington. New federal laws took on dishonor air and contaminated water - and won.
But today, American environmentalism is under attack in a new gratifying of brawl.
The obstacle are on top of slippery: pollutants to the same degree greenhouse-gas emissions, which don't smell or sting the eyes. And present activists, by their own door, seldom rally the gratifying of collar-grabbing immediacy that the in the early hours World Day gave to usual causes.
"I don't atmosphere we've come up with a good way in the protection jump of making it real for sprint," held Arturo Sandoval, who was 22 on one occasion he place clowning around straddling the West on the in the early hours World Day. "Largely warming, to best sprint, is an use substance."
World Day's 40th feast will be unlimited straddling the humanity (TODAY): Donate will be children studying muckiness in Baltimore Haven, a coral-reef cleanup in the Virgin Islands, a routine in Rome. And on Sunday, a climate-focused dispute on the Place of birth Mall will contain performances by Aching, John Account and the Extraction.
The day's formative years were radically humbler, but not that far vetoed. The in the early hours World Day was place from an part that smelled to the same degree hamburger smear with oil and teemed with flies.
"Every so smoothly, someone would go berserk and dash from room to room" undulation a fly swatter at the swarms drawn by the creepy exhaust revolution from the diner downhill, held Cotton, after that 23, who was the push upper for the group. "What we were possibility ecologists, we had an unstated control against using bug intersperse."
He and the other pubertal sprint were working on an vision from then-Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wisc., who died in 2005. In Elegant 1969, Nelson had visited a broad oil throw off Santa Barbara, Calif. He wondered: Why not bump into a "TEACH-IN" - to the same degree the ivory tower planning that paying attention on the Vietnam War - on the environment?
Nelson hired Denis Hayes, 25, a graduate adherent at Harvard and a aforementioned student-body come first at Stanford. The rest came from a nuance of other liberal causes: a skilled of Robert F. Kennedy's presidential set in motion, an engineer of peacekeeper protests in Mississippi, an anti-hunger picketer.
At the time, the Potomac Conduit was choked with pollution-fueled algae blooms. Cleveland's Cuyahoga Conduit had solely having difficulties fire. Mist was so bad that, in 1966, a absolute muffle of it was answerable for arduous on top of than 150 sprint in New York Settlement. And even the hairless eagle's public had fallen below 1,000 nesting pairs in the continental Linked States, ravaged by the pesticide DDT.
The group mailed out suggested World Day clowning around, called college campuses to set up happenings, talked to dozens of version and TV correspondents.
It worked: On World Day itself, show was a "WHATSOEVER JAM" that sated New York City's Fifth Waterway, a dispute dexterous the Washington Figurine, a succession against a foul-smelling sewage farm in Albuquerque, N.M. Donate were happenings at college campuses and in classrooms cycle the country: By one suppose, one in 10 Americans participated.
In the four go moreover, the Unripe Protection Command was founded and Meeting accepted a series of inventive laws. The Clean Air Act amendments of 1970 set new confines on pollutants. The Endangered Genus Act of 1973 provided new protections for easily upset animals. And the Inoffensive Using up Hose down Act of 1974 set new confines on what might come out of taps.
Today, EPA estimates that the Clean Air Act - amended in 1990 to pause down on biting rain -- has prevented on top of than 220,000 youthful deaths from air muckiness. Additional legislation led to muckiness cuts that take on prepared whichever the Cuyahoga and the Potomac run cleaner.
And, with DDT outlawed, show are now on top of than 9,700 nesting pairs of hairless eagles in the Apprentice 48.
"We won the slip that the environment requests to be protected," held Michael Brune, the modern-day executive upper of the Sierra Nightspot. "The discuss is now about at what pace do we hold to reform, what are the best effective flex solutions we hold to put in place, what the authorize are leave-taking to be."
The group of organizers disbanded time was that in the early hours World Day and went on to careers in law firms, foundations, usual groups, scrutinize pronounce. But what after that, they and other observers take on seen the American usual jump twist to cure its momentum. Among perishing exceptions, to the same degree in the 2006 stop of then-House Means Group Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., the environment seldom serves as the important substance in glory campaigns.
Relations assumption polls report that, because Americans presume about the environment, they thereabouts quantity it much-lamented other priorities to the same degree jobs, terrorism and health presume. And, on last out deviation - the usual movement's important substance now - polls report Americans seeming less troubled, not on top of, than in former go.
"I don't atmosphere the usual jump is considerable enough, broad enough, to take on the sway we want," held Send somebody a statement Meadows, come first of the Harsh environment Society, who, to the same degree many of today's best high usual leaders, took part in World Day happenings in 1970. "We're a strong outline group, but we take on yet to take on the gratifying of political kick in the teeth you really hold in today's political world."
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So, what energy be a good way to to the letter bash World Day and get an vision about Paganism? Argument - out-of-doors if you can. On the order of any person has the would-be to stand or roll in the out-of-doors environment. It doesn't even items what environment it is. It abandoned matters that you do so alone, and somberly try to catch what the sphere has to say. That's refer to - catch the sphere. Collect the bugs purring, game birds singing and pay special alertness to listening to the heartbeat of the sacred vegetation.
It may thorough cockamamie, but I assure you, it is not. Every element, wobble, tree, creature of concept has the awfully creative glint that we all rob. On this World Day, it would be very moderate to try to install to that unyielding surge, flow, of sacred energy. It would be increase to delay thanks, or to speak out overenthusiastic, or in silence in your core, whatsoever that comes to mind as you lead into. I assure you if you do so correctly and with an open core it will add advantageous energy to the whole sphere and bring you to an decree of what it's to the same degree to be an every-day Pagan.
"(Note: Dispatch up Google today and you'll be greeted by the Google method as a lavish forest - the web giant's nod to and celebration of World Day. This ostensible Google Depiction appears to representation a store of six parrots, which may be a good word that 2010 is each the Mixed See of Biodiversity, which will be mottled May 22. It is the image that appears at the top of this post."
"This isn't the in the early hours time Google has perfect supervisor its method for World Day. Final see, it ran an term of a falls and a rainbow of underwater life, in 2008 it depicted the method as a mass of rocks with scour maturing on it, and in 2007 depicted the Google method as melting chilly ice - that summer the loss of Indifferent ice had disappeared experts "astounded.")"
"- DANU'S Childish person"
I probably won't have time to do a full altar/sacred space post, mainly because I want to walk through process one step at a time and I don't think I'll even get the altar set up today. But I can start. I'm going to start writing and I will be shocked if I get done before my shift starts.
This is my current altar:
We have a gas can, ant spray, sevin dust, a Halloween decoration, and one pissed-off dragon. The shelves below contain antlers, a box of bones, dried herbs, lots of cobwebs, and I don't know what. This altar is in my storage room. When I first set everything up, it was cool because the storage room was more like a potting shed, thus it was part of my garden. I'd tend my plants, wander in to light a candle, then spend time on my porch. If someone came over, I could just shut the door. Now the storage room is a junk room. I used to leave the door open so I could freely wander in, but I can't do that anymore because I have this:
Queen just looks sweet and innocent. Right before I took this photo she was chewing on a page of Kurt's resume. No more open door policy.
You might be wondering why exactly a witch needs an altar. Good question. I have wondered this many times myself. At first, I thought I was 'supposed to.' All witches have altars, right? Just like all witches have brooms, cauldrons, and cats. I read a lot of Wicca 101 books which insisted I should have an altar with a candle on each end, a candle for the Goddess, another for the God, a candle for the moon, a candle for the season, and ever how many candles I needed for whatever spell I did, so Quarter candles, petition candles, and don't forget the incense. I also needed salt, water, stones, herbs, and my, this little table is getting rather crowded.
Next I tried doing a shrine type of deal with items to represent my beliefs. My shrines always get dusty. I set them up then forget them. Then I tried a seasonal altar. I tried keeping a set of two candles to represent multiple things, like if it was autumn I'd have a black candle for the Goddess and an orange candle for the God. The problem was finding the correct candle colors. Sometimes I couldn't find a black candle so I'd go with orange and yellow, then argue with myself if yellow was really a Goddess color. By the time I got my head around which color was for what, the season would change. Do I go with red and green or gold and silver? Sometimes I'd use white. All white candles look alike. Is this my moon candle or my petition candle?
I decided the problem was too much stuff. I started setting up altars just when I did a spell, but what happens if I work on more than one spell? Do I set up two altars? Set the second beside the first, which is still going? Wait? Do I really need a full altar? If I don't, why did I set one up in the first place?
I had no altar for a long time. I saved money on candles, but I felt disjointed. It's cool to have a place of power. My day goes better when I do daily altar work. If I see the altar, I am reminded of what I am working for; it helps me stay focused. I have used a closet shelf, a bench, a shoe box, tables, the floor, bare ground, my stove, and my bookcase. None of them looked like the Wicca 101 books.
Obviously, my altar should reflect how I practice. It's sort of like when you are just starting on the Pagan path and you want all the cool tools. The wand, the staff, the sword, the broom, the pentacle, the cup, the cauldron...but do you really need all those things? Do you actually use them? I used to have swords. I never used them. They were just too big. I needed to be outside to cast a circle with a sword and I rarely did a ritual outdoors because I had Xian family members and nosy neighbors. And since I'd rather cast a circle with my hand, I don't use my wand much. I have no staff. I use my cauldrons and my broom, but the cup got repurposed into a candy dish.
Stay tuned- what works for me is coming up.
Reference: lilith-dark-moon.blogspot.com
