Sunday, 30. October 2005
Linda Bergkvist - Furiae

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Meet Eyzaathe, Queen of the Crystal City Fae and rumoured to be one of the most beautiful creatures of Aii Chriaston.
The waterfall is part of the brooklet of Ah'tuala. It runs down from the tall mountains of Chi Dala Mia towards the sea. Local people have long since wondered at its mystical glow, but legend has it that the source of the little rivulet is right next to the entrance to the Fae Kingdom of the Crystal City. Nobody has found the source and returned with the memory of it to tell anyone, though, so the tale is as of yet just that - a fairytale.


I love painting and I generally do it for fun. I'm planning a book on dark fairytales, and all the images are part of a world I've created. If you do not like fantasy, or pictures of fae and elves, I suggest you look elsewhere. It's the world of the fantastic that fascinates me, you see. I don't draw big guns, and I don't draw realistic things: I simply don't want to.

Furiae by Linda Bergkvist

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Category: Art & Visions | Faeries & Nature Spirits |




Saturday, 29. October 2005
The Egyptian Book of the Dead

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Like most peoples, the Ancient Egyptians had a strong belief in the after-life.
The following pages take you on a journey through the Book of the Dead, as written on the walls of the tombs of the Kings, Queens and Priests, of one of the oldest civilisations on earth.
This book was designed to aid the soul on the great journey to paradise.
The graphics that you are about to see are from a series of photographs taken in the 1920's, when many of the paintings were still intact, and modern tourists, (in their thousands), had not destroyed the very thing that they had gone to look at. These photos were published in 1924, only 2 years after the discovery of Tutankamen's tomb.
Be patient, the graphics are as large as practical to retain information.
There are a total of 36 pages.

The visual journey starts here: Egyptian Book of the Dead by Gallica, Doreen Messenger B.A., B.Sc., A.R.I.C. (English)

Online text: The Egyptian Book of the Dead, 1240 BC, THE PAPYRUS OF ANI - Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge (English)
Category: Religion & Early Cultures |




Friday, 28. October 2005
Patron Saints Index - Heiligenlexikon

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Who's the patron of your state (political or spiritual)? Condition (physical or spiritual)? Vocation (monetary or spiritual)? Maybe you can find out here.
This site has information on topics with patron saints, and profiles of those saints. Profiles have portraits, biographical information, areas of patronage, prayers, links to related sites, readings, etc. It's heavily cross-indexed, and there are several ways to access the information, none of which require frames, image maps, applets, or scripts. It's not complete - I keep finding new topics, there are thousands of saints not yet listed, and there's lots of information to add, so the site will continue to grow and change.

Patron Saints Index (English)


Heilige nach heutigem Sprachgebrauch überspringen die Mauern der Konfessionen. Als Heilige werden Franziskus von Assisi, Mutter Teresa, Martin Luther King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer oder Mahatma Gandhi in einem Atemzug genannt.

Unser umfangreiches Lexikon enthält die Lebensgeschichten und Legenden von über 3.500 Frauen und Männern: von Heiligen, Seligen und wichtigen Persönlichkeiten
• der katholischen Kirche,
• der orthodoxen Kirchen,
• aus den protestantischen Kirchen,
• und aus der anglikanischen Kirche.

Dazu gibt es Landkarten zur Orientierung, viele Abbildungen zur Illustration und viele links zu weiteren interessanten Seiten im Internet.

Das Ökumenische Heiligenlexikon (German)

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Category: Lexica & Overviews | Religion & Early Cultures |


Thursday, 27. October 2005
Ghosts By Knight

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Category: Games & Humor |


The Dark Angel

Two years ago, a Free Times cover story, “Haunted Ohio,” featured the legend of the Dark Angel of Maple Grove Cemetery. The tale claimed that an angel statue was vandalized by locals who believed that it was possessed by the evil spirit of an Erie County woman who’d murdered her infant daughter, then killed herself.
Last week, the Free Times received the following from Richard Lemmers ...

Richard Lemmers, National Park Service ranger in Gettysburg, is the grandson of Lydia Fischer Nuhn, who is the central figure of a rather disturbing urban legend in Erie County. He sets the record straight about the evil 'Death Angel'.

Speaking for the Dead by Cleveland Free Times. (English)

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"The Dark Angel", Photo by James A. Willis


This and other pictures you will find at The Ghosts Of Ohio, which also refutes the Dark Angel legend (follow the links "Ohio Haunts" to the left, "Vicious Rumors" to the right and "The Dark Angel" above).
Category: Ghosts & Spirits | Myths & Sagas |


13 things you should know about ghosthunting

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The Ghost Master

As Halloween draws nearer, several people might be inspired by TV shows, like Ghost Hunters on SciFi, to go out on their own paranormal investigations. Before you decide to go hunting for paranormal activity, here are 13 tips to keep you on track.

UPDATE 08.03.06:

The article by The Ball State Daily News doesn't exist anymore, so I deleted the link.


Here is the original text: Read more ...
Category: Ghosts & Spirits |


Wednesday, 26. October 2005
LESIËM

Die Welt des Mystic-Pop, eingebunden in kirchliche Chorgesänge, begleitet von zarten Harfenklängen, kurzen Gitarrensolos und Glockenspielsynthezisern, angeführt von weiblichen Solostimmen: das ist "Times" von der Berliner Band Lesiem. Als Solistin konnten die Berliner Maggie Reilly gewinnen, die 1983 mit Mike Oldfields "Moonlight Shadow" bekannt wurde.

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Born out of a male voice choir, whose experience is based on a 50 year tradition, the German band Lesiem soars across the heavens with their own brand of mystic-pop. Combining Gregorian chants with worldbeat loops, guitars & dreamlike voices, Lesiem bring their own unique style of ancient tradition to the modern world.

Official Website / Offizielle Website von LESIËM (German and English version)

Ein Muster aus der spirituelle Klangwelt des Mystic-Pop könnt ihr hier hören. Listen to "Temperantia (Bescheidenheit)" (full) from the album "Times":













Category: Music & Voices |


Die Magie der Sterne - Kalender 2006

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Dieser neue Kalender ist ein grossformatiger Begleiter durch das Jahr 2006, dessen prachtvolle Motive und leicht verständlichen Erläuterungen die Entwicklung der Astronomie zunächst im Vorderen Orient, später in Europa verdeutlichen.
Dem jeweiligen Zeitgeist entsprechend präsentieren sich so die christlichen Sternbilder des nördlichen Sternenhimmels von Andrea Cellarius mit reichlichen Ausschmückungen (1708), oder der Tierkreis von Johannes de Sacrobosco mit der im Zentrum stehenden Erde (um 1385) und die Sternenbilder der südlichen Hemisphäre von Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr.


Die Magie der Sterne von der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (German only)
Category: Astrology & Astronomy | Time & Calendar |


How To Talk To Aliens

But what if we decided we wanted to send a message with intent, something that will say more about us than an episode of The Love Boat? What's the best way to create a message that will be received, understood and useful?

How To Talk To Aliens
by Forbes (English)

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Category: News & Stories | Ufo's & Aliens |


Tuesday, 25. October 2005
Yoga Jounal

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In classical yoga, movement and breathing practices are considered mere preludes to seated meditation. But you don't have to sit in Padmasana (Lotus Pose) to cultivate a meditative state of being.

When practiced mindfully, asanas themselves can provide many of the same gifts as more formal meditation practices, including mental calm, balance, and clarity. Explored in this way, yoga postures are transformed from mere stretches into meditation in motion ...

New to Yoga? Learn about the best poses for beginners, and study basic yoga history and philosophy.


Yes! In fact, depending on your desk setup, clothing, and the level of comfort with your co-workers, you can practically do an entire yoga practice at your desk.
Begin by sitting on the edge of a chair with your feet placed squarely on the floor about hip distance apart. Place your palms flat on your thighs, and feel length in your spine—head balanced over heart, heart balanced over hips. Inhale and exhale evenly for five counts each. Repeat as many times as you'd like ...

Office Yoga Tips

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You've heard of pranayama. Maybe you've even tried it in class. But you're probably not practicing it. Here's what you're missing.
When I first encountered pranayama, I thought it was a complete waste of time. I had been taking classes for a couple of years and had just found the instructor I later came to see as my first "real" yoga teacher. One day she announced to the class, "Today we're going to do some pranayama." Huh? I thought. What's that? Prana—what?

Breathing Lessons

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It's helpful to know that some poses are energizing and some are calming. For example, backbends are invigorating and not recommended before going to bed at night. Forward bends are calming and helpful when you are feeling over stimulated. Sun Salutations create heat and flowing movement connected to the breath.


Standing poses build strength, stamina, and a sense of grounding, since your feet are rooted into the earth. Balancing poses cultivate concentration. Twists detoxify the body and relieve tension in the head, neck, and back. Inversions, which turn us upside down, literally change our view of the world and remind us of the impermanent nature of everything, especially when we are stuck in a rut ...

Expert Advice

The picture on the right shows the Krounchasana (Heron Pose).

This pose intensifies the stretch of Triang Mukha Eka Pada Pashcimottanasana.
Vyasa, Patanjali's oldest extant commentator, mentions this pose, though he doesn't describe how to do it: "The curlew and other seats [asana] may be understood by actually seeing a curlew and the other animals seated" (Yoga Sutra 2.46).

Use the search tools to find asanas by anatomical focus, therapeutic application, or contraindication, or just browse poses by name: Poses.

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Or go directly: Standing --- Seated & Twists --- Arm Balances ---
Backbends --- Inversions --- Forward Bends --- Reclining

All of these and much more - you will find here absolutely everything you need to know about Yoga Yoga Jounal. (English only)
Yoga in all its forms to the western style of life and thinking.
Category: Books & Magazines | Yoga & Fitness |


In pictures: Togo’s voodoo market

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"We have many different kinds of animal heads.

Here we have the head of a crocodile, the head of a cat and lots of monkey heads. We also have different birds like vultures and owls, as well as chameleons, snakes, cobras and vipers."


"To make the medicine, we grind up the heads with herbs and then put the mixture on the fire. This leaves us with a black powder.

We cut the person's chest or back three times and then rub the powder into the flesh."

In pictures: Togo's voodoo market by BBC.
Category: Ethno & Shamanism |


Did Life Come from Another World?

Most scientists have long assumed that life on Earth is a homegrown phenomenon. According to the conventional hypothesis, the earliest living cells emerged as a result of chemical evolution on our planet billions of years ago in a process called abiogenesis. The alternative possibility--that living cells or their precursors arrived from space--strikes many people as science fiction. Developments over the past decade, however, have given new credibility to the idea that Earth's biosphere could have arisen from an extraterrestrial seed.

Did Life Come from Another World?
by Scientific American. (English)

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Category: News & Stories |


Monday, 24. October 2005
Mummy Maker

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Enter the embalmer's workshop, where you are to prepare the body of Ramose, officer to the king, for burial.
The chief embalmer, Kha, is watching your work closely.
You must do it perfectly - Kha's reputation rests on your shoulders.

Mummy Maker

Category: Games & Humor |


Alternative Health Dictionary, A-Z

This work is a dictionary in the sense that it features a list of expressions that pertain to a particular subject and describes their referents briefly. It concerns alternative medicine in the broadest senses of the expression "alternative medicine" and its synonyms (which number more than 30). More specifically, this work concerns particular methods of alternative medicine, including self-contained methods, component methods, groups of methods, systems, and substyles. It is reasonably describable as concerning both alt-med methods and close relatives of alternative medicine.

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Alternative Health Dictionary - With an emphasis on theories, it succinctly describes well over 1,300 health-related methods - ranging alphabetically from abhyanga to Zulu Sangoma bones - that are medically non-mainstream in the Western Hemisphere. (English)
Category: Body & Health | Lexica & Overviews |


Ancient Egyptian Magic & More

In Egyptian myth, magic (heka) was one of the forces used by the creator to make the world. Through heka, symbolic actions could have practical effects. All deities and people were thought to possess this force in some degree, but there were rules about why and how it could be used.

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Priests were the main practitioners of magic in pharaonic Egypt, where they were seen as guardians of a secret knowledge given by the gods to humanity to 'ward off the blows of fate'. The most respected users of magic were the lector priests, who could read the ancient books of magic kept in temple and palace libraries. In popular stories such men were credited with the power to bring wax animals to life, or roll back the waters of a lake.


Ancient Egyptian Magic by Dr Geraldine Pinch.

For ancient Egyptians, it was of key importance that when someone died their physical body should continue to exist on earth, so they could progress properly through the afterlife. Consequently, providing proper eternal accommodation for their body after they had died was very important to them. The afterlife they wanted to attain was thought of as a bigger and better version of the earthly Egypt - and in it they were to live close to their family and friends.

The Great Pyramid: Gateway to Eternity by Dr Aidan Dodson.

The Nile, so fundamental to the country's well-being, did not play a very prominent part in the religious life of Egypt. The Egyptians took their world largely for granted and praised the gods for its good features. There was no name for the Nile, which was simply the 'river' (the word 'Nile' is not ancient Egyptian). The bringer of water and fertility was not the river but its inundation, called 'Hapy', who became a god. Hapy was an image of abundance, but he was not a major god.

The Story of the Nile by John Baines.


More Articles about Ancient Egypt
by BBC.

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Category: Religion & Early Cultures |


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