GEUUhttp - v2 . quark 4/4/03 5:18 PM Page 1 2.pdfGale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Brad E. Steiger and Sherry Hansen Steiger Project Editor Jolen Marya Gedridge Editorial

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Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and UnexplainedBrad E. Steiger and Sherry Hansen Steiger

Project EditorJolen Marya Gedridge

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Steiger, Brad.Gale encyclopedia of the unusual and unexplained / Brad E. Steiger

and Sherry Hansen Steiger.p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-7876-5382-9 (set : hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN

0-7876-5383-7 (v. 1 : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7876-5384-5 (v. 2 : alk.paper) — ISBN 0-7876-5385-3 (v. 3 : alk. paper)

1. Parapsychology—Encyclopedias. 2. Occultism—Encyclopedias. 3.Supernatural—Encyclopedias. I. Title: Encyclopedia of the unusual andunexplained. II. Steiger, Sherry Hansen. III. Title.

BF1025.S79 2003130’.3—dc21

2003003995

Table of Contents

preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiintroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Chapter 1

How the Major Religions Viewthe Afterlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Buddhism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Hinduism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Judaism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Ancient Egypt andthe Afterlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Egyptian Book of the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Osiris: Death and Resurrection . . . . . . . . . . 18Pyramid Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Individual Human Experiencewith Death and the Afterlife . . . 22

Deathbed Visions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Near-Death Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The Mystery Schools . . . . . . . . . . 31

Dionysian Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Eleusinian Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Hermetic Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Orphic Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Pythagorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Tribal Religions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Burial Mounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Land of the Grandparents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

How the Major ReligionsView Reincarnation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Buddhism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Hinduism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Judaism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Contemporary Mystery Schoolsand Reincarnation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Akashic Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Anthroposophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Association for Research

and Enlightenment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Theosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Volume 1

Experiential Quests intoPast Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Hypnotic Regression into Past Lives . . . . . . 59Bridey Murphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Past-Life Therapy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Ian Stevenson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Chapter 2

Shamanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Spirit Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Totem Animal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Vision Quest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Spirit Mediumship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Ouija Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Seance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Spirit Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Trance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Mediums and Channelers . . . . . . . 93

Sylvia Browne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Florence Cook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Mina “Margery” Crandon . . . . . . . . . . . . 101John Edward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Arthur Augustus Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Eileen Garrett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Daniel Dunglas Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110J. Z. Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Carlos Mirabelli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Eusapia Palladino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Leonora E. Piper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122James Van Praagh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Jach Pursel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Jane Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Rudi Schneider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Witch of Endor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Spiritualism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Andrew Jackson Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137The Fox Sisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Allen Kardec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Mystics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky . . . . . . . . . . . 147Rudolf Steiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Emanuel Swedenborg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Researchers into the Mysteryof Spirit Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Hereward Carrington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Sir William Crookes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Harry Houdini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163William James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Sir Oliver Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167Fredric W. H. Myers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169Society for Psychical Research (SPR). . . . . 172

Chapter 3

Antichrist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Apocalypse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Apparitions of Holy Figures . . . 186Armaggedon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Cosmic Consciousness . . . . . . . . 193Demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196Devil’s Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Ecstasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Exorcism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Faith Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Guardian Angels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Illumination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214Inquisition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Miracles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220Possession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Power of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225The Rapture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Shroud of Turin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232666 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238Snake Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239Stigmata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241Virgin of Guadalupe . . . . . . . . . . . 244Visions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Weeping Statues and Icons . . . . 249

Chapter 4

Egyptian Mystery Schools . . . . . 257

Akhenaten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259Isis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260Osiris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Greek Mystery Schools . . . . . . . 264

Delphi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265Dionysus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Eleusis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Christian Mystery Schools,Cults, Heresies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Black Madonna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272Cathars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274Gnosticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Manichaeism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Tribal Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Ghost Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283Macumba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285Santeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Satanic Cults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

T h e G a l e E n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e U n u s u a l a n d U n e x p l a i n e d

The Rise of Satanism in theMiddle Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Black Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293Catherine Montvoisin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296Gilles de Rais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Anton LaVey’s First Churchof Satan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Temple of Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

UFO Cults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Aetherius Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307Heaven’s Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309The Raelians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Twentieth-CenturySpiritual Expression . . . . . . . . . . 313

Branch Davidians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315Eckankar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316Falun Gong. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317Order of the Solar Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . 318The People’s Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319Scientology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323Cumulative Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Chapter 5

The Assassins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4The Decided Ones of Jupiter. . . . . 5The Freemasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9The Garduna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12The Holy Vehm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15The Illuminati. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16The Knights Templar . . . . . . . . . . . 19The Leopard Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24The Mau-Mau. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27The Rosicrucians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30The Thuggee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32The Tongs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Chapter 6

Alchemy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Valentine Andreae. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Roger Bacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Helvetius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Hermes Trismegistus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Albertus Magnus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Paracelsus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Magick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Abremelin Magick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Black Magick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Enochian Magick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Vodun/Vodoun/Voodoo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52White Magick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Magi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Agrippa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Count Allesandro Cagliostro . . . . . . . . . . . 61Aleister Crowley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62John Dee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Dr. Faust. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Marie Laveau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Eliphas Levi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Simon Magus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Pico della Mirandola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Pythagoras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Count Saint-Germain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Wicca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

People of Wicca. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Margot Adler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Philip Emmons (Isaac) Bonewits. . . . . . . . . 78Raymond Buckland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Gavin Frost and Yvonne Frost . . . . . . . . . . 82Gerald Brosseau Gardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Sybil Leek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Margaret Alice Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87M. Macha NightMare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Starhawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Doreen Valiente . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Witchcraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Familiars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95The Inquisition—The Time of

the Burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Sabbats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Witchcraft Trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Salem, Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Scotland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Witchhunters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Jean Bodin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Henri Boguet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Matthew Hopkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111


Volume 2

Pope Innocent III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Pierre de Lancre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Chapter 7

Astrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Automatic Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Cartomancy/Tarot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Telling Fortunes with ModernPlaying Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Dowsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Graphology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

I Ching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Kabbalah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Necromancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Numerology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Palmistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Prophets and Diviners . . . . . . . . 150

Edgar Cayce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Delphic Oracles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Jeane Dixon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Irene Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157Olof Jonsson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Nostradamus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Mother Shipton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Scrying/CrystalGazing/Crystalomancy . . . . . . . . . 162

Tea Leaf Reading(Tasseography) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Chapter 8

Amulets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Bells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170Bloodstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Candles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Cauldron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Crystals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Fairy Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Garlic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Hand of Glory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Horseshoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Love Knots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Mandrake Root . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Maypole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Mistletoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Salt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Silver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Stones for Healing and Energy . . . . . . . . . 185Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Voodoo Dolls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Tribal Empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Crystal Skulls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191Fetishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Megaliths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Runes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Talismans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Totems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Things of Sacred Power . . . . . . . 199

The Ark of the Covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Crosses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203The Holy Grail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Philosopher’s Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206The Spear of Destiny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Swastikas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Chapter 9

Angkor Wat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216Mt. Ararat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216Atlantis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Avalon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225The Bermuda Triangle . . . . . . . . . 226Chartres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230Cursuses and Leys . . . . . . . . . . . . 232El Dorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234Easter Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235Glastonbury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238Hollow Earth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242Karnak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Lemuria and Mu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247Lourdes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Machu Picchu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251Mayan Temples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Mecca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256The Nazca Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260The Great Pyramid(of Kfhufu), at Giza . . . . . . . . . . . 264The Sphinx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268Stonehenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272Taos Pueblo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275Tiahuanaco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277



Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Chapter 10

Ghostly Beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Animal Spirits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Apparitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Autoscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Ghosts of the Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Phantoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Poltergeists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Spirits of the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Spooklights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Famous Haunted Housesand Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Bell Witch’s Cave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Borley Rectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Calvados Castle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Epworth Rectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36General Wayne Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38The Gray Man of Hinton Ampner . . . . . . . 40Myrtles Plantation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42The Tedworth Drummer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44The Whaley House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Ghosts in the Movies . . . . . . . . . . 49

Spontaneous HumanCombustion (SHC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Chapter 11

Apelike Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Bigfoot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Orang Pendek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Skunk Ape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Yeti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Creatures of the Night . . . . . . . . 68

Chupacabra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Ghoul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Golem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Imp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Incubus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Jersey Devil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Succubus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Vampire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Werewolf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83


Volume 3 Monsters of Land, Sea,and Air. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Loch Ness and Other Lake Monsters . . . . . . 89Sea Serpents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Thunderbirds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Wee Folk and Their Friends . . . . . 99

Elves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Fairies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Gnomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Goblins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Gremlins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Leprechauns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Menehune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Mermaids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Nisse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Selkies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Trolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Actors Who Faced(or Became) Monsters . . . . . . . . . 109

Chapter 12

Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Creative and Lucid Dreaming . . . . . . . . . . 122Nightmares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Sleep Paralysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Symbology of Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

The Mechanics of Memory . . . . . . 130

False Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Phobias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Altered Statesof Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Hallucinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Psychedelics—

The Mind-Expanding Drugs . . . . . . . . 151Relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Extrasensory Perception:The “Sixth Sense”. . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

ESP Researchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Clairvoyance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Out-of-Body Experience (OBE) . . . . . . . . 170Precognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174Psychokinesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Telepathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Chapter 13

Superstitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Cats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Days of the Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191Dogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191The Evil Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Four-Leaf Clover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Gems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Horseshoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Knocking on Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Rabbit’s Foot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198Sneezing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Spitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Strange Customsand Taboos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Courtship and Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Hospitality and Etiquette . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Burials and Funerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Urban Legends and Beliefs . . . . 228

Deadly Reptiles in the Imported Carpets. . . 229The Fabulous Cookie Recipe . . . . . . . . . . 230Green M&Ms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231The Hook on the Car Door . . . . . . . . . . . 231If Your College Roommate

Commits Suicide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Jesus on the Freeway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233The Phantom Hitchhiker . . . . . . . . . . . . 234Proctor & Gamble Is a

Satanist Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235The Scuba Diver in the Tree . . . . . . . . . . 236Snakes in the Toilet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236Spiders in the Hairdo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Chapter 14

UFOs in Ancient Times . . . . . . . . . 246

Space Visitors in the Bible andOther Holy Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

The Modern UFO Era Begins . . . 251

The Air Force and Project Blue Book. . . . . 255The Condon/University of

Colorado Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258Hangar 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259Roswell, New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260Socorro, New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

UFO Contacteesand Abductees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

George Adamski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Daniel W. Fry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273Betty and Barney Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274The Men in Black (MIB). . . . . . . . . . . . . 276Whitley Strieber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279George Van Tassel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

The Influence of the Media . . . . 281

Close Encounters of the Third Kind . . . . . . . 282The Day the Earth Stood Still . . . . . . . . . . . 284War of the Worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285The X-Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

The UFO Mystery Grows . . . . . . . 290

Area 51 and Reverse Engineering . . . . . . . 293Cattle Mutilations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293Crop Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295Majestic-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297The Philadelphia Experiment . . . . . . . . . . 298



Preface

xi

The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual andUnexplained (GEUU) presents com-prehensive and objective information

on unexplained mysteries, paranormal abili-ties, supernatural events, religious phenome-na, magic, UFOs, and myths that haveevolved into cultural realities. This extensivethree-volume work is a valuable tool provid-ing users the opportunity to evaluate themany claims and counterclaims regarding themysterious and unknown. Many of theseclaims have been brought to the forefrontfrom television, motion pictures, radio talkshows, best-selling books, and the Internet.

There has been a conscious effort to pro-vide reliable and authoritative information inthe most objective and factual way possible, topresent multiple viewpoints for controversialsubject topics, and to avoid sensationalismthat taints the credibility of the subject mat-ter. The manner of presentation enables read-ers to utilize their critical thinking skills toseparate fact from fiction, opinion fromdogma, and truth from legend regarding enig-mas that have intrigued, baffled, and inspiredhumankind over the centuries.

About the Authors

and Advisors

Brad E. Steiger has written over 150 bookswith over 17 million copies in print. His vastwriting experience includes biographies,books of inspiration, phenomenon and theparanormal, spirituality, UFO research, andcrimes. His first articles on the paranormalappeared in 1954 and, today, he has producedover 2,000 articles on such themes. Steigerhas appeared on such television programs asNightline with Ted Koppel, ABC Evening Newswith Peter Jennings, NBC Evening News withTom Brokaw, This Week (with David Brinkley,Sam Donaldson, and Cokie Roberts), TheMike Douglas Show, The David Susskind Show,The Joan Rivers Show, Entertainment Tonight,Haunted Hollywood, Inside Edition, The Unex-plained, and Giants: The Myth and the Mystery.Sherry Hansen Steiger is a co-author of 24books on a variety of topics on the unusual

and unexplained with her husband Brad. Hercontinual studies in alternative medicine andtherapies led to the 1992 official creation ofThe Office of Alternative Medicine under theInstitutes of Health, Education and Welfare inBethesda, Maryland. Both Steigers haveserved as consultants for such television showsas Sightings and Unsolved Mysteries.

The advisors for GEUU are Judy T. Nel-son, the Youth Services Coordinator for thePierce County Library System in Tacoma,Washington; Lee Sprince, former Head ofYouth Services for the Broward County MainLibrary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and BradE. Steiger, author of Gale’s former Visible InkPress title The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopediaof Shape-Shifting Things. For GEUU, both Nel-son and Sprince were consulted on GEUU’ssubject content, its appropriateness, and for-mat; Steiger advised on the content’s organiza-tion before he became the author of GEUU.

Format

The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual andUnexplained consists of fourteen broad-subjectchapters covering a wide range of high-inter-est topics: Afterlife Mysteries; Mediums andMystics; Religious Phenomena; Mystery Reli-gions and Cults; Secret Societies; Magic andSorcery; Prophecy and Divination; Objects ofMystery and Power; Places of Mystery andPower; Ghosts and Phantoms; MysteriousCreatures; Mysteries of the Mind; Supersti-tions, Strange Customs, Taboos, and UrbanLegends; and Invaders from Outer Space.Each chapter begins with an Overview thatsummarizes the chapter’s concept in a fewbrief sentences. Then the Chapter Explo-ration provides a complete outline of thechapter, listing all topics and subtopics there-in, so that the user can understand the interre-lationships between the chapter’s topics andits subtopics. An Introduction consisting of 6to 12 paragraphs follows; it broadly describesthe chapter’s theme. Then each topic is

explored, along with each subtopic, develop-ing relevant concepts, geographic places, per-sons, practices, etc. After each topic, a Delv-ing Deeper section provides complete biblio-graphical citations of books, periodicals, tele-vision programs, Internet sites, movies, andtheses used, and provides users with furtherresearch opportunities. Boldfaced cross-refer-ences are used to guide users from the text torelated entries found elsewhere in the threevolumes. Sidebars supplement the text withunusual facts, features, and biographies, aswell as descriptions of web sites, etc.

Each chapter contains photographs, linedrawings, and original graphics that were cho-sen to complement the text; in all three vol-umes, over 250 images enliven the text. Manyof these images are provided by Fortean Pic-ture Library—“a pictorial archive of mysteriesand strange phenomena”—and from the per-sonal archives of the author, Brad Steiger. Atthe end of each chapter, a glossary, calledMaking the Connection, lists significantterms, theories, and practices mentionedwithin the text. A comprehensive glossary ofthe terms used throughout all three volumescan be found at the end of each volume.

Each volume has a cumulative Table ofContents allowing users to see the organiza-tion of each chapter at a glance. The Cumula-tive Index, found in each volume, is an alpha-betic arrangement of all people, places,images, and concepts found in the text. Thepage references to the terms include the vol-ume number as well as the page number;images are denoted by italicized page numbers.

User Comments

Are Welcome

Users having comments, corrections, orsuggestions can contact the editor at the fol-lowing address: Gale Encyclopedia of theUnusual and Unexplained, The Gale Group,Inc., 27500 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI48331-3535.


Prefacexii

Introduction

xiii

Understanding

the Unknown

The belief in a reality that transcends oureveryday existence is as old as humanity itselfand it continues to the present day. In fact, inrecent years there has been a tremendous surgeof interest in the paranormal and the supernat-ural. People speak freely of guardian angels, abelief in life after death, an acceptance ofextrasensory perception (ESP), and the exis-tence of ghosts. In a Gallup Poll released onJune 10, 2001, the survey administrators foundthat 54 percent of Americans believe in spiri-tual or faith healing; 41 percent acknowledgethat people can be possessed by the devil; 50percent accept the reality of ESP; 32 percentbelieve in the power of prophecy; and 38 per-cent agree that ghosts and spirits exist.

What are the origins of these age-oldbeliefs? Are they natural phenomenon thatcan be understood by the physical sciences?Some scientists are suggesting that such mysti-cal experiences can be explained in terms ofneural transmitters, neural networks, andbrain chemistry. Perhaps the feeling of tran-scendence that mystics describe could be theresult of decreased activity in the brain’s pari-etal lobe, which helps regulate the sense of selfand physical orientation. Perhaps the humanbrain is wired for mystical experiences and theflash of wisdom that illuminated the Buddha,the voices that Mohammed and Moses heardin the wilderness, and the dialogues that Jesushad with the Father were the result of brainchemistry and may someday be completelyexplained in scientific terms.

Perhaps the origin of these beliefs is to befound in psychology? Humankind’s fascinationwith the unknown quite likely began with themost basic of human emotions—fear. Earlyhumans faced the constant danger of beingattacked by predators, of being killed by peoplefrom other tribes, or of falling victim to thesudden fury of a natural disaster, such as flood,fire, or avalanche. Nearly all of these violentencounters brought about the death of a friendor family member, so one may surmise thatchief among the mysteries that troubled early

humans was the same one that haunts mantoday: What happens when someone dies?

But belief in the unknown may be morethan brain chemistry or a figment of our fears.Perhaps there is some spiritual reality that isoutside of us, but with which one can some-how communicate? Perhaps the physical activ-ity of the brain or psychological state (the twoare of course related) may be only a precondi-tion or a conduit to a transcendent world? Thecentral mystery may always remain.

Ghostly Entities and

Urban Legends

There is not a single known culture on plan-et Earth that does not have its ghost stories, andone can determine from Paleolithic cave paint-ings that the belief that there is something with-in the human body that survives physical deathis at least 50,000 years old. If there is a singleunifying factor in the arena of the unknown andthe unexplained it is the universality ofaccounts of ghostly entities. Of course, noteveryone agrees on the exact nature of ghosts.Some insist that the appearance of ghosts provesurvival after death. Others state that such phe-nomena represent other dimensions of reality.

And then there are the skeptics who groupmost ghost stories in the category of “UrbanLegends,” those unverifiable stories about out-landish, humorous, frightening, or supernatur-al events. In some instances, the stories arebased on actual occurrences that have in theirtelling and retelling been exaggerated or dis-torted. Other urban legends have their originsin people misinterpreting or misunderstandingstories that they have heard or read in themedia or from actual witnesses of an event.There is usually some distance between thenarrator and his tale; all urban legends claimthat the story always happened to someoneelse, most often “a friend of a friend.”

The Roots of Superstition

Whatever their basis in reality, certainbeliefs and practices of primitive people

helped ease their fear and the feeling of help-lessness that arose from the precariousness oftheir existence. Others in the community whotook careful note of their behavior ritualizedthe stories of those who had faced great dan-gers and survived. In such rituals lies the ori-gin of “superstition,” a belief that certainrepeated actions or words will bring the prac-titioner luck or ward off evil. Ancient super-stitions survive today in such common prac-tices as tossing a pinch of salt over the shoul-der or whispering a blessing after a sneeze toassure good fortune.

The earliest traces of magical practices arefound in the European caves of the PaleolithicAge, c. 50,000 B.C.E. in which it seems clearthat early humans sought supernatural meansto placate the spirits of the animals they killedfor food, to dispel the restless spirits of thehumans they had slain, or to bring peace tothe spirits of their deceased tribal kin. It was atthis time that early humans began to believethat there could be supernatural powers in acharm, a spell, or a ritual to work good or evilon their enemies. Practices, such as imitatingthe animal of the hunt through preparatorydance, cutting off a bit of an enemy’s hair orclothing to be used in a charm against him, orinvoking evil spirits to cause harm to others,eventually gained a higher level of sophistica-tion and evolved into more formal religiouspractices.

As such beliefs developed, certain tribalmembers were elevated in status to shamanand magician because of their ability tocommunicate with the spirit worlds, toinfluence the weather, to heal the sick, andto interpret dreams. Shamans entered atrance-like condition separating them fromlife’s mundane existence and allowing themto enter a state of heightened spiritualawareness. According to anthropologists,shamanic methods are remarkably similarthroughout the world. In our own time,Spiritualist mediums who claim to be ableto communicate with the dead remain pop-ular as guides for contemporary men andwomen, and such individuals as JohnEdward, James Van Praagh, and SylviaBrowne issue advice from the Other Side onsyndicated television programs.


Introductionxiv

Monsters and

Night Terrors

Stone Age humans had good reason to fearthe monsters that emerged from the darkness.Saber-tooth tigers stalked man, cave bearsmauled them, and rival hominid species—many appearing more animal-like thanhuman—struggled against them for domi-nance. The memories of the ancient night ter-rors surface in dreams and imagination, a kindof psychic residue of primitive fears. Anthro-pologists have observed that such half-human,half-animal monsters as the werewolf andother werecreatures were painted by StoneAge artists more than 10,000 years ago. Someof the world’s oldest art found on ancient sitesin Europe, Africa, and Australia depict ani-mal-human hybrids. Such “therianthropes,” orhybrid beings, appear to be the only commondenominator in primitive art around the plan-et. These werewolves, were-lions, and were-bats belonged to an imagined world whichearly humans saw as powerful, dangerous, andfrightening.

Images of these creatures persisted into thehistorical period. The ancient Egyptians oftendepicted their gods as human-animal hybrids.Pharaoh identified himself with the god Horus,who could be represented as a falcon or a fal-con-headed human. Anubis, the god of thenecropolis, can be shown as a jackal-headedman, probably because such carrion-eatingjackals prowled Egyptian cemeteries. Manyother civilizations felt the power of these kindsof images. For example, the ancient Greeksfashioned the minotaur (half-human, half-bull), the satyr (half-human, half-goat), theharpy (half-woman, half-bird) and a host ofother hybrid entities—the vast majority unfa-vorably disposed toward humankind. Examplescould be found in other cultures as well.

Customs and Taboos

In 2001, scientists were surprised whenbits of stone etched with intricate patternsfound in the Blombos Cave, east of CapeTown on the southern African shores of the

Indian Ocean, were dated at 77,000 years old,thereby indicating that ancient humans werecapable of complex behavior and abstractthought thousands of years earlier than previ-ously believed. In Europe, numerous sites havebeen excavated and artifacts unearthed thatprove that structured behavior with customsand taboos existed about 40,000 years ago.

Customs are those activities that havebeen approved by a social group and havebeen handed down from generation to gener-ation until they have become habitual. Whenan action or activity violates behavior consid-ered appropriate by a social group, it islabeled a “taboo,” a word borrowed from thePolynesians of the South Pacific. An act thatis taboo is forbidden, and those who trans-gress may be ostracized by others or, inextreme instances, killed.

However, customs vary from culture toculture, and customary actions in one societymay be considered improper in another.While the marriage of near-blood relations isprohibited in contemporary civilization, inearlier societies it was quite common. Theancient brother and sister gods of Egypt, Osirisand Isis, provided an example for pharaohs,who at times married their sisters. Polygamy,the marriage of one man and several womenor one woman and several men, is prohibitedin modern civilization, but there are still reli-gious groups in nearly every nation who justifyplural marriages as being ordained by the deitythey worship. Adultery, an act of infidelity onthe part of a married individual, is one of themost universal taboos. The code of Mosescondemned both parties involved in the act tobe stoned to death. Hindu religious doctrinesdemand the death, mutilation, or humiliationof both men and women, depending upon thecaste of the guilty parties.

Taboos can change within a society overtime. Many acts that were once consideredforbidden have developed into an acceptablesocial activity. While some of the old customsand taboos surrounding courtship and mar-riage, hospitality and etiquette, and burialsand funerals may seem amusing or quaint,primitive or savage, certain elements of suchacts as capturing one’s bride have been pre-


xvIntroduction

served in many traditions that are still prac-ticed in the modern marriage ceremony.

Belief in an Afterlife

Belief in the survival of some part of usafter death may also be as old as the humanrace. Although one cannot be certain the ear-liest members of man’s species (Homo sapiensc. 30,000 B.C.E.) conducted burial rituals thatwould qualify them as believers in an afterlife,one does know they buried their dead withcare and consideration and included food,weapons, and various personal belongingswith the body. Anthropologists have also dis-covered the Neanderthal species (c. 100,000B.C.E.) placed food, stone implements, anddecorative shells and bones with the deceased.Because of the placement of such funeraryobjects in the graves, one may safely conjec-ture that these prehistoric people believeddeath was not the end. There was some part ofthe deceased requiring nourishment, clothing,and protection in order to journey safely inanother kind of existence beyond the grave.This belief persisted into more recent histori-cal times. The ancient Egyptians had a highlydeveloped concept of life after death, devotingmuch thought and effort to their eternal well-being, and they were not the only early civi-lization to be concerned about an afterlife.

With all their diversity of beliefs, themajor religions of today are in accord in oneessential teaching: Human beings are immor-tal and their spirit comes from a divine worldand may eventually return there. The part ofthe human being that survives death is knownin Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as thesoul—the very essence of the individual per-son that must answer for its earthly deeds,good or bad. Hinduism perceives this spiritualessence as the divine Self, the Atman, andBuddhism believes it to be the summation ofconditions and causes. Of the major worldreligions, only Buddhism does not perceive aneternal metaphysical aspect of the human per-sonality in the same way that the others do.However, all the major faiths believe thatafter the spirit has left the body, it moves on to

another existence. The physical body is a tem-porary possession that a human has, not whata person is.

The mystery of what happens when the soulleaves the body remains an enigma in the teach-ings of the major religions; however, as moreand more individuals are retrieved from clinicaldeath by the miracles of modern medicine, liter-ature describing near-death-experiences hasarisen which depicts a transition into anotherworld or dimension of consciousness whereinthe deceased are met by beings of light. Many ofthose who have returned to life after such anexperience also speak of a life-review of theirdeeds and misdeeds from childhood to themoment of the near-death encounter.

Prophecy and Divination

The desire to foresee the future quite likelybegan when early humans began to perceivethat they were a part of nature, subject to itslimitations and laws, and that they were seem-ingly powerless to alter those laws. Mysterioussupernatural forces—sometimes benign, oftenhostile—appeared to be in control of humanexistence.

Divination, the method of obtainingknowledge of the future by means of omens orsacred objects, has been practiced in all soci-eties, whether primitive or civilized. Theancient Chaldeans read the will of the gods inthe star-jeweled heavens. The children ofIsrael sought the word of the Lord in the jewelsof the Ephod. Pharaoh elevated Joseph fromhis prison cell to the office of chief minister ofEgypt and staked the survival of his kingdomon Joseph’s interpretation of his dreams. In thesame land of Egypt, priests of Isis and Ra lis-tened as those deities spoke through theunmoving lips of the stone Sphinx.

Throughout the centuries, soothsayers andseers have sought to predict the destiny oftheir clients by interpreting signs in theentrails of animals, the movements of the starsin the heavens, the reflections in a crystalball, the spread of a deck of cards, and evenmessages from the dead. All of these ancientpractices are still being utilized today by thosewho wish to know the future.


Introductionxvi

Objects and Places of

Mystery and Power

Objects of mystery and power that becomeinfluential in a person’s life can be an every-day item that an individual has come tobelieve will bring good fortune, such as anarticle of clothing that was worn when somegreat personal success was achieved or anamulet that has been passed on from genera-tion to generation. In addition to such itemsof personal significance, some individualshave prized objects that reportedly broughtvictory or good fortune to heroes of long ago.Still others have searched for mysterious relicsfilled with supernatural attributes that werecredited with accomplishing miracles in thepast. No physical evidence is available todetermine that such an object as the Ark ofthe Covenant ever existed, but its presentlocation continues to be sought. The HolyGrail, the cup from which Jesus drank at theLast Supper, is never mentioned in the Bible,but by medieval times it had been popularizedas the holiest relic in Christendom.

In addition to bestowing mystery andpower upon certain objects, humans havealways found or created places that are sacredto them—sites where they might gather toparticipate in religious rituals or where theymight retreat for solitude and reflection. Insuch places, many people claim to experiencea sense of the sublime. Others, while in asolemn place of worship or in a natural set-ting, attest to feeling a special energy that rais-es their consciousness and perhaps even healstheir physical body.

Mysterious megaliths (large stones) werethose placed at a special location by ancientpeople. Such sites include the standing stonesof Brittany, the Bighorn Medicine Wheel inWyoming, and the monuments of EasterIsland. All of these places were ostensibly sig-nificant to an ancient society or religion, butmany were long abandoned by the time theybecame known to today’s world and their sig-nificance remains unexplained.

The most well-known megalithic struc-tures are Stonehenge in Great Britain and thecomplex of pyramids and the Great Sphinx in

Egypt. Like many such ancient places, thosesites have been examined and speculatedupon for centuries, yet they still continue toconceal secrets and occasionally yield surpris-ing information that forces new historicalinterpretations of past societies.

There are other places that have becomemysterious sites because of unusual occur-rences. The claimed miraculous healing atLourdes, France, the accounts of spiritual illu-mination at Jerusalem and Mecca, and thesacred visions at Taos, New Mexico, providetestimonies of faith and wonder that must beassessed by each individual.

There are also the “lost” civilizations andmysterious places that may never have existedbeyond the human imagination. More than2,500 years ago, legends first began aboutAtlantis, an ideal society that enjoyed anabundance of natural resources, great militarypower, splendid building and engineeringfeats, and intellectual achievements faradvanced over those of other lands. Thisancient society was described as existing on acontinent-sized area with rich soil, plentifulpure water, abundant vegetation, and suchmineral wealth that gold was inlaid in build-ings. In the ensuing centuries, no conclusiveevidence of Atlantis has been found, but itsattributes have expanded to include engineer-ing and technological feats that enhance itslegendary status.

Sometimes legends come to life. The LostCity of Willkapanpa the Old, a city rumoredto consist primarily of Incan rulers and sol-diers, was not discovered until 1912 when ahistorian from Yale University found the sitenow known as Machu Picchu hidden at 8,000feet in altitude between two mountains,Huayana Picchu (“young mountain”) andMachu Picchu (“ancient mountain”) in Peru.

Mystery Schools

and Cults

Once a religion has become firmly estab-lished in a society, dissatisfied members oftenwill break away from the larger group to createwhat they believe to be a more valid form of


xviiIntroduction

religious expression. Sometimes such splintergroups are organized around the revelationsand visions of a single individual, who is rec-ognized as a prophet by his or her followers.Because the new teachings may be judged asheretical to the original body of worshippers,those who follow the new revelations arebranded as cultists or heretics.

Even in ancient times, the dissenters wereforced to meet in secret because of oppressionby the established group or because of theirdesire to hide their practices. Since only devo-tees could know the truths of their faith,adherents were required to maintain thestrictest silence regarding their rites and ritu-als. The term “mysteries” or “mystery religion”is applied to these beliefs. The word “mystery”comes from the Greek word myein, “to close,”referring to the need of the mystes, the initi-ate, to close his or her eyes and the lips and tokeep secret the rites of the cult.

In ancient Greece, postulants of the mys-tery religions had to undergo a rigorous initia-tion that disciplined both their mind andbody. In order to attain the self-masterydemanded by the priests of the mysteries, theneophytes understood that they must restruc-ture their physical, moral, and spiritual beingto gain access to the hidden forces in the uni-verse. Only through complete mastery of one-self could one see beyond death and perceivethe pathways of the after-life. Many timesthese mysteries were taught in the form of aplay and were celebrated in sacred groves or insecret temples away from the cities.

In contemporary usage, the word “cult”generally carries with it negative connotationsand associations. In modern times, a numberof apocalyptic cults, such as the BranchDavidians and the People’s Temple, havealarmed the general population by isolatingthemselves and preparing for Armageddon,the last great battle between good and evil.The mass suicides carried out by members ofHeaven’s Gate, People’s Temple, and Order ofthe Solar Temple have also presented alarm-ing images of what many believe to be typicalcultist practice. Recent statistics indicate thatthere are 2,680 religions in the United States.Therefore, one must be cautious in labeling

any seemingly unorthodox religion as a cult,for what is regarded as anti-social or blasphe-mous expression by some may be hailed as sin-cere spiritual witness by others.

Secret Societies

and Conspiracies

There will always be envious individualswho believe that wealthy and powerful mem-bers of society have been able to acquire theirposition only because of secret formulas, magi-cal words, and supernatural rituals. Rumorsand legends of secret societies have fueled theimaginations, fears, and envy of those on theoutside for thousands of years. Many secretsocieties, such as the Assassins, the Garduna,the Thuggee, and the Tongs, were made up ofhighly trained criminals who were extremelydangerous to all outsiders. Others, such as theKnights Templar, the Illuminati, and the Rosi-crucians, were said to possess enough ancientsecrets of power and wealth to control theentire world.

Conspiracy enthusiasts allege that thereare clandestine organizations which for cen-turies have remained a threat to individualfreedoms, quietly operating in the shadows,silently infiltrating political organizations, andsecretly manipulating every level of govern-ment and every facet of society. One of thefavorites of conspiracy theorists, the Freema-sons, while once a powerful and influentialgroup throughout the Western world, is todayregarded by many as simply a philanthropicand fraternal organization. Another secretsociety, the Illuminati, deemed by many con-spiracy buffs to be the most insidious of all,faded into obscurity in the late eighteenthcentury. However, there is always a new secretsociety that seeks to divine arcane and forbid-den avenues to wealth and power.

Sorcery, Alchemy

and Witchcraft

Although Christianity affirms the exis-tence of a transcendent reality, it has always


Introductionxviii

distinguished between religio (reverence forGod) and superstitio, which in Latin means“unreasonable religious belief.” Christianitybecame the state religion of the RomanEmpire in 395 C.E., and in 525 the Council ofOxia prohibited Christians from consultingsorcerers, diviners, or any kind of seer. Acanon passed by the Council of Constantino-ple in 625 prescribed excommunication for aperiod of six years for anyone found practicingdivination or who consulted with a diviner.

Although the Church had issued manycanons warning against the practice of witch-craft or magic, little action was taken againstthose learned men who experimented withalchemy or those common folk who practicedthe old ways of witchcraft. In 906 C.E., AbbotRegino of Prum recognized that earlier canonlaws had done little to eradicate the practicesof magic and witchcraft, so he issued his Deecclesiaticis disciplinis to condemn as hereticalany belief in witchcraft or the power of sorcer-ers. In 1,000 C.E., Deacon Burchard, whowould later become archbishop of Worms,published Corrrector which updated Regino’swork and stressed that only God had thepower to transform matter. Alchemists couldnot change base metals into gold, and witchescould not shapeshift into animals.

In spite of such decrees, a lively belief in aworld of witches and ghosts persistedthroughout the Middle Ages and co-existedin the minds of many of the faithful with themiracle stories of the saints. To the nativebeliefs were added those of non-Christianpeoples who either lived in Europe or whomEuropeans met when they journeyed far fromhome, as when they went on the Crusades. Bythe twelfth century, magical practices basedupon the arcane systems of the SpanishMoors and Jewish Kabbalah were establishedin Europe. The Church created the Inquisi-tion in the High Middle Ages in response tounorthodox religious beliefs that it calledheresies. Since some of these involved magi-cal practices and witchcraft, the occult alsobecame an object of persecution. The harshtreatment of the Manichaean Cathars insouthern France is an example of society’sreaction to those who mixed arcane practicewith heterodox theology.

In spite of persecution, the concept ofwitchcraft persisted and even flourished inearly modern times. At least the fear of it did,as the Salem witch trials richly illustrate. Inthe early decades of the twentieth century,schools of pagan and magical teachings werereborn as Wicca. Wiccans, calling themselves“practitioners of the craft of the wise,” wouldresurrect many of the old ways and infuse themwith modern thoughts and practices. Whatev-er its origin, the occult seems to be an object ofpermanent fascination to the human race.

Are We Alone?

Is the earth the only inhabited planet?Imagine the excitement if contact is madewith intelligent extraterrestrial life forms andhumankind discovers that it is part of a largercosmic community. It would change the waywe think of ourselves and of our place in theuniverse. Or is the belief in extraterrestrials acreation of our minds? The universe is so vastwe may never know, but the mysteries of outerspace have a grip on the modern psyche, sinceit seems to offer the possibility of a world thatmay be more open to scientific verificationthan witchcraft.

Purpose of Book

Whatever the origin and veracity of theunusual, these beliefs and experiences haveplayed a significant role in human experiencesand deserve to be studied dispassionately. Thesevolumes explore and describe the research ofthose who take such phenomena seriously;extraterrestrials, ghosts, spirits, and hauntedplaces are explored from many perspectives.They are part of the adventure of humanity.

Acknowledgements

Compiling such an extensive work as athree-volume encyclopedia of the unusual andunexplained proved many times to be a mostformidable task. During those moments whenI felt the labor pains of giving birth to such a


xixIntroduction

large and exhausting enterprise might bebeyond me, I was able to rely upon a numberof wonderful midwives. My agent Agnes Birn-baum never failed to offer encouragement andsupport; my remarkably resourceful andaccomplished editor Jolen Marya Gedridgecontinued to assure me that there truly waslight at the end of the tunnel and that thegreat enterprise would one day be completed;the always pleasant and helpful staff at Gale—

Julia Furtaw, Rita Runchock, Lynn Koch, andNancy Matuszak—stood by to offer assistance;and most of all, I am forever indebted to mywife Sherry Hansen Steiger for her tirelesscompiling of the glossaries, her efforts in writ-ing sidebars, her invaluable talents as aresearcher, her patience and love, and heralways providing a shoulder to cry on duringthe all-night writing sessions.

—Brad E. Steiger


Introductionxx

Chapter 5

Secret Societies

Many people have a deep-seated belief that

they could more easily obtain power,

wealth, and prestige if they could only be

made privy to certain secrets for success that

are possessed by mysterious societies that

choose to keep their methods hidden from the

larger society. Throughout the centuries,

such secret societies have taunted outsiders

with their forbidden knowledge and, on

occasion, frightened or even assassinated

those whose persistence in seeking access to

their mysteries were unwelcome.

1

Chapter Exploration

The Assassins

The Decided Ones of Jupiter

The Freemasons

The Garduna

The Holy Vehm

The Illuminati

The Knights Templar

The Leopard Men

The Mau-Mau

The Rosicrucians

The Thuggee

The Tongs

Introduction

In this chapter a number of secret societieswill be examined that have fueled theimaginations, fear, and envy of those on

the outside of the mysterious organizations forhundreds of years. One of the favorites of para-noid conspiracy theorists, the Freemasons,while once powerful and influential through-out the Western world, is today regarded bymany as little more than a social relic of thepast. Another secret society, the Illuminati,deemed by many conspiracy buffs to be themost insidious of all, faded into obscurity inthe late eighteenth century. For conspiracyenthusiasts, however, both societies remain athreat to individual freedoms, allegedly operat-ing in the shadows, silently infiltrating politi-cal organizations, secretly manipulating everylevel of government and every facet of society.

Almost without exception, each of thesecret societies presented in this chapterbegan with serious religious aspirations, whichslowly disintegrated into political ambitions,and eventually deteriorated into criminalactivities. The Garduna and the Holy Vehmhad their birth in mystical visions and a pas-sion to defend Christianity from those whowould seek to destroy it. Regardless of itsfounders’ noble intentions, both groups wereused to further political ambitions and soonbecome nothing more than outlaw gangs. TheChinese Tongs and Triads began as protectiveassociations for merchants and laborers whowere being exploited by the ruling establish-ment or, in the United States, by the domi-nant white society. In some cities the Tongsremain primarily private social clubs engagedin such victimless crimes as illegal gambling.The Triad, however, has grown into one of thelargest of the worldwide crime organizations.

There will always be those envious andunsuccessful individuals who believe that therich and successful have acquired their wealthand power only through their possession ofsecret formulas, utterance of magical words,and performance of supernatural rituals. Thosesame individuals will seek desperately tobecome members of groups that they believehave such mystical powers or they will become

obsessed in their efforts to destroy them. TheKnights Templar gained status as an order ofknighthood because of the selfless actions of ahandful of knights who vowed to protect pil-grims on their way to the Holy Land. In thebeginning, these pious and valiant knightswere so poor that they had to share the samehorse and take turns riding it. Centuries later,when the Knights Templar had become thewealthiest and most powerful order in all ofEurope, it was decided by church and state thatthe once godly Christian soldiers had acquiredtheir earthly treasure and power by worship-ping Satan and committing the most foul actsof desecration and blasphemy. The order ofknights that had once served as the bulwark ofChristianity during the Crusades to protect theHoly Land was ordered disbanded by papaldecree, and its members tortured and burned atthe stake. History has not yet determined thedegree of their true guilt as heretics, but it isunlikely the Knights Templar deserved such anignoble end.

While there was never any clear evidenceto prove that the Knights Templar committedthe acts of human sacrifice of which they wereaccused, the members of the Leopard Cult ofAfrica were responsible for many such ritualmurders on their jungle altars and left hun-dreds of mutilated human corpses to provetheir guilt. The Thuggee of India, who com-mitted more murders than any other secretsociety, allegedly dedicated the lives of thethousands of victims which they strangled todeath to their goddess Kali.

Of all the secret societies examined in thischapter, only the Tongs and the Freemasonsremain in existence in the twenty-first centu-ry. While some contemporary metaphysicalgroups proclaim that their philosophical her-itage may derive from the Knights Templar orthe Rosicrucians, there is little to substantiatesuch claims other than an admiration for theirprecepts and ideals. On occasion, internation-al law enforcement investigators may see ele-ments suggestive of the Thuggee or the Assas-sins involved in certain murders or assassina-tions, but there is little evidence that thesesocieties still exist as forces to be feared. Onthe other hand, there are those who insist thatthe Illuminati is working behind the scenes to


Secret Societies2


3Secret Societies

Many conspiracy theories about thedeath of Diana, Princess of Wales(1961–1997), and her lover Dodi Al Fayedstill abound. Among the most common

allegations of August 31, 1997, are the following:

• Princess Diana was assassinated by angryinternational arms dealers because of her high-profile global campaign against the use of landmines.

• The men on motorcycles who caused the Fayedlimousine to crash were not the paparazzi, buthired assassins who provoked the driver intodangerous speeds and precipitated an accident.

• Diana was murdered by British Intelligence onorders from the Royal Family. Queen Elizabethand Prince Philip were upset by the business ofPrince Charles and Princess Diana’s divorce.Newspapers reported that the Royals discusseddire consequences with Diana if she continuedthe relationship. Conspiracy theorists maintainwhen rumors circulated that Diana might bepregnant with Dodi’s child, the Royal Familyordered her death.

• Princess Diana paid the ultimate price for dab-bling in the dark arts. It was well known thatPrincess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife ofPrince Andrew, sought the counsel of Spiritual-ist mediums and psychic-sensitives. Some con-spiracy buffs have suggested that the death ofDiana and Dodi was a result of occult practicesthat backfired on the princess and that cursesshe had directed against her enemies hadsomehow boomeranged and unleashed theirenergy upon Diana and her lover.

• Diana was killed because she had offended apowerful secret society. Some theorists insistthat this secret society did not approve of thepublic and private actions of Princess Diana andcarried out her death sentence before she fur-ther embarrassed the Royals.

Sources:

“Death of a Princess.” E! Online.[Online] http://www.eonline.

com/Features/Features/Diana/.

Princess Diana: The Conspiracy Theories.[Online] http://www.

londonnet.co.uk/In/talk/news/diana_conspiracy_theories.

html.

“Princess Diana: Murder Coverup.” Conspiracy Planet. [Online]

http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?ChannellD’

41.

The Death of

Diana, Princess

of Wales

bring about a New World Order that willenslave most of the world population.

The most secret of all mystery groupsremains the Rosicrucians, whose manifestoshelped give birth to many of the most liberat-ing ideals of the European Enlightenment.Although one may see advertisements in mag-azines inviting the reader to fill out a couponand become a member of the ancient order ofthe Rosy Cross, the modern organizationexists as a homage to the original anonymousfollowers of the mysterious Illumined FatherChristian Rosencreutz, for no known memberof the original group that surfaced in the early1600s was ever identified.

M Delving Deeper

Daraul, Arkon. A History of Secret Societies. NewYork: Pocket Books, 1969.

Heckethorn, Charles William. Secret Societies of AllAges and Countries. Kila, Mont.: Kessinger Pub-lishing, 1997.

Howard, Michael. The Occult Conspiracy: Secret Soci-eties—

Their Influence and Power in World History. Rochester,Vt.: Inner Traditions, 1989.

The Assassins

Regarded as one of the most fearful of allsecret societies, the Hashashin, theAssassins, seemed capable of penetrat-

ing any security, of striking down any victimregardless of the body of men who might guardhim. They moved as if they were deadly shad-ows and struck with a fury that shattered thenerves and the resolve of their most stalwartfoes. The very name of the secret society ofkillers has given the English language thewords “assassin,” one who kills for fanatical ormonetary reasons; “assassinate,” the act ofkilling suddenly and treacherously; and “assas-sination,” the murder of a prominent person.The original appellation for the society, theHashashin, is derived from the Arabic“hashish,” a name for Indian hemp (cannabissativa), and the accusation was made by Euro-pean Crusaders and others that the Assassinsmade liberal use of the narcotic effects ofhashish to achieve their fierce courage and toeliminate their fear of death.

Most of the early members of the secretsociety were followers of the Nizari branch ofthe Isma Iliyya sect of Shiite Muslims andwere located primarily in Syria and Persia. In1090, Hasan ibn Sabbah (1034-1124) seizedthe mountain citadel of Alamaut in northernPersia and made it his “Eagles’ Nest,” a centerwhere he, as grand master, could live in rela-tive safety and direct his forces throughoutAsia. Hasan became known as the “old man ofthe mountains,” and he set about creating afanatical organization composed of devotees,known as fedayeen, who did whatever he com-manded with blind obedience.

Hasan frequently bought boys from pover-ty-stricken parents and reared them in thecamps where he had gathered young men tobe trained as suicide commandos, leadingthem step by step to higher levels of combatproficiency. At the same time that he wasshaping his men into fierce warriors, he alsoindoctrinated them spiritually, convincingthem that as they advanced under his tutelagethey would come closer to the sacred and ulti-mate mystery that only he could reveal. Hasantold them confidentially that the convention-al teachings of Islam had misled them. Par-adise could not be attained by following thepreachings of Muhammad (c. 570–632), butonly by complete obedience to Hasan IbnSabah, who was the true Incarnation of Godon Earth.

Most sources citing the history of theAssassins state that in order to be certain thatno doubts remained among the initiates thathe was deity made flesh, Hasan supplied themwith generous amounts of the drug hashish,then hypnotically guided them to the lavishgardens of heaven where they were allowed towitness the beauty of the afterlife. When theyouths regained full consciousness, they wereconvinced that they had been allowed aglimpse of their future dwelling place in par-adise. Although such stories have been widelycirculated since the Crusades in the eleventhcentury, other sources have recently statedthat such accusations of heavy drug use amongthe Assassins only reflected the fact that theircontemporaries despised them as members of aminority and unfairly associated the sect withone of the more detestable vices of the time.


Secret Societies4

Whether or not Hasan ibn Sabbah’s cruel-ty and ruthlessness has been exaggerated bytime, one persistent illustration survives todepict the lengths to which he would go togain dominance over his men. According tothe account, on one occasion when Hasansought to impress a group of young men tobecome his obedient fedayeen, he dug a holein front of his throne deep enough to allowonly a man’s head to remain visible. Next, hecommanded a fedayeen to lower himself intothe hole and to place a tray with an openingin it around his neck. Once the hole was cov-ered with a colorful rug and the loose dirtbrushed aside, it appeared as though Hasanhad decapitated a man and placed his headupon a tray. To make the illusion all the moreconvincing, he poured fresh blood around thesupposed detached head of his assistant.

When an aide brought the potentialrecruits before his throne, Hasan informedthem sternly that as God on Earth he had manyfearful and wondrous powers. He would causethe decapitated head on the tray before them tospeak to them of the glories in paradise thatawaited those warriors who died in battle.

At this point, the loyal fedayeen with hishead on the tray opened his eyes and testifiedto the marvels that his soul had witnessed inthe hereafter. After the new men had beenduly impressed and had sworn their allegianceto Hasan, they walked away speaking inhushed tones of the glory of serving God onEarth. And once the illusion had accom-plished its desired end, Hasan had the feday-een who had so ably assisted him decapitatedand his head stuck on a pole so that all couldsee that he was truly quite dead.

Although the Hashashin came to be fearedby Christian Crusaders, kings, princes, sheikhs,and sultans, their membership probably nevernumbered more than 2,000 fedayeen at anyone time. Because Hasan had indoctrinated hiswarriors to the belief that death in the pursuitof orders guaranteed an immediate transfer-ence to paradise, they fought with a furyuntouched by the normal fear of dying in com-bat. Masters of disguise and of many languagesand dialects, the Assassins might one dayappear as simple peasants working around a

castle wall and the next emerge as highly capa-ble warriors springing on their victims from theshadows. The Assassins inveigled themselvesinto the services of all the surrounding rulers,posing as loyal soldiers or servants, but alwaysawaiting the bidding of their grand master tostrike if ordered to do so. A powerful sultanwho defied the orders of Hasan might suddenlyfind himself attacked by Assassins who formany years had been regarded as trusted ser-vants but had only been hiding in his serviceuntil such time as the grand master ordered hisassassination. As the power of Hasan’s secretsociety became known throughout the East, amonarch never knew which of his seeminglyfaithful retinue was really an Assassin onlyawaiting orders to murder him.

Between 1090 and 1256, there were eightgrand masters who ruled the society of Assas-sins. In 1256 and 1258, the Mongols virtuallydestroyed the sect in Iran and in Syria.Although the Assassins scattered throughoutthe East and into Europe, in 1272, the Mam-luk Sultan Baybars brought about their down-fall as an organized sect.

M Delving Deeper


Howard, Michael. The Occult Conspiracy: Secret Soci-eties—Their Influence and Power in World History.Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 1989.

Howarth, Stephen. The Knights Templar. New York:Barnes & Noble, 1993.

The Decided Ones

of Jupiter

In the early nineteenth century, southernItaly suffered greatly from the raids of smallgangs of bandits who would descend from


5Secret Societies

BETWEEN 1090 and 1256, there were eightGrand Masters who ruled the society of Assassins

their hideouts in the mountains of Calabriaand Abruzzi to rob travelers and to loot the vil-lages. The authorities seemed unable tosquelch the bands of thieves and protect thepeople, and only the vendettas and feudsbetween gangs themselves prevented the out-laws from uniting as one force to wreak greaterhavoc. Then, in 1816, a man named CiroAnnunchiarico (d. 1818) became southernItaly’s greatest nightmare when he claimed thepower of Jupiter, father of the gods of ImperialRome, and successfully brought the banditgangs into a single striking force, leading themto rob, pillage, and burn under the banner ofthe skull and crossbones and the motto, “Sad-ness, Death, Terror, and Mourning.”

By 1817, Annunchiarico commanded20,000 members of the secret society of theDecided Ones of Jupiter the Thunderer. Themen were divided into camps of 300 to 400members, and squadrons of 40 to 60. The soci-ety was structured along military lines and strictdiscipline was enforced. If Ciro Annunchiaricohad so desired, he could easily have led an openrevolution against any state government insouthern Italy. But Annunchiarico, whoclaimed that the might of the great god Jupiterflowed through his body, was more interested inpersonal aggrandizement than in politicalopportunities.

Annunchiarico was the son of wealthy par-ents who had entered the priesthood and whohad seemed destined for a fruitful career in theRoman Catholic Church. The many tasks facedby a common parish priest had little attractionfor him, however, and he preferred the life of acountry gentleman on the family estate. Nei-ther did the young priest respect his vow ofcelibacy, and he seduced a young woman whowas engaged to Giovanni Montolesi, the son ofa wealthy merchant. When Montolesi learnedof the affair, he sought out Annunchiarico andreproached him for bringing shame to the

priesthood and dishonor to his fiancee. Withouta word in his defense, Annunchiarico drew adagger from his belt and stabbed Montolesi inthe heart. Then, from his bizarre perspective,Annunchiarico declared that the man whom hehad murdered had insulted him and the entireRoman Catholic priesthood, so he swore ablood-feud against the entire Montolesi family,ambushing and murdering 13 of 14 members inthe next few months. Understandably,Annunchiarico was eventually pursued by theauthorities and fled with some friends into themountains to become outlaws.

As a youth, Annunchiarico had gained areputation for scholarship and high intelli-gence. As the leader of a small band of brig-ands who favored a life of luxury above that ofliving in spartan hideouts, he developed a planto combine the people’s love and respect of thepriesthood with their fear of secret societies.Boldly summoning the other bandit chiefs inthe mountains to a meeting, Annunchiaricoeloquently convinced them that they shouldunite as one to resist the soldiers that wereconstantly being sent out to hunt them down.While the chiefs were deciding just who it wasamong them who should lead the newly unitedforce, Annunchiarico appeared in the fullregalia of the priesthood and announced thathe would celebrate the Mass. As the chiefs allkneeled to receive his blessing, such an atti-tude of obeisance signaled their acquiescenceto his leadership. And at the same time that hewas celebrating the Mass of the RomanCatholic Church, Annunchiarico informed allof the assembled outlaws that the spirit ofJupiter, the ancient father of the gods, hadpassed into his person and commanded him toform a new order, the Decided Ones of Jupiter.

In a brief period of time, numerous inde-pendent bands of thieves and murderersbecame a single secret society. And when wordspread of the alleged supernatural powers oftheir leader, Ciro Annunchiarico, now knownas Jupiter the Thunderer, men flocked to themountains to join the lodges of the DecidedOnes. In order to facilitate the rapid dispersalof his legendary abilities, Annunchiaricosecretly used men who resembled him to serveas his doubles, dressed in priestly robes exactlylike his, so it would appear that Jupiter the


Secret Societies6

IN 1816, a man named Ciro Annunchiaricobecame southern Italy’s greatest nightmare.

Thunderer could lead raids in several differentplaces at the same time. He also had his per-sonal bodyguard outfitted in devilish costumes,complete with horns and tails, to perpetuatethe belief that he had the power to commandand control demons. Neither any of his mennor any of the villagers dared to speak a wordagainst Annunchiarico for fear that an invisi-ble demon lurking nearby would report suchan abuse and bring retribution upon them.And then there were reports of his terriblethunderbolts, which he was said to be able tohurtle at his enemies just as Jupiter had flungthe deadly bolts in ancient times. WhenAnnunchiarico informed the village clericsthat he had now achieved divinity and thatonly he could celebrate Mass, they all immedi-ately ceased their local celebrations lest theybe struck down.

Small bands of soldiers sent against theDecided Ones were quickly annihilated. In1818, a force of 1,000 regular troops under thecommand of General d’Octavio were sent intothe mountains to arrest Annunchiarico and todestroy his band of outlaws. The superstitiousrecruits were so fearful of the mighty Jupiter thatthey permitted Annunchiarico to enter theircamp at night and to place a dagger at thethroat of their general. Annunchiarico decreedhis mercy, but warned the general and the 1,000men that if they ever dared again to violate hismountains, his thunderbolts would be certain tokill them all. General d’Octavio and his troopswere gone at first light the next morning.

When the authorities realized that anyarmy conscripted from southern Italy wouldhold Annunchiarico in the same kind ofsuperstitious awe as the local populace, theyhired a force of 1,200 German and Swiss mer-cenaries under the command of an English-man, General Church. Strangely enough, theapproach of these battle-hardened veterans ofthe Napoleonic wars affected Annunchiaricoin ways that astonished his men. It becameapparent that their god was visibly nervous,even frightened by the approach of the profes-sional soldiers toward the mountains. Sudden-ly the person who harbored the spirit ofJupiter seemed like an ordinary mortal—andnot even a very brave one at that. When wordreached the camps of the Decided Ones that

the mercenaries were well-equipped andexceedingly experienced men of war, thou-sands of them deserted within hours. Within afew days, Annunchiarico had only a few hun-dred of his most loyal disciples remaining outof what had been a fearsome band of 20,000.

Annunchiarico and his remaining DecidedOnes retreated to the small village of SantaMarzano, choosing its location because of thewall that encircled the town. Hoping that mem-bers of the local populace would join in theirdefense, Annunchiarico prepared for siege. Butthe citizens of Santa Marzano could also seethat the mighty Jupiter the Thunderer was, afterall, just another bandit, and nothing about hisperson convinced any of them to risk their livesdefending him against the Swiss and Germansoldiers. Within a few days of siege, GeneralChurch’s mercenaries entered the village andkilled those Decided Ones who offered resis-tance and arrested the others. Annunchiaricoand three of his lieutenants managed to escapebut were captured four days later.

Even as he was being led to the firing squad,Annunchiarico boasted that he had killed 60or 70 men with his own hands, and he mockedthe priest who came to administer the last rites.Many of the common people who had gatheredon the day of execution murmured that theThunderer would call down one of Jupiter’sthunderbolts and escape from the mercenarieswho had captured him. Incredibly, after thecommand was given to the 21-member firingsquad to fire a volley at Ciro Annunchiarico,he remained alive, and somehow managed toget to his knees to begin a prayer to Jupiter. Theastonished General Church ordered that theThunderer’s own musket be loaded with a silverbullet and that a soldier discharge the weapondirectly into Annunchiarico’s head, makingcertain that the legendary leader of the secretsociety was truly dead.

M Delving Deeper



Lefebure, Charles. The Blood Cults. New York: AceBooks, 1969.


7Secret Societies


Secret Societies8

Conspiracy theorists fear that within the firstfew years of the twenty-first century, allAmericans will be forced to receive a pro-grammable biochip implant somewhere in

their body. The biochip will likely be implanted on theback of the right or the left hand to facilitate scanning. Anumber will be assigned to each individual for life.

Though the biochip’s function will be describedas primarily for purposes of identification, it will belinked to a massive supercomputer system, enablinggovernment agencies to maintain surveillance of allcitizens by ground sensors and satellites. Even worse,say the alarmists, once the system is in place, thebiochips can transform everyone into a controlledslave, for these devices will make it possible for out-side intelligences to influence a person’s brain cellsand to direct the individual’s brain neurons. Throughbiochip brain implants, people can be forced to thinkand to act exactly as preprogrammed.

Furthermore, the conspiracy theorists allege, aU.S. Naval research laboratory, funded by intelligenceagencies, has achieved the incredible breakthroughof uniting living brain cells with microchips. They con-tend that when such a chip is injected into a man’s ora woman’s brain, he or she instantly becomes a livingvegetable and a subservient New World Order slave.And once this device is perfected, the biochip implantcould easily be utilized as a “Frankenstein-typeweapon,” and the Defense Department can producean army of killer zombies.

Various conspiracy journals recount the allega-tions of a couple in Palo Alto, California, who are con-vinced that their teenaged son’s psychological prob-lems are the result of a biochip that was implantedinto his head by a CIA agent during a tonsillectomy.According to the young man and his parents, he isconstantly receiving threats and negative thoughtsthrough transmissions received by the biochip. Theycontend the device has shown up on X-rays, but thatthe evidence was destroyed by CIA agents.

Before his execution, former American soldierand convicted Oklahoma City Federal Building bomber

Timothy McVeigh (1968–2002) frequently stated hiscontention that federal agents were able to track himduring the 1990s because of an electronic monitoringdevice that had been placed in his leg. McVeigh andothers believed that the U.S. Army secretly implantedsuch devices in the legs of American soldiers duringthe Gulf War.

Sources:

Conspiracy Journal. [Online] http://members.tripod.com/uforeview.

Conspiracy Planet. [Online] http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/.

“MKULTRA, Biochips, Microchip Implants.” Psychops.com.

[Online] http://www. psychops.com.

Big Brother’s

Biochip Implants

Guarantee Slavery

for the Masses

The Freemasons

There are those who claim that theFreemasons constitute a powerful secretbrotherhood of darkness that is plan-

ning to take over the world. According to somescholars of the occult, the Masons’ “SupremeArchitect of the Universe” is none other thanLucifer, who cloaks himself in Masonic litera-ture under such names as Zoraster, Shiva,Abaddon, and other pagan-god disguises. Theso-called “holy writings” of Freemasonry, aswell as their secret rites, passwords, initiations,and handshakes have their origins in theRoman mystery religions, Egyptian rituals, andBabylonian paganism. Often linked to the Illu-minati, Freemasonry is said to have exerted itsinfluence on every aspect of American soci-ety—including its currency.

Of all of the above alarmist concerns, onlythe part about the currency may have somecredence. On the front of a one-dollar bill,there is a portrait of George Washington(1732–1799), an avowed Mason, who donnedhis Masonic apron and presided over the dedi-cation of the United States Capitol. The flipside of the bill displays the Great Seal of theUnited States. The front side of the sealdepicts the spread eagle, arrows in one claw,olive branch in the other, and a banner pro-claiming E Pluribus Unum in its beak. Oppo-site the spread eagle, the backside of the seal,is an incomplete pyramid with an eye floatingin a glowing triangle where the capstoneshould be. Above the eye is the caption Annu-it Coeptis, commonly translated as “He hasfavored our undertaking,” and in a scrollbeneath is the slogan Novus Ordo Seclorum, “anew order of the ages.”

Congress first authorized the creation of aGreat Seal of the United States in 1792, but noreal effort was made to have anyone design one.Nearly 100 years later, in 1884, Congress onceagain authorized the task of designing a GreatSeal for the nation. In 1892, funds were allocat-ed in the hope that an appropriate seal would befinished in time for the Chicago’s World Fair.At last both sides of the seal were finally com-pleted, but at its premiere showing, the side thatfeatured the pyramid with the all-seeing eye wasturned to the wall because some viewers were

offended by the symbol’s Masonic associations.The backside of the Great Seal, first authorizedby Congress in 1792, was not seen by the Amer-ican public until 1935 when President FranklinDelano Roosevelt (1882–1945), a 32nd-degreeMason, put it on the back of the one-dollar bill.

Most scholars agree that the pyramid repre-sented on the bill is the Great Pyramid ofCheops at Giza, which, to a Mason, is emblem-atic of the continuity of the craft of Freemason-ry from the dawn of civilization in Egypt. ForFreemasons it is also a reminder of the legendthat Egyptian civilization was founded by sur-vivors from Atlantis and that the United Statesis the New Atlantis foretold by the great masterMason Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626). Thepyramid with the all-seeing eye represents theGreat Architect of the Universe that guided theFounding Fathers of the United States to estab-lish a nation that might one day reveal itself asthe heir of the ancient mysteries of Atlantis andrestore all humankind to the earthly paradisethat existed in that Golden Age of old.


9Secret Societies

Masonic temple in

Alexandria, Virginia.

(CORBIS CORPORATION)

GEORGE Washington was an avowed Mason.

The central mythos of Freemasonry centersaround the building of the great temple of KingSolomon (tenth century B.C.E.) and Solomon’ssecuring the services of the most accomplishedarchitect in the world, Hiram Abiff, who wassaid to have designed the magnificent templeaccording to the precepts of the Great Architectof the Universe. Although Hiram is mentionedin biblical accounts as a master of the arts of con-struction, the rites of Freemasonry extendbeyond the Bible and fashion a parallel myth,portraying Hiram as a primary figure in the cre-ation of the temple. According to Masonic tradi-tion, the ancient builders of Solomon’s Templecreated the rites still practiced in modern lodges,with the various degrees of initiation and theirsecret symbols and handshakes.

While the Free and Accepted Order ofFreemasons is the oldest fraternity in theworld, it doesn’t really extend back to thestone masons working on Solomon’s Tem-ple—nor does it date even farther back tothose who labored on the Egyptian pyramids,

as some Masons have claimed. Freemasonrydid evolve from the guilds of the stonemasonswho traveled from city to city in Europe of thefourteenth century looking for work on thegreat cathedrals being constructed at thattime. The secret passwords and handshakeswere unique ways by which a newcomer to acity might prove that he really was a truemember of the guild. While there are refer-ences to Freemasonry as early as 1390, the fra-ternity did not come into being until 1717when four London lodges united.

From its actual beginnings in the early1700s, Freemasonry exerted a great deal ofinfluence upon society. For one thing, in themidst of seemingly incessant quarreling overreligion throughout the European nations, theFreemasons were nondenominational, askingonly that its members recognized a SupremeBeing and sought somehow to better humani-ty through the course of their own lives.Because men of low rank could become mem-bers and no religious philosophy was deemed


Secret Societies10

Freemasons annual

meeting in 1992. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

superior to another, the lodges of Freemasonrybecame champions of the emerging conceptsof democracy that were suffusing the Enlight-enment. Such freedoms of thought and spiri-tuality did not endear the Freemasons to manyfacets of established society, particularly theRoman Catholic Church, who condemnedthe fraternity as anti-Christian.

By the mid-1700s, Freemasonry had estab-lished its lodges throughout Europe and hadbeen carried across the ocean to the NewWorld by numerous immigrants. GeorgeWashington, Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), John Hancock (1737–1793), PaulRevere (1735–1818), and many other of theFounding Fathers of the United States wereopenly proud of being Masons. A freed slave,Prince Hall, who was initiated into Masonryby a British soldier in Boston, later founded anAfrican lodge, which became the still-extantPrince Hall Masons.

After the Revolution (1775–83), Ameri-can Freemasonry became extremely powerfulin the United States. Lodges were constructedin the smallest of villages, and it became an

undeniable sign of prestige in any communityto be a member of the Masons. For business-men who wished to succeed, it was almost arequirement to join the Freemasons.

At the same time, however, those individu-als who were not privy to its secrets had begunto spread rumors about the bizarre rites andgrim pledges that the members of the fraternitywere sworn to uphold. Curiosity and concernthat satanic rites might be held by supposedlyupstanding businessmen who had sold theirsouls to the devil began to spread doubts aboutwhat was really going on behind the closeddoors of its lodges. While the various oaths andrituals of the Masons would quite likely bejudged as a bit overly dramatic and flamboyantby some, they were largely symbolic and repre-sentative of an earlier age—and far less danger-


11Secret Societies

Officers of the New York

Mecca Temple. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

THE Free and Accepted Order of Freemasonsis the oldest fraternity in the world.

ous to their initiates than many contemporarycollege fraternities or sororities.

It was the abducted and assumed tragicdeath of one of its members in 1826 that ledto the near-annihilation of the Masons in theUnited States. William Morgan, a disillu-sioned Mason from Batavia, New York, let itbe known that he was writing a book thatwould reveal all the secrets of Freemasonry tothe world. The printer’s shop that was going topublish his manuscript was torched, and a fewdays later, Morgan was arrested on chargesthat he was in arrears on a two-dollar debt.That night, a stranger arrived to pay Morgan’sbail, and the dissident Mason was then seizedby a group of his fellow lodge members andforced into a carriage. Neither Morgan nor hisremains were ever found.

One of the cornerstones of Masonry was itsloyalty to its members, but the entire nationwas offended by the manner in which thejuries were stacked in favor of those Masonswho were accused of having murderedWilliam Morgan. The general populationdemanded justice, and they were shocked bythe power of a secret society that couldstonewall three special prosecutors. After 20trials for murder and kidnapping, the localsheriff, who was a Mason, and who was obvi-ously an integral element in Morgan’s abduc-tion and disappearance, received the mostsevere judgment of all the defendants when hewas sentenced to 30 months in jail.

Not only did an anti-Mason sentimentswell within the country, but the Anti-MasonParty was founded that elected governors inPennsylvania and Vermont and won sevenelectoral votes in the 1832 election. It was nolonger prestigious to be a Mason. In state afterstate, lodges closed. Overall, the fraternity lostmore than half of its members.

By 1845, Freemasonry began to revive inthe United States, but it never again achievedthe social status that it had once enjoyed. In

1872, two Masons formed a kind of parody ofthe Masons and named it the Ancient ArabicOrder of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, aka,The Shriners. By 1897, the Masons had about750,000 members, and numerous other fraternalorganizations such as the Knights of Columbus,the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,the Odd Fellows, and the Loyal Order of Moosesprang into being. In the 1950s, the Masonsreached their numerical peak in America withmore than four million members.

In 2001, there were about two millionMasons in the United States and their averageage was well over 60. Younger men, it seems,are no longer attracted to an organizationwhose members receive such grandiose titlesas Master of the Royal Secret, Knight of theBrazen Serpent, or Worshipful Master. As forbeing a secret society, Masonic Lodge tele-phone numbers are in the directory, and thetexts of many of their oaths have been madepublic, i.e., “You agree to be a good man andtrue; you agree to conform to the laws of thecountry in which you reside; you promise notto be concerned in plots and conspiraciesagainst the government.”

M Delving Deeper

Carlson, Peter. “Fezzes, Sphinxes and Secret Hand-shakes,” The Washington Post, November 25, 2001[Online] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61372-2001Nov20.html.

Goeringer, Conrad. “Freemasons—From the 700Club to Art Bell, an Object of Conspiracy Think-ing.” American Atheist, May 1998 [Online] http://www.americanatheist.org/supplement/conspiracy.html.

Lomas, Robert, and Christopher Knight. The HiramKey: Pharaohs, Freemasons, and the Discovery of theSecret Scrolls of Jesus. Boston: Element Books, 1999.

MaCoy, Robert. A Dictionary of Freemasonry. NewYork: Gramercy Books, 2000.

Seligmann, Kurt. The History of Magic. New York:Pantheon Books, 1948.

The Garduna

The origins of the Garduna begin in alegend not dissimilar from that of ElCid (c. 1043–1099), the heroic knight


Secret Societies12

BY 1897, the Masons had about 750,000 members.

who defended northern Spain from the invad-ing Moors in the eleventh century, and thesecret society continues to this day in a crimi-nal organization akin to the Mafia. Accordingto tradition, around 710 a holy man namedApollinario, who lived a hermitlike existencein the hills above Cordova, had a vision inwhich the Blessed Virgin Mary appointed himto be the savior of Spain and drive the Moorsout of the land. At first the holy man was stag-gered by the very suggestion, regardless of thesource from whence it had come. Whatremained of Gothic Spain had fallen intodecay, deteriorating into a patchwork of pettyprincedoms, woefully ineffectual against thepowerful Moors who had conquered most ofthe land and established their royal seat inCordova. But when the apparition of Marypresented him with a button that she said hadbeen taken from the robe of Christ, Apolli-nario knew that he had been given the powerto raise a band of holy warriors. He followedher orders to gather an army from the simplecountryfolk of Spain, even from the banditswho lived in the mountains, and to avoid thecorrupt nobles and landed aristocracy.

The hermit from the hills above Cordovawas blessed with a charisma that caused thecommon people to flock to his leadership. Hetold them that those who followed him in theGarduna, his sacred army, would be licensedby God and the Holy Virgin to destroy theinvading heathens by any means. There wouldbe open warfare, of course, but they would alsobe free to plot murders and practice any kindof secret treachery. Those who joined the Gar-duna would be absolved of all wrongdoing aslong as their violence was committed onlyagainst non-Christians. Thousands joined theholy man in his crusade against the Moors,and his army of peasants, beggars, and banditsfought so fiercely under the standard of theHoly Virgin of Cordova that no Moorish forcecould repel them.

While the Garduna may have harassed thepowerful Muslim armies and conducted aguerilla-type warfare against them, they by nomeans drove the invaders from Spain as legendtold it. After about 714, the Gothic monarchyof Spain had been replaced by the institutionsof the conquering Arabs, and a short time after

Spain had fallen to the Moors, it became themost prosperous and civilized country in theWest. Within a few more years, the Arabs hadextended their European empire north of thePyrenees Mountains to the south of Franceand from the mouth of the Garonne to that ofthe Rhone. In 732, Charles Martel of Francestemmed the Muslim tide of conquest at theBattle of Tours, and the Arabs retreated backto Spain where they retained a peaceful posses-sion of the country for many centuries. Cordo-va became a highly respected seat of art andlearning, and the Arab philosophers becamethe sages of the West.

Over the centuries, the Garduna degener-ated into a loosely knit criminal network con-trolled by the descendants of the mountainbandits who had followed Apollinario in hiscrusade against the Moors. Deception andmurder were still practiced on a large scale bythe Garduna, and they maintained the old dic-tum that only the blood of non-Christians wasto be shed. Perhaps the Garduna would havevanished completely into legend if fifteenth-century Spain had not become a Christiannation and King Ferdinand V (1452–1516)and Queen Isabella I (1451–1504) had not soavidly supported the mission of the Inquisitionand that of its chief heretic hunter in Spain,Tomas de Torquemada (1420–1498).

Until the Inquisition, Moors, Jews, andChristians had for centuries lived quite peace-fully in Spain. The Moors and the Jews wererespected for their learning and for their skillas craftsmen and merchants, and it was widelyacknowledged that both groups of citizens hadmade considerable contributions to Spain’srise to power and its recent acquisitions in theNew World. Ferdinand reasoned that theMoors and the Jews had grown too powerfuland too rich, and that he could extend the


13Secret Societies

THOSE who followed Apollinario in theGarduna, would be licensed by God and the HolyVirgin to destroy the invading heathens.

Spanish Empire farther if he were to acquiretheir wealth. He also considered them hereticsbecause they were not Christians.

The slaughter of innocent people began inearnest with Muslim and Jewish shopkeepersand scholars condemned as heretics andwitches. The terrible machinery of the Inqui-sition was quite effective in and of itself, butFerdinand recalled the stories of the Garduna,who killed only heathens, and he summonedtheir leaders to meet with high officers ofchurch and state.

For the bandit chiefs of the Garduna, itwas as if they were given a license to kill andto loot. Church officials told them that theymust once again become holy warriors andbecome a weapon of terror against all heretics.All their sins would be forgiven. All theircrimes would be pardoned. They were to be asecret society of murderers with the fullapproval of church and state.

For more than 100 years, the Garduna mur-dered, raped, and looted on the orders of theInquisition. Their victims were always non-Christians or those suspected of being heretics.

By 1670, the Inquisition withdrew its sup-port from the Garduna, but the holy warriorsbecame a secret cult within the church andcontinued their attacks against all thosedeemed contrary to the teachings of Chris-tianity. When the church itself withdrew itsrecognition of the Garduna, they became asecret society, maintaining always that every-thing they did was an expression of God’s willand any alleged crime they might commit wasfree of the taint of any sin.

During the eighteenth century, the Gar-duna had expanded its parameters of potentialvictims to include Christians, as well as unbe-lievers, and they had begun selling their ser-vices of murder, kidnapping, robbery, and soforth to anyone who could afford them. They

had become so powerful and daring that if anymember of the society should be caught andimprisoned, the others thought nothing ofattacking the prison and freeing him.

At the height of its powers in the eigh-teenth century, the Garduna instituted rankswithin the society which could only be attainedby acts of merit. At the head of the Gardunawas the great brother or grand master, whoruled the society from its headquarters inSeville. Following his orders were the comman-ders, the district chiefs, and the chiefs, the lead-ers of individual bands. Under the chiefs camethe swordsmen, well-trained men who wereresponsible for planning the criminal opera-tions of the Garduna. The true fighting men ofthe society were called the athletes, tough andruthless individuals who were often escapedconvicts, galley-slaves, and vicious criminals.Below the athletes in rank were the “bellows,”elderly men who were regarded by their citiesand villages as men of good character whoacted as the disposers of stolen goods for thesociety. The lowest rank in the Garduna washeld by the “goats,” the new recruits who hadyet to prove their abilities. There were also twofemale ranks: the sirens, young beautifulwomen whose task it was to seduce state offi-cials; and the covers, whose assignment lay inluring unsuspecting victims into ambusheswhere they could be robbed or murdered.

In 1822, in an era of social reform, policeentered the home of the grand master inSeville, arrested him, and confiscated all hisdocuments. Remarkably, the Garduna had keptmeticulous records of all of their various crimi-nal activities from 1520 to that date. The grandmaster and 16 of his district chiefs were publiclyhanged in the main square of the city. Membersof the other ranks of the Garduna scattered andresumed a life of banditry in the mountains.

The Garduna gave evidence of their sur-vival as a secret society throughout the Span-ish Civil War (1936–39) when their battle cryof “Remember the Virgin of Cordova!” wasfrequently heard. It has been said that theGarduna have established their own church,blending their concept of unorthodoxCatholicism with a kind of “holy socialism.”With branches allegedly established in Portu-


Secret Societies14

FOR over 100 years, the Garduna murdered,raped, and looted on the orders of the Inquisition.

gal and South America, as well as Spain, theGarduna continues to flourish as a criminalsecret society 1,200 years after its conceptionby the hermit Apollinario.

M Delving Deeper




The Holy Vehm

In the middle of the thirteenth century,when outlaw bands and mercenariesroamed the lawless territory between the

Rhine and the Weser rivers in Westphalia,Germany, the Chivalrous Order of the HolyVehm (or Fehm), a secret vigilante society,was formed by free men and commoners toprotect themselves from the marauders. In thebeginning, the resistance group had theapproval of both the church and the HolyRoman emperor, but as time passed the HolyVehm became a law unto itself, passing judg-ment on all those whom they decided shouldreceive a death sentence.

Because the society began with only ahandful of members and violent retaliationcould be expected from any gang of outlawswho might learn the identities of those com-moners who dared to oppose them, an oath ofsecrecy was imposed upon all those with thecourage to join the ranks of the Vehm. Duringthe initiation ceremonies, candidates vowedto kill themselves and even their spouses andchildren, rather than permit any societysecrets to be betrayed. Once the oath hadbeen made, one of the Vehm’s Stuhlherren orjudges, would move his sword across the initi-ates’ throats, drawing a few drops of blood toserve as a silent reminder of the fate thatawaited all traitors to the society. After thisritual had been observed, the initiates kissedthe cross that was formed by the spacebetween the sword’s blade and hilt. Below theStuhlherren in rank were the deputy judges, the

Freischoffen, and the executioners, the Frohn-boten. The deputy judges and the executionerscarried out the various tasks of inquisitors,jury, and hangman.

The name “Vehm” or “Fehm” was a cor-ruption of the Latin word “fama,” a law found-ed upon a common or agreed upon opinion.However, “Fehm” could also mean somethingthat was set apart, and the leaders of the HolyVehm soon decided that their crusade againstevildoers had set them apart and above thelaws that governed others. Within a fewdecades of its formation, the Vehm had morethan 200,000 free men and commoners in itsranks—each man sworn to uphold the TenCommandments and to eliminate all heresies,heretics, perjurers, traitors, and servants ofSatan. Once anyone was suspected of violat-ing one or more of the Lord’s commandmentsor laws, he or she was brought before one ofthe Holy Vehm’s courts and was unlikely toescape the death sentence to be hanged.

Because of the great power that the Vehmacquired, it conducted trials of noted outlawsand thieves unopposed in public places, suchas village squares or market places, in the fulllight of midday. As its numbers and influencegrew, the Vehm had little reason to fear any-one speaking out against them, but the harshand punitive secret courts conducted by thesociety, the Heimliches Gericht, were alwaysheld at midnight in order to create an evenmore sinister and frightening effect to theirreading of the death sentence. Even less mer-ciful to those suspected of witchcraft or heresywere the “forbidden court,” Verbotene Acht,and the Heimliches Acht, the “secret tribunal,”both of which were conducted by the BlackVehm, a splinter group of the Holy Vehm.

Once the outlaws, thieves, and otherassorted brigands had been largely driven fromWestphalia, the Vehm turned its attention to


15Secret Societies

THE Holy Vehm was formed by free men andcommoners to protect themselves from the marauders.

those men and women suspected of heresies orof betraying the commandments of God in avariety of sins. Before suspects came to court,they were served with three summonses, eachof which gave them the opportunity of attend-ing voluntarily. Each summons also gave theaccused a period of consent of six weeks andthree days. Because the tribunals of the Vehmhad gained a reputation of pronouncing onlydeath sentences, few people attended thecourts of their own volition. Those who triedto escape were condemned without the usualpretense of a trial and Vehm executionerswere assigned to hunt them down.

Because the tribunals of the Vehm werewilling to accept the weakest of circumstantialevidence against any individual accused of acrime or an act of heresy, there appears to beno record of any of the secret courts ever find-ing anyone innocent. While no accuraterecords of their victims were ever kept, histo-rians have estimated that thousands of menand women—the innocent along with theguilty—were dragged into the night to attendone of the Vehm’s secret courts.

An entire population of sleeping villagersmight be awakened by the thudding of swords’hilts on their doors and be summoned bytorchlight to attend a midnight tribunal thataccused one of their neighbors of some act ofheresy—real or imagined. Regardless of thecharges levied against those victims the Vehmaccused, the sentence was always death. Andif any spoke in defense of their friends, theywere likely to be hanged as well, for givingfalse witness to defend a heretic or a traitor.On those rare occasions when the tribunalfailed to convince even its own members of anaccused individual’s guilt, that unfortunateperson was hanged to preserve the secrecy ofthe tribunal.

Eventually the Holy Vehm was con-demned by the church and the German state,but the secret society remained active in agreatly diminished capacity. Toward the endof the nineteenth century, it went under-ground and seemingly ceased all acts of vio-lence. In the 1930s, with the rise of the Nazisto power in Germany, for the first time in its700-year history the Vehm came into the

open, focusing its bigotry upon the Jewishpeople, judging them to be guilty of heresy.The Chivalrous Order of the Holy Vehmappears to have been destroyed along withtheir Nazi allies with the fall of the ThirdReich in 1945.

M Delving Deeper

Angebert, Jean-Michel. The Occult and the ThirdReich. New York: Macmillan, 1974.



The Illuminati

For many conspiracy theorists, the Illumi-nati is the ultimate secret society, agroup that stretches its tentacles of con-

trol to encompass the entire world. Accordingto these theorists, the members of the Illumi-nati are the real rulers of the world, and theyhave been pulling the strings from behind thepolitical scenes for centuries. They have infil-trated every government and every aspect ofsociety around the planet—and some say thattheir ultimate goal is to accomplish a satanicNew World Order, a one-world government,that will prepare Earth’s citizens for the com-ing of the Antichrist.

Although such paranoid claims make forexciting reading, the Illuminati of history,rather than legend, was a secret society formedin Bavaria in 1776 with the political goal ofencouraging rebellion of the people and theabolition of the established monarchies.Structuring the society along the lines of theclasses and orders of the Freemasons, the Illu-minati included levels of enlightenment thatcould be achieved by undergoing initiationthrough various mystical rites and ceremonies.Although the society’s founder, a professor ofreligious law named Adam Weishaupt, soughtto establish a new world order in the late eigh-teenth-century, the Illuminati was destroyedwithin 15 years of its founding.

The term “Illuminati” was first used bySpanish occultists toward the end of the fif-


Secret Societies16


17Secret Societies

Certain scholars who have studied themakeup of the Bilderbergers insist thatthe group is controlled by the 10-manInner Circle of the Illuminati. According to

their claims, this secret cabal has painstakingly pre-pared an agenda for the masses of humanity into themillennium. Such individuals as the Bilderbergers willbecome the world’s masters, and the vast majority ofthe global population may look forward to a futureexistence as pawns, if not slaves, of the Illuminati.

According to certain sources who claim knowl-edge of the basic plan for world dominance set inmotion by the Bilderbergers, the following goals areamong their principal objectives:

The United States must promptly pay its debt tothe United Nations. In addition, the United States willbe asked to contribute billions of dollars to the Inter-national Monetary Fund. U.S. taxpayers will be bledalmost dry by such expenditures.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)will be converted into a United Nations military force.U.S. troops will therefore come under the command ofNATO’s foreign officers.

“Corporate Governance” will dissolve nationalsovereignty and bring all of Earth’s corporations undera single global order. Local control over businessesand corporations by nations and states will be termi-nated. The great giants of finance will be able to dis-regard the laws and dictates of all governments,including those of the United States.

As the twenty-first century dawns, a new systemof fascism will emerge under the guise of free tradepractices that will be guided by the Illuminati.

The Bilderbergers have approved the Red Chi-nese model of economics as the standard for theemerging European superstate and the United States.As in Red China, all dissidents will be dealt withseverely and placed in work camps.

As soon as the program can be implemented, citi-zens in every nation will be issued the Universal Bio-metrics Identification Card.

A Gestapo-like police state will be established toenforce the dictates of the Illuminati’s New WorldOrder.

Sources:

Bilderbergers Role in the New World Order.[Online] http://www.

jeremiahproject.com/prophecy/nworder04.html.

New World Order: The Bilderbergs. [Online] http://conspiracies.

about.com/newsissues/conspiracies/cs/thebilderbergs.

Vankin, Jonathan, and John Whalen. The 60 Greatest

Conspiracies of All Time. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1996.

Bilderbergers

Plan for a New

World Order

teenth century to signify those alchemists andmagicians who appeared to possess the “light” ofspiritual illumination from a higher source. Theterm may have originated in the Gnostic dual-ism of the forces of Light and Darkness, andmany individuals who claimed to be Illuminati,those enlightened by a higher wisdom, joinedthe Rosicrucians and took refuge in France toescape the fires of the Spanish Inquisition.

The secret society known as the Order ofthe Illuminati was founded in the city of Ingol-stadt in the southern German monarchy ofBavaria on May 1, 1776 by Adam Weishaupt,a 28-year-old professor of religious law. Begin-ning with only five members, Weishaupt’sorder grew slowly, numbering about 60 in fivecities by 1780. The professor deliberatelyblended mysticism into the workings of thebrotherhood in order to make his agenda ofrepublicanism appear to be more mysteriousthan a political reform group. He joined theMasons in Munich in 1777 and adopted manyof their classes and orders and promised his ini-tiates that they would receive a special com-munication of occult knowledge as theyadvanced higher in the ranks of the Illuminati.

Weishaupt’s society had little effect on theGerman political structure until 1780 whenhe attracted the interest of Adolf Francis, theBaron Von Knigge, a master occultist and aman who had risen to the highest levels inmany of the secret societies that preceded theIlluminati, including the Masons. Knigge hadno problem melding his interest in the super-natural with Weishaupt’s goal of political rev-olution, and the two men quickly establishedbranches of the Illuminati throughout all ofGermany. A few months after Knigge hadjoined Weishaupt’s cause, membership in theIlluminati swelled to 300.

Weishaupt had taken great care to enlist asmany young men of wealth and position as pos-sible, maintaining that philanthropy, as well as

mysticism, was a principal goal of the society.He had also managed to create around himselfa great aura of mystery, permitting himself to beseen by none but those in the highest ranks ofthe society, encouraging the myth that he wasan adept of such great power that he existedlargely as an invisible presence. Initiates intothe ranks of the Illuminati underwent secretrites, wore bizarre costumes, and participated ingrotesque ceremonies that were designed togive complete obedience to Weishaupt. Soonthe Illuminati became a force to be reckonedwith behind the scenes in Germany’s politicallife, and its members worked secretly to over-throw both church and state.

As their influence as a secret society grew,Weishaupt and Knigge became concerned that agood many authorities were beginning to takeseriously the rumors of the existence of the Illu-minati. If it should be proven that the societyexisted in fact, certain of the more powerful Ger-man princes would take immediate steps to sup-press it. To hide the society even more complete-ly from the scrutiny of public view, the leadersimplemented Weishaupt’s original plan of graft-ing the Illuminati onto the larger brotherhood ofthe Freemasons. The Illuminati were already uti-lizing the classes and grades of Freemasonry, sothe initiates of the Illuminati would easily amal-gamate with the more established society. Toappear to become one with the Freemasonswould allow Illuminism to spread more widelyand rapidly, and Weishaupt and Knigge had greatconfidence that they would soon attain completecontrol over the blended organizations.

The hierarchy within the Freemasons werenot long in discovering that the two interlop-ers had joined the fraternal brotherhood withless than honorable motives, and in 1782, agroup within the Masons called the StrictObservance demanded that a council be heldat Wilhelmsbad to examine the true beliefs ofWeishaupt and the Illuminati. Knigge’s powersof persuasion effectively blocked the attemptof the Strict Observance contingent to expelIlluminism from their society, and he managedto enroll almost all the members of the councilin the Illuminati. By 1784, Illuminati member-ship had risen to 3,000, and the secret societyappeared on the verge of assuming control ofthe entire Masonic establishment.


Secret Societies18

THE Illuminati of history, rather than legend,was a secret society formed in Bavaria in 1776.

At the same time that their goals seemedwithin their grasp, Weishaupt and Knigge fellinto a sharp disagreement about the correctmanner of proceeding with their master plan;and in April 1784, Knigge withdrew from theIlluminati, leaving Weishaupt the supremecommander of the increasingly powerful soci-ety. Later in that same year, a number of initi-ates who had reached the highest level withinthe Illuminati became disillusioned when thespecial supernatural communication from ahigher source that Weishaupt had promisedhad still not manifested after eight years ofmembership in the society. It now becameobvious to them that Weishaupt had onlysought to use them as blind instruments forthe achievement of his political ambitions.The Illuminati was denounced as a subversiveorganization by many of its former members,some of whom informed the duchess dowagerMaria Anna of Bavaria and the Bavarianmonarch, Carl Theodore, that the societysought the overthrow of church and state.

In June 1784, Carl Theodore issued anedict outlawing all secret societies in hisprovinces. In March 1785, another edictspecifically condemned the Illuminati.Weishaupt had already fled to a neighboringprovince in February, 1785, where he hoped toinspire the loyal members of the Illuminati tocontinue as a society. In 1787, the duke ofBavaria issued a final edit against the Order ofthe Illuminati, and Weishaupt apparentlyfaded into obscurity. Although he never real-ized his goal of a German Republic and theoverthrowing of the European monarchies,the sparks that he had ignited with the Illumi-nati would soon burst into the flames of theFrench Revolution in 1789.

M Delving Deeper

Carroll, Robert Todd. “Illuminati, The New WorldOrder & Paranoid Conspiracy Theorists,” TheSkeptics Dictionary. http://skepdic.com/ illuminati.html.

Roberts, J. Mythology of the Secret Societies. New York:MacMillan, 1972.

Vankin, Jonathan and John Whalen. The SeventyGreatest Conspiracies of All Time: History’s BiggestMysteries, Coverups, and Cabals. New York:Citadel, 1998.

Wilgus, Neal. The Illuminoids. New York: PocketBooks, 1978.

Wilson, Robert Anton. Masks of the Illuminati. NewYork: Pocket Books, 1981.

The Knights Templar

The two principal orders of knighthoodof the Crusades were established priorto the launching of the first crusade in

1096 and shortly before the second crusadebegan in 1146. The fundamental principle onwhich the new orders were based was the unionof monasticism and chivalry. Before this time, aman could choose to devote himself to religionand become a monk, or he could elect tobecome a warrior and devote himself to defend-ing God and country. The founding of theorders of knighthood permitted the vow of reli-gion and the vow of war to be united in a singleeffort to free the Holy Land from the Muslims.

The oldest of the religio-chivalric orderswas the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem,also known as the Knights Hospitallers andsubsequently as the Knights of Malta and theKnights of Rhodes, founded in 1048. By themiddle of the twelfth century, the Hospitallershad become a powerful military factor in theEast, and their membership included the mostaccomplished knights in Christendom. By1153 they had become the pride of the Chris-tians and the terror of the Saracens. Unfortu-nately, after a great number of victories for thecross, the moral and chivalric ideals of theorder began to become corrupted by the enor-mous wealth that its warriors had accumulat-ed. In 1187, the Hospitallers were almostannihilated in the disastrous battle of Tiberias,where the Saracen army under the generalshipof Saladin (1137–1193), the sultan of Egyptand Syria, thoroughly defeated the Christiansand reclaimed Jerusalem.

The second of the great orders of knight-hood was founded in 1117 by two Frenchknights and was originally known as theKnights of the Temple of Solomon and later asthe Knights Templar or the Knights of theRed Cross. Hugues des Paiens and Geoffrey ofSaint-Omer, two compassionate nobles, had


19Secret Societies

observed the hardships endured by Christiantravelers en route to Jerusalem and decided toserve as guides and protectors for the defense-less pilgrims. The warrior guides soon gained areputation for their service to the helplesswayfarers; they were joined by seven otherknights who admired their principles. Thenine men bound themselves by the traditionalvows of obedience, chastity, and poverty, thenadded the oaths to defend the Holy Sepulcherand to protect those pilgrims who journeyedthere. At first the Knights of Saint John, theHospitallers, lent aid and encouragement tothe new society of brothers. There could be norivalry with this new order of knights whocomprised only nine members and wereknown by others as the “Poor Soldiers of theHoly City.” It was said that Hugues and Geof-

frey only had one horse between them whenthey first began their missions of benevolence.

Then, at the council of Troyes in 1127, St.Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) drew up acode for the order and designed an appropriateuniform, consisting of a white tunic and mantlewith a red cross on the left breast. Pope Hono-rius II (d. 1130) approved the following rules ofconduct and discipline for the order in 1128:• to recite vocal prayers at certain hours;• to abstain from meat four days in the week;

to cease hunting and hawking;• to defend with their lives the mysteries of

the Christian faith;

• to observe the seven sacraments of thechurch, the fourteen articles of faith, thecreeds of the apostles and Athanasius;


Secret Societies20

Knights Templar parade

in 1930. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

• to uphold the doctrines of the Two Testa-ments, including the interpretations of thechurch fathers, the unity of God and thetrinity of his persons, and the virginity ofMary both before and after the birth of Jesus;

• to go beyond the seas when called to do soin defense of the cause;

• to retreat not from the foe unless outnum-bered three to one.

In addition to the rules of conduct and dis-cipline, humility was one of the first principlesof membership in the Knights Templar. Thehelmet of the Templar must bear no crest; hisbeard should never be cut; his personal behav-ior should be that of a servant of others; andhis tunic should be girt with a linen cord as asymbol that he was bound in service.

There were four classes of members in theTemplars—knights, squires, servitors, andpriests—each with their individual list ofduties and obligations. The presiding officer ofthe order was called the grand master and wasassisted by a lieutenant, a steward, a marshal,and a treasurer. The states of Christendomwere divided into provinces, and over eachwas set a grand master. The grand master of

Jerusalem was considered the head of theentire brotherhood, which grew in numbers,influence, and wealth to become one of themost powerful organizations in the medievalworld. Counts, dukes, princes, and even kingssought to wear the red cross and white mantleof the Templar, an honor which was recog-nized throughout Europe.

In 1139, Pope Innocent II (d. 1143) grant-ed the Templars an unprecedented mark ofpapal approval: the churches of the Templarswere exempt from interdicts; their propertiesand revenues were free from taxation to eithercrown or Holy Mother Church. The Templarsnow had the prestige of being triumphant cru-saders. They had the blessing of the pope.They had the gratitude of those whom theyhad protected on their pilgrimages. They hadvast estates with mansions that could not be


21Secret Societies

A woodcut depicting the

Knights Templar in 1118.


THE two principal Orders of Knighthood of theCrusades were established in 1096.

invaded by any civil officer. Thousandsbeseeched the order to allow them to becomemembers of the Templars. In the course oftime the Knights of the Temple became a sov-ereign body, pledging allegiance to no secularruler. In spiritual matters, the pope was stillrecognized as supreme, but in all other mat-ters, the grand master of Jerusalem was asindependent and as wealthy as the greatestking in Europe.

What had begun as the mission of twopoor knights with one horse who vowed towatch over Christian pilgrims on their way toJerusalem had become a privileged order ofopportunists bloated with wealth. And intheir new quest for power and wealth, the pro-tection of the pilgrims was often forgotten.Even St. Bernard issued a series of exhorta-tions that the order was accepting into itsmembership too many knights who were butadventurers and outlaws and that a good num-ber of the nobility who had joined the Tem-plars were men who had been regarded asoppressors and scourges by their serfs.

There were three divisions of the Templarsin the East—Jerusalem, Antioch, and Tripoli.In Europe, there were 16 provinces—France,Auvergne, Normandy, Aquitaine, Poitou,Provence, England, Germany, Upper and LowerItaly, Apulia, Sicily, Portugal, Castile, Leon, andAragon. A majority of the Templars wereFrench, and it was estimated by the middle ofthe thirteenth century that as many as 9,000manors were held by the Templars in France.

The chief seat of the Templars hadremained in Jerusalem from the origins of theorder in 1118 to 1187, when it was moved toAntioch after the Christians’ defeat by Sal-adin in the plain of Tiberias. The Hospitallersand the Templars had been slaughtered in bat-tle and 230 captive knights had been behead-ed when they refused the Muslims’ offer toconvert to the religion of the Prophet. The

grand master established the Templar head-quarters in Antioch for four years, then movedto Acre in 1191. A third transfer of the Tem-plar seat was made in 1217 when the grandmaster moved to the Pilgrim’s Castle nearCesarea. When the Muslims captured Acre in1291 and overthrew the Christian kingdom,the Templars had bravely fought until theywere exterminated almost to the man. Thesurviving Templars retreated to Cyprus, whichthey had purchased from King Richard theLion-Hearted (1157–1199) for 35,000 marks.

Although defeated by the soldiers of theProphet Muhammad and driven out of theHoly Land, the Knights Templar retained theirmany estates and their enormous wealth inEurope. However, especially in France, theTemplars were becoming diminished in popu-larity, and the jealousies of the government hadbeen aroused against them. Lords, dukes, andprinces were not only envious of the order’sburgeoning treasury, but they fumed over theTemplars’ exemption from the burdens of taxa-tion imposed by church and state on others.The self-righteous among the rulers and thepeople were indignant over the knights’ pride,arrogance, and licentiousness, and rumorsbegan to spread that the order had acquiredheretical practices during their time in the East.

In 1306, King Philip IV (1268–1314) ofFrance, called Philip the Fair, sought refugefor himself and the royal treasury in the Tem-plars’ massive fortress in Paris. The unrulymobs were calling for his death, and he fearedthat the disloyal among his nobles would lootthe nation’s wealth. While Philip was in theprocess of entrusting the treasury of France tothe Templars’ protection, he also managed togain sight of the incredible wealth that theKnights had accumulated. When he fullycomprehended that this was only a portion oftheir immeasurable riches and that the Tem-plars had forts and estates throughout France,each containing its own deposit of treasure, hewas awed by the enormity of their riches.

When Philip sat more securely on histhrone, he began to perceive the Templars asrivals for his kingdom. The Knights had moremoney and power than he, the king, and theyowed their allegiance only to the pope. Philip


Secret Societies22

THE Knights Templars owed their allegianceonly to the pope.

met with Pope Clement V (c. 1260–1314) toseek his counsel on how the order might beexterminated. Although the Templars hadenjoyed the blessing of the papacy for decades,the pope admitted that he had been madeuneasy by accusations that the order had soughtto protect their own interests by securing a sep-arate treaty with the Mulis when the Christiankingdom in the East was falling. Clement, how-ever, was reluctant to make any kind of moveagainst the Knights. The king pressed his casewith the pope—and made an issue of the factthat the papacy at that time was located at Avi-gnon, which was one of Philip’s territories.

Then Philip found the mysterious Esquirede Floyran, who claimed to have been a mem-ber of the Knights Templar. Floyran said thatthe order had deceived the church and thepeople for more than a hundred years. Whathad begun as a pious service to pilgrims anddefenders of the cross against the infidels haddegenerated into a monstrous blood cult. Prin-cipal among the demons they worshipped wasBaphomet, the three-headed god of theAssassins, a heretical Muslim sect. Floyranswore that he had seen initiates into the orderspitting upon crucifixes, participating in vilerites, even sacrificing babies to demons.

There has never been any conclusive evi-dence to prove whether de Floyran was a truemember of the Knights Templar who had apersonal grudge against the order or if he wasan imposter on the king’s own payroll, butarmed with the supposed insider’s sensationalaccounts, the backing of the highest churchofficials in France, and the endorsement ofWilliam of Paris, the Grand Inquisitor, KingPhilip demanded that the pope conduct aninvestigation into such charges against theKnights Templar. Whether or not Clementbelieved such stories, he gave his approval thata judicial inquiry be instituted, and the knightswere charged with heresy and immorality.

On the night of October 13, 1307, all ofthe Templars’ castles in France were surround-ed by large bodies of men that were led bysmall parties of priests and noblemen. Whenthe unsuspecting knights were ordered toopen their gates in the name of the king, theyimmediately complied. Taken completely by

surprise, about 900 knights were arrested, andall their property and holdings in France wereseized. When word of the arrests reachedother countries, other nobles and priestsquickly followed suit and imprisoned the Tem-plars wherever they might be found.

The Knights Templar were accused of infi-delity, Muhammadanism, atheism, heresy,invoking Satan, worshipping demons, desecra-tion of holy objects, and uncleanness. Theprosecution had difficulty proving suchcharges, so they were often forced to resort totorturing the prisoners to obtain confessions. InParis, the grand master of the Templars, Jacquesde Molay (1243–1314), pleaded the innocenceof the order against all such charges. In spite ofhis personal friendship with de Molay, who wasthe godfather of his younger son, Philip orderedthe grand master and the 140 knights impris-oned with him to be starved, tortured, and keptin filthy dungeons.

Although the pope had little problemyielding to pressure and issuing a ban on theorder, he hesitated to give his sanction to theextermination of the knights. Philip, however,was determined to see the Templars destroyedand their wealth distributed to the state. Fortwo weeks, the knights imprisoned in Parissuffered the rack, the thumbscrew, the pincers,the branding iron, and the fire. Thirty-six diedunder torture without speaking. The rest con-fessed to every charge the Inquisition had lev-eled against them—the worship of Baphomet,a black cat, and a serpent; the sacrifice ofbabies and the murders of pious knights whoopposed them.

A grand council was called in Paris onMay 10, 1310, to review the confessions. ButPhilip’s victory was sullied when 54 of theknights withdrew their confessions andappealed to government and church officialsthat they had been tortured. They swore thatthey had remained true to their vows and thatthey had never practiced any kind of witch-craft or Satanism. Philip silenced their pleasthree days later when he ordered all 54 of theTemplars burned at the stake in a field behindthe alley of St. Antoine.

In 1312, the pope convened the Councilof Venice to weigh the fate of the Templars. It


23Secret Societies

was decided that the order should be abol-ished and its property confiscated, but PopeClement chose to reserve final judgment con-cerning whether the knights were guilty of theheinous charges brought against them. In spiteof 573 witnesses for their defense, Templarswere tortured en masse, then burned at thestake. The landed possessions of the orderwere transferred to the Hospitallers, and theirwealth was distributed to the sovereigns ofvarious states. Everywhere in Christendom,except in Portugal, where the Templarsassumed the name of the Knights of Christ,the order as an organization was suppressed.

In 1314, as he was being burned to deathon a scaffold erected for the occasion in frontof Notre Dame, the Knights Templar grandmaster, Jacques de Molay, recanted the confes-sion that he gave under torture and pro-claimed his innocence to Pope Clement Vand King Philip—and he invited them tomeet him at heaven’s gate. When both digni-taries died soon after de Molay’s execution, itwas believed by the public at large that thegrand master and the Knights Templar hadbeen innocent of the charges of heresy.

Although the Order was officially dissolvedby Papal Decree in 1312, the mystique of theKnights Templar still remains strong in thetwenty-first century. There are groups claimingan association with the Templar Order aroundthe world. Some only affirm that they are fol-lowing the ideals of the Knights Templar. Oth-ers state that they can trace a historical con-nection with the original order.

The Militi Templi Scotia or the ScottishKnights Templar point out that the papal Orderof Suppression issued in 1312 was not enforcedin Scotland because the Scots believed thecharges against the Knights were unproven.Under the excommunicated King, Robert theBruce, Scotland provided a safe haven for anyKnights Templar who were able to flee Europeand reach its shores. According to tradition, theKnights who sought refuge in Scotland foughtside by side with Robert the Bruce to win inde-pendence from England. In turn, the king pro-tected the Order and Temple lands in Scotland.

The Militi Templi Scotia remains activeand emphasizes its historical connection to the

original Order of Templar Knights. They makea point of proclaiming that they are not a secretsociety and have even expanded membershipto include women. As with the original Order,however, all members must be professing Chris-tians or individuals of “high ideals.”

Another group in the United Kingdom alsoclaims a historical continuity with the originalOrder because of Knights Templar who man-aged to reach England. The Supreme MilitaryOrder of Temple of Jerusalem of England,Wales, and Scotland states that it is not a secretsociety and that, as with the Militi Templi Sco-tia, it has no affiliation with the Freemasons.The order is open only to Christians accordingto the website http://theknightstemplar.org.Associated with the Supreme Military Order ofTemple of Jerusalem is the North AmericanOrder of Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and theTemple of Solomon, Knights Templar and canbe found at the website http://www.knightstemplar.org.

M Delving Deeper

Ahmed, Rollo. The Black Art. London: Arrow Books,1966.

Baigent, Michael, and Richard Leigh. The Temple andthe Lodge. New York: Arcade, 1989.

Clifton, Charles S. Encyclopedia of Heresies andHeretics. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998.

Howarth, Stephen. The Knights Templar. New York:Barnes & Noble, 1993.

Vankin, Jonathan, and John Whalen. The SeventyGreatest Conspiracies of All Time: History’s BiggestMysteries, Coverups, and Cabals. New York:Citadel, 1998.

The Leopard Men

In ancient Egypt, the leopard was esteemedas an aspect of divinity and associatedwith the god Osiris, the judge of the dead.

For many African tribes, the leopard is a pow-erful totem animal that is believed to guidethe spirits of the dead to rest.

For many centuries a leopard cult hasexisted in West Africa, particularly in Nigeriaand Sierra Leone, wherein its members kill asdoes the leopard, by slashing, gashing, and


Secret Societies24

mauling their human prey with steel clawsand knives. Later, during gory ceremonies,they drink the blood and eat the flesh ofhuman victims. Those initiates who aspire tobecome members of the cult must return froma night’s foray with a bottle of their victim’sblood and drink it in the presence of theassembled members. The cultists believe thata magical elixir known as borfima, which theybrew from their victim’s intestines, grantsthem superhuman powers and enables them totransform themselves into leopards.

The members of the cult kill on the slightestpretext. Perhaps one of the members became illor his crops failed. Such misfortunes as thesewould be sufficient to demand a human sacrifice.A likely victim would be chosen, the date andtime of the killing agreed upon, and the execu-tioner, known as the Bati Yeli, would be selected.The Bati Yeli wore the ritual leopard mask and aleopard skin robe. It was preferable that the sac-rifice be performed at one of the leopard cult’sjungle shrines, but if circumstances demanded amore immediate shedding of blood, the ritecould be conducted with the ceremonial two-pronged steel claw anywhere at all.

The first really serious outbreak of leopard-cult murders in Sierra Leone and Nigeriaoccurred shortly after World War I (1914–18).At that time, it was believed the cult was sup-pressed by the region’s white administratorsbecause many of its members were capturedand executed. However, in actual fact, theleopard men simply went underground, con-tinuing to perform ritual murders sporadicallyevery year over the next two decades.

In 1946, the leopard men became bold andthere were 48 cases of murder and attemptedmurder committed by the leopard cult in thatyear alone. And it soon became obvious that,much like the Mau-Mau in Kenya, the leop-ard men had begun directing many of theirattacks against white men as if to convincethe native population that the cult had nofear of the police or of the white rulers. Thetrend continued during the first seven monthsof 1947, when there were 43 known ritualkillings performed by the leopard cult.

Terry Wilson had been district officer of aprovince in Eastern Nigeria for only six months

when, early in 1947, he discovered that theleopard men had begun operating in his juris-diction, claiming mainly young women as theirvictims. When Wilson raided the house of alocal chief named Nagogo, his men found aleopard mask, a leopard-skin robe, and a steelclaw. Acting on a tip from an informer, Wilsonordered his police officers to dig near the chief’shouse, where they found the remains of 13 vic-tims. The chief was put in prison to await trial,and Wilson set out on a determined mission toput an end to the leopard men’s reign of terror.

But the local inhabitants were too terrifiedof the leopard cult to come forward. Therewere several more murders during the weeksthat followed, including the wife and daughterof Nagogo, the imprisoned chieftain. A des-perate Wilson hoped that the sight of themutilated bodies of his family would angerNagogo into betraying the cult members whohad so obviously turned on him, but the shockproved too much for the chief. When he sawthe bloodied corpses of his wife and daughterand realized how viciously his fellow leopardmen had betrayed him, he collapsed and diedof heart failure.

Although Wilson received 200 additionalpolice officers as reinforcements, the leopardmen became increasingly bold in their noctur-nal attacks. One night they even sacrificed afemale victim inside the police compound andmanaged to get away without being seen.After that cruelly defiant gesture, the cultcommitted several murders in broad daylight.The native inhabitants of the region lost allconfidence in the police and their ability tostop the slashings and killings of the powerfulleopard men. Even some of Wilson’s menbegan to believe that the cultists might trulyhave the ability to shapeshift into leopardsand to fade unseen into the shadows.

One night in mid-August 1947, Wilsonwas awakened by the warning growl from his


25Secret Societies

FOR many African tribes, the leopard is apowerful totem animal.

dog. When he rose to investigate, a four-foot-long, barbed arrow whistled by his head, nar-rowly missing him and embedding itself in thewall. The next morning at police headquar-ters, he learned that two of his officers hadalso barely escaped death that previous night.

Wilson knew that his men were becomingunnerved. They were trying to stop an enemywho was essentially invisible. They struckwithout warning after preselecting their vic-tims by a process that evaded all attempts todefine it. There was no way for Wilson and hisofficers to determine who the cult’s next vic-tims would be or to guess where they mightstrike. And the natives were far too intimidat-ed to inform on the leopard men—if, in fact,they did know anything of importance to tellthe officers.

The district officer decided to attempt toset a trap. On the path to a village where sev-eral slayings had already taken place, Wilsonsent one of his best men, posing as the son of anative woman. The two walked side by sidetoward the village while Wilson and a dozenother officers concealed themselves in thebushes at the side of the path.

Suddenly, issuing the blood-curdlingshriek of an attacking leopard, a tall man inleopard robes charged headlong at the couple,swinging a large club. The young police officerstruggled with the leopard man, but beforeWilson and the other men could arrive on thescene, the cultist had smashed in the officer’sskull with the club and fled into the bushes.

Wilson had lost one of his best officers, butthe knife that the young man still held in hishand was covered in blood. The police wouldnow be able to search for a man with a severeknife wound.

The district officer was about to have somemen take the constable’s body to the com-pound when he had a sudden flash of intuitionthat the leopard man might return to the sceneof the crime. While the other officers searchedthe neighboring villages, Wilson hid himselfbehind some bushes overlooking the trail.

Around midnight, just as Wilson wasbeginning to think about returning to thecompound, a nightmarish figure crawling onall fours emerged from the jungle, pounced on

the young officer’s corpse, and began clawingat his face like a leopard. But rather thanclaws raking the body, Wilson caught the glintof a two-pronged steel claw in the moonlight.The killer had returned to complete the cultritual of sacrifice. Wilson advanced on theleopard man, and the robed murderer snarledat him as if he were truly a big cat. When hecame at him with the two-pronged claw, Wil-son shot him in the chest.

With Wilson’s act of courage, the nativesof the region had been provided with proofthat the leopard men were not supernaturalbeings that could not be stopped. The mem-bers of the cult did not have magic that couldmake them impervious to bullets. They were,after all, men of flesh and blood—savage, bes-tial, and vicious—but men, nonetheless. Onceword had spread that the district officer hadkilled one of the leopard men, witnesses beganto come forward in great numbers with cluesto the identity of cult members and the possi-ble location of a secret jungle shrine.

The shrine itself was discovered deep inthe jungle, cunningly hidden and protected bya large boulder. The cult’s altar was a flat stoneslab that was covered with dark bloodstains.Human bones were strewn over the ground. Agrotesque effigy of a half-leopard, half-mantowered above the gory altar.

During February of 1948, 73 initiatedmembers of the cult were arrested and sent toprison. Eventually, 39 of them were sentencedto death and hanged in Abak Prison, theirexecutions witnessed by a number of localtribal chiefs who could testify to their villagesthat the leopard men were not immortal.

Interestingly, on January 10, 1948, just amonth before the leopard men were hanged inNigeria, three women and four men were exe-cuted for their part in the lion men murders inthe Singida district in Tanganyika. The lionpeople had dressed in lion skins and murderedmore than 40 natives in ritual slayings thatleft wounds on their victims that resembledthe marks of a lion’s claws.

M Delving Deeper



Secret Societies26

Eisler, Robert. Man into Wolf. London: Spring Books,n.d.


The Mau-Mau

It has been said that no one knows the realmeaning of “Mau-Mau” other than aKikuyu (also Gikuyu) tribesperson and

that is because its name, like its origins, isshrouded in ancient African tribal mysteriesand covered in blood. On the other hand,some authorities claim that the name wasinvented by European settlers and applied tothe native insurrectionists in Kenya. At anyrate, the name was first heard among thewhite population of Africa in 1948 whenpolice officials in the British colony of Kenya

began to receive rumors of strange ceremoniesbeing held late at night in the jungle. Thesemidnight assemblies were said to be bestial rit-uals that mocked Christian rites and includedthe eating of human flesh and the drinking ofblood. Then came the reports of native peoplebeing dragged from their beds at night, beingbeaten or maimed, and forced to swear oathsof initiation to a secret society. In each case,their assailants were said to be members of asecret society called the Mau-Mau.

In 1952, a state of emergency was declaredin Kenya as the midnight rituals and beatingshad escalated into the murder of Kikuyupolicemen, whose bodies were found mutilat-ed and bound with wire, floating in rivers.White farmers discovered their cattle disem-boweled and the tendons in their legs severedso they could not walk. The secret society that


27Secret Societies

NASA meddler Richard Hoagland insiststhat not only have the astronauts been toMars, but they have been covering upthe discovery of ruins and artifacts.

Especially intrigued by the so-called Mars Face, aSphinx-like object that appeared on numerous NASAphotographs during the Viking I orbit in 1976, Hoaglandhas demanded the agency to divulge the discovery.

In April 1998, NASA’s Mars Global Surveyorspacecraft traveled near Mars and sent back photosdebunking theories that ancient civilizations con-structed the face. The new pictures showed only anpile of rocks, completely devoid of the profile of theprevious portraits of the Mars Face.

Within hours of NASA’s statement, Hoagland’swebsite declared, “Honey, I Shrunk the Face!” Heinsists NASA has been hiding the artifacts fordecades. Hoagland unearthed a 1960 NASA-commis-sioned report recommending any future discoveriesof alien life be kept from the public so as not to disturbthe evolutionary flow of twentieth-century civilization.

Sources:

Hoagland, Richard C.The Enterprise Mission. [Online] http://

www.enterprisemission.com/.

———.The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever.

Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 1987.



NASA Covers Up

Evidence of Alien

Life on Mars

had begun by practicing black magic and theadministration of blood oaths had degenerat-ed into the most violent sorts of barbarism.

The Mau-Mau weapon of choice was thepanga, the broad-bladed machete commonlyused to hack a path through thick jungle vege-tation. The society appeared to favor bloodyand brutal attacks as a means of striking fearinto the hearts and minds of all who mightoppose them, but their choice of enemiesseemed often difficult to comprehend. Thefirst man to die at the hand of the Mau-Mau

was a Kikuyu chief who spoke out against thesecret society that had chosen to resort to sav-agery and barbarism to achieve its politicalobjectives. In October 1952, a lone white set-tler was killed and disemboweled. An elderlyfarmer was found dead in November; in Janu-ary 1953, two men who worked a farm as part-ners were discovered murdered by the Mau-Mau. A vicious attack on January 24, 1953,claimed the Rucks, a family of English her-itage, who had always been regarded as dealingwith their black employees in a fair-mindedand charitable manner, even to the extent ofsupporting a clinic at their own expense. Thebodies of the husband, wife, and their six-year-old son were found so hacked and ripped as tobe nearly unrecognizable as human beings.

Later it was learned that native men andwomen who had been in the Rucks’ employfor many years had been foremost in the


Secret Societies28

Mau-Mau being rounded

up. (CORBIS CORPORATION)

THE Mau-Mau weapon of choicewas the machete.

slaughter of the English family. What seemedparticularly insidious to the white populationwas discovering to their horror that employeeswho had been loyal to them for decades weresuddenly rising up and butchering them with-out warning. When the Mau-Mau demandedthat blood be shed, long-standing associationsand friendships between black and white wereno longer considered something of value.

Such unprovoked butchery as that exhibit-ed toward the Rucks had the white farmerswatching their employees apprehensively andpreparing for another brutal attack on theirisolated homes. But the next violent raidoccurred on March 26, 1953, against thepolice station at Naivasha. The station wasoverrun and guns and ammunition were takenaway in a truck. Later that same night, theMau-Mau bound the circular huts of the vil-lages of Lari with cables so the doors could notbe opened, poured gasoline over the thatchedroofs, and set the homes on fire. Most of themen of the village were away serving in theKikuyu Guard, an anti-Mau-Mau force, so thegreatest number of the 90 bodies found in thecharred remains were those of women andchildren. In addition, the Mau-Mau had muti-lated more than1,000 of the villagers’ cattle asfurther punishment for opposing them.

As nearly as it can be determined from thevantage point of an historical re-examinationof events, the Mau-Mau was quite likely anancient Kikuyu secret society that was reacti-vated. The Kikuyu tribe was the most popu-lous and educated in Kenya, but their culturealso permitted secret societies to flourish, andthere were many such groups that had been inexistence since long before the Europeanscame to Africa. The Mau-Mau leadersinvoked the old secret society in order to stirup the Kikuyu tribe to support their demandsfor independence and for the return of theKikuyu land that the whites had stolen overthe years. What was ignored by the society’sleaders was the fact that the land occupied bythe European settlers had long been designat-ed a kind of buffer zone between the Kikuyuand their traditional enemies the Mazai tribe.

The ranks of the Mau-Mau increased whenthey began to force many unwilling individuals

from other tribes into participating in theirblood oaths. The oathing ceremonies beganwith the new members taking a vow to honorthe old religion of their tribal ancestors. Therewere at least seven stages of oath-taking,which might take several days or weeks tocomplete and which included the drinking ofblood, eating portions of human flesh, cohabit-ing with animals, and ingesting bits of brainsfrom disinterred corpses. After the seventhstage of the oath-taking had been reached, themembers had to repeat the cycle and reinforcetheir vows by beginning again. No man orwoman was exempt from this requirement, noteven the leaders of the society.

The Mau-Mau reign of terror was broken bygroups of white settlers who joined the auxiliarypolice and army units who had combined forceswith ex-terrorist Kikuyus. The former Mau-Maumembers were provided with small arms andgrenades, and they, in turn, taught the whiteshow to move silently through the thick under-brush. In May 1956, Dedan Kimathi, who wasidentified as the militant head of the Mau-Mau,was captured by a party of Kikuyu tribal police.Soon after Kimathi had been apprehended, theMau-Mau society crumbled from lack of ammu-nition and arms, internal quarrels in the ranks,and disease brought about by the hardship ofexisting in the jungle under extremely difficultconditions. By the time the Mau-Mau was dis-banded, they had slaughtered more than 2,000African tribespeople and brutally maimed manythousands more native people. Although themurders of Kenyan civilians of European ances-try were brutal and bloody, the actual numbersof those killed at the hands of the Mau-Mauwere greatly exaggerated by the media. Actualdeaths of white settlers attributed to the Mau-Mau insurrectionists have been listed as low as32 to 57, to as high as less than 100.

Dedan Kimathi was executed by the Britishin 1957 for having ordered atrocities and mur-


29Secret Societies

BY the time the Mau Mau was disbanded, theyhad slaughtered over 2,000 African tribespeople.

ders as the leader of the Mau-Mau. The KikuyuCentral Association, the political party thatfronted for the secret activities of the Mau-Mau,was headed by Johnstone Kamau, better knownas Jomo Kenyatta (1892–1978). Under his lead-ership, Kenya gained independence in 1963.

M Delving Deeper

Malboa, Wunyabari O. Mau-Mau and Kenya: AnAnalysis of a Peasant Revolt . Bloomington: Indi-ana University Press, 1998.

Roseberg, Carl G. The Myth of Mau-Mau. New York:Meridian, 1970.

Warwick, Mark. “Mau-Mau: Messengers of Misery.”[Online] http://www. multiline.com. au/~markw/maumau.html. 21 December 2002.

The Rosicrucians

The citizens of Paris awoke one morningin 1622 to find that their city had beenornamented with posters which the

Brethren of the Rosy Cross (Rosicrucians) hadscattered to announce that their secret orderwas now moving among the Parisians to savethem from the error of death. In the seven-teenth century, the Rosicrucians wererumored to have accomplished the transmuta-tion of metals, the means of prolonging life,the knowledge to see and to hear what wasoccurring in distant places, and the ability todetect secret and hidden objects.

Such announcements were met with greatexcitement. It was a time of reformation andenlightenment, and all of Europe was lookingforward to the new world that the alchemistsand magicians promised was about to emergefrom the ashes of the old. And leading such amovement of a new appreciation of the artsand sciences and humankind’s true place inthe universe was the Illumined Father andBrother Christian Rosencreutz (1378–1484),

a brilliant magus, who at the age of 16 hadalready gained secret wisdom teachings fromthe sages of Arabia and the Holy Land.

When Rosencreutz returned to Germanycirca 1450, he became a recluse, for he couldsee that Europe was not yet ready for the com-plete reformation which he so yearned to pre-sent to it. For one thing, he claimed to haveacquired the fabled philosopher’s stone, whichenabled him to produce all the gold and pre-cious gems necessary to allow him to build ahouse where he could live peacefully and well.To share the power of the legendary stone oftransmutation with the unwise, the worldly,and the greedy would be disastrous. Quietly,Rosencreutz accepted only a handful of care-fully evaluated students to whom he impartedthe knowledge that he had acquired inancient Egypt and the connection that he hadmade with the mystery schools and the eso-teric teachings of great masters. He was partic-ularly enthusiastic about telling his studentsabout Pharaoh Amenhotep and the monothe-istic view of one God. At first there were onlythree disciples in attendance; then later, eightbrothers, including Rosencreutz himself,swore to uphold the following precepts:

1. They would not profess any creed but thegoal of healing the sick without reward;

2. They would affect no particular style ofclothing;

3. They would meet once each year in theHouse of the Sainted Spirit;

4. Each brother would carefully choose hisown successor;

5. The letters “R.C.” would serve as theironly seal and character;

6. The Brotherhood would remain secret for100 years.

When Rosencreutz died in 1484 at the ageof 106, the five brethren who had been chosento travel throughout Europe performing chari-table deeds had established a reputation forbeing selfless benefactors. Although Rosen-creutz had been buried in secret, one of thebrothers happened by chance to discover hisburial chamber and read the promise inscribedabove the entrance that Rosencreutz wouldreturn in 126 years. The discovery of the illu-


Secret Societies30

ROSICRUCIANS were rumored to haveaccomplished the transmutation of metals.

mined father’s prediction inspired the surviv-ing brothers to work in earnest to spread theteachings of Christian Rosencreutz through-out the world.

Between 1604 and 1616, three manifestoswere released in Germany by the secret broth-erhood of the Rosicrucians (from the Latin,Rosae Crucis, “Rose Cross”). The first twopamphlets called upon the educated and influ-ential to unite to bring about a reformation ofthe educational, moral, and scientific establish-ments of Europe. The German monk MartinLuther (1483–1546) had already set in motiona reformation in the spiritual sphere of life, theRosicrucian Fraternity pointed out, but now itwas time to educate the people of Europe tounderstand the true relationship of humankindto the universe and to perceive truly the dis-tinctions between the material and the divine.

The manifestos condemned all those whocontributed to the moral decay of Europe, andthe brotherhood promised to help alleviate allsuffering and to eradicate all ignorance. TheIllumined Father Christian Rosencreutz pos-sessed the wisdom and the wealth through thetransmutation of base metals to elevate thecommon people of Europe.

The manifestos also shared some startlingassertions, among them:

1. The end of the world was near, but thosewho had become enlightened by the newreformation would be initiated into a high-er consciousness.

2. New stars had appeared in the constella-tions of Cygnus and Serpentarius that pre-dicted the destruction of the RomanCatholic Church.

3. The Illumined Father divined the secretcode that God placed in the universe inthe beginning of time and blessed thosewho possess such magic.

4. The transmutation of base metals into goldand precious gems is a natural miracle thathas been revealed to such magi as Christ-ian Rosencreutz. Forget about the efforts ofthe pseudo-chemists.

5. The Rosicrucian Fellowship has wealth todistribute, but it does not wish a singlecoin from anyone.

The manifestos created great excitement inearly seventeenth-century Europe. Royalty,common folk, merchants, mystics, alchemists—all clamored for more information about themysterious secret brotherhood. Those who wereill wished healing. Those who were poor wereeager to accept a portion of the wealth thebrotherhood was willing to distribute. Thosewho were greedy wanted their turn with thephilosopher’s stone and their opportunity totransmute tons of base metals into tons of gold.

And perhaps most of all, people wanted tojoin the secret society and become Rosicru-cians, but no one knew where any of theirlodges were or where they might find theHouse of the Sainted Spirit. Desperate indi-viduals placed their letters of application forthe fraternity in public places where theyhoped the Rosicrucians might find them andcontact them.

It wasn’t long before charlatans began pos-ing as members of the secret fraternity andattempting to charge the gullible for admit-tance, but when the deceivers could not pro-duce mounds of gold upon demand, the crookswere either imprisoned or pummeled. Nor hadtoo much time passed before word spreadamong the religious that the Rosicrucianswere satanists who sought only to deludeEurope into sin.

In spite of entreaties, threats, and demands,no Rosicrucian stepped forward to identifyhimself, and the society remained secret—themost secret of all secret societies. It is interest-ing to speculate that the symbol of MartinLuther, the Protestant reformer and founder ofthe Lutheran Church, was a red rose and across, which remains the emblem of Luther-anism. Could Luther also have sought to reformthe whole societal structure of Europe, as wellas the Roman Catholic Church? Unlikely, forLuther would not have used the language of thealchemist and the magus. Another member,according to some, is the great Francis Bacon(1561–1626), whose unfinished manuscript,The New Atlantis (1627), describes an earthlyutopian paradise, a secret brotherhood whowear the Rose Cross on their turbans, who healpeople without charge, and who meet yearly intheir temple. The philosopher Rene Descartes


31Secret Societies

(1596–1650) was once nearly arrested on theaccusation that he was a member of the secretsociety, but he convinced his accusers that theRosicrucians were invisible, while, he, it wasplain to see, was not.

While the true identity of the Rosicruciansmay never be known, nor whether such a manas Christian Rosencreutz ever really existed,the concepts expressed in their three mani-festos pertaining to individual freedom, theseparation of church and state, and the questto determine humankind’s true place in theuniverse became ideals that inspired the peri-od of Enlightenment and have been carriedover into modern times.

M Delving Deeper

McFadden, Ashley. “The Rosicrucians—A Brief His-torical Overview.” R.C. Times, summer 1994[Online] http://www.arcgl.org/rosie.htm.

Spence, Lewis. An Encyclopedia of Occultism. NewHyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1960.

Yates, Frances A. The Rosicrucian Enlightenment. Boul-der, Colo.: Shambhala, 1978.

The Thuggee

No organized cult of killers has evermurdered as many people as theThuggee. In the 1830s this Indian

secret society strangled upward of 30,000native people and travelers as a sacrifice totheir goddess Kali, the “Dark Mother,” theHindu Triple Goddess of creation, preserva-tion, and destruction. The name Thuggeecomes from the Sanskrit sthaga, “deceiver.”

Although the Thuggee probably originat-ed sometime in the sixteenth century, theywere not uncovered by British authoritiesuntil about 1812. Great Britain was beginningto expand its territories in India, and theBritish administrators were becoming increas-

ingly alarmed by reports of bands of stranglersthat were roving the countryside murderingtravelers. At first there appeared to be no con-nection between the bizarre killings, but thenthe bodies of 50 victims were found hidden ina series of wells in the Ganges area. Suchlarge-scale mass murder could not have beenkept secret for so long unless special pains hadbeen taken to dispose of the victims’ corpses.Examination of the bodies revealed that themurderers had broken all joints of their vic-tims’ limbs to speed up the process of decom-position and to prevent the swelling of thegraves that would attract scavenging jackalsand other wild animals. Such evidence con-vinced the authorities that they were dealingwith one secret society, the Thuggee.

The murderous craft of the Thuggee washereditary. Its practitioners were trained fromearliest childhood to murder by the quick,quiet method of a strong cloth noose tightenedabout the neck of their victims. This weapon,the “Rumal,” was worn knotted about thewaist of each member of the Thuggee.

The Thuggee gloried in silent and efficientacts of murder above any other earthly accom-plishment, and they traveled often in theguise of traders, pilgrims, and even as soldiersmarching to or from service. On occasion, themore flamboyant would pretend to be a rajahwith a large retinue of followers. Each band ofThuggee had a small unit of scouts and invei-glers who would loiter about hotels and mar-ket places gaining information regarding trav-elers and the weight of their coin purses. Theinveiglers posed as travelers headed for thesame destination as their intended victims.They would worm themselves into the confi-dences of their prey, pleading the old adage ofsafety in numbers.

The mass slaughters of large groups of mer-chants and travelers were usually committedwhen all were encamped. Working in groupsof three, one Thuggee would loop the Rumalaround the victim’s neck, another would presshis head forward, and the third would grab hislegs and throw him to the ground. In the rareinstance when an intended victim escaped thenooses in the death area, he would run intoscouts posted at the edge of the jungle. One


Secret Societies32

THE name Thuggee comes from the Sanskritsthaga, “deceiver.”

hundred percent mortality of their victims wasthe goal of the Thuggee.

In spite of what first appeared to be indis-criminate murder on a very large scale, theThuggee had a peculiar code of ethics whoserules forbade the killing of fakirs, musicians,dancers, sweepers, oil vendors, carpenters,blacksmiths, maimed or leprous persons,Ganges water-carriers, and women. Despite therestriction against the murder of females, how-ever, the presence of wives traveling with theirhusbands often necessitated the strangling of awoman to protect the secrecy of the society.

The strongest rule of the brotherhood wasthe one prohibiting the shedding of blood.According to Thuggee beliefs, the goddessKali taught the fathers of thuggery to stranglewith a noose and to kill without permittingthe flow of blood. All victims of the Thuggeewere sacrificed to Kali, and the members ofthe secret society would have been greatlyincensed by an accusation that they killedonly for booty.

With the exception of a small number ofboys who may have been captured or sparedduring a raid, a man had to be born into thecult in order to become an initiate. The mini-mum age for initiation into the society was 10,and the young candidates were allowed towatch their elders at work from hidden pointssome distance from the site of the attack. Atthe age of 18, they were permitted to maketheir first human sacrifices to Kali.

The Thuggee had their female counter-parts in a secret sect of Tantrists who held thatit was only by a constant indulgence in pas-sion that a human could ever achieve totalunion with Kali. Only indulgence in the fivevices that corrupt the soul of humankind—wine, meat, fish, mystical gesticulations, andsexual indulgence—could drive the poisonsout of the human body and purify the soul.

In 1822, William Sleeman, an officer inthe Bengal Army who had transferred to civilservice, was appointed by Governor GeneralLord Bentinck to rid India of the society ofstranglers. Fluent in four Indian dialects, Slee-man had been the British official who had firstconfirmed the growing suspicion that themurders were committed throughout central

India by the Thuggee. He was well aware thatit would be no easy task putting a halt to suchlarge-scale murders, for the members of thesecret society were indistinguishable from anyother of the many bands of outlaws whoinfested the country’s roads. And what madethe job of identifying the Thugs even moredifficult was the fact that they were indistin-guishable from any of the travelers and mer-chants who were their victims. As their nameimplied, they were master deceivers.

Finally, by meticulously marking the sceneof each discovered attack site on a map and bymaintaining careful records of the dates, Slee-man was able to begin to predict the areaswhere the next mass murders were likely to takeplace. When his agents and informants broughthim word that known members of the Thuggeehad been seen in a certain region, Sleeman senthis personally recruited police officers out dis-guised as merchants in order to ambush theThugs who appeared to attack what theybelieved was a group of harmless travelers.

Between 1830 and 1841, Sleeman’s policecaptured at least 3,700 Thugs, breaking forev-er the back of the infamous secret society. Ofthis total, only 50 received a pardon for sup-plying valuable information that had been uti-lized in destroying the secret society. Theremainder of those apprehended were impris-oned for life and 500 were hanged. Withoutexception, the Thuggee condemned to behanged went to their own deaths with thesame lack of emotion with which they hadmurdered their victims. In many instances,their final request from the hangman was thatthey be permitted to place the noose aroundtheir own neck.

Trials of Thuggee brought out many ghast-ly facts about the deadly skills of some of itsmembers. A band of 20 confessed that theyhad participated in 5,200 murders. An indi-vidual named Buhram, who had been a stran-gler for 40 years, had the highest lifetime scoreto his discredit—931. When asked if he expe-rienced any feelings of remorse or guilt, heanswered sharply that no man should ever feelcompunction in following his trade.

Although isolated cases of a Thug’s profi-ciency with a noose still exist in India and in


33Secret Societies

other parts of the world, the stranglers of thegoddess Kali no longer exist as a secret society.The designation of “thug,” however, remainsas a negative term applied to brutish criminals.

The violent chapter imprinted in India’shistory by the cult of the Thuggee has beenportrayed quite often in motion pictures,notably Gunga Din (1939) with Cary Grant,Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Victor McLaglen;Terence Fisher’s Stranglers of Bombay (1960);Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Templeof Doom (1984) with Harrison Ford and KateCapshaw; and The Deceivers (1988) withPierce Brosnan.

M Delving Deeper

Brantlinger, Patrick. Confessions of a Thug. Oxford:Oxford World Classics, 1998.



Howard, Michael. The Occult Conspiracy: Secret Soci-eties—Their Influence and Power in World History.Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 1989.

The Tongs

According to the Internet Movie Base,the Chinese Tongs have been an inte-gral element of violence and mystery in

140 motion pictures in China and the UnitedStates. Interestingly, the first American filmon the subject,The War of the Tongs, wasreleased in 1917. In 1985, Year of the Dragonprovoked a great deal of controversy in its por-trayal of a racist white cop (Mickey Rourke)battling hordes of evil Chinese gang members.The greatest flaw in the motion picture wasblending Chinese gangs, the Tongs, and theTriad into one massive “Chinese Mafia” kindof amalgamated crime organization. In actual-ity, although the gangs exist, they are separatefrom the Tongs, a survivor of the protectivesocieties of ancient times, and the Triad, arecent element of organized crime that grewout of the Tongs.

The first Tong in America is believed tohave originated in San Francisco in 1874.

Essentially, the Tong (which originally meant“parlor”) was a merchants’ protective associa-tion created to defend themselves against bru-tal treatment directed at them by the whiteinhabitants of the city. Eventually, the Tongbecame powerful enough to sell “protection”to the newer merchants and to establish ille-gal gambling halls. Success in extortion andgambling led to an extension of activities intoopium distribution and prostitution.

Although in 1880 the Chinese populationin New York City was only around 800, thefirst Tong was established there in that year.By 1890, a rush of immigration increased thetotal to 13,000 Chinese in the city, and theTong was ready to exploit a population isolat-ed by language, culture, and prejudice. In1900, rival Tongs ignited a series of Tong warsthat lasted intermittently until the 1930s. Itwas at that time that the larger Americanpublic became fully aware of the Tong warriorswith their chain mail shirts and hatchets.

Like so many secret societies, the origins ofthe Triad Tong have been lost in the lore oflegend. According to some students of theTongs, in 1647 a community of monks wholived in the Fukien Province of China hadbecome masters in the art of war. When a for-eign prince invaded China, the emperor sent138 of these monks to throw out the invadingforces. After three months of bitter fighting,they routed the enemy and returned to theirmonastery laden with gifts and honors fromthe grateful emperor.

While the monks were content to resumetheir lives of contemplation, some of theemperor’s ministers were jealous of the favorshe had bestowed upon them and persuadedhim that the monks were deceptively plan-ning a rebellion. Fearful of their martial artsskills, the emperor decided to attack themonks without warning and sent a strongforce of the Imperial Guard, armed with gun-powder, to destroy the monastery. It was saidthe flames ignited by the blasts soared up toheaven, where they were seen by the Immor-tals who, perceiving the injustice being dealtthe monks, came down to Earth and pushedaside one of the monastery’s huge walls,enabling 18 monks to escape. Most of them


Secret Societies34


35Secret Societies

The question of who killed U.S. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy (1917–1963) on November22, 1963, has been a subject of controver-sy. Conspiracy theorists dispute allega-

tions that Lee Harvey Oswald was able to accuratelyhit a moving target at that distance with the bolt-action rifle allegedly in his possession. They insist oneperson could not have fired so many shots so quicklyfrom this type of rifle.

In 1964, the Warren Commission, a group of gov-ernment officials investigating the assassination, con-cluded that a single bullet passed through Kennedy’sbody and struck Texas governor John Connally. A fatalsecond shot hit the president in the head, and anotherbullet missed the presidential automobile altogether.

Conspiracy theorists dismiss the so-called“magic bullet” that passed through Kennedy andthrough the back, ribs, right wrist, and left leg of Con-nally. Governor and Nellie Connally believed that twobullets had struck the president and that a third andseparate bullet had wounded the governor.

On July 3, 1997, former U.S. president Gerald Ford,the only surviving member of the Warren Commission,admitted he had altered the commission’s descriptionof the gunshot. According to Ford, the original textsaid that a bullet had entered Kennedy’s back at apoint slightly above the shoulder and to the right of thespine. Ford changed the bullet’s entrance point fromKennedy’s upper back to “the base of the back of theneck.” Such a seemingly minor change would supportthe commission’s single-assassin hypothesis that wasbased on the “magical” path of a single bullet thatcould pass through Kennedy’s neck and leave anothersix wounds on his body before striking Texas governorJohn Connally’s back, ribs, right wrist, and left leg.Ford told the Associated Press, “My changes wereonly an attempt to be more precise. I think our judg-ments have stood the test of time.”

A poll conducted by the University of Ohio andScripps Howard News Service in 1997 revealed that51 percent of Americans dismissed the “magic bullet”theory. Twenty percent believed federal government

agents killed Kennedy. Another 33 percent, while notaccusing government agents, felt that a conspiracywas “somewhat likely.”

Sources:

“Ford Faked JFK Report.” Tabloid News Services. [Online] http://

www.tabloid.net.

Lane, Mark. Plausible Denial. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press,

1991.

Summers, Anthony. Conspiracy. New York: Paragon House, 1989.



The “Magic

Bullet” That

Killed JFK?

were so badly burned that they soon died, andthe surviving five escaped from the Imperialtroops by miraculous means.

After many ordeals the five monks came toa city in Fukien Province where they foundeda Tong whose aim was to overthrow theemperor who had betrayed their loyalty. ThatTong exists today as the Triad Tong, and thefive monks who founded it, according to thelegend, are known as the Five Ancestors.Although the revolt against the emperorfailed, the survivors scattered throughoutChina and established five Provincial GrandLodges, each led by one of the five monks.

Initiation into the Triad Society is basedon a blood ceremony. First, the ancient FiveHeroes are invoked by an “Incense Master”who offers libations of tea and wine. The can-didate for initiation is challenged at theentrance to the lodge by guards carrying razor-edged swords. He is allowed to enter only afteranswering a series of ritual questions as hecrawls under crossed swords. Once inside thelodge, the initiate participates in a lengthyreenactment of the traditional ordeals of theFive Ancestors, swears 36 oaths, and learns hisfirst secret signs. Then a rooster is brought inand beheaded, a warning to the initiate thathe will suffer the same fate if he betrays theTong. Finally, he drinks a mixture of blood,wine, cinnabar, and ashes. In times past, theblood used to be drawn from the initiate andother members of the lodge. Today the bloodis generally that of the slaughtered rooster.

The blood oaths that were so favored bythe Tongs originated with the Yellow Turbans,one of the earliest and most mystical societiesin China. Founded in the middle of the sec-ond century in northeast China, the YellowTurbans revered Chang Cheuh, a great healerand magician, as a savior of the nation against

the despotic Han dynasty. Cheuh’s societysoon numbered so many thousands that heneeded 36 generals to lead the rebellion thatconquered the entire north of China withinless than a month. Three of Chang Cheuh’sdisciples have been credited with taking thefirst blood oath when each of them slit open avein, filled a vessel with blood, and drank themixture of their vital fluid while vowing eter-nal brotherhood. This basic blood oath cere-mony, with many variations, became an inte-gral part of Tong ritual.

In the summer of 1900, the notoriousBoxer Tong drove more than 3,000 people—mainly European missionaries, their families,and Chinese Christian converts—into thelegation district of Peking. The siege had beenprovoked by the terror tactics of the Tong,which had been given almost a free hand bythe Manchu government to free the nationfrom the foreign imperialists whom theyaccused of exploiting the Chinese people.“Boxer” was the Western name for this Tong,derived from its symbol of a clenched fist. Thetrue name of the Tong was “I Ho Chuan,”which means the Tong of “The Fists of Right-eous Harmony.”

The Boxers believed that they couldachieve the righteousness of their cause byforce, and they depended greatly on supernat-ural elements to aid them in achieving invul-nerability. They employed rituals compoundedof self-hypnotism, mass-hysteria, and drugs. Atthe height of their ceremonies, the initiatesreached a state of frenzy wherein they wouldsmash their clenched fists against unyieldingsurfaces until the blood flowed from brokenknuckles. Then after a period of spasmodictwitching, foaming at the mouth and scream-ing hysterically, they would roll about on theground until they became unconscious. At thispoint, they were led into the Inner Temple tobe taught the magical secrets of the Tong andto receive their power of invulnerabilityagainst death at the hands of a foreigner. Theimparting of invulnerability was followed bythe blood oath of the Tong, in which each ini-tiate drank a measure of blood.

Initially the violence of the Boxers wasdirected against small Christian missionary


Secret Societies36

THE true name of the Tong was “I HoChuan,” which means the Tong of “The Fists of

Righteous Harmony.”

outposts, especially in the Shantung province.The Empress Dowager, who became a regentafter forcing her nephew from the throne, hadencouraged the attacks. On her orders, Imperi-al officers were ordered to assist the Tong dur-ing the 55-day siege against the foreign lega-tions. However, even before the variousnations whose citizens were under attack sentrelief forces to capture the city and squelch therebellion, many Imperial soldiers had alreadydeserted the Boxers and were starting to fightagainst them from the ranks of other Tongs.

The Triad reached the United States withthe mass of Chinese workers who immigratedto the west coast during the gold rush fever ofthe 1840s. Bewildered in a strange land andmercilessly exploited by people who had hiredthem as common laborers, the Chinese immi-grants welcomed the protection provided bythe Triads that sprang up among their commu-nities, hiding behind the fronts of innocentsocial clubs. Among the first of the Triads toestablish itself in the United States was theso-called “Five Companies,” named after thefive districts of China. Once it had establisheditself, it began to exploit the same Chinesepopulation it had previously protected.

The main nerve-center of the Triad was—and remains—Hong Kong. There are sevenmain branches, each with its own area ofinfluence and working independently of theothers. Although its influence on the courseof Chinese politics has been considerable, theTriad has never been unduly concerned aboutwhich government happens to be in power.

M Delving Deeper

“Boo How Doy: The Early History of Chinese Tongsin New York.” Organized Crime. [Online] http://organizedcrime.about.com/library/weekly/aa062401a.htm.

Booth, Martin. The Dragon Syndicates: The GlobalPhenomenon of the Triads. New York: Carroll andGraf, 2001.

Chin, Ko-Lin. Extortion, Enterprise, and Ethnicity.Studies in Crime and Public Policy. New York:Oxford University Press, 1996.

Huston, Peter. Tongs, Gangs, and Triads: ChineseCrime Groups in North America. Boulder, Colo.:Paladin Press, 1995.

Making the Connection

blasphemy An irreverent utterance or actionshowing a disrespect for sacred things orfor God.

chieftain The leader of a clan, tribe, or group.

conspiracy An evil, treacherous, or unlawfulplan formulated in secret between two ormore people to commit a subversive actionor plot.

desecration When something sacred is treatedin a profane or damaging manner.

fanatical Extreme enthusiasm, frenzy, or zealabout a particular belief, as in politics orreligion.

heresy The willful, persistent act of adheringto an opinion or belief that rejects or con-tradicts established teachings or theoriesthat are traditional in philosophy, religion,science, or politics.

heretic From the Greek hairetikos, meaning“able to choose.” Someone who does notconform or whose opinions, theories, orbeliefs contradict the conventional estab-lished teaching, doctrines, or principles,especially that of religion.

insurrectionist Someone who is in rebellionor revolt against an established authority,ruler, or government.

leprous From the Greek, lepros, meaning“scale.” Something resembling the symp-toms of or relating to the disease of leprosy,which covers a person’s skin with scales orulcerations.

magus A priest, wizard, or someone who isskilled or learned, especially in astrology,magic, sorcery, or the like.

metaphysical Relating to abstract thought orthe philosophical study of the nature ofexistence and truth.

philanthropy From the Greek philanthropos,meaning “humane,” and from philos,meaning “loving.” An affection or desireto help improve the spiritual, social, ormaterial welfare of humanity through actsof charity or benevolence.


37Secret Societies

shapeshift Someone or something that is ableto change form or shape.

subversive To cause the ruin or downfall ofsomething or to undermine or overthrowprinciples, an institution, or a government.

supernatural Relating to or pertaining to Godor the characteristics of God; a deity or

magic of something that is above andbeyond what is normally explained by nat-ural laws.

transmutation The act of transforming orchanging from one nature, form, or stateinto another.


Secret Societies38

Chapter 6

Magic and Sorcery

The earliest traces of magical practice are

found in the European caves of the

Paleolithic Age, c. 50,000 B.C.E., in

which it seems clear that early humans

sought by supernatural means to placate

the spirits of the animals they killed for

food, to dispel the restless spirits of the

humans they had slain in territorial

disputes, and to bring peace to the spirits of

their deceased tribal kin. Throughout the

evolving centuries to the present day,

humankind continues to seek magical

means of improving its lot in life, providing

order to the chaos of the physical world,

and winning the favor of the inhabitants of

the unseen world.

39

Chapter Exploration

Alchemy

Valentine AndreaeRoger Bacon • Helvetius

Hermes TrismegistusAlbertus Magnus • Paracelsus

Magick

Abremelin MagickBlack Magick

Enochian MagickVodun/Vodoun/Voodoo

White Magick

Magi

AgrippaCount Allesandro CagliostroAleister Crowley • John Dee

Dr. Faust • Marie LaveauEliphas Levi • Simon Magus

Pico della Mirandola • PythagorasCount Saint-Germain

Wicca

People of Wicca

Margot AdlerPhilip Emmons (Isaac) Bonewits

Raymond BucklandGavin Frost and Yvonne Frost

Gerald Brosseau GardnerSybil Leek

Margaret Alice MurrayM. Macha NightMare

StarhawkDoreen Valiente

Witchcraft

FamiliarsThe Inquisition—The Time of the Burning

Sabbats

Witchcraft Trials

England • FranceGermany • Salem, Massachusetts

Scotland • Spain

Witchhunters

Jean Bodin • Henri BoguetMatthew Hopkins • Pope Innocent III

Pierre de Lancre

Introduction

The practice of magic and sorcery beganin Paleolithic times, at least 50,000years ago, when early humans began to

believe that there was supernatural power in acharm, a spell, or a ritual to work good or evil.As such beliefs progressed, certain tribal mem-bers were elevated in status to that of magi-cian, sorcerer, priest, and priestess by theirdemonstrable abilities to influence the weath-er, to heal the sick, to communicate with thespirit worlds, and to interpret dreams. Thefour main principles behind early magicremained constant throughout the evolutionof magical practices: 1.) A representation of aperson or thing can be made to affect the per-son or thing it depicts. 2.) Once objects havebeen in touch with each other they continueto influence one another even at great dis-tances. 3.) An unseen world of spirit forcesmay be invoked to fulfill the magician’s will.4.) As above, so it is below; as within, so it iswithout. There is nothing in heaven or inEarth that is not also in humankind.

Primitive animism, such as imitating theanimal of the hunt through preparatory dance,cutting off a bit of an enemy’s hair or clothingto be used in a charm against him, and invok-ing evil spirits to cause destruction to compet-ing villages, eventually gained a higher levelof sophistication and evolved into more for-mal religious practices and the rudiments ofearly science. The word “magic” comes fromthe Greek “magein,” denoting the science andreligion of the priests of Zoroaster (or accord-ing to some scholars from “megas,” signifyingthe “great” secret science, i.e. knowledge). Soit is that by the time of the historic period, thegreat civilizations of Egypt, Babylonia, andPersia had fully developed magical systemswith entire hierarchies of sorcerers, priests,seers, and magi. Greece and Rome supportedboth a state religion of gods and goddesses anda loosely structured priestcraft as well as ahealthy respect for those magicians who couldprove their worth as dependable soothsayers.In addition, the mystery schools in Greeceand Rome were popular with aristocrat andcommoner alike and kept alive the mysticalimpulse in both cultures. Many researchers

have drawn comparisons between certain ofthe mystery school traditions and the greatfestivals, the Sabbats of the witches as theygathered in the forests of Europe.

When Constantine the Great (d. 337)legally sanctioned Christianity throughout theRoman Empire, he in effect granted the earlyChurch Fathers a kind of dominion over theirconstituents that they had not previouslyenjoyed. As the influence of the Christian cler-gy grew in the empire, many of them expressedtheir opinions that magic and sorcery were notharmonious with the teachings of Christ. Atthe Ecumenical Council of Laodicea held in364, a canon was issued that forbade Christianpriests to practice magic, astrology, or mathe-matics. By 525, with the influence of Christian-ity growing ever stronger, the Council of Oxiaprohibited the parishioners from consultingsorcerers, diviners, or any kind of seer. A canonpassed by the Council of Constantinople in625 prescribed excommunication for a periodof six years for anyone found practicing divina-tion or who consulted with a diviner. TheCouncil of Tours in 613 ordered all priests toteach their congregations that magical prac-tices were ineffective methods by which toguarantee the health of humans and animalsand were not to be employed as a means of bet-tering one’s lot in life. With each subsequentchurch council issuing stronger canons andedicts against magic and sorcery, those whodared to continue practicing the occult artswere forced to go underground.

European magic remained a pastiche ofolder pagan practices and ancient rituals untilthe Crusades of the eleventh, twelfth, andthirteenth centuries. Warrior knights, nobles,and clerics returned from their encounterswith the Muslim armies with a great apprecia-tion of their science and their sophisticatedlevels of magic. Other crusaders remainedafter battles had been won or lost to explorethe arts of the Eastern sorcerers and to learnfor the first time of the alchemical works ofthe magi of old Persia and the scholars andmagicians of the Byzantine Empire. ManyChristian adventurers returned with thesecrets of what they called “Constantinoplemagic” and began to experiment with theancient teachings in hidden laboratories. By


Magic and Sorcery40

the twelfth century, a school of medievalmagic built on the magical systems of theSpanish Moors and the Jewish Kabbalah hadbegun to achieve popularity among the intel-lectuals of Europe, who found in alchemy aperfect expression of their quest for God andfor gold. The true alchemist sought the tran-scendent powers of the material and immater-ial dominions that could transmute base met-als into gold and transform the baser humaninstincts into a purity of spirit.

Although the church had issued manycanons forbidding the clergy to practice magicand commanding them to teach their parish-ioners that the teachings of Christ were allthat was necessary to achieve peace on Earthand salvation in heaven, it had taken little realaction against those learned men practicingmagic or the common folk practicing witch-craft other than an occasional excommunica-tion or expulsion from the congregation. Orga-nized persecution of magicians or witches waspractically unknown. In 906, Abbot Regino ofPrum recognized that earlier canon laws haddone little to eradicate the practices of magicand wizardry, so he issued his Canon Episcopi tocondemn as heretical any belief in witchcraftor the power of sorcerers. If anyone believed insuch alleged powers, Satan was deceivingthem, declared Abbot Regino. In 1000, Dea-con Burchard, who would later become arch-bishop of Worms, published Corrrector, whichupdated Regino’s work and stressed that onlyGod had the power to change one thing intoanother. Alchemists could not change basemetals into gold, and witches could notshapeshift into animals.

Church punishment of those who persistedin practicing magic or witchcraft remainedvirtually nonexistent until exaggerated claimsof the powers of the Cathar sect reached theears of the papacy. According to startlingreports, the Cathars were practicing foul sor-ceries, blasphemous heresies, and black mag-ick. What was worse, they appeared to beprospering in their cities in southern France.In 1208, Pope Innocent III (1160 or1161–1216) ordered a crusade launchedagainst the Cathars, who were able to resistthe armies sent against them until their cen-tral city of Montesegur fell in 1246. Hundreds

of Cathars were burned at the stake asheretics, witches, and sorcerers, for by thetime their besieged sect had fallen, the HolyInquisition had been founded in 1233 tostamp out magic, sorcery, and witchcraft.

After it became quite apparent that thechurch and state had undergone a dramaticchange in attitude toward the practice ofmagic, the alchemists/magicians and the magibecame much more cautious in sharing theresults of their experimentations. Because thepractitioners of “higher magic,” such asParacelsus, Agrippa, Roger Bacon, AlbertusMagnus, and others emphasized the mystical,the practical, and the appropriate religiousimagery in their work, they did not suffer thesevere persecutions directed toward the practi-tioners of so-called “lesser magic,” the witch-es, the wizards, and the sorcerers who werecondemned as black magicians. They were,however, kept under close scrutiny by thechurch and were subject to constant attacksby their more conventional peers in the med-ical and clerical professions. For any of themto have become too outspoken regarding theirmagical practices would have won them theirown time of interrogation and torture at thehands of the Inquisition.

Paracelsus may well have expressed thecredo of the alchemist of higher magic whenhe said that nature does not produce anythingthat is perfect in itself—it is humankind thatmust bring everything to perfection. It is thesincere alchemist-magician who fulfills nature.God, Paracelsus said, did not create objectsmade of iron. God created the metal that mustbe enjoined with fire in order to fashion usefulitems. Nothing has been created in its finalstate. Everything is first created in its primarystate. It is the alchemist who must bring thefire of creativity to make art. Alchemy is theart that makes the impure into the pure. High-er magic can separate the useful from the use-less and transmute it into its final substanceand ultimate essence.

M Delving Deeper

Caron M., and S. Hutin. The Alchemists. Translatedby Helen R. Lane. New York: Grove Press, 1961.

Seligmann, Kurt. The History of Magic. New York:Meridian Books, 1960.


41Magic and Sorcery


Williams, Charles. Witchcraft. New York: MeridianBooks, 1960.

Alchemy

The image of alchemists as defrockedwizards and full-time frauds is not quiteaccurate. Most of them were, in fact,

highly spiritual men whose quest to transmuteone substance into another was closer to mys-ticism than modern chemistry. The essence ofalchemy lay in the belief that certain incanta-tions and rituals could convince or commandangelic beings to change base metals into pre-cious ones.

According to ancient tradition, themummy of Hermes Trismegistus, the masterof alchemical philosophy, was found in anobscure chamber of the Great Pyramid of Giza,clutching an emerald tablet in its hands. Thewords contained on the tablet revealed thealchemical creed that “It is true and withoutfalsehood and most real: that which is above islike that which is below, to perpetuate the mir-acles of one thing. And as all things have beenderived from one, by the thought of one, so allthings are born from this thing, by adoption.”Within the secrets inscribed on the tablet wasthe “most powerful of all powers,” the processby which the world was created and by whichall “subtle things” might penetrate “every solidthing,” and by which base material might betransformed into precious metals and gems.

For centuries, the writings of Hermes Tris-megistus were considered a precious legacy fromthe master of alchemy. The Hermetics believedthat the nature of the cosmos was sacramental:“that which is above is like that which isbelow.” In other words, the nature of the spiritu-

al world could be discovered through the studyof the material substance of Earth; and earthlyhumans, created of the dust of the ground, com-prised the prima materia of the heavenly beingsthey would become, just as the base elements ofEarth comprised the raw materials for gold. Thealchemical adepts believed that the most per-fect thing on the planet was gold and that it waslinked with the sun. The sun was considered tobe the lowest manifestation of the spiritualworld and therefore provided the intermediarybetween God and humankind.

The science of alchemy was introduced tothe Western world at the beginning of the sec-ond century of the common era. It was, how-ever, 200 years before the practice of the craftreached its zenith, concurrent with the perse-cutions of the pagans by the Christians.Zosimus of Panapolis, self-appointed apologistof alchemy, cited a passage in Genesis as theorigin of the arcane art: “The sons of God sawthat the daughters of men were fair.” To thisscriptural reference, Zosimus added the tradi-tion that in reward for their favors, the “sonsof God,” who were believed to be fallenangels, endowed these women with theknowledge of how to make jewels, colorfulgarments, and perfumes with which toenhance their earthly charms.

The seven principal angels whose favor thealchemist sought to obtain for their transforma-tion were Michael, who was believed to trans-mute base metals into gold and to dissolve anyenmity directed toward the alchemist; Gabriel,who fashioned silver and foresaw the future;Samuel, who protected against physical harm;and Raphael, Sachiel, Ansel, and Cassiel, whocould create various gems and guard thealchemist from attack by demons. However,members of the clergy were skeptical that thealchemists were truly calling upon angels,rather than demons in disguise, and theyrecalled the words of the Church Father Tertul-lian (c. 155 or 160–after 220), who confirmedearlier beliefs that the “sons of God” referred toin Genesis were evil perverts who bequeathedtheir wisdom to mortals with the sole intentionof seducing them to mundane pleasures.

While the Hermetic was akin to the mystic,a great deal more came out of those smoky lab-


Magic and Sorcery42

ALCHEMY was introduced to the Westernworld in the second century C.E.

oratories than candidates for the torture cham-bers of the Inquisition. In the intellectual half-light of the Middle Ages, the brotherhood ofalchemy, perhaps by accident as much asdesign, did produce a number of valuablechemical discoveries. Albert le Grand producedpotassium lye; Raymond Lully (1235–1315)prepared biocarbonate of potassium; Paracelsus(1493–1541) was the first to describe zinc andchemical compounds to medicine; BlaiseVigenere (1523–1596) discovered benzoic acid.Discoveries increased during the Renaissancewhen such men as Basil Valentine (c. 1450–1492) discovered sulphuric acid, and JohannFriedrich Boetticher (1682–1719) became thefirst European to produce porcelain. Evidencehas been disinterred from the musty alchemists’libraries in Europe that suggests that certain ofthe medieval and Renaissance alchemists con-ducted experiments with photography, radiotransmission, phonography, and aerial flight, aswell as the endless quest to transmute base met-als into gold.

M Delving Deeper

Budge, E. A. Wallis. Egyptian Magic. New York:Dover Books, 1971.

Caron M. and S. Hutin. The Alchemists. Trans. byHelen R. Lane. New York: Grove Press, 1961.

Heer, Friedrich. The Medieval World: Europe 1100 to1350. Translated by Janet Sondheimer. Cleve-land, Ohio: World Books, 1961.

Meyer, Marvin, and Richard Smith, eds. AncientChristian Magic. San Francisco: HarperSanFran-cisco, 1994.




Valentine Andreae (1586–1654)

Valentine Andreae (or Andreas) was a Luther-an pastor who held as his ideal not only MartinLuther (1483–1546), the powerful guiding forcebehind the Protestant Reformation, but alsoChristian Rosencreutz (1378–1484), legendaryfounder of the Rosicrucian mystical movement,and Paracelsus (1493–1541), the reveredalchemist. Andreae was a brilliant scholar who

as a youth had traveled widely throughoutEurope and had risen in the clerical ranks tobecome a chaplain at the Court of Wurtem-berg, Germany. Embittered by the misery thathad been brought to his fatherland as a result ofthe Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), Andreaebecame an apologist for the Rosicrucians andwrote The Hermetic Romance or The ChemicalWedding (1616), an allegorical autobiographyof Christian Rosencreutz the founder of the fra-ternity. Since the seal of the Rosicrucian Fra-ternity, the seal of Martin Luther, and the crestof the Andreae family all bear the image of thecross and the rose, understandable confusionhas arisen from time to time regarding the“autobiography.” Upon the book’s initial publi-cation, many scholars, aware that Rosencreutzhad been dead for 130 years, speculated that hisspirit had dictated the work. Later academicdebates swirled around the question of whetheror not Andreae and Rosencreutz were the sameperson and whether the Fraternity was actuallyfounded in the seventeenth century, ratherthan the fifteenth.

Andreae admitted the work was his ownand proclaimed it an allegorical novel writtenin tribute to Rosencreutz, as well as a symbolicdepiction of the science of alchemy and Her-metic magic. Others identified the work as acomic romance, lightly depicting the mostprofound alchemical symbols in a fancifulmanner. The royal wedding to which the heroRosencreutz is invited is in reality the alchem-ical process itself in which the female andmale principles are joined together. As thenovel continues, the vast arcana of alchemicaltruths are represented by various animals,mythological beings, and human personalities.

In addition to being an advocate of alche-my and the process of contacting intermediaryspirits to accomplish good for society, Andreaebelieved in becoming an active reformer ofsocial ills, as well as supporting the reforma-tion of the church. His treatises The Tower ofBabel (1619) and The Christianopolitan Repub-lic (1620) argue in favor of a general transfor-mation of European society.

M Delving Deeper

Caron, M., and S. Hutin. The Alchemists. Translatedby Helen R. Lane. New York: Grove Press, 1961.


43Magic and Sorcery

De Givry, Emile Grillot. Illustrated Anthology of Sor-cery, Magic and Alchemy. Trans. by J. CourtenayLocke. New York: Causeway Books, 1973.



Roger Bacon (c. 1220–1292)

Roger Bacon, an English Franciscan friar, sci-entist, and philosopher, accepted what hetermed the “natural magic” that occurredwithin mathematical and physical areas ofexperimentation, but he was resolutely againstthe use of incantations, the invocation of spir-its, and the casting of spells. In his opinion,magicians were charlatans, reciting magicalformulas even though they knew the effectsthey created were but the products of naturalphenomena.

Bacon recognized that there were mysteri-ous forces that appeared to be magical, such asthose that moved the stars and the planets;but he argued that all knowledge that existedon Earth depended upon the power of mathe-matics. The friar also admitted the difficultiesin discerning between the natural magic ofscience and the black arts. He was convinced,though, that natural magic was good andblack magic was evil.

This thirteenth-century alchemist seemedto have powers of prediction when he told hiscontemporaries that physics, not magic, wouldproduce huge vessels that would be able tonavigate the oceans and rivers without sails oroars, cars without horses that would be able tomove at tremendous speed, flying machinesthat would soar across the skies guided by asingle man seated at centrally located con-trols, submarine machines that could dive tothe bottom of the sea without danger to itscrew, and great bridges without pillars thatcould span rivers. Bacon has been creditedwith dozens of inventions, such as the tele-scope, eye glasses, gunpowder—all derivedthrough his science, rather than his magic.

In his medical practice, Bacon workedwith certain alchemical formulas prized byspecially gifted scientists since ancient timesthat could create a mysterious liquid known toprolong human life. He also employed thealchemical and homeopathic principles that“like produces like,” that is, if one wishes toprolong one’s life, he or she should eat theflesh of creatures that are long-lived, such asvarious reptiles.

Steadfastly arguing that all human knowl-edge depends upon a study of mathematics,Bacon insisted that the noblest expression ofmathematics is astrology. At each person’sbirth the heavenly energies determine power-ful physical, mental, and emotional factorsthat strongly affect that individual’s destiny.The stars do not decide one’s fate, Bacon con-ceded, for humans did have free will as a divinegift, but the celestial movements did most cer-tainly dispose one toward one’s fate. Therefore,he concluded, astrology should be utilized as apowerful tool in medicine, alchemy, and pre-dicting the future of individuals and nations.

Friar Bacon was well aware that thechurch did not share his enthusiasm for astrol-ogy, but he argued that the Bible itself is thebasic source of astrological knowledge andthat a careful study of astrology would ulti-mately prove the claims of theology. Fellowclerics who opposed such a study, Bacon said,were merely ignorant.

In spite of such statements that seemedtinged with heresy, Bacon’s religious views


Magic and Sorcery44

Roger Bacon

(c. 1220–1292). (THE

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

were essentially orthodox, and he sincerelybelieved that his studies would only serve toadvance the power and the prestige of thechurch. He also drew upon scripture when heacknowledged the enormous power of the spo-ken word (“In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with God, and the Wordwas God.” John 1:1). Bacon stated that allmiracles at the beginning of the world werethe result of God’s word. Therefore, whenhumans spoke with concentration and theproper intention and desire, their very wordscould accomplish powerful effects upon theself, upon others, and upon material things.

In his great determination to produce awork that would unify all learning, wisdom,and faith, Friar Bacon wrote Opus Majus(1268). Despite the fact that Bacon continuedto attack superstition and reject the black arts,he remains widely known as a magician,rather than an early experimental scientist.

M Delving Deeper

Caron, M., and S. Hutin. The Alchemists. Trans. byHelen R. Lane. New York: Grove Press, 1961.


Heer, Friedrich. The Medieval World: Europe 1100 to1350. Trans. by Janet Sondheimer. Cleveland,Ohio: World Books, 1961.



Helvetius (1625–709)

While not a great deal is known about the lifeof John Fredrick Schweitzer, called Helvetius,his place in the history of alchemy is securebecause, according to tradition, he witnessed agenuine transmutation of base metal into goldand later replicated the process in the pres-ence of doubtful observers.

On December 27, 1666, when he wasworking in his study at the Hague, a strangerappeared and informed him that he wouldremove all Helvetius’s doubts about the exis-tence of the philosopher’s stone that couldserve as the catalyst to change base metals

into gold because he possessed such magic.The stranger immediately drew from his pock-et a small ivory box, containing three pieces ofmetal of the color of brimstone and, for theirsize, extremely heavy. With those three bits ofmetal, the man told Helvetius, he could makeas much as 20 tons of gold.

Helvetius examined the pieces of metal,taking the opportunity of a moment’s distrac-tion to scrape off a small portion with histhumbnail. Returning the metal to his myste-rious visitor, he asked that he perform theprocess of transmutation before him.

The stranger answered firmly that he wasnot allowed to do so. It was enough that hehad verified the existence of the metal to Hel-vetius. It was his purpose only to offer encour-agement to alchemical experiments.

After the man’s departure, Helvetius pro-cured a crucible and a portion of lead intowhich, when the metal was in a molten state,he threw the stolen grain he had secretlyscraped from the stranger’s philosopher’sstone. The alchemist was disappointed whenthe grain evaporated and left the lead in itsoriginal state. Thinking that he had beenmade the fool by some mad burgher’s whimsey,Helvetius returned to his own experiments,forgetting about the dream of a magicalphilosopher’s stone.

Some weeks later, when he had almost for-gotten the incident, Helvetius receivedanother visit from the stranger. He impatient-ly told the man to perform a transmutationbefore his eyes or to leave.

This time the stranger surprised him byagreeing to prove that what he and his brotheralchemists most desired truly did exist. Headmonished Helvetius that one grain was suf-ficient for the process to be accomplished, butit was necessary to wrap it in a ball of waxbefore throwing it on the molten metal, other-wise its extreme volatility would cause it tovaporize. To the alchemist’s astonishment andhis great delight, the stranger transmuted sev-eral ounces of lead into gold. Then he permit-ted Helvetius to repeat the process by himself,allowing the alchemist to convert six ouncesof lead into pure gold.


45Magic and Sorcery

Helvetius found it impossible to keep asecret of such immense value and importance.Soon the word of his remarkably successfulexperiments spread throughout Holland, andHelvetius demonstrated the power of thephilosopher’s stone in the presence of theDuke of Orange and many other prestigiouswitnesses. The duke’s own goldsmith assayedthe gold and declared it to be of highest quali-ty. The famous philosopher Baruch Spinoza(1632–1677) visited Helvetius in his laborato-ry and examined the crucible and gold forhimself. He left the alchemist convinced thatthe transmutation had been authentic.

Soon, after repeated demands for suchincredible demonstrations, Helvetius hadexhausted the small supply of catalytic piecesthat he had received from the mysteriousstranger. Search as he might, Helvetius couldnot find the man in all of North Holland norlearn his name, and the stranger never againvisited him.

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De Givry, Emile Grillot. Illustrated Anthology of Sor-cery, Magic and Alchemy. Translated by J. Courte-nay Locke. New York: Causeway Books, 1973.



Hermes Trismegistus

In alchemical/magical tradition, powerfulsecrets of alchemy were found inscribed on anemerald tablet in the hands of the mummy ofHermes Trismegistus, the master magician andalchemist, who had been entombed in anobscure chamber of the Great Pyramid of Giza.The preamble to the key to transmuting basematerials to precious metals and gems instruct-ed the adept that “It is true, without falsehood,and most real: that which is above is like thatwhich is below, to perpetrate the miracles ofone thing.” The writings of Hermes Trismegis-tus were considered by the alchemists as a lega-cy from the master of alchemy and were, there-fore, precious to them.

As much as the thought of such a find mayfire the imagination, the discovery of theEmerald Tablet at Giza is quite likely an alle-gory. The alchemists, who were concernedwith the spiritual perfection of humankind aswell as the transmutation of base metals intogold, commonly recorded their formulas andesoteric truths in allegorical form. Today it isknown that there was no single personagenamed Hermes Trismegistus and that the Ley-den Papyrus discovered in the tomb of theanonymous magician contains the oldestknown copy of the inscription from the leg-endary Emerald Tablet, which is itself adescription of the seven stages of gold-making.

Hermes, who is called Trismegistus, “threetimes the greatest,” was a deity of a group ofGreeks who once founded a colony in Egypt.This transplanted god drew his name fromHermes (Mercury to the Romans), the mes-senger of the Greek hierarchy of deities andthe god who conducted the souls of the deadto the underworld kingdom of Hades. TheEgyptians identified Hermes Trismegistuswith Thoth, who, in their pantheon of gods,was the divine inventor of writing and thespoken word. These same Greek colonistsdeveloped an interest in the old Egyptian reli-gion, then went on to combine elements oftheir hellenistic beliefs, add fragments ofJudaism and other Eastern belief constructs,and set about creating a synthesis of the vari-ous theologies. A vast number of unknownauthors worked at the great task of composinga series of esoteric writings, all of which wereattributed to the mythical figure of Thoth-Hermes. Eventually, Thoth-Hermes becamehumanized into a legendary king, who sup-posedly wrote the amazing total of 36,525volumes of metaphysical teachings. In thethird century, Clement of Alexandria reducedthe total to 42, which he said he saw in avision being carried by adepts.

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Magic and Sorcery46


Albertus Magnus (c. 1193–1280?)

Albertus Magnus, Bishop of Ratisbon, becameinterested in alchemy and is credited withsome extraordinary accomplishments, includ-ing the invention of the pistol and the can-non. Albertus is said to be one of those magiwho actually achieved the transmutation ofbase metals into gold by means of the philoso-pher’s stone. In addition, some said that hewas able to exert control over atmosphericconditions, once even transforming a coldwinter day into a pleasant summer afternoonso he and his guests could dine comfortablyoutside. A prolific writer, Albertus produced21 volumes containing directions for the neo-phyte-practicing alchemist. Certain witnessesto his laboratory credited him with the cre-ation of an automaton that performed menialtasks and was capable of intelligent speech.The term “Magnus” (great) usually ascribed tohim was not awarded to him as a result of hismany accomplishments, but is simply theLatin equivalent of his family name, de Groot.

Born at Larvingen on the Danube in circa1193, Albertus was thought as a child to bequite stupid, capable, it seemed, of under-standing only basic religious ideals, ratherthan any kind of complex study. Then onenight the boy claimed to have received a visi-tation from the Blessed Virgin, and his intelli-gence quotient soared thereafter. Feelingobliged to devote his life to the clergy whenhe completed his studies, Albertus did so wellin the clerical profession that he was madeBishop of Ratisbon. He held the position onlya brief time before he resigned and announcedthat he would devote his intellect and hisenergy to science.

Albertus’s scientific discoveries and hisstudies in alchemy and magic were always con-ducted with complete loyalty to the church. Inhis estimation, magic should be used only forgood, and from the modern perspective, Alber-tus was not so much an alchemist as he wasone of the most brilliant of the early experi-mental chemists. It remains a matter of conjec-ture whether or not Albertus really did accom-

plish the ultimate alchemical feat of transmut-ing base metals into gold, but tradition has itthat he bequeathed his philosopher’s stone tohis distinguished pupil, St. Thomas Aquinas(1224–1274). Once it was in his possession,according to the old legend, Aquinas destroyedthe stone, fearful that the accusations of com-muning with Satan that had been levied at hismentor might be true.

Ever since he left the clergy, Albertus hadlived in pleasant seclusion in his estate nearCologne. As he grew older, it is said that thedullness of mind that had characterized hisyouth returned, and Albertus Magnus died inrelative obscurity.

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Summers, Montague. The History of Witchcraft. NewYork: University Books, 1956.

Paracelsus (1493–1541)

The German physician Theophrastus Bom-bast von Hohenheim traveled throughoutEurope, practicing medicine, occultism, and


47Magic and Sorcery

Albertus Magnus. (THE


alchemy under the name of Paracelsus. Aswith so many of the true alchemists, Paracel-sus believed that it was far more important tocontemplate nature and the majesty of God’shandiworks than to spend all one’s time study-ing the knowledge that could be found inbooks. If one could acquire the kind of purityof belief, such as Jesus (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.)affirmed existed in the heart of a child, onecould literally transform base substances intoprecious metals and gems, for the primaryingredient necessary for alchemical success layin obtaining the prima materia, the essence ofall substances, the primeval building blocks ofthe universe. In the view of Paracelsus, thisessential substance was both visible and invis-ible, and it was the soul of the world fromwhich all elements had sprung, and its powerwas accessible to all who had the purity ofheart and the faith to attain it. For Paracelsus,as for many of his alchemical brotherhood, thegospels of Jesus and the writings of HermesTrismegistus had much in common.

Paracelsus also excited the medical com-munity and lay people alike with his wondermedicine, the alkahest. There was the spiritalkahest that fortified the body against dis-eases, and there was the metal alkahest thatmatured and perfected base metals into gold.

As a result of a series of chemical experiments,Paracelsus became the first to describe zinc,which had been unknown to science, and heintroduced many practical curative com-pounds to the medical practitioners of his day.At the same time that he delivered these med-icines into the hands of the doctors, headmonished them to remember always thatthe first doctor of humankind was God, thedivine creator of all health.

Paracelsus believed firmly that the fullyrealized human was the one who lived ahealthful life. In addition, those who soughtdivine harmony should study astrology inorder to learn the harmony of the spheres,should become a theologian in order to com-prehend the needs of the soul, and shouldpractice alchemy in order to understand thatthere are universal substances to be foundeverywhere in the material world. Thosemany accomplishments should then becapped with the fully realized human becom-ing a mystic to perceive always that there existthings beyond logic.

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Magick

For thousands of generations, from theearliest days of the cave dweller to StarWars technology, a belief in magick has

served the human race. And its practitionersmaintain that it will be as powerful and asmeaningful in the New Age. Magick, spelledwith a “k,” is the use of rituals, chants, cere-monies, and affirmations designed to give theindividual control of the supernatural forcesthat manipulate the universe. Magic spelledminus the “k” denotes trickery, sleight-of-hand, misdirection, the rabbit-out-of-the-hatstage magician.


Magic and Sorcery48

Paracelsus (1493–1541).

(THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

According to those who practice magick,the supernatural forces could not care less bywhat names they are called. It does not matterto them if the magician or sorcerer ascribes tothem the catch phrases of contemporary sci-ence or evokes the ancient names of the oldgods and goddesses. What is important tothese forces is that the magician acknowledgesthat they do exist…that they are there to becalled upon and to act as powerful servants forthose who have learned to control them.

Those who seriously practice the ancientrites and rituals of magick truly believe thatthey can master the ability to control unseenforces that can be made to produce whateverit is that they seek in life—peace, happiness,the secret of love, the pursuit of wealth—allthese things can come easily to those whounderstand the power of true magick.

The practitioners devoted to the variousbelief systems have few problems weaving theirparticular school of magick into the fabric ofcontemporary living, no matter how complex aschedule they might have. Moments can beculled from the day’s work and assembledbefore bedtime for ritual work. For the morecomplex ceremonies a greater amount of timeis needed, but for certain elementary ritualsthey claim that 15 minutes to a half hour areall that is required. Absolute quiet is prefer-able, but the magician can acquire the abilityto blot out extraneous sounds and perform thenecessary rituals regardless of environmentaldistractions. The serious magicians keep arecord of what works, what does not work, andwhat factors they think contributed to the suc-cess of a particular ritual.

It may be that true magick lies in theunlimited reach of the psyche: mind contact-ing mind through other than sensory means;mind influencing matter and other minds;mind elevating itself to a level of conscious-ness where past, present, and future becomean Eternal Now. Although humans mayclothe these experiences according to the cul-tural context in which they are most function-al, these evidences of the non-physical capa-bilities of human beings are universal.

Prestidigitation, the-hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye kind of magic, may have been born

when certain clever individuals began to usetheir brains in an attempt to mimic the tran-scendental qualities of their mind. Perhapslong ago, a canny young man, jealous of amaster shaman’s ability to move an objectthrough psychokinesis, mind influencingmatter, cleverly duplicated the feat by attach-ing one end of a long black hair to a pebbleand the other to a finger. The shaman mighthave spent years acquiring the discipline nec-essary to a semi-controlled functioning of hispsychic ability, but the crafty young magicianwith his trickery could guarantee results onevery attempt.

Throughout all of history, there have beensorcerers, magi, and magicians. Perhaps somewere truly able to produce the genuine mani-festation of some extraordinary psychic ability,but it is likely that the far greater numbers ofwizards and miracle workers had only mas-tered an imitative exploitation based on theessence of the idea of supernatural powers.

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Heer, Friedrich. The Medieval World: Europe 1100 to1350. Trans. by Janet Sondheimer. Cleveland,Ohio: World Books, 1961.



Abramelin Magick

The essence of Abramelin magick can befound in The Sacred Magic of Abramelin theMage, which was translated by MacGregorMathers from a manuscript written in French


49Magic and Sorcery

MAGICK spelled with a “k” refers to rituals, chants, and ceremonies. Magick spelledminus the “k” alludes to trickery, sleight-of-hand, and misdirection

in the eighteenth century. The work purportsto be much older, however. It was dated 1458and claims to be translated originally fromHebrew. The text reveals to the adept that theuniverse is teeming with hordes of angels anddemons that interact with human beings onmany levels. All the vast array of phenomenaon Earth are produced by the demonic entities,who are under the control of the angels.Humans are somewhere midway between theangelic and the demonic intelligences on thespiritual scale, and each human entity has botha guardian angel and a malevolent demon thathover near him or her from birth until death.

Abramelin magick provides instruction tothe initiates of the “Magic of Light” that willenable them to achieve mastery over thedemons and place them under their control.Abramelin the great magus learned how toaccomplish such a difficult task by undergoing

a process of spiritual cleansing and the devel-opment of a powerful will. In addition to spiri-tual and mental exercises, Abramelin discov-ered words of power that can be arranged inmagic squares and written on parchment.With the proper application of these magicalsquares, the magus can command the demonsand order them to assist him in the acquisitionof earthly knowledge and power. By applyingsuch magic words as “abracadabra,” Abramelinmagicians claim they can gain the love of any-one they desire, discover hidden treasures,become invisible, invoke spirits to appear, flythrough the air and travel great distances in amatter of minutes, and animate corpses to cre-ate zombies to serve them. Abramelin magi-cians believe they can heal illnesses or causediseases, bring about peace or war, create pros-perity or poverty. They claim to shapeshift intodifferent animal or human forms.


Magic and Sorcery50

Merlin, the magus who served as a tutorto young Arthur Pendragon before hebecame king, has become almost uni-versally known as the mentor to all

those youth seeking wisdom, spiritual values, andmaterial prosperity. Although scholars tell those fasci-nated by the legend of Camelot that Merlin, Arthur,Guinevere, and Lancelot, are fictional creations, thereare still those who seek out their graves.

Some scholars point to a sixth-century writer andseer named Myrrdin, who went mad and took refuge inthe Forest of Celydon when his king Gwenddolau wasdefeated at the Battle of Arderydd in 573. Merlin firstappears in the History of the Kings of Britain, (1135) aclassic work by Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100–1154).

Merlin became the prophet associated with thequest for the Holy Grail.Other accounts detail howMerlin became trapped in a hawthorn tree, where hedwells forever. Some scholars think, this versionrestores the story of Myrddin, trapped by his madnessin the forest.

Sources:

Monroe, Douglas, ed. The Lost Books of Merlyn: Druid Magic

from the Age of Arthur. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1998.

White, T. H. The Book of Merlyn: The Unpublished Conclusion to

the Once and Future King. Austin: University of Texas Press,

1988.

Merlin:

Real or Fiction?

The difficulty that most practitioners ofAbramelin magick encounter is that there arefew words in any language that are able to ful-fill the requirements of such productivesquares. The basic concept of the Abramelinschool of magick as determined by MacGregorMathers in his translation of the French man-uscript dictates that the letters in the squaresmust form the word that represents the desiredobject and must read the same in all direc-tions. Mathers achieved little success in trans-lating the words provided by Abramelin or informing others that were little more than col-lections of meaningless letters.

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Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts. New York:Capricorn Books, 1968.





Black Magick

Black magick is the use of supernatural knowl-edge and powers for the purpose of doing evilor for working evil upon another humanbeing. Practitioners of black magick deliber-ately seek to invoke demonic entities in orderto control their powers and to force them toobey their will. Black magick is, therefore, aperversion of the mystical sciences. Ratherthan attempting to be of service to one’s fel-low humans as do the practitioners of whitemagick, the black magicians seek to gain con-trol over supernatural forces for the sole pur-pose of personal aggrandizement, the glorifica-tion of their baser appetites, and the sowing ofdiscord, discontent, and disease.

The desire to use supernatural entities towreak havoc upon one’s enemy or to acquirematerial wealth and power was in play duringthe time of the ancient Egyptians and Per-sians. The Greeks and Hebrews adapted manyof the rituals and incantations, transformingthe gods of the earlier cultures into the

demons of their own time. This process ofdeity transmutation was continued intomedieval times when the earlier gods of theMiddle East became devils, the ancient mys-teries and fertility rites became orgies, and theorders of worship for the old hierarchy of godsand goddesses became patterns for sorcery. Bythe Middle Ages, belief in black magick andthe powers of evil became so intense that theworld had become a dark and shadowy placeof dread ruled by Satan.

The sorcerers of the Middle Ages whopracticed black magick followed to the letterthe instructions recorded in the Great Gri-moires, books filled with rites, rituals, incanta-tions, conjurations, and evocations of demonicentities. The deity most often invoked by thedark sorcerer of medieval times to the presentday is Satanas, a direct descendant of the


51Magic and Sorcery

Baphomet: The Sabbatic

Goat from the 1896

edition of

Transcendental Magic.

(FORTEAN PICTURE LIBRARY)

Egyptian Set and an alias for the Persians’Ahriman, the Muslims’ Iblis, the Hebrews’Asmodeus and Beelzebub, and Pan, the goat-footed nature god of the Greeks, who becamethe image of Satan in the common mind. Inaddition to Satan, the master creator of evil,there were many other ancient gods who hadbeen transformed into demons and personifiedas vices who could be ordered to do the bid-ding of the black magicians of the MiddleAges: Moloch, who devours children; Belial,who forments rebellion; Astarte and Astaroth,who seduce men and women into debauchery;Baphomet, who plots murders, and so on.

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LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. New York:Avon Books, 1969.

Rhodes, H. T. F. The Satanic Mass. London: ArrowBooks, 1965.


Enochian Magick

The apocryphal book of Enoch told of the orderof angels called “Watchers,” or “The SleeplessOnes.” The leader of the Watchers was calledSemjaza (in other places, Azazel, the name ofone of the Hebrews’ principal demons), who led200 Watchers down to Earth to take wives fromamong the daughters of men. It was from such aunion that the Nephilim, the giants, the heroesof old, as well as the ancient practitioners of sor-cery, were born. The fallen angels taught theirwives to cast various spells and to practice thearts of enchantment. They imparted to thewomen the lore of plants and the properties ofcertain roots. Semjaza did not neglect humanmen, teaching them how to manufactureweapons and tools of destruction.

In Enochian magick, the practitioneremployed words of power that allegedly had

been passed down in an oral tradition fromthe times of Enoch. The actual evocationbegan with the chanting of the appropriatewords, which varied from spirit to spirit.These words of power were said, by their verysounds, to exert a strong emotional effect. Afamous example is: Eca zodocare iad goho Tor-zodu odo kilale qaa! Zodacare od sodameranulZodorje lape zodiredo ol noco mada dae iadapiel!These words are supposedly from the Enochi-an language, believed by magicians and otheroccultists to pre-date Sanskrit. They wereaddressed to the angelic beings that the magibelieved would assist them in their magickand they translate as follows: “Move, there-fore, and show yourselves! Open the mysteriesof your creation! Be friendly unto me, for I amservant of the same, your God, and I am a trueworshipper of the Highest.”

In all chanting, recitations, and litanies,the impact of a group is far more impressivethan that of a single voice, and the Enochianpractitioners always thought a group must becomposed of individual seekers of like dedica-tion. When properly performed, such ritualshave a powerful impact on the emotions. Thisis heightened by a measured walking aroundthe inside of a magic circle, and dancing.

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Vodun/Vodoun/Voodoo

Vodun, voudoun, or, more popularly, voodoo,means “spirit” in the language of the WestAfrican Yoruba people. Vodun as a religion isa mixture of African beliefs and rites that maygo back as many as 6,000 years with theteachings, saints, and rituals of RomanCatholicism. Early slaves, who were snatchedfrom their homes and families on Africa’sWest Coast, brought their gods and religiouspractices with them to Haiti and other West


Magic and Sorcery52

BLACK magick is the use of supernaturalknowledge and powers for doing evil.


53Magic and Sorcery

Among certain Hispanic and Native Ameri-can cultures of the Southwest, the prac-tice of Burjeria is feared as a manifesta-tion of evil. Those who use rituals, spells,

incantations, potions, and powders to work ill againstothers are known as brujas (witches), who are pri-marily female in number (the male witch is known as abrujo). All the negative facets of witchcraft feared bypeople throughout the world are practiced by the bru-jas: manifesting the evil eye, casting spells to causephysical or mental illness, bringing about bad luck,even death. The brujas create dolls in which theyinsert bits of the victim’s hair, fingernail clippings, orpieces of clothing and focus their evil intent upon theminiature representative of the person to be cursed. Ifan Anglo doctor with modern medical techniquescannot cure someone who has fallen suddenly ill, abruja is suspected as being the cause of the problem.

Brujas are also thought to be accomplishedshapeshifters, possessing the supernatural ability totransform themselves into owls, coyotes, or cats. Inthe form of an animal, they may spy upon potentialvictims and may even administer a potion into theirunsuspecting quarry’s food or water or hide a bad-luck charm on his or her premises. There are certainamulets or rituals that offer some protection from thebrujas, but the only sure way to rid oneself of their evildeeds is to employ the services of a curandero. Some-times the curandero is able to contact the brujathrough supernatural means and demand that thecurse or spell be removed. In more severe cases, thecurandero may have to direct a spell toward the brujaand defeat her on the spiritual level in order to forceher to remove the evil directed toward the victim.

Sources:

“Curandismo.” The Handbook of Texas Online. [Online]

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/

CC/sdc 1.html.

Middleton, John, ed. Magic, Witchcraft and Curing. Garden City,

N.Y.: Natural History Press, 1967.

Simmons, Marc. Witchcraft in the Southwest. Flagstaff, Ariz.:

Northland Press, 1974.

Villoldo, Alberto, and Stanley Krippner. Healing States: A

Journey into the World of Spiritual Healing and

Shamanism. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. Fireside

Book, 1987.

The Practice

of Brujeria

Indian islands. Plantation owners, who pur-chased the slaves for rigorous labor, werecompelled by order of the lieutenant-generalto baptize their slaves in the Catholic reli-gion. The slave suffered no conflict of theolo-gy. They accepted the white man’s “water”and quickly adopted Catholic saints intotheir family of nature gods and goddesses.

The connotations of evil and fear that areassociated with vodun originated primarilyfrom the white plantation owners’ obsessionwith the threat of slave revolts, for they andtheir overseers were outnumbered 16 to 1 bythe field hands whom they worked unmerci-fully in the broiling Haitian sun. As the blackpopulation increased and the white demandfor slave labor remained unceasing, vodun

began to take on an anti-white liturgy. Several“messiahs” emerged among the slaves, whowere subsequently put to death by the whitesin the “big houses.” A number of laws beganto be passed forbidding any plantation ownerto allow “night dances” among his Negroes.

In 1791, a slave revolt took place underthe leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture(1743–1803) which was to lead to Haiti’sindependence from France in 1804. AlthoughL’Ouverture died in a Napoleonic prison, hisgenerals had become sufficiently inspired byhis example to continue the struggle for free-dom until the myth of white supremacy wasbanished from the island.

After the Concordat of 1860, when rela-tions were once again reestablished with France,the priests who came to Haiti found the vestigesof Catholicism kept alive in vodun. The clergyfulminated against vodun from the pulpits butdid not actively campaign against their rivalpriesthood until 1896 when an impatient mon-seigneur tried to organize an anti-vodun leaguewithout success. It wasn’t until 1940 that the


Magic and Sorcery54

Voodoo religious

articles. (ARCHIVE

PHOTOS, INC.)

VOODOO refers to “spirit.”

Catholic Church launched a violent campaignof renunciation directed at the adherents ofvodun. The priests went about their methodicattack with such zeal that the government wasforced to intercede and command them to tem-per the fires of their campaign.

Today there are more than 60 million peo-ple who practice vodun worldwide, largelywhere Haitian emigrants have settled in Benin,Dominican Republic, Ghana, Togo, variouscities in the United States, and, of course, inHaiti. In South America, there are many reli-gions similar to vodun, such as Umbanda,Quimbanda, or Candomble. A male priest ofvodun is called a houngan or hungan; hisfemale counterpart, a mambo. The place whereone practices vodun is a series of buildingscalled a humfort or hounfou. A “congregation”is called a hunsi or hounsis, and the hungancures, divines, and cares for them through thegood graces of a loa, his guiding spirit.

The worship of the supernatural loa is thecentral purpose of vodun. They are the oldgods of Africa, the local spirits of Haiti, whooccupy a position to the fore of God, Christ,the Virgin, and the saints. From the begin-ning, the Haitians adamantly refused toaccept the church’s position that the loa arethe “fallen angels” who rebelled against God.The loa do good and guide and protecthumankind, the hungans argue. They, like thesaints of Roman Catholicism, were once menand women who lived exemplary lives andwho now are given a specific responsibility toassist human spirituality. Certainly there arethose priests, the bokors, who perform acts ofevil sorcery, the left-hand path of vodun, butrarely will a hungan resort to such practices.

The loa communicates with its faithfulones by possessing their bodies during a tranceor by appearing to them in dreams. The pos-session usually takes place during ritual danc-ing in the humfort. Each participant eventual-ly undergoes a personality change and adapts atrait of his or her particular loa. The adherentsof vodun refer to this phenomenon of theinvasion of the body by a supernatural agencyas that of the loa mounting its “horse.”

There is a great difference, the hunganmaintains, between possession by a loa and

possession by an evil spirit. An evil spiritwould bring chaos to the dancing and perhapsgreat harm to the one possessed. The tradi-tional dances of vodun are conducted on aserious plane with rhythm and suppleness butnot with the orgiastic sensuality depicted inmotion pictures about voodoo or in the dis-plays performed for the tourist trade.

All vodun ceremonies must be climaxedwith sacrifice to the loa. Chickens are mostcommonly offered to the loa, although thewealthy may offer a goat or a bull. The pos-sessed usually drinks of the blood that is col-lected in a vessel, thereby satisfying thehunger of the loa. Other dancers may also par-take of the blood, sometimes adding spices tothe vital fluid. After the ceremony, the sacri-ficed animal is usually cooked and eaten.

The traditional belief structure of the Yoru-ba envisioned a chief god named Olorun, whoremains aloof and unknowable to humankind,but who permitted a lesser deity, Obatala, tocreate the earth and all its life forms. There arehundreds of minor spirits whose influence maybe invoked by humankind, such as Ayza, theprotector; Baron Samedi, guardian of the grave;Dambala, the serpent; Ezli, the female spirit oflove; Ogou Balanjo, spirit of healing; and MawuLisa, spirit of creation. Each follower of vodunhas his or her own “met tet,” a guardian spiritthat corresponds to a Catholic’s special saint.

Vodun has a supernatural entity that isunique among the practitioners of sorcery—thezombi, those dread creatures of the undead whoprowl about at night doing the bidding of thosemagicians who follow the left-hand path.Vodun lore actually has two types of zombi: theundead and those who died by violence. AHaitian is most cautious in his or her approachto a cemetery for it is there that one is most like-ly to meet one of the unfortunate wraiths whodied without time for proper ritual. For the


55Magic and Sorcery

AVOUDOUN “congregation” is called ahunsi or hounsis.

Haitian peasant, zombies, the living dead, are tobe feared as real instruments of hungan whohave succumbed to the influence of evil andbecome sorcerers. The people of the villagesbelieve that the sorcerer unearths a corpse andwafts under its nose a bottle containing its soul.Then, as if he were fanning a tiny spark of life indry tinder, the sorcerer nurtures the spark of lifein the corpse until he has fashioned a zombi.The deceased are often buried face downwardby considerate relatives so the corpse cannothear the call of the sorcerer. Some villagers takethe precaution of providing their departed witha weapon, such as a machete, with which toward off the evil hungan.

Haiti is filled with terrible tales of thezombi. There are eyewitness accounts fromthose who have allegedly discovered friends orrelatives, supposedly long-dead, laboring in thefield of some native sorcerer. Upon investiga-tion, such zombi usually turn out to be mental-ly defective individuals who bear a strongresemblance to the deceased. Unfortunately,some unscrupulous hungan have been knownto take advantage of mentally handicappedindividuals and turn them into virtual beasts ofburden. Then, too, it is quite likely that cer-tain hungan have discovered the secret andutilization of many powerful jungle drugs.Modern science owes a heavy debt to nativesorcery for some of its most effective painkillersand tranquilizers. It seems possible that a hun-gan who follows the left-hand path, seeking hisown vengeance or that of another, could mix apowerful drug into the victim’s food andinduce a deep state of hypnotic lethargy in theperson, transforming him or her into a blank-eyed, shuffling, obedient zombi.

There is also the matter of the voodoo dolland voodoo curses. Anthropologist WalterCannon spent several years collecting examplesof “voodoo death,” instances in which men andwomen died as a result of being the recipient ofa curse, an alleged supernatural visitation, orthe breaking of some tribal or cultural taboo.The question that Cannon sought to answerwas, “How can an ominous and persistent stateof fear end the life of a human?”

Fear, one of the most powerful and deep-rooted of the emotions, has its effects mediated

through the nervous system and the endocrineapparatus, the “sympathetic-adrenal system.”Cannon has hypothesized that, “if these pow-erful emotions prevail and the bodily forces arefully mobilized for action, and if this state ofextreme perturbation continues for an uncon-trolled possession of the organism for a consid-erable period . . . dire results may ensue.” Can-non has suggested, then, that “vodun death”may result from a state of shock due to a persis-tent and continuous outpouring of adrenalinand a depletion of the adrenal corticosteroidhormones. Such a constant agitation caused byan abiding sense of fear could consequentlyinduce a fatal reduction in blood pressure.Cannon assessed voodoo death as a real phe-nomenon set in motion by “shocking emotion-al stress to obvious or repressed terror.” Dr. J.C. Barker, in his collection of case histories ofindividuals who had willed others, or them-selves, to death (Scared to Death [1969]), sawvoodoolike death as resulting, “purely fromextreme fear and exhaustion…essentially apsychosomatic phenomenon.”

M Delving Deeper

Bach, Marcus. Inside Voodoo. New York: Signet, 1968.

Barker, J. C. Scared to Death. New York: Dell Books,1969.

Brean, Joseph. “Scared to Death Isn’t Just an Expres-sion.” National Post with file from Agence France-Presse, December 21, 2001. [Online] http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f’/stories/20011221/931884.html&qs’Jos.

Huxley, Francis. The Invisibles: Voodoo Gods in Haiti.New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969.

“Vodun.” [Online] http://www.religioustolerance.org/voodoo.htm.

White Magick

In the earliest of societies, the practitioner ofwhite magick was the shaman, the medicineman, the herbalist—the individual sought outby the village when it was necessary to receivea proper potion to dissolve an illness or aproper charm to drive away an evil spirit. Inthese same early societies, the roles of priestand magician were often combined into a manor a woman who had the ability to enter atrance state and commune with the entitiesthat dwelt in nature and the spirits who lived


Magic and Sorcery56

in the unseen world. The priest/magican knewhow to appease angry entities whose sacredspaces were violated, how to eject an unwel-come possessing spirit from a human body, andwhere to find the herbs that could banish ill-ness. All of these tasks were accomplishedwith the good of the tribal members as thepriest/magician’s primary objective.

By the Middle Ages in Europe, magic andreligion remained intertwined for those whowould practice white magick. Although blackmagick certainly existed as a power andclaimed those dark magicians who succumbedto personal greed and were paid to use theircraft against others, the practitioners of thehigher magic attracted such gifted minds asthat of Eliphas Levi, Agrippa, and Paracel-sus, all of whom considered magic as the trueroad to communion with God and believedthat the fruits of such communion should beexpressed in service to their fellow humans.Levi believed that the white magicians whodevoted themselves to faith and reason, sci-ence and belief would be able to endow them-selves with a sovereign power that wouldmake them masters over all spirits and theforces of the material world. Paracelsus pro-claimed that the white magician did not needto draw magic circles, chant spells, or practicerituals. In his belief construct nothing wasimpossible to the human spirit that linkeditself with God. All magic was possible to thehuman mind expressing itself through faithand imagination.

White magicians continue to practicetheir traditions on a high level of mysticalideals and devote themselves to transcenden-tal magic, rather than the occult. While thedarker applications of magic and sorceryreceive the greater share of popular attention,those adepts of all traditions who practicewhite magick continue to do so quietly andsecretly, serving humankind by working in thelight, rather than the darkness.

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Magi

Everyone who knows the traditional storyof Christmas has heard of the three magiwho followed the star in the East and

who traveled afar to worship at the mangerwherein lay the baby Jesus (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30C.E.). These magi were not kings, but “wiseones,” astrologers and priests of ancient Persia,philosophers of Zoroastrian wisdom, and theirtitle has provided the root for the words“magic,” “magician,” and so forth. Such menwere the councilors of the Eastern empires, thepossessors of occult secrets that guided royalty.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, thosewho bore the title of magi were more likely tobe men who had devoted their lives to theaccumulation of occult wisdom and knowl-edge from the Kabbalah, the ancient Egyp-tians, the Arabs, and various pagan sources,and had thereby come under the scrutiny ofthe church and suspected of communicatingwith demons. Although these individualsvaliantly clung to precious fragments ofancient lore and insisted that they were prac-titioners of good magic, the clergy saw few dis-tinctions between the magi and the witchesthat the Inquisition sought to bring to trial fordemonolatry and devil worship. It was notuntil the advent of the Renaissance that themagi and their forbidden knowledge began togain a certain acceptance among the courts ofEurope and the better educated members ofthe general populace.

Perhaps one of the greatest difficulties thatthe magi had with the orthodox clergy wastheir contention that angelic beings could be


57Magic and Sorcery

DURING the Middle Ages, magi were menwho accumulated occult wisdom and knowledge fromthe Kabbalah.

summoned to assist in the practice of whitemagick. There were seven major planetaryspirits, or archangels, that the magi wereinterested in contacting: Raphael, Gabriel,Canael, Michael, Zadikel, Haniel, andZaphkiel. One of the original sources of suchinstruction allegedly came from the greatEgyptian magi and master of the occult, Her-mes-Thoth, who described the revelation hehad been given when he received a shimmer-ing vision of a perfectly formed, colossal manof great beauty. Gently the being spoke toHermes and identified itself as Pymander, thethought of the All-Powerful, who had come togive him strength because of his love of justiceand his desire to seek the truth.

Pymander told Hermes that he mightmake a wish and it would be granted to him.Hermes-Thoth asked for a ray of the entity’sdivine knowledge. Pymander granted thewish, and Hermes was immediately inundatedwith wondrous visions, all beyond humancomprehension and imagination. After theimagery had ceased, the blackness surroundingHermes grew terrifying. A harsh and discor-dant voice boomed through the ether, creat-ing a chaotic tempest of roaring winds andthunderous explosions. The mighty and terri-ble voice left Hermes filled with awe. Thenfrom the All-Powerful came seven spirits whomoved in seven circles; and in the circles wereall the beings that composed the universe.The action of the seven spirits in their circlesis called fate, and these circles themselves areenclosed in the divine Thought that perme-ates them eternally.

Hermes was given to comprehend thatGod had committed to the seven spirits thegoverning of the elements and the creation oftheir combined products. But because Godcreated humans in his own image, and,pleased with this image, had given thempower over terrestrial nature, God would grantthe ability to command the seven spirits tothose humans who could learn to know them-selves, for they were and could come to con-quer the duality of their earthly nature. Theywould truly become magi who learned to tri-umph over sensual temptations and toincrease their mental faculties. God wouldgive such adepts a measure of light in propor-

tion to their merits, and they would beallowed to penetrate the most profound mys-teries of nature. Assisting these magi in theirwork on Earth would be the seven superiorspirits of the Egyptian system, acting as inter-mediaries between God and humans. Theseseven spirits were the same beings that theBrahmans of ancient India called the sevenDevas, that in Persia were called the sevenAmaschapands, that in Chaldea were calledthe seven Great Angels, that in Jewish Kab-balism are called the seven Archangels.

Later, various magi sought to reconcile theChristian hierarchy of celestial spirits with thetraditions of Hermes by classifying the angelsinto three hierarchies, each subdivided intothree orders:

• The First Hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim,and Thrones

• The Second Hierarchy: Dominions, Powers,and Authorities [Virtues]

• The Third Hierarchy:Principalities,Archangels, and Angels.

These spirits are considered more perfectin essence than humans, and they are thoughtto be on Earth to help. They work out the pat-tern of ordeals that each human being mustpass through, and they give an account ofhuman actions to God after one passes fromthe physical plane. They cannot, however,interfere in any way with human free will,which always must make the choice betweengood and evil. In their capacity to help,though, these angels can be called upon toassist humans in various ways.

It is these archangels, then, that the magievoke in their ceremonies. Accompanying theconcept of the planetary spirits, or archangels,was something the Egyptians called “hekau”or word of power. The word of power, whenspoken, released a vibration capable of evok-ing spirits. The most powerful hekau for call-ing up a specific spirit in ceremonial magic isthat spirit’s name.

“To name is to define,” cried CountCagliostro, a famous occultist of the eigh-teenth century. And, to the magi of the Mid-dle Ages, to know the name of a spirit was to


Magic and Sorcery58

be able to command its presence, therebymaking them true miracle workers.

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Agrippa (1486–1535)

Henry Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim,author of The Occult Philosophy,(1531) one ofthe most influential works in Westernoccultism, was an accomplished physician,soldier, and occultist who traveled widelythroughout Europe. More commonly knownas Agrippa, the versatile magus envisionedmagic as a blend of scientific knowledge, reli-gious doctrine, and occult secrets. While hisintellect brought him fame, wealth, and polit-ical favor, the turbulent times in which hepracticed his craft also brought him condem-nation, poverty, and prison. Agrippa becameimmersed in the supernatural and the occultand sought to develop a synthesis that wouldunite various magical systems and religioustraditions with the Kabbalah.

While in Paris on a mission for the EmperorMaximilian I (1459–1519), Agrippa formed asecret society with a group of like-minded schol-ars and noblemen. The pact they vowed touphold envisioned a reformed world, and theypledged to come to one another’s assistancewhenever needed. Later, when their efforts torestore one of their members to his former posi-tion of power failed, the group was disbanded.

A humanist and feminist ahead of his time,Agrippa exalted the position of women farabove the prevailing sentiment of the early six-teenth century. In 1509, he composed TheNobility of the Female Sex and The Superiority ofWomen while lecturing at the university atDole. Agrippa annoyed a number of clerics

when he presented teachings from the Bible,the Church Fathers, and various works of phi-losophy to argue his praise of women. Thepaean to the fair sex was dedicated to Margaretof Austria, Maximilian’s daughter, who wasmistress of Dole and Burgundy, in the hope thathe might obtain her patronage. Unfortunatelyfor his cause, a Franciscan friar in Margaret’scabinet warned her that Agrippa was a hereticwho taught the Kabbalah of the Jews andwhose attentions were not to be trusted. Oncethe clergy saw that royal support would not beforthcoming for Agrippa, they also managed tosquelch publication of his praise of women.

Discouraged by Margaret’s rejection of hiswork, Agrippa went first to England, then toCologne where he continued his lectures andhis studies. In 1515, his military prowess whileserving in Maximilian’s campaign in Italyearned him a knighthood on the battlefield.Coincident with this honor, the Cardinal of St.Croix asked Agrippa to serve as representativeto the council of Pope Leo X (1475–1521).Agrippa was pleased to do so, for he saw this asan opportunity to rectify matters with thechurch whose clergy he had offended in thepast, but when the council was disbandedbefore he could state his defense, he abandonedboth his military and ecclesiastical careers.

Agrippa returned to teaching, lecturing onHermes Trismegistus at Turin and Pavia, and


59Magic and Sorcery

(Henry) Cornelius

Agrippa (von

Nettesheim) (1486–1535).


adding to his fame as a magus. In 1520, he lefthis position as a city official at Metz when heran afoul of the inquisitor Savini from whomhe rescued a woman unjustly accused ofwitchcraft. With the unforgiving Inquisitionnow keeping a close watch on his activities,Agrippa began practicing medicine in suchcities as Cologne, Geneva, and Fribourg. In1524, King Francis I (1494–1547) appointedhim as personal physician to his mother, theDuchesse Louise of Savoy, and Agrippa was atlast on a pension. Such security soon dissipat-ed, however, when he rebuked the duchess forasking him to debase his talents by diviningher future from the stars.

Agrippa continued his nomadic existence,moving from city to city, country to country. In1529, he was summoned to provide counsel forHenry VIII of England (1491–1547), the chan-cellor of Germany, an Italian marquis, andMargaret of Austria, governor of the Nether-lands. Twenty years after he had dedicated TheSuperiority of Women to her, Margaret finallygranted her approval to the work and appoint-ed Agrippa historiographer of her court.

It was at this time when destiny appearedat last to have smiled upon him that Agrippaconfused follower and foe alike by publishingOn the Vanity of Arts and Sciences (1529),which proclaimed that nothing was certain ineither the arts or the sciences. The product ofhis disillusionment with the lack of materialrewards that his scholarship and his alchemi-cal practices had produced, Agrippa’s work

advised that the only reliable source to whichhumans might turn was religious faith. As ifsuch preachments were not baffling enoughcoming from a leading occultist of the day, ascholar known throughout all of Europe asthe great champion of alchemy and magic,Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy, which had beenwritten when he was a youth but hadremained in manuscript form, was publishedabout a year later. In this monumental work,Agrippa declared that magi were able to per-form miracles through the occult wisdomrevealed to them by supernatural beings.With one book recanting the occult beliefs ofthe other, but still declaring that all humanendeavors were uncertain acts of vanity,Agrippa found himself once again devoid of astable audience and relieved of his pension asan imperial historiographer. He was jailed inBrussels for one year for his inability to payhis debts, and upon his release he soughtrefuge at Grenoble in the home of M. Allard,Receiver General of the Provence. Agrippadied there in 1535.

Before he died, Agrippa was seen every-where with his large black dog, Monsieur.Because of his reputation among the people asa black magician, it was widely believedamong the townsfolk of Grenoble that Mon-sieur was Agrippa’s familiar. After Agrippa’sdeath, the large dog seemed to vanish mysteri-ously, thereby convincing people that themagus had been in league with Satan allalong. Although a friend testified that he hadoften walked Monsieur for the scholar andthat the large black canine was simply a dog,the townspeople persisted in their belief thatthey had often witnessed the magus Agrippain the company of his demonic familiar.

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Heer, Friedrich. The Medieval World: Europe 1100 to1350. Translated by Janet Sondheimer. Cleve-land, Ohio: World Books, 1961.


Magic and Sorcery60

Cornelius Agrippa’s

magical square.





Count Allesandro Cagliostro

(1743–1795)

Count Allesandro Cagliostro was widelyknown as the man who held the secret of thephilosopher’s stone, the alchemist whoturned lowly metals into gold and in Stras-burg produced alchemically a diamond whichhe presented to Cardinal Louis de Rohan.Cagliostro was said to have invented the“water of beauty,” a virtual fountain of youth,and when the best doctors in Europe admit-ted their defeat in difficult cases, they sum-moned the count and his curative powers.Although most students of sorcery and magicregard Cagliostro as a charlatan, certainscholars of the occult still regard him as oneof the greatest magi of all time.

By the time he was 14, Cagliostro (PeterBasalmo) was an assistant to an apothecary inPalermo, Italy, and had become an expert inthe principles of chemistry and medicine. Dri-ven to obtain less conventional knowledge,the teenager fell in with a group of vagabondswho were continually in trouble with thepolice. When he was 17, he had gained a rep-utation as one who could evoke the spirits ofthe dead, but he used this knowledge to fleecea wealthy citizen of Palermo and he fled toMessina, where he assumed the title and theidentity of Count Cagliostro.

It was in Messina that the young man metthe mysterious Althotas, a man of Asianappearance, dressed in caftan and robes, whoupon their first encounter proceeded to revealthe events of Cagliostro’s past. As theybecame better acquainted, Althotas said thathe didn’t believe in ordinary magic, but main-tained that the physical laws were mutableand could be manipulated by the powers ofmind. The two traveled together to Egyptwhere they visited the priests of many esoterictraditions and received much secret knowl-

edge. From Egypt they went to Asia and beganto pursue alchemical experiments.

When Althotas died on the island ofMalta, Cagliostro returned to Italy with a con-siderable fortune accumulated from his workwith various alchemical teachers. In 1770,when he was 26 years old, he met LorenzaFeliciani while in Rome, and he asked her tomarry him. Lorenza’s father was impressed byCagliostro’s apparent wealth and readily con-sented to the wedding. While some biogra-phers believe his riches came from his success-ful alchemical experiments, others accuse thecount of duping wealthy aristocrats out oftheir inheritances and of running disreputablegambling houses. His marriage to Lorenza isalso clouded with charges of chicanery anddeceit. Although most accounts depict her asan honest and good woman, she traveledthroughout Europe and Great Britain withCagliostro and appears to have been involvedin his various schemes. By far the most impor-tant of Cagliostro’s creations was the EgyptianMasonic rite, whose lodges admitted bothsexes and whose main temple was presidedover by the Grand Mistress Lorenza and theGrand Copt Cagliostro.

In the lodges ruled by the Grand Mistressand the Grand Copt, women were so emanci-pated that they were encouraged to remove allof their clothing to be initiated into the mys-teries of nature. Those women who receivedthe magnetic powers bestowed upon them bythe Grand Copt were promised the ability tomake full use of their own occult force. In theEgyptian Masonic lodge, physical happinesswas equivalent to spiritual peace.

Wealthy members of European royaltysought his magical elixir of regeneration, andCount Cagliostro is said to have cured thou-sands of people with his lotions and potionsduring his reign in Europe as a master conjur-er. Today, researchers can only guess if these


61Magic and Sorcery

COUNT Allesandro Cagliostro was allegedly theone who held the secret of the philosopher’s stone.

illnesses were linked to hysteria or psychoso-matic delusions.

Although the church had chosen to ignoreaccusations of deception and charlatanismdirected against Cagliostro, it could not over-look the formation of another Masonic lodge.And when the Grand Copt sought to establisha lodge within the boundaries of the papalstates, he was arrested on September 27, 1789,by order of the Holy Inquisition and impris-oned in the Castle of Saint Angelo. Inquisi-tors examined Cagliostro for 18 months, andhe was condemned to death on April 7, 1791.However, his sentence was commuted to per-petual imprisonment in the Castle of SaintAngelo. Unable to accept such a fate,Cagliostro attempted to escape. He was placedin solitary confinement in a cistern in theCastle of San Leo near Montefeltro where hesuffered with little food, air, or movement.Sometime in 1795, the governor took pity onthe prisoner and had him removed to a cell onground level. It was here, around March 6, theunhappy magi died. Although the records areincomplete, it is thought that his wife, Loren-za, who had been sentenced to the Convent ofSt. Appolonia, a penitentiary for women inRome, died in 1794.

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Aleister Crowley (1875–1947)

Aleister Crowley (Edward Alexander Crow-ley) is one of the most controversial figures inthe annals of modern occultism. Along withthe Freudians, Crowley believed that most ofhumankind’s ills were caused by inhibition ofthe sexual impulses. Consequently, much ofCrowley’s magick drew its impetus from therelease of psychic energy through sexual activ-ity, including homosexuality and other prac-tices that earned for Crowley the distinctionof being named one of the most sinister figuresof modern times. In his day, and for some time

afterward, the name of Aleister Crowley wasalmost synonymous with evil. Crowley’s ownmother, a fundamentalist Christian, dubbedhim “The Great Beast 666,” a diabolical imagedrawn from the Book of Revelation.

In Cairo, Egypt, in 1904 a being thatcalled itself “Aiwass” suddenly took possessionof Crowley’s wife after she had uttered some-thing to the effect that “they” wished to com-municate with him. At the time, they werestanding before the Stele of Revealing in theCairo Museum. There followed three days ofdictation by Aiwass to Crowley. The text ofthis dictation forms The Book of the Law(1904), which was supposed to herald thecoming of the Age of Horus, the child.

Crowley won the distinction of being the“wickedest man in the world” while he wasconducting an institution he called the SacredAbbey of Thelema. Located on the island ofSicily, the abbey was dedicated to the practiceof magic, uninhibited sex accompanied by lib-eral use of drugs, and worship of ancientGnostic deities. Ritual intercourse, both het-ero and homosexual in nature, was the chiefform of worship.

Drawing upon ancient Gnostic magicaltexts, Crowley added to an old Graeco-Egypt-ian text and performed the rite of Libersamekh, celebrating sexual release and the pas-sage of the spirit from a lower level of con-sciousness to a higher one. Crowley added hisown contributions to the original Gnostictext, some of which were “High SupernaturalBlack Magic” and “Intercourse with theDemon.” According to Crowley the ritual wasthe one to be employed by the Beast 666 forthe attainment of knowledge and conversa-tion with his holy guardian angel. In The BlackArts (1968) Richard Cavendish comments onthe Liber samekh: “To know the angel andhave intercourse with the demon . . . means tosummon up and liberate the forces of themagician’s unconscious. The performance ofthe ritual is accompanied by…the mountingfrenzy with which the barbarous names ofpower are chanted…ending in a climax whichis both physical and psychological and inwhich the magician’s innermost powers areunleashed.”


Magic and Sorcery62

Crowley’s life and career are illustrations ofthe two possibilities inherent in experimentingwith altered states of consciousness. Whateverelse might be said about him, Crowley was apowerful magician and a master of the art ofritual. Crowley’s excesses and eventual declineprobably were results of his reliance upon nar-cotics. His philosophy of life was summed up inan analysis by journalist Tom Driberg in thedays when Crowley was beginning to be calledthe wickedest man in the world: “His basiccommandment was ‘Do what thou wilt.’ Sincehis training in serious, formal magick (as hespelt it) was rigorous, he did not mean by this‘Follow each casual impulse.’ He meant ‘Dis-cover your own true will and do it.’ In otherwords, ‘Know yourself and be yourself.’”

Before his death Crowley was rumored tohave started a group on the American WestCoast that included the study and practice of

alchemy. The deaths of several persons as theresults of mysterious explosions were connect-ed with this practice; but if a Crowley cultever existed, it had all but vanished within afew years after his death.

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Aleister Crowley Foundation. [Online] http://www.thelemicgoldendawn.org/acf/acfl.htm.


Mannix, Daniel P. The Beast. New York: BallantineBooks, 1959.


63Magic and Sorcery

Aleister Crowley in 1934.

(AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

ALEISTER Crowley was dubbed “The GreatBeast 666.”

Rhodes, H. T. F. The Satanic Mass. London: ArrowBooks, 1965.

John Dee (1527–1608)

Although Dr. John Dee’s reputation as a blackmagician may be undeserved, he seems des-tined to remain so categorized in the history ofmagic and the occult. Dee came from a familyof means, and he was admitted to St. John’sCollege, Cambridge, when he was only 15.His application to his studies was intense, andhe soon distinguished himself as a scholar. Heslept only four hours per night, ate a lightmeal, participated in various forms of recre-ation for two hours, then used the remaining18 hours for study.

When he left Cambridge, he traveled toHolland to study with Mercator (1512–1594)and other learned men of his day. Returninghome, he was made a fellow of Trinity Col-lege, and he gained a wide reputation as anastronomer.

Dee left England again soon after acquir-ing fame as an astrologer and an astronomer,

and he taught at many European universities.In 1551, he was back in England and wasreceived by King Edward VI (1537–1553),who awarded him a pension of 100 crowns perannum. This stipend Dee later exchanged fora rectory at Upton-upon-Severn.

During Queen Mary I’s (1516–1558) reign(1553–58), Dee was accused of trying to killher by “enchantments.” He was seized, con-fined, and tried. After a long trial that lasteduntil 1555, he was at last acquitted.

When Elizabeth I (1533–1603) ascendedto the throne in 1558, she consulted with Deeas to which day the stars deemed the mostpropitious hours for her coronation. Pleasedwith his pronouncements, she continued togrant him the favor of her attention, and shemade many promises of preferment—none ofwhich were kept. Disillusioned by theintrigues of the English Royal Court, Dee leftthe country for Holland. In 1564 while resid-ing in Antwerp, Dee published his greatestwork, Monas Hieroglyphica. After he had pre-sented a copy to the Emperor Maximilian II


Magic and Sorcery64

Secret Enochian letters

used by John Dee.


(1527–1576), Dee returned to England to pro-duce more learned occult volumes.

In 1571, while residing once again on theContinent, Dee fell ill. When Elizabeth heardof it, she sent two of her best physicians toattend to him. The queen also conveyed addi-tional proofs of her high regard for him andmade further promises. When he recovered,Dee returned to England and settled at Mort-lake in Surrey. Here he accumulated an exten-sive library of works on occultism and alliedsubjects, prompting his neighbors to decreethat he was in league with the devil. WhileDee insisted that he did not practice blackmagic, it seemed apparent that he knew agreat deal about the subject.

After Elizabeth’s death, James I (1566–1625) refused to extend patronage to Deebecause of his troubled reputation as a practi-tioner of the dark arts. Dee returned to Mort-lake, where he died in 1608 in a state of neglectand poverty. Dr. John Dee’s globes, magicstone, and other items of his occult practicesmay be seen today in the British Museum.

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Dr. Faust (c. 1480–1540)

Although many assume that Dr. Faust was a fic-tional character created by Christopher Mar-lowe (1564–1593) for his famous play, TheTragedy of Dr. Faustus (1589), and utilized againlater by Johnann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749–1832) for his masterwork Faust (1808),there actually was a magician named GeorgFaust, who was born in Knittlingen, Wurtten-burg, Germany, around 1480. Faust was a travel-ing magician, visiting town after town, perform-ing feats of legerdemain, telling fortunes, andprofessing to have supernatural powers. Whilesome contemporary scholars were impressed

with his alleged abilities, others branded him asnothing more than an unscrupulous charlatan.At some point, Georg Faust became confusedwith an academic named Johann Faust, and hewas mistakenly credited with many of thelearned professor’s scholastic achievements.

When Georg Faust died around 1540, hehad become such a legendary magician inGermany that in 1558 Johann Speiss pub-lished a book entitled The History of Dr.Johann Faust, which listed his many feats andadventures. Speiss included his interpretationof how Faust had become a master magicianby selling his soul to the devil in exchange for24 years of limitless knowledge and power.

Over the course of time, the Faust storyhas been the subject of numerous plays,operas, and films. The first cinematic produc-tion of the ageless tale of Dr. Faust selling hissoul to the devil for unlimited knowledge wasa French film in 1905. The noted Germanactor Emil Jannings played the role in a classic


65Magic and Sorcery

John Dee (1572–1608).


THE first cinematic production of Dr. Faustwas a French film in 1905.


Magic and Sorcery66

Mephistopheles

appearing before Faust

in the 1865 edition of

Faust by Johann

Wolfgang Goethe.


version of the story in 1926, and British actorRichard Burton enacted Dr. Faustus in 1968.

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Marie Laveau (c. 1794–1881)

Marie Laveau succeeded Sanite Dede as thevoodoo queen (high priestess) of New Orleanssometime around 1830. No one in the hierar-chy of voodoo priests and priestesses disputedLaveau’s rise to that position, for it was widelyknown that she was gifted with powers of sor-cery and the ability to fashion charms ofunfailing efficacy.

Laveau was a Creole freewoman, and byprofession a hair dresser. Her prestige amongthe white establishment was assured when theson of a wealthy New Orleans merchant wasarrested for a crime of which he was innocent,although there was much false evidenceagainst him. His father appealed to the voodoohigh priestess to put a spell on the judge tocause him to find the young man not guilty.

Laveau took three Guinea peppers andplaced them in her mouth before she went tothe cathedral to pray. Although she was therecognized voodoo priestess of New Orleans,she did not find her beliefs incompatible withCatholicism and Christian charity, and sheattended Mass daily. On that particular day,she knelt at the altar for several hours, prayingfor the young man to be found innocent.Then, later, by a ruse, she managed to enterthe courtroom and place the peppers underthe judge’s seat. The judge found the prisonernot guilty, and Marie Laveau was handsomelyrewarded by the merchant.

Laveau greatly popularized voodoo byrevising some of the rituals until they becameher unique mixture of West Indian andAfrican tribal religions and Roman Catholi-cism. She invited politicians and police offi-cials to the public ceremonies that she con-

ducted on the banks of Bayou St. John on thenight of June 23, St. John’s Eve. On otheroccasions, she would hold voodoo rituals onthe shore of Lake Pontchartrain and at hercottage, Maison Blanche. Hundreds of themost prominent families in New Orleanswould be present at these public celebrationsof voodoo, hoping to get a glimpse of MarieLaveau herself dancing with her large snake,Zombi, draped over her shoulders. For thewhite onlookers, the music and the dance pro-vided exciting entertainment. For MarieLaveau’s fellow worshippers, the rites werespiritual celebrations, and even Zombi was anagent of great voodoo powers. On other occa-sions in private places, the high priestess cele-brated the authentic rites of voodoo for herdevoted congregation, far from the criticaleyes of the white establishment and clergy.


67Magic and Sorcery

Tomb of Voodoo Queen

Marie Laveau I

(1783–1881). (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

For many years, legend had it that MarieLaveau had discovered the secrets of immortali-ty and that she lived to be nearly 200 years old.Some speak in hushed whispers that she is stillalive, conducting voodoo rituals in the secretshadows of New Orleans. Such a legend quitelikely began when Laveau cleverly passed theposition of high priestess to her daughter, whogreatly resembled her, at a strategic time whenshe had just begun to age. Laveau retired frompublic appearances to continue to conduct theintricate network of spies and informants shehad built up while her daughter assumed thepublic persona of Marie Laveau, voodoo queenof New Orleans. Because she now appearedageless and could sometimes be seen in morethan one place at a time, her power and mys-tery grew ever stronger among her voodoo wor-shippers and the elite white community, aswell. As far as it can be determined, MarieLaveau died in New Orleans on June 15, 1881.

M Delving Deeper

Arbury, David. “Marie Laveau.” Voodoo Dreams.[Online] http://isa.hc.asu.edu/voodoodreams/marie_laveau.asp. 3 March 2002.

Hollerman, Joe. “Mysterious, Spooky, and SometimesEven a Little Scary.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb-ruary 7, 2002. [Online] http://home.post-dispatch.com/channel/pedweb.nsf/text/86256A0E0068FE5086256B9003E1. 3 March 2002.

“Marie Laveau.” Welcome to the Voodoo Museum.[Online] http:// www.voodoomuseum.com/marie.html. 3 March 2002.

Metraux, Alfred. Voodoo. New York: Oxford Univer-sity Press, 1959.

Steiger, Brad, and John Pendragon. The Weird, the Wild,& the Wicked. New York: Pyramid Books, 1969.

Eliphas Levi (c. 1810–1875)

Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) wasborn in France about 1810, the son of a shoe-maker. His parents soon decided that he

should be educated for the life of a parishpriest. Constant became a deacon, took a vowof celibacy, and seemed destined for a quietlife in the clergy. But then his life suddenlyassumed a different course when he upsetmembers of the church hierarchy for espous-ing doctrines quite contrary to those endorsedby the papacy. For one thing, Father Constantfelt that somewhere along the ages the theolo-gians of the church had confused Lucifer, thebearer of light, with Satan, the Prince ofDarkness, and had judged him unfairly. Such aliberal attitude to the angel who led the revoltin heaven did not sit at all well with his supe-riors, and Father Constant was expelled fromthe church.

For many years after his expulsion from theRoman Catholic Church, Father Constantappears to have traveled throughout Franceand other European nations rather anony-mously, and little is known of those years inwhich he lived in obscurity, collecting histhoughts, forming his political and spiritualphilosophies. In 1839, he published a pam-phlet entitled The Gospel of Liberty, which,because of its socialistic leanings, earned himsix months in prison in Paris.

Once he served his term in prison, he putaside his vow of celibacy and married a 16-year-old girl, whose parents soon had theunion annulled. It was after his painful separa-tion from his wife that Alphonse Louis Con-stant assumed the identity of Eliphas Levi andbegan to devote his time to an intensive studyof alchemy and the occult. Often his focus wason the Kabbalah and the tarot, believingfirmly that the ancient cards depicted a con-cise summary of all the revelations that hadcome down to humankind through the ages.

Levi saw in the symbolism of the tarotcards the key to the Egyptian hieroglyphs, themysteries of Solomon, and the truths hiddenin the apocryphal text of the Book of Enochand the scrolls of Hermes Trismesgistus. Todo a spread of the tarot cards, in Levi’s opin-ion, was to establish communication with thespirit world. To seek within the tarot mightbring the serious magician a clue to themanipulation of the natural and divine energythat permeated all of nature. The existence of


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MARIE Laveau was the recognized voodoopriestess of New Orleans.

such a force, Eliphas Levi believed, was to dis-cover the Great Arcanum of Practical Magick.

His Doctrine of Transcendental Magic waspublished in 1855, followed by Rituals of Tran-scendental Magic in 1856. Other works ofEliphas Levi include The Key of the GrandMysteries (1861) and The Science of the Spirits(1865). Eliphas Levi died in 1875, esteemedby many and hailed as the last of thealchemists. Others have criticized certain ofhis writings by suggesting that his imaginationmay have in some instances surpassed hisactual knowledge of the arcane.

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Simon Magus (c. first century)

Several cults with widely differing beliefs allbearing the label of “Gnostic” arose in the firstcentury, very strongly competing with theadvent of Christianity. Many of the Gnosticsects blended elements of Christianity withthe Eleusianian mysteries, combining themwith Indian, Egyptian, and Babylonian magic,and bringing in aspects of the Jewish Kabbal-ah as well.

The first Gnostic of importance wasSimon Magus, a Samarian sorcerer, a contem-porary of the apostles, who was converted toChristianity by Philip. Although he had beena highly respected magus, Simon continued tobe impressed by the remarkable powers of theapostles and their ability to heal and to mani-fest miracles. When he saw Peter and Johnbaptizing people by the laying on of hands, heasked that he might be taught the power oftransferring the Holy Spirit to others. Eagerly,Simon offered to pay the apostles a fee toteach him how to manifest the Holy Spirit.Peter strongly rebuked him for attempting tobuy this profound spiritual gift (Acts 8:9–24).Simon accepted the rebuke and asked Peter topray for his forgiveness. The term “simony” to

describe the purchasing of ecclesiastic bless-ings has come down through the ages.

Simon apparently brooded over his inabil-ity to acquire the Holy Spirit from the apos-tles, and, according to legend, he fell back onhis old ways of sorcery and began to trafficonce again with demons. To prove his power,Simon announced to all of Rome that hewould fly into the sky and ascend to the heav-ens, just as Jesus had done. Remarkably,Simon, supported by demons, began to flyupward. Peter, however, fearful that manyinnocents would be attracted to this falseprophet, prayed that God would end Simon’sflight. Frightened away by the apostle’sprayers, the demons fled the artificial wingssupporting Simon, and the magus crashed tothe ground, breaking both legs.

The story of Simon Magus fueled thebeliefs of generations of magi and alchemiststhat there was a secret oral tradition that hadbeen passed down from Jesus that had muchgreater power and authority than the scrip-tures and epistles offered by the orthodoxteachers of Christianity. The Gnostics, likethe initiates of the Greek and Egyptian mys-teries, sought direct experience with the


69Magic and Sorcery

Eliphas Levi’s magical

instruments. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

divine and they believed that this communioncould be achieved by uttering secret words ofwisdom that God had granted to speciallyenlightened teachers.

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Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494)

Born in 1463 in Mirandola castle, near Mode-na, Italy, Pico, the Count of Mirandola, wasone of those precocious young geniuses whowere gifted with a precise memory, a facilityfor language, and a talent for philosophy,mathematics, and theology. Early in his stud-ies, Mirandola came to believe that the futurecould be predicted through a practiced inter-pretation of dreams, communication withbenevolent spirits, and a careful analysis of theintestines of birds. He took a great deal ofinspiration from the ancient Chaldean oraclesand the old mystery schools of Orpheus andEleusis, and he was greatly influenced by theteachings of the Kabbalah. For centuries, theKabbalah had remained a mysterious esotericphilosophy that had been developed withinthe larger framework of the Jewish religion.Jealously guarded by various rabbis, the teach-ings of the Kabbalah remained largelyunknown by medieval Christians until suchmagicians/scholars as Pico Mirandola broughtthe ancient mystery within the reach of Euro-pean alchemists and magi by translating theHebrew into Latin.

When he was 24, Mirandola became con-fident that he could prove the divinity ofChrist through certain doctrines of the Kab-balah and esoteric magic, and armed with 900theses for public debate on the matter, he setout for Rome. The young magician’s proofswere not accepted warmly by the church,however, relying as they did upon such ele-ments as nature spirits, pagan gods, and Jewishmysticism. Pope Innocent VIII (1432–1492),ever on the alert for the presence of witches inwhatever disguise they may present them-selves, appointed a commission to examine

Count Mirandola’s theses for any taint ofheresy. Although his percentage of acceptabletheses was quite high, the papal commissionmanaged to discover four of Mirandola’s argu-ments to be greatly heretical and another nineto be less so, but erroneous in their concepts.

In 1487, Pico Mirandola offered a defenseof those 13 theses that had been judgedheretical and accused those in the papal com-mission who had condemned them as beingthemselves heretics. They could hardly beconsidered worthy of judging him, he deridedthem, for they were essentially ignorant menwho couldn’t even speak or write acceptableLatin, the official language of the church.

Mirandola’s intellectual snobbery was ill-advised, for he had offended bishops withpower, two of whom had influence with theInquisition. Mirandola fled Italy, but he wasarrested in France and placed in a dungeon toawait his trial for heresy. It was only throughthe intervention of such substantial membersof the artistocracy as Lorenzo de Medici thathe was allowed to return to Florence and bespared the certain tortures and likely deathsentence at the hands of the inquisitors.

Innocent VIII remained unforgiving; but in1493, one year before Pico Mirandola’s deathat the age of 31, Alexander VI (1431–1503)accepted his apology and removed at last thethreat from the Inquisition that had pursuedthe young count for six years.

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Pythagoras (c. 580–c. 500 B.C.E.)

Pythagoras, one of the greatest philosophersand mathematicians of the sixth centuryB.C.E., is said to have traveled the knownworld of his time, accumulating and absorbingwisdom and knowledge. According to the leg-ends surrounding his life, he was taught byZoroaster (c. 628–c. 551 B.C.E.), the Persian


Magic and Sorcery70

prophet, and the Brahmans of India; and heinitiated into the Orphic, Egyptian, Judaic,Chaldean, and many other mystery schools.

Pythagoras is among those individualsgiven the status of becoming a myth in hisown lifetime. The philosopher was said tohave been born of the virgin Parthenis andfathered by the god Apollo. Pythagoras’human father, Mnesarchus, a ring merchantfrom Samos, and his mother consulted theDelphic Oracle and were told that he wouldbe born in Sidon in Phoenicia and that hewould produce works and wonders that wouldbenefit all humankind. Wishing to please thegods, Mnesarchus demanded that his wifechange her name from Parthenis to Pythasis,in order to honor the seeress at Delphi. Whenit was time for the child to be born, Mne-sarchus devised “Pythagoras” to be a name inwhich each of the specially arranged lettersheld an individual sacred meaning.

After traveling the known world, Pythago-ras formed his own school at Crotona insouthern Italy. An unyielding taskmaster, heaccepted only those students whom heassessed as already having established personalregimens of self-discipline. To further stressthe seriousness of his study program, Pythago-ras lectured while standing behind a curtain,thereby denying all personal contact with hisstudents until they had achieved progress on aladder of initiatory degrees that allowed themto reach the higher grades. While separatedfrom them by the curtain, Pythagoras lecturedhis students on the basic principles of music,mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy.

Pythagoras called his disciples mathemati-cians, for he believed that the higher teach-ings began with the study of numbers. Fromhis perspective, he had fashioned a rationaltheology. He believed the science of numberslay in the living forces of divine faculties inaction in the world, in universal macrocosm,and in the earthly microcosm of the humanbeing. Numbers were transcendent entities,living virtues of the supreme “One,” God, thesource of universal harmony.

Devoted to his studies, his travels, and hisschool, Pythagoras did not marry until he wasabout 60. The young woman had been one of

his disciples, and she bore him seven children.The legendary philosopher died when arejected student led an angry mob against theschool and burned down the house wherePythagoras and 40 students were gathered.Some accounts state that Pythagoras died inthe fire; others have it that he died of grief,sorrowing over how difficult a task it was toelevate humanity.

M Delving Deeper

Schure, Edouard. The Great Initiates. Translated byGloria Rasberry. New York: Harper and Row,1961.


Count Saint-Germain

Frederick the Great (1712–1786) of Prussiacalled the Count of Saint-Germain the manwho could not die, for according to the count,he had already lived 2,000 years by partakingof his discovery of a regenerative liquid thatcould prolong human life indefinitely.

Saint-Germain captivated the courts ofEurope in the eighteenth century. He wouldrefer to a pleasant chat with the Queen ofSheba and relay amusing anecdotes of Baby-lonian court gossip. He would speak with rev-erence of the miraculous event that he hadwitnessed at the marriage feast at Cana whenthe young rabbi Jesus (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.)turned water into wine. Saint-Germain spokeand wrote Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic,Chinese, French, German, English, Italian,Portugese, and Spanish. He was also a talent-ed painter and an accomplished virtuoso onthe harpsichord and violin. The count wasalso a successful alchemist, and it was widelyrumored that he had succeeded in transform-ing base metals into gold. It was believed thathe could remove flaws from diamonds, and inthis way improved one of the gems of KingLouis XV (1710–1774). His chemical training


71Magic and Sorcery

PYTHAGORAS was said to be fathered bythe god Apollo.

far surpassed that of his contemporaries of theeighteenth century. His skill at mixing pig-ments was considered extraordinary, andfamous painters begged in vain for the countto reveal his formulas.

It was also claimed by many that Saint-Germain could render himself invisible—aremarkable accomplishment said to have beenoften witnessed. He was also a proficient hyp-notist and could fall at will into a state of self-hypnosis. Members of Europe’s royal courtsalso heard him speak often of an inventionthat would occur in the next century andwhich would unite people of all lands. Hecalled it a steamboat, and he implied that itwould be he who would be on hand in thefuture to help create the vessel.

Who was the Count of Saint-Germain andwhat was his true place of origin? The mysteryhas never been solved, and he remains one ofhistory’s most intriguing enigmas. Some schol-ars have conjected that the man was a cleverspy on a secret mission who had deliberatelyshrouded his past with mystery. Why, thesescholars ask, would the skeptical PrussianKing Frederick promote such fantastic tales ofthe count unless he had some reason to do so?

Saint-Germain seems to betray himself asa diplomat with his astounding knowledge ofthe political past. Having gained access tosecret court files, he could have studied Euro-pean history methodically and with earnestpurpose. His wide range of claimed artistic tal-ents may have been amateurish, but wildlyexaggerated by those who would stand to gainby the count’s missions.

Old records show that Saint-Germain diedin the arms of two chambermaids at the courtof the Landgrave of Hessen-Cassel, a ferventalchemist. But in spite of his supposed death,there are many recorded instances of the reap-pearance of the count. Many believe that heonly feigned death, just as he had done many

times before, so that he could go on sipping ofhis elixir of life and observing world eventsfrom a more quiet perspective.

After the fall of the Bastille in July 1789,Marie Antoinette received a letter of warningthat was allegedly signed by the Count ofSaint-Germain. Madame Adhemar, MarieAntoinette’s confident, kept a rendezvouswith the count in a chapel. Saint-Germain,then supposedly dead for five years, told herthat he had done everything that he could toprevent the Revolution, but that the greatmagician Cagliostro, a fervent antimonar-chist, had taken control of the events. It wasfurther said that the Count of Saint-Germainshowed himself many times during the FrenchRevolution. He was said to have beenobserved often near the guillotine, sadly shak-ing his head at the bloody work initiated byhis pupil, Cagliostro.

Today, many occult groups claim theCount of Saint-Germain as their spirit guide,and he remains popular as a spiritual mentorfrom beyond. Others maintain that the Countof Saint-Germain still lives, periodically feign-ing death in whatever guise he continues towalk the earth, so that he might on occasionoffer his counsel to those men and women inhigh political places.

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Skinner, Doug. “The Immortal Count.” ForteanTimes, June 2001, 40–44.


Wicca

According to the U.S. Census, the num-ber of individuals professing to be Wic-cans rose from the 8,000 reported in

1990 to 134,000 self-proclaimed witches in2001. A study released in November 2001 bythe Graduate Center of the City University ofNew York found that the number of adults


Magic and Sorcery72

MANY occult groups claim Count Saint-Germain as their spirit guide.

who subscribe to a pagan religion was morethan 140,000.

Since the Middle Ages, witchcraft, the“old religion,” or Wicca, the “ancient craft ofthe wise,” have been used interchangeably toname the followers of the same nature religion.While the interchangeability of the namesremains true today, even those men andwomen who practice Wicca or witchcraft havedifficulty reaching a consensus regarding whatit is exactly that they believe and whether ornot Wicca can truly be traced back to ancienttimes or whether it developed as a new naturalreligion in the early nineteenth century andgained momentum in the mid-twentieth cen-tury. As one practitioner of Wicca said, noWiccan can decide for another what Wiccareally is. One definite assertion that may bemade about Wicca is that practitioners of thereligion are not Satanists. They do not worshipthe devil or glory in the exaltation of evil.Worship of and agreements with the devil pre-suppose his existence, and the Wiccans do notbelieve in the Satan of Christianity.

Oberon Zell (formerly Tim Zell, primate ofthe neo-paganistic Church of All Worlds, St.Louis, Missouri, and publisher of The GreenEgg) does not believe Satanism can be classedas a religion, but is merely a Christian heresy.According to Zell, a true pagan religion is onethat originated in nature and is characterizedby natural modes of expression, contrastedwith those religions that owe their existenceto a philosophy taught by one or more greatprophets and formulated in various creeds anddogmas. Those who follow Wicca, the craft ofthe wise, maintain that their faith qualifies asa true pagan religion with its beliefs and prac-tices rooted in the processes of nature.

Generally speaking, Wiccans believe thatthe sources of good and evil lie within eachindividual, thus universally agreeing with theeight words of the Wiccan Rede: “If it harmnone, do what you will.” The craft is thereforeconcerned with the properties of the humanmind, including that little-known, little-usedarea of the psyche termed “the occult.” Wic-cans do not believe that there is anythingsupernatural about the manifestations andphenomena associated with this extrasensory

area of the mind. They believe that psychicpowers lie dormant in everyone, to a greater orlesser degree, and the disciplines of Wicca aredesigned to develop these to the fullest.

Wicca is a polarized religion, embodyingwithin its worship the male principle in thefigure of the Horned God and the female inthat of the goddess. Thus its adherents believethat Wicca presents a truer picture of thenature and workings of the universal creativeprinciple than do those religions that overem-phasize either the male or the female valuesand relegate the other to a subordinate status.Wicca incorporates both cognates of the uni-versal creative principle.

In Witchcraft Here and Now, Sybil Leekdefined witchcraft as a religion of a primitiveand transcendent nature, “with overtonesembodying the female in her most elevatedoctave” together with the “adoration of cre-ative forces.” In her view, such a religion pro-vided “…the total aspect of godliness, in a godwhich has no name or a thousand differentones, one which has no sex but is both sexesand neutral as well.”

Wiccans believe in good and evil as expres-sions of the same indestructible energy, which,like matter, is neither created nor destroyed butcan be changed in form. Because Wiccans donot have a god or devil in the conventionalsense of absolute good and absolute evil, theyconsider these qualities to be positive and nega-tive expression of the same life-energy, neitherof which are permanent forms but subject tochange as situations and circumstances change.

Wicca conceives of spirit as part of theuniversal creative principle, existing as athought form. In keeping with its transcen-dental nature, Wicca views spirit as the con-venient expression for a certain kind of mat-ter, which is thought to contain a dynamicenergy of its own. This energy is capable of


73Magic and Sorcery

WITCHCRAFT is also referred to as the“old religion.”

being transmitted by means of mental activityand can be used to transmute other forms ofenergy into matter.

Witchcraft/Wicca generally accepts thedoctrines of reincarnation and karma butrejects the idea of original sin. Witchesbelieve that the human spirit is at birth like ablank page upon which one’s actions andexperiences write the details of one’s charac-ter. This is somewhat qualified by the beliefthat the ways in which individuals will reactto their experiences during a particular incar-nation is to a large extent determined by thekarmic patterns inherited from past lives.Through a series of incarnations, the spiritseeks to perfect itself by learning to live to anever-increasing extent in accord withnature’s laws. The good is sought in thoseareas subject to human will. Evil, then, con-sists of the conscious rejection of the goodand the conscious effort to embrace evil.This belief carries with it the idea thathumans are free to choose good or evil butcan lose this freedom through the constantand prolonged choice of one path or theother. On one side are what some religionswould call “saints” and on the other, thosewho habitually choose evil, with the greatmajority of men and women falling some-where in between the two extremes.

At this point, one can see an importantdifference between Wicca and Satanism.Witches seek the good by willing the good,while those who practice black magick or whofollow the “left-hand path” have yielded con-trol of their thoughts and actions to the flesh,that part of human nature motivated solely bythe search for satisfaction of instinctual andegotistical demands. That is not to say thatwitches believe the material aspect ofhumankind is evil, but, rather, that the striv-ing for evil inherent in the instinctually

ordered flesh must be controlled and directedby the will in such a manner that its needs aresatisfied, but not at the price of others’ well-being and existence. Wicca seeks to be apolarized, or balanced, religion in which itsadherents recognize that all emotions carriedto an excess cause an imbalance.

The popular and enduring confusion ofwitchcraft and Satanism can be traced to twoprimary causes: the ignorance of those educa-tors and journalists responsible for dissemina-tion of public information and the practice ofevangelical Christian clergy of linking theancient craft of the wise with devil worship.Oberon Zell once observed that practitionersof the old religion/Wicca/neo-paganism oftenfind themselves in the awkward position ofhaving a public image that was not created bythem, but by their persecutors. In Zell’sthought, such an injustice would be much asif the Nazis had succeeded in eradicatingJudaism to the extent that, generations later,the common opinion of what the Jewish faithwas all about was derived solely from the anti-Semitic propaganda of the Third Reich—justas the opinion of what Wicca is all about hasbeen largely derived from the tortured testi-monies of those who were put on trial forwitchcraft by the Inquisition. Zell’s analogymakes the point that today’s Wiccans may nolonger be tortured or burned alive at thestake, but they still suffer from persecution ofcharacter at the hands of unknowing, indif-ferent, or biased journalists, clergypersons,and educators.

M Delving Deeper

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches,Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans inAmerica Today. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.

Buckland, Raymond. Buckland’s Complete Book ofWitchcraft. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publica-tions, 1987, 1997.

Cunningham, Scott. Wicca: A Guide for the SolitaryPractitioner. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publica-tions, 1987.

Grimassi, Raven. Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft.St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2000.

Lewis, James R. Magical Religion and Modern Witch-craft. Albany: State University of New YorkPress, 1996.


Magic and Sorcery74

ACCORDING to the United StatesCensus, the number of Wiccans rose to

134,000 in 2001.

People of Wicca

Those who follow the Wiccan path are adiverse group of individualists whopride themselves on being members of

a religious philosophy that is flexible andadaptive to the needs of contemporary society.Athough there is the sometimes fiery debateas to the true historical roots of the faith, mostWiccans believe that none of them can dic-tate to any other just exactly what it is thatthey must believe. In other words, rather thanone great book of Wiccan beliefs, an ancientBook of Shadows dogmatically outlining creedsand ecclesiasticisms, there are many books bymany men and women who carefully explainthe belief structures, rites, and rituals of theirparticular expression of the craft.

While there were no doubt hereditarywitches who quietly practiced the old ways,there was little said publicly about witchcraft inGreat Britain and Europe until the beginningof the twentieth century—perhaps because ofthe grim historical records of the Inquisitionand its terrible trials for heresy and witchcraftthat tormented the collective unconscious ofthe religiously minded. Texts about witchcraftwere published by Christian scholars, and por-trayed the craft as devil worship or demonicpossession. Then, in 1897, Charles GodfreyLeland (1824–1903), an American who movedto England in 1870 to study gypsy love, pub-lished Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches, whichdetailed the rites and beliefs of the old religionthat centered upon Diana, the goddess of themoon, and her daughter, Aradia. Although thebook presented the Sabbats, rituals, spells,charms, and practices of witchcraft from theviewpoint of its ancient practitioners, the bookwent largely unnoticed by either scholars or thegeneral public.

However, a little over 20 years later, Dr.Margaret Alice Murray (1863–1963), anEgyptologist on staff at the University Collegein London, began researching the thesis thatwitchcraft was actually the remnant of anancient pre-Christian fertility religion thathad nothing to do with the Christian conceptof a devil that the witches had allegedly wor-shipped and brought upon them the wrath of

the church during the time of the burning, theInquisition. Although Murray’s work under-scored the research of Leland, she seemed tohave been unaware of his groundbreakingstudies. However, it was her book, The WitchCult in Western Europe (1962), that estab-lished a doctrine that would be maintained formany years—Wiccans were members of anancient pre-Christian religion that oncethrived and flourished openly and had thensurvived underground for many centuries.

Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884–1964) isconsidered the father of all contemporaryexpressions of Wicca, and he became a well-known practitioner of the craft due to themany books that he published on the subjectafter the laws against practicing witchcraftwere repealed in England in 1951. Gardnerclaimed to have been initiated into thefamous New Forest Coven in 1939 by a tradi-tional and hereditary witch named Dorothy


75Magic and Sorcery

Zia Rose performing a

Wicca ceremony.

(ARCHIVES OF

BRAD STEIGER)

TODAY’S practitioners of Wicca come from acomplete spectrum of men and women.


Magic and Sorcery76

At the time of his death on March 10, 1985,Dr. Francis Israel Regardie was consid-ered by many occultists to be the last liv-ing adept of the Hermetic Order of the

Golden Dawn, a magical tradition that had numberedamong its members William Butler Yeats (1865–1939),Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), and Dion Fortune.Regardie had demystified many esoteric mysteriessurrounding the occult and presented understandabletexts on practical magic.

By age 19, he began to correspond with AleisterCrowley. In 1928, he accepted the position of Crowley’spersonal secretary, hoping that the magician wouldtutor him in the mystic arts; however, Crowley left himto independently study magic. When Crowley’s pub-lisher declared bankruptcy, Regardie lost his job.

Although the Golden Dawn had ceased to exist asa functioning magical society as early as 1903, it con-tinued to exist in various descendant orders, such asthe Stella Matutina and the Alpha et Omega. In 1932,Regardie’s distillation of the teachings of the GoldenDawn was published in The Tree of Life, and at oncehe was embroiled in controversy with those occultistswho associated him with Crowley. While somedemanded he never again dare to mention the nameof the society, others, such as Dion Fortune, invitedhim to join the Order of Stella Matutina. In 1937Regardie published four volumes entitled simply TheGolden Dawn. It was Regardie’s belief that the her-itage of magic was the spiritual birthright of everyman and woman and that the principles of such magi-cal systems as the Golden Dawn should be madeavailable to all who wished to pursue the ancient wis-dom teachings.

Regardie’s work The Philosopher’s Stone (1937)was written from the perspective of Jungian symbolism.In 1941, he took up practice as a lay analyst, and in 1947,he relocated to California where he taught psychiatry.Regardie retired from practice in 1981 and moved toSedona, Arizona, continuing to write until his death.

Sources:

Bonewits, P. E. I. Real Magic. New York: Coward, McCann &

Georghegan, 1971.

Monnastre, Cris, and David Griffin. Israel Regardie, Initiation,

and Psychotherapy. [Online]

http://www.tarot.nu/gd/initiat.htm.

Regardie, Israel. The Tree of Life: A Study in Magic. New York:

Samuel Weiser, 1972.

Israel Regardie

(1907–1985)

Clutterbuck. In 1954, Gardner publishedWitchcraft Today, which continued the thesisespoused by Margaret Murray that witchcrafthad existed since pre-Christian times but hadgone underground to escape persecution.According to many researchers, Gardneralmost singlehandedly revived—some say rein-vented—the worship of the Mother Goddessand combined it with elements from severalother metaphysical schools. Gardnerian witch-craft influenced many practitioners, includingthe colorful Sybil Leek (1923–1983), who,like so many after her would do, modifiedGardner’s rituals and teachings to fit her ownstyle of Wicca.

The person responsible for the introductionand growth of modern witchcraft in NorthAmerica was Raymond Buckland (1934– ),an Englishman who had emigrated to the Unit-ed States in 1962. In 1963, Buckland traveledto Perth, Scotland, to be initiated into Wiccaby Gardner’s high priestess Lady Olwen and tomeet Gardner. In 1966, Buckland established amuseum of witchcraft in Long Island, NewYork. A prolific author of more than 30 bookson Wicca and related subjects, Bucklandfounded Seax-Wica, a new branch of the craft,in 1973.

Gavin (1930– ) and Yvonne Frost(1931– ) formed the first Wiccan Church in1968 and in 1972 gained federal recognitionof witchcraft as a religion. In 1985, they con-vinced a federal appeals court that Wicca wasa religion equal to any other.

Today’s practitioners of Wicca are scientists,engineers, radio personalities, law enforcementofficers, television stars, politicians, and thecomplete spectrum of active and productivemen and women. There are associations, cen-ters, festivals, gatherings, and hundreds of web-sites to satisfy both the serious and the curiousregarding the practice of Wicca.

M Delving Deeper

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches,Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans inAmerica Today Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.


Gardner, Gerald B. The Meaning of Witchcraft. NewYork: Samuel Weiser, 1959.

Leland, Charles G. Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches.Reprint, New York: Buckland Museum of Witch-craft and Magick, 1968.

Murray, Margaret Alice. The Witch-Cult in WesternEurope. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962.

Margot Adler (1946– )

Margot Adler is the author of Drawing Downthe Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worship-pers and Other Pagans in America Today (1986)and Heretic’s Heart: A Journey through Spiritand Revolution (1997). She received her B.A.from the University of California at Berkeleyin 1968, has a master’s degree from Columbia’sGraduate School of Journalism, and was aNieman Fellow at Harvard in 1982. In theearly 1970s, Adler hosted three free-formradio shows on Pacifica Radio—Hour of theWolf, Unstuck in Time, and The Far Side of theMoon. All merged cutting-edge ideas in sci-ence, psychology, feminism, ecology, parapsy-chology, and spirituality.

Granddaughter of reknowned psychiatristAlfred Adler (1870–1937), Margot Adler iscurrently the New York Bureau Chief andCorrespondent for National Public Radio,where she has been a reporter since 1979. Herpieces air on All Things Considered, WeekendEdition, and Morning Edition. She also hosts adebate show on the U.S. Constitution thattakes place before a live audience in Philadel-phia. The show, Justice Talking, airs on manypublic radio stations.

A practicing pagan since 1971, and apriestess of Wicca since 1973, Adler co-led aGardnerian coven and a New York pagangroup for many years. In the 1990s and intothe new millennium, she has led ritual work-shops around the country, and speaks fre-quently on earth-based spirituality and othertopics related to paganism, Wicca, and God-


77Magic and Sorcery

MARGOT Adler is the granddaughter ofreknown psychiatrist Alfred Adler.

dess spirituality. Many of her workshopsinvolve ecstatic singing, chanting, and sea-sonal celebrations.

M Delving Deeper

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches,Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans inAmerica Today. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.

———.Heretic’s Heart: A Journey through Spirit andRevolution. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.

———. “A Time for Truth.” beliefnet, [Online]http://www. beliefnet.com/story/40/story_4007.html.


Philip Emmons (Isaac) Bonewits

(1949– )

Philip Emmons (Isaac) Bonewits, priest, magi-cian, scholar, author, bard, and activist, is bestknown for his leadership in modern Druidismand for his serious scholarship in the fields ofthe occult, metaphysics, and witchcraft. Bornin Royal Oak, Michigan, the Bonewits familymoved to Southern California when Isaac wasnearly 12. His mother, a devout RomanCatholic, emphasized the importance of reli-gion and hoped that Isaac might enter thepriesthood. With an I.Q. tested at 200, Isaacwent back and forth between parochial andpublic schools, largely due to the lack of pro-grams for very bright students.

Bonewits’s first exposure to real, ratherthan stage, magic came at age 13, when he meta young woman whose abilities as a practition-er of voodoo and as a diviner of the future con-vinced him that her abilities were genuine.After attending a Catholic high school semi-nary in ninth grade, Bonewits realized that hecould not fulfill his mother’s hope that hewould become a Catholic priest. He graduatedfrom public school a year early, spent a year injunior college, and enrolled at the Universityof California at Berkeley in 1966. It was at thistime that he truly began practicing magic, cre-ating his own rituals based on those that hewas able to find in books.

Bonewits entered Berkeley as a psychologymajor but through the individual group studyprogram was able to fashion his own course of

study. Robert Larson, Bonewits’s roommate,introduced him to Druidism and initiated himinto the Reformed Druids of North America.Bonewits was ordained as a Druid priest inOctober 1969. In 1970 he graduated with abachelor of arts degree in magic and thau-maturgy, the first person to do so at a Westerneducational institution. The media attentionrevolving around Bonewits’s degree resulted inhis obtaining a book contract, and in 1971Real Magic was published, presenting hisinsights on magic, ritual, and psychic abilities.

In 1973 Bonewits moved to St. Paul, Min-nesota, where he married folksinger RustyElliot, and where he assumed the editorship ofGnostica, a neopagan journal published byCarl Weschcke of Llewellyn Publications. Thejob lasted less than two years, but Bonewitsremained in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area forabout another year and established a Druidgrove called the Schismatic Druids of NorthAmerica. During this same period, Bonewitscombined interests with a number of Jewishpagans and created the Hasidic Druids ofNorth America.

In 1973 he stated publicly that the allegedantiquity of Wicca could not be supported byhistorical data. Bonewits asserted that thecraft as it was practiced in the twentieth cen-tury did not go back beyond Gerald B. Gard-ner and Doreen Valiente—no earlier than the1920s. Although such views were controver-sial at the time, by 1983 many scholars withinthe field began to acknowledge that neopaganWicca may well be a new religion, rather thanthe continuation of an old one.

In 1974–75, Bonewits founded the Aquar-ian Anti-Defamation League (AADL), a civilliberties organization for members of minorityand alternative belief systems. Bonewits andhis wife divorced in 1976, and he decided toreturn to Berkeley, where he was elected arch-druid of the Reformed Druids of North Ameri-ca. After disagreements with longtime mem-bers, Bonewits left the organization, and theDruidic publication that he had established,The Druid Chronicler (later Pentalpha Journal),soon folded without his involvement.

In 1979 he married Selene Kumin, butthat relationship ended in 1982. In 1983 he


Magic and Sorcery78

was initiated into the New Reformed Order ofthe Golden Dawn, and in that same year hemarried actress Sally Eaton. Bonewits andEaton became heavily involved in the Califor-nia revival of the Ordo Templi Orientis, or“O.T.O.,” best known for its most importanthistorical figure, Aleister Crowley. In 1986Bonewits and Eaton separated.

Bonewits worked for a few months as acomputer consultant in Kansas City, thenmoved to New York with his intended fourthwife, Deborah Lipp, a Wiccan high priestess,whom he married in 1988. The couple con-ducted a Gardnerian Wiccan “Pagan Way”group in New York and New Jersey, and in1990 their son Arthur Shaffrey Lipp-Bonewitswas born at their home in Dumont, New Jersey.

In that same year, Bonewits began showingsymptoms of Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome.Bonewits became unable to work or to performarchdruidic duties, resulting in his loss ofemployment in 1992 and his assumption of thearchdruid emeritus title on January 1, 1996.Although Bonewits began to recover from the

more debilitating effects of the disease in 1997,the long bouts of convalescence had causeddamage to his marriage with Deborah, and in1998 they separated. Bonewits has resumed aschedule of writing and lecturing and remainsa potent force in the neopagan community.

M Delving Deeper

Bonewits, Isaac. Real Magic. New York: Coward,McCann & Georghegan, 1971.

Guiley, Rosemary. The Encyclopedia of Witches andWitchcraft. New York: Facts on File, 1989.

“Isaac Bonewits.” [Online] http://www.neopagan.net.12 February 2002.

Raymond Buckland (1934– )

Born in London on August 31, 1934, Ray-mond Buckland emigrated from England tothe United States in February 1962 and wasresponsible for the introduction of contempo-rary witchcraft into the United States at thattime. Buckland’s father was Stanley ThomasBuckland, married to Eileen Lizzie Wells. Hisfather was a higher executive officer in the


79Magic and Sorcery

Neo druids gathered

around Stonehenge.

(ARCHIVE PHOTOS, INC.)

British Ministry of Health. In his spare timeStanley Buckland wrote, and had published,plays, short stories, poetry, and music, and heinfluenced and encouraged Raymond in thesame pursuits.

At the age of 12, Buckland was introducedto Spiritualism by his father’s brother, George, aSpiritualist. This led Buckland, an avid reader,to investigate that subject and to move on tosuch related subjects as ghosts, ESP, magick,witchcraft, voodoo, and the occult generally.Over time his interest focused on witchcraft.

Buckland was educated at NottinghamBoys High School, then at King’s CollegeSchool, Wimbledon. He holds a doctorate inanthropology from Brantridge Forest College,in Sussex. He served in the Royal Air Force

from 1957 to 1959. His first job was as anengineering draftsman; then, after his stint inthe R.A.F., he went to work for a London pub-lishing firm. He taught himself to play thetrombone and, for several years, led a Dix-ieland-style jazz band called “Count Rudolph’sSyncopated Jazz Men,” in his spare time play-ing regularly at the Piccadilly Jazz Club, BakerStreet Jazz Club, and other venues.

In 1955 Buckland married Rosemary Mossand they had two sons—Robert and Reg-nauld. The family emigrated to the UnitedStates in 1962, settling in Brentwood, LongIsland, New York. Buckland went to work forBOAC (now British Airways), which enabledhim to travel extensively. He stayed with theairline for 10 years.

The Buckland family—nominally Churchof England—was not particularly religious, butBuckland’s reading drew him to witchcraft. Hewas greatly influenced by Margaret Murray’sbooks The Witch Cult in Western Europe(1921) and God of the Witches (1952) and byGerald Gardner’s Witchcraft Today (1954) andThe Meaning of Witchcraft (1959). Enteringinto a mail and telephone correspondencewith Gardner, Buckland eventually was intro-duced to Gardner’s high priestess, Lady Olwen(Monique Wilson), who initiated him intoWicca in Perth, Scotland, in December 1963.Buckland had finally got to meet Gardner justprior to that, before Gardner left for what wasto be his final voyage to Lebanon. Bucklandhad become Gardner’s spokesman in theUnited States, with Gardner forwarding toBuckland any mail he received from the U.S.

Buckland’s craft name was Robat. With hiswife, who became the Lady Rowen, theyestablished the first contemporary witchcraftcoven in the United States, building andexpanding on it slowly and cautiously. WithGardner’s books going out of print, Bucklandtook it upon himself to write his first book onthe craft, Witchcraft from the Inside, which waspublished by Llewellyn Publications in 1971.Buckland then dedicated his life to straighten-ing the misconceptions of witchcraft, speakingon the subject and writing articles. Initially hetried to remain anonymous but a newspaperreporter went back on her word and published


Magic and Sorcery80

Raymond Buckland.

(JANE ROSEMONT)

his name and address. Despite the resultingphysical and verbal attacks on him and hisfamily, Buckland continued his work.

Inspired by Gerald Gardner’s museum,Buckland gathered artifacts over the yearsand, in 1966, opened America’s first museumof witchcraft and magic, first in the basementof his home, then in an old Victorian buildingin Bay Shore, Long Island. The museum wassuccessful; being featured in numerous nation-al magazine and newspaper articles, and wasthe subject of a television documentary. Atvarious times a selection of artifacts wasloaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Artand to other museums.

Buckland had his first article publishedwhen he was 12 years old. In 1969 A PocketGuide to the Supernatural, his first book, waspublished by Ace Books. By the mid-1970s,with the breakup of his marriage to Rosemary,Buckland handed over leadership of the Gard-nerian coven to a couple on Long Island andmoved, with his museum, to Weirs Beach,New Hampshire. There he married his secondwife, Joan Taylor.

By 1973 Buckland had determined thatGardnerian Wicca did not totally fulfill hisreligious requirements. He founded a newbranch of the craft, taking nothing from Gard-nerian (because of his oath to that tradition)but writing all new material. He based it on aSaxon background and called it Seax-Wica, orSaxon witchcraft. Contrary to reports by vari-ous misinformed writers, Seax-Wica was notstarted as a joke but as a serious branch ofwitchcraft—a branch to which Buckland thendedicated himself. Today the Seax-Wica tradi-tion is found worldwide. Buckland movedfrom New Hampshire to Virginia Beach, Vir-ginia. Aware that many people were unable tojoin the craft because of geographical loca-tion, among other reasons, Buckland started acorrespondence course that he ran successfullyfor four years. The course was focused onSaxon witchcraft; a non-secret tradition.

In 1982 Buckland met Tara Cochran and,separating from Joan, married her in 1983.They lived for a couple of years in Char-lottesville, Virginia, before moving to SanDiego, California. The museum was placed in

storage, where it remained until it was eventu-ally passed on to Monte Plaisance, whoreopened it in the French Quarter of NewOrleans in 2001. In San Diego the correspon-dence course had to be phased out, sinceBuckland felt it took away too much of hiswriting time.

In 1992 the Bucklands moved to a smallfarm in Ohio and, after more than a quarter ofa century of coven work, Buckland gave it upto work, with Tara, as solitaries. After 30 yearsof public activity, he retired from activeinvolvement in the craft, settling for onlyoccasional lectures, workshops, and book-signings. For his solitary practice, he drewmainly on Seax-Wica rites, together withaspects of PectiWita (a Scottish traditioninspired by Aidan Breac and developed byBuckland). In Ohio Buckland’s writing devel-oped to include novels, a number of divina-tion decks, and saw a return to Spiritualismwith the publication of Doors to Other Worlds(1993) and The Truth about Spirit Communica-tion (1995).

A prolific author, by 2001 Buckland hadmore than 30 books published, with more thana million copies in print and translated into 12foreign languages. He has written a number ofscreenplays, numerous newspaper and magazinearticles, and has appeared on many radio andtelevision talk shows in the United States,Canada, England, and Italy. Buckland served astechnical advisor for the Orson Welles movieNecromancy (1972) (The Witching on video),appeared in small character roles in movies,and has lectured at many colleges and universi-ties across the United States. Among Buck-land’s best-known titles are Practical Candle-burning Rituals (1970), The Tree: Complete Bookof Saxon Witchcraft (1974), Doors to OtherWorlds (1993), Scottish Witchcraft (1991), TheWitch Book (2001), and the Buckland RomaniTarot (2001). Other books are Advanced Candle


81Magic and Sorcery

IN 1966 Raymond Buckland opened America’sfirst museum of Witchcraft and Magic.

Magic (1996), Anatomy of the Occult (1977),The Book of African Divination (1992), BucklandGypsies’ Domino Divination Deck (1995), CoinDivination (1999), Gypsy Dream Dictionary(1998), Gypsy Fortunetelling Tarot Kit (1998),Here Is the Occult (1974), The Magick of Chant-O-Matics (1978), Mu Revealed (pseudonym:Tony Earl; 1970), Practical Color Magick(1983), Ray Buckland’s Magic Cauldron (1995),Secrets of Gypsy Fortunetelling (1988), Secrets ofGypsy Love Magick (1990), The Truth aboutSpirit Communication (1995), Witchcraft fromthe Inside (1971; 1995), Witchcraft…the Religion(1966), and two novels: The Committee (1993)and Cardinal’s Sin (1996). He also produced thevideo Witchcraft Yesterday and Today (1990).

M Delving Deeper

Buckland, Raymond.Amazing Secrets of the PsychicWorld. New York: HC Publishing, 1975.

———. Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft. St.Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1986, 1997.

———. A Pocket Guide to the Supernatural. New York:Ace Books, 1969.

———. Witchcraft Ancient and Modern. (1970).


Gavin Frost (1930– ) and Yvonne

Frost (1931– )

In 1968, Gavin and Yvonne Frost formed thefirst Wiccan church, the Church of Wicca,and continued lobbying for their cause until,in 1972, they gained federal recognition ofwitchcraft as a religion. In 1985, their persua-sive arguments convinced a federal appealscourt that Wicca was a religion equal to anyother recognized as such in the United States.The Frosts’ School of Wicca, also establishedin 1968, became the first craft correspondenceschool and continues to publish Survival, thelongest-lived Wiccan newsletter in circula-tion. The School of Wicca has brought morethan 200,000 people to the craft and has han-dled as many as one million requests for infor-mation in a single year. Authors of the contro-versial Witches’ Bible (1975), the Frosts havecoauthored 22 books and have appeared onhundreds of national television and radioshows to promote Wicca. Since 1972, Gavinand Yvonne have lived under a vow of pover-

ty, turning over all their material possessionsto the Church of Wicca.

It was in his final year at the University ofLondon (King’s College) shortly after the closeof World War II that Gavin grew interested inthe prehistoric peoples of the British Isles andin the reconstruction of their spiritual beliefs.At London University there were several peo-ple of the English upper middle class or loweraristocracy who wanted to form a witchcraftcoven. Through contacts with Thomas Leth-bridge, an authority on witchcraft who workedat the university, Frost and his friends got intouch with a group of witches in Penzance, whoagreed to initiate a few students if they met cer-tain conditions. Frost was among a group offour who were blindfolded and taken out to aplace they later identified as Boskednan, aNine-Maidens Circle. (The breath of ninemaidens heats the celtic goddess Cerridwen’scauldron of inspiration.) They went through aninitiation similar to the initiation that wouldappear many years later in The Witch’s Bible andit was on that occasion when Frost got the scaron his wrist, the spirit-through-fire scar that isstill visible. Roots of that coven’s practice havealways intrigued Frost because they seemed toowe nothing to Gerald Gardner’s work andbecause the order of service (the same as thatshown later in Gavin and Yvonne Frosts’ TheGood Witch’s Bible) did not resemble that ofmost other groups.

After earning an honors degree, Frost wasrequested to work for the Department of Atom-ic Energy and offered the opportunity to workon a doctorate in pure research. He completedhis doctoral thesis on research into the separa-tion of potassium and sodium ions by filtration,and moved on into research on the detectionand classification of alpha waves. Then an oldschool friend contacted him and asked him towork on research in the infrared spectrum.Frost and his significant other, Dorothy Whit-ford, moved to de Havilland Aircraft in Hat-field near London. Here the research concen-trated on investigation of long-wave infraredradiation for the British equivalent of theSidewinder missile. Much of the testing of thatmissile was carried out on Salisbury Plain, andit was necessarily done at night. This gave Frostdaytimes to explore nearby ancient monuments


Magic and Sorcery82

such as Stonehenge, and time to talk with localhistorians on what may be called the pagans ofStonehenge.

Gavin and Dorothy married and elected toemigrate to Montreal to work on the Canadi-an missile program. Upon arrival they learnedthey would immediately be assigned to Que-bec City, site of the Canadian MissileResearch Institute. Frost declined, joininginstead Canadair’s Training and Simulatorgroup. His son Christopher was born in Octo-ber 1954 in Montreal, and his daughter San-dra in April 1957, also in Montreal.

On one assignment Frost visited Chilewhen an F-86 had landed on a jungle stripnear a remote mountain village, and its enginerefused to start. The group needed about fourdays to locate the problem and get the planeflown out of there. In those four days in thevillage, Frost got his first taste of religion andhealing as practiced by shamans. The villagerscould not believe that an outsider, especially aCaucasian, would have any interest in theirprocedure or would be receptive toward it. ButFrost saw many parallels in what they weredoing to what he had been taught in thecoven in England and had put on his mentalshelf with the move to Canada.

When Frost moved to California, hebecame senior project engineer on the radarsystem in the F-104. This gave him the oppor-tunity to travel extensively world-wide andachieve high-level contacts in many coun-tries. When the opportunity arose to becomethe firm’s European representative, Frost tookit and moved his family to Munich, Germany.

Although the hours and work expectationswere still high, there was more free time inMunich to investigate the fascinating subject ofGerman sorcery. Gavin Frost studied for initia-tion with a group of German sorcerers in Geisel-gasteig, the old Bohemian artists’ colony southof Munich, but because Dorothy had no interestin the occult or in writing for a living, the fami-ly was beginning to fragment. Upon their returnto the States, Gavin and Dorothy divorced.

It was here that Gavin Frost and YvonneWilson began the long process of establish-ing the spiritual path they called Wicca as areligion.

Yvonne’s parents moved from rural Ken-tucky to California in 1930, and nine monthslater in March 1931 she was born in LosAngeles, the oldest of four siblings. She grewup in the hard-shell Baptist matrix, tryinghard to conform and cause no trouble, but shefelt bewildered inside. As the eldest of fourchildren, she lived in silent obedience, won-dering why she did not fit in. Qualifying forMensa, the international high-IQ society,helped explain the feelings of alienation.

A 10-year marriage ended in divorce, andYvonne began eight years of living as a self-sup-porting single woman. She enrolled part-timein a junior college and earned an Associate inArts in 1962 with the highest GPA in her class.Yvonne also started to explore spiritual options.Buddhism was popular then, in the early 1960s,but she could not get comfortable with it. Spir-itualism entered her awareness, with its dark-


83Magic and Sorcery

Yvonne Frost. (ARCHIVES

OF BRAD STEIGER)

ened rooms, psychic development, medi-umship, and Native American spirit guides.

In a Spiritualist seance in 1965, a voicecame to her through the medium’s trumpet:“Can I be your little girl?” Single as she was,Yvonne was taken aback. Still she managed toanswer, “Yes. You come when it’s time.” Bron-wyn Frost was born in 1969. In an apportseance Yvonne’s spirit guide at that time, Dr.Alfred Russel Wallace, brought her a greencabochon stone. She had it set into a braceletbut has never been able to get it identified.

Yvonne’s career at that time was in aero-space, and Gavin Frost was her boss’s boss. Sheformed her first impression of him when shesaw how fellow workers yielded plenty of roomto Dr. Frost as he strode the firm’s halls. DuringGavin’s stint in Munich, he began work on anovel entitled Pagans of Stonehenge and askedher to edit it for him at long distance. Thusbegan Yvonne’s career as a coauthor.

“One thing led to another,” Yvonne Frostrecalled. “We two became an item. I became

interested in Gavin’s path. The teachings ofSpiritualism and Buddhism overlapped someaspects of the Craft, so learning the Craft wasa natural step. After his divorce we movedtogether to St. Louis. There his work as inter-national sales manager implied even moretravel and longer hours away from home. Iused my time to type all the School’s lecturesand the draft of The Witch’s Bible.” (1972)

Yvonne said that Gavin’s witnessing Bron-wyn’s birth brought him an epiphany. He gaveup his career in aerospace, though he workedintermittently for a year or so as a consultant,and committed his life and energies to theCraft. “No more gold credit cards, no morefirst-class flights world-wide, no more captainof industry and management matron for thetwo of us,” Yvonne said. “We traded all this infor a vow of poverty and full-time commit-ment to living and teaching the Craft.”

Continuing her remembrance, Yvonneobserved, “In retrospect, our shared life beginsto show a pattern. A couple of years remodelinga derelict building in St. Charles, Missouri;three years of raising pigs on unimproved ruralMissouri acreage and an abandoned school-house; 20 years in New Bern, North Carolina(site of the First Amendment guaranteeing reli-gious freedom in this nation); all these chaptersserved to fill in gaps in our respective learning.What we did not already know about humilityfrom the discomforts of rehabbing buildingsand from raising pigs, we have learned well andthoroughly from the pagan/Wiccan communityand the negativity of its reception. After thetheological work, my greatest accomplishmentis the establishment of the Church of Wicca asa federally recognized church, not only withregard to its tax-exempt status, but also in fed-eral appeals court. The church’s official letter ofdetermination arrived from the IRS in 1972,making ours the first Wiccan Church (despitethe resentful claims of others) to earn federalrecognition. The key to such recognition ofWicca—the Craft— as a religion has been itswell-defined theology.”

M Delving Deeper

Frost, Gavin, and Yvonne Frost. The Good Witch’sBible. Hinton, W.Va.: Church and School ofWicca, 1996.


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Gavin Frost. (ARCHIVES OF

BRAD STEIGER)

THE Frosts live under a vow of poverty, turning over all their material possessions to the

Church of Wicca.

———. The Magic Power of White Witchcraft. NewYork: Prentice Hall, 1999.

———. The Witch’s Bible. New York: Berkley Books,1975.

———. Witch’s Book of Magic Ritual. New York: Pren-tice Hall, 2002.

Gerald Brosseau Gardner

(1884–1964)

Gerald Gardner is regarded as the foundingfather of all modern expressions of witch-craft/Wicca. Born in Lancashire, England, onJune 13, 1884, Gardner spent a great deal ofhis adult life as a British civil servant and as aplantation manager in Southeast Asia.Although Gardner would later claim to havehad an interest in the occult of great duration,he did not really begin to explore Spiritualismand the arcane until he had returned to Eng-land after his retirement shortly before WorldWar II. There, in the autumn of 1939, he dis-covered witchcraft and, Dorothy Clutterbuck,a hereditary witch, high priestess of a NewForest coven, initiated him into a secret groupof Wiccans. Throughout his writings, Gardnerwould always refer to the magical religion asWica, rather than Wicca, as the word isspelled in common usage today.

In his book The Meaning of Witchcraft(1959), Gardner wrote that when he foundWicca, he knew that he had discovered some-thing interesting, but he was nearly throughthe initiation when it struck him that the OldReligion did truly exist and that he hadbecome a part of the great circle that hadexisted since time immemorial. To be a Gard-nerian witch would thenceforth be to becomea witch who had undergone an initiation thatcould hearken back to Gerald Gardner andthrough him to an unbroken lineage that hadbeen hidden and kept secret by sacred oathsand the solemn practice of holy rituals.

At first, when Gardner published HighMagick’s Aid (1949), a fictional account ofwitches under the pseudonym of Scire, tradi-tional witches became nervous and upset thathe was beginning to reveal too much to thegeneral public. Then, when the witchcraftlaws were repealed in Great Britain in 1951and Gardner wrote Witchcraft Today (1954), a

nonfictional treatment of modern witchcraft,he incurred the wrath of many traditionalmembers of Wicca. Gardner argued that he didnot reveal any secrets protected by the oaththat he had taken during his initiation, but hefeared that because so many of the traditionalwitches were growing very old, new membershad to be encouraged to keep the craft alive.He announced his intentions to publish morebooks about Wicca and to become an outspo-ken spokesperson for witchcraft. From thattime on, Gardner began to develop his owntradition that might be described as a combi-nation of ritual and ceremonial magick,French Mediterranean witchcraft, and theincorporation of the concepts and ideas ofsuch fellow witches as Doreen Valiente.

Gardner became the major spokespersonfor contemporary witchcraft and the pagancommunity, and in 1960 he was invited assuch to a reception at Buckingham Palace. Hedied on February 13, 1964, on the S.S. ScottishPrince while returning from a trip abroad.

M Delving Deeper



85Magic and Sorcery

Dr. Gerald Brosseau

Gardner (1884–1964).

(RAYMOND

BUCKLAND/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

Crowley, Vivianne. Wicca: The Old Religion in the NewAge. London: Aquarian Press, 1989.

Gardner, Gerald. The Meaning of Witchcraft. London:Aquarian Press, 1982.

———. Witchcraft Today. 1954. Reprint, London:Rider, 1982.

Sybil Leek (1923–1983)

Sybil Leek was a witch, an astrologer, and apsychic who was born in England into a high-ly unusual family. Her maternal grandmotherwas a psychic lady and a follower of the OldReligion. Her father was an intellectual andwell versed in metaphysics, but more inclinedto a scientific investigation of a field ofinquiry. Sybil’s mother was a theosophist withan inborn affinity toward all children. Addedto these were an assortment of aunts, cousins,and other extended family members.

Under the combined tutorial care of herfamily, Leek managed to escape the Britishpublic school system for many years. Eachmember of the family taught the child his orher particular specialty, as well as a diversity ofother things. Leek learned about herbs, witch-craft, astrology, the general field of the occult,and the mystical Kabbalah. This unorthodoxrearing was far from one-sided, however. Beforethe age of nine, young Sybil had “read through”the major classics. She had read the Bible, theworks of Shakespeare, and many other volumesof Eastern religious and non-Western philoso-phies. Most of all, though, Leek learned fromher grandmother, who taught her the Craft ofthe Wise. Once her preliminary instruction wascompleted, the young initiate journeyed toFrance, to the Gorge du Loup where Leek wasinitiated into the world’s oldest religion.

In her book Diary of a Witch (1969), Leekdescribed briefly the oath of fidelity that everywitch solemnly gives on the night of his or herinitiation:

“It is accepted as being binding forever,and no initiate can take it lightly. She acceptswholeheartedly all the tenets of witchcraft—the acceptance of the Supreme Being, theknowledge that good and evil are equal partsof a human being, and that she must personal-ly strive to outbalance evil with good. Shemust not debase the arts which she has beentaught, and at all times she must be consciousof the need to be discreet, not only in her ownlife but with regard to any other members ofthe coven.”

Shortly after Leek returned to England thefamily moved to the New Forest, a large areathat roughly extends from Southamptonnorthward to the borders of Salisbury andnearby Stonehenge, and westward to Dorset.It was in this area that Leek widened her loreof herbs, nature, and human psychology.

Since the age of 15, Sybil Leek had been inand out of various media jobs, and when shebegan moonlighting as a roving reporter forSouthern Television it was her task to providematerial for a series using the magazine formatof small documentaries, interviews, and high-lights of the day. The show’s producers wereparticularly interested in Leek’s contacts withthe Gypsies of the New Forest, and she wasable to present several interesting and informa-tive vignettes about her nomadic friends.

It was in December of 1963 that SybilLeek’s media relationship caused her to be,probably, the first person to be filmed in medi-umistic trance. The incident began when para-psychologist Bennison Herbert, who wishedher to accompany him to a twelfth-centurymansion that was allegedly haunted, contactedLeek. Almost immediately after the groupentered the old house, Leek began to feel her-self slipping away from the laughing joviality ofthe others. The group reached an upstairsroom of the old stone building and settledaround a large table. Within moments Leekwas in a deep trance. Sights and sounds beyondthe normal senses surrounded the entrancedpsychic. She felt someone come in through thedoor, then felt seized from behind. Leek,enraged, shouted at the image of the ghostlywoman standing in the doorway. The struggleceased as the heavy table at which the group


Magic and Sorcery86

SYBIL Leek was the first person to be filmed inmediumistic trance.

was seated suddenly rose into the air and tra-versed the room. Then, with vented fury, thetable repeatedly threw itself at the heavy stonewall, chipping the surface. A door slammedand something was heard running down thesteps. Leek came out of her trance and was toldwhat had happened by Herbert, who had takennotes on all the strange happenings.

At this point the BBC crew could nolonger contain themselves. They hastily set uptheir lights and cameras, hoping to catch moreof the same phenomena. The crew was notdisappointed. The table began to move oncemore, traveling across the room to fling itselfwith renewed vigor at the ancient stonework.An incredulous solid man, weighing 220pounds, tried to sit on the airborne table, onlyto be tossed off as if he were a featherweight.The table assaulted the wall with such forcethat it chipped a two-inch hole through thesurface. The footage received wide distribu-tion throughout the south of England andgenerated tremendous interest. The tableswere shown in almost complete levitation andthe mark on the wall was quite visible.

After achieving a great deal of fame as theWitch of New Forest, Sybil Leek came to theUnited States, where she teamed up with psy-chic investigator Hans Holzer (1920- ) ona series of ghost-hunting expeditions. The twowere often followed by an entourage of local,and sometimes international, media, eager tosniff out a good story. Frequently, movie cam-eras would roll while Leek was in a heavytrance state, but this never deterred the medi-um from obtaining solid material, which Holz-er would then try to substantiate.

Leek never knew where their next jauntwas going to take them. Holzer usually investi-gated the cases brought to his attention, firstaffirming that the material represented a solidpsychic case, worthy of being investigated. Hewould give Leek none of this information, toensure that her trance information could neverbe accused of being the result of suggestion.

In addition to Leek’s many talents as a psy-chic and her deep immersion in the Old Reli-gion, she had yet another major field of interestthat was with her all of her life. As she states inthe opening lines of My Life in Astrology

(1972): “Astrology is my science; Witchcraft ismy religion.” For Sybil Leek, astrology lessonsbegan when she was eight years old. From hergrandmother, she learned the basics of astrolo-gy, with personality traits and psychologystressed; from her father, she learned thepainstaking technical aspect of casting a chart.

In her younger days the world of astrologywas a glamorous one. Every summer the familywould vacation in the Riviera, and Leek’sskills were in great demand among the celebri-ties and nobility that would gather on thebeaches. Among her notable clients were theelder Aga Khan, Queen Marie of Rumania,and author Somerset Maugham. AlthoughLeek had nostalgic feelings for that particulartime, her later life was to show her an evenmore exciting use for her astrological skills.

Sybil Leek was determined to aid in theunderstanding of witchcraft. Unfortunately,she found some of the gravest misunderstand-ings in her adopted country of the UnitedStates. The press persistently confused witch-craft with black magick and Satanism, butSybil Leek was instrumental in bringing agreater awareness of witchcraft to those per-sons who wished to form traditional covens,and she never ceased using her wit andcelebrity to advance the truth about Wicca,the craft of the wise. She became a major forceon the psychic scene, and her rich and variedlife consistently led her to prove the deepermeanings and interrelationships between allareas of metaphysics, and her vast experienceprepared her admirably for the research andstudy to which she devoted herself.

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Leek, Sybil. The Complete Art of Witchcraft. NewYork: New American Library, reissue 1991.

———. Diary of a Witch. New York: New AmericanLibrary, 1969.

———. My Life in Astrology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice Hall, 1972.

Margaret Alice Murray (1863–1963)

For decades, Margaret Murray’s The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (1921) was the defini-


87Magic and Sorcery

tive work on witchcraft and undoubtedlyinspired such individuals as Gerald BrosseauGardner to revive the Craft in the modernera. Murray’s thesis was that witchcraft hear-kened back to ancient, pre-Christian goddessworship and continued forward in unbrokenlineage to contemporary times. The witchcraze that seized Europe in the period from thefourteenth to the seventeenth centuries andthat led to the persecution and deaths of thou-sands of those women who practiced witch-craft was nothing more or less than the attackof the patriarchal establishment on anancient, woman-centered religion. In heropinion, based on her extensive research, thepractice of witchcraft had nothing to do withthe worship of Satan, an entity of evil thathad been created by Christianity.

Although Murray shall probably always beknown in the popular mind as the author oftwo seminal books on witchcraft, the afore-mentioned The Witch-Cult in Western Europeand The God of the Witches (1952), among herpeers at the University College in London shewas a respected scholar and specialist inEgyptian hieroglyphics. Because it was diffi-cult in her day for a proper Englishwoman tobecome an archeologist, she first obtained adegree in linguistics, which led in turn to thestudy of Egyptian hieroglyphics and Egyptol-ogy. In the late 1890s, her work had beennoticed by the eminent archeologist SirFlinders Petrie (1853–1942), who permittedher to join him in his excavations at Abydosin Egypt. Because she distinguished herself onthis expedition, she was invited to join thestaff at the University College.

Murray was known as an ardent feminist,and her passion for the political advancementof women may well have influenced her inter-pretation of the European witchcraft trials asbeing organized campaigns of terror againstthose women who still practiced the old god-dess-centered religions. Since her books onthe history of witchcraft created little uproaramong the academics of her day, there was notaint of sensationalism that prevented herfrom becoming a fellow of Britain’s RoyalAnthropological Institute in 1926. In 1931,Murray published The Splendor That WasEgypt, a book centered on Egyptology, her spe-

cial field of interest. From 1953 to 1955, sheserved as president of Britain’s Folklore Soci-ety. Remarkably, in 1963, at the age of 100,Murray published her autobiography, Cente-nary, and The Genesis of Religion (1963).

M Delving Deeper

Franck, Irene M., and David M. Brownstone.Women’s World: A Timeline of Women in History.San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.

Kass-Simon, G., and Patricia Farnes. Women of Sci-ence: Righting the Record. Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press, 1993.

Murray, Margaret Alice. The Genesis of Religion. NewYork: Philosophical Library, 1963.

———. The God of the Witches. London: Faber andFaber Unlimited, 1952.

———. The Witch-Cult in Western Europe. 1921.Reprint, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962.

M. Macha NightMare

As her contribution to the emerging paganculture, M. Macha NightMare (also known asAline O’Brien), priestess and witch, chose todevelop her skills as a collaborative ritualistand author. Early in her journey on the path ofwitchcraft, NightMare joined in the forma-tion of Reclaiming Collective, a network ofpeople who sought to bring together activismwith earth-based spirituality and healing. Shealso participated with the collective in teach-ing the Craft and in performing public sabbatsin San Francisco. The collective evolved intoa Craft tradition, and eventually dissolveditself in 1997 and reemerged as a much largerand more inclusive entity.

With Starhawk, Macha NightMare coau-thored The Pagan Book of Living and Dying:Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Medita-tions on Crossing Over (1997), and she is theauthor of Witchcraft and the Web: WeavingPagan Traditions Online (2001). In addition toher books, her articles have appeared in manyperiodicals, and she has spoken on behalf ofthe craft to electronic and print media.

NightMare holds elder and ministerial cre-dentials through the Covenant of the Goddess(CoG), the oldest and largest nondenomina-tional organization of witches in the UnitedStates. A member since 1981, she is a former


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national first officer and has served thecovenant in many other capacities. She is onthe teaching faculty of Cherry Hill [Pagan]Seminary in Bethel, Vermont, where she alsoserves on the Pagan Pastoral CounselingAdvisory Panel.

Macha NightMare is a member of the Bio-diversity Project Spirituality Working Group,which seeks to increase biodiversity awareness,preservation, and activism within religiouscommunities. She also works with the SacredDying Foundation in educating funeral profes-sionals and hospice workers about pagan beliefsand practices regarding death and dying. Tokeep current on pagan research, she partici-pates in the Nature Religion Scholars Network.

Macha NightMare’s matron is Kali Ma, andher magical practice, inspired by feminism anda concern for the health of the planet, isformed of Celtic, Hindu, and Tibetan prac-tices, the sacred art of tantra, and the magic ofenchantment. When the opportunity presentsitself, NightMare travels the so-called “broom-stick circuit,” where she enjoys immersing her-self in the diverse community that constitutescontemporary American witchcraft.

She resides in Marin County, California.

M Delving Deeper

M. Macha NightMare’s website: [Online]http://www.machanightmare.com/bio.html. 27February 2002.

NightMare, M. Macha. Witchcraft and the Web: Weav-ing Pagan Traditions Online. Montreal: ECWPress, 2001.

Starhawk, M. Macha NightMare, and the ReclaimingCollective. The Pagan Book of Living and Dying:Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditationson Crossing Over. San Francisco: HarperSanFran-cisco, 1997.

Starhawk

A feminist and peace activist, Starhawk (alsoknown as Miriam Simos) is one of the fore-most voices of ecofeminism, and she travelswidely in North America and Europe givinglectures and workshops, drawing on her 25years of research and experience in the God-dess movement. Her book The Spiral Dance: ARebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great God-

dess (1979, 1989) is currently regarded as thedefinitive work on modern, feminist witch-craft. Starhawk holds an M.A. in psychologyfrom Antioch West University. She consultedon the films Goddess Remembered and TheBurning Times, directed by Donna Read andproduced by the National Film Board of Cana-da. She also cowrote the commentary for FullCircle, the third film in the same Women’sSpirituality series. Many of Starhawk’s workshave been translated in German, Danish, Ital-ian, Portuguese, and Japanese.

From organizing in her high school duringthe days of the Vietnam War, Starhawk hasbeen active in social change movements formore than 30 years. She has participated inand helped with training and organizing anti-nuclear actions at Diablo Canyon, LivermoreWeapons Lab, Vandenberg Airforce Base, andthe Nevada Test Site, among others. She trav-eled to Nicaragua with Witness for Peace in1984 and has made two trips to El Salvador todo ongoing support work for sustainabilityprograms. She works on countless environ-mental and land use issues and was a founderof the Cazadero Hills Land Use Council inWestern Sonoma County. Her focus in recentyears has been the antiglobalization move-ment, training for and taking part in the anti-WTO action in Seattle, the anti-IMF/WorldBank actions in Washington, D.C., and doingtrainings in Europe for the actions in Prague.

Starhawk continues her collaboration withfilmmaker Donna Read, working on an hour-long documentary on the life of archaeologistMarija Gimbutas. They have formed theirown film company, Belili Productions.

Starhawk works with Reclaiming, a net-work of people who bring together activismwith earth-based spirituality and healing,offering classes, intensives, public rituals, andtraining in the Goddess tradition of magicalactivism. She writes a regular column for the


89Magic and Sorcery

STARHAWK is one of the foremost voices ofecofeminism.

Reclaiming Quarterly, and she is also a colum-nist on the Web for www.beliefnet.com andfor www.znet.com.

She lives part-time in San Francisco, in acollective house with her partner and friends,and the rest of the time in a little hut in thewoods where she practices the system of eco-logical design known as permaculture.

M Delving Deeper

Starhawk. Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics.New York: Beacon, 1982.

———. The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the AncientReligion of the Great Goddess. San Francisco:HarperSanFranciso, 1999.

———. Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Author-ity and Mystery. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.

Starhawk and Hilary Valentine. The Twelve WildSwans: Journies into Magic, Healing and Action.San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2000.

Starhawk, M. Macha NightMare, and the ReclaimingCollective. The Pagan Book of Living and Dying:Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditationson Crossing Over. San Francisco: HarperSanFran-cisco, 1997.

Starhawk’s website: [Online] http://www.starhawk.org. 26 February 2002.

Doreen Valiente (1922–1999)

One of the most influential individuals in theshaping of modern Wicca was born DoreenEdith Dominy in Mitcham, South London, onJanuary 4, 1922, and spent her childhood inthe west of England, an area noted for its rus-tic beauty and its connection to the folklore ofthe past. As an adult, she recalled that from avery young age she took to running aboutwhile riding on a broomstick. Although shedid not consciously know why she had doneso, she did remember that it upset her conven-tionally religious parents, who were opposedto any portrayal of witchcraft, whether or notit derived from childish display.

When Valiente was only seven, her firstmystical experience happened one nightwhile she was staring intently at the moon.She perceived at that time that what ordinarypeople embraced as the world of reality wasbut the facade behind which something muchmore real and potent lay waiting for those

who would seek “the world of force beyondthe world of form.” At the age of 15, shewalked out the door of the convent school towhich she had been sent and refused to return.

At the age of 19, she married Joanis Vla-chopoulos, a 32-year-old able seaman servingwith the merchant navy. Six months later, inthe summer of 1941, her husband was reportedmissing. Details are sketchy, but since WorldWar II was in progress, it is assumed that Vla-chopoulos was killed when his ship wasdestroyed by a Nazi torpedo. In 1944, Doreenmarried Casimiro Valiente.

In the summer of 1952, the year after theWitchcraft Act of 1735 was repealed, DoreenValiente met a witch of the New Forest Covenwho introduced her to Gerald BrosseauGardner. On Midsummer’s Eve 1953, shereceived the first degree of initiation intoWicca by Gardner, who at that time was oper-ating a witchcraft museum on the Isle of Man.Although Gardner claimed that his Book ofShadows had been compiled by remnants ofthe Old Religion that he had pieced togetherfor his Gardnerian tradition, the astuteDoreen, whose witchcraft name was “Ameth,”recognized passages from other works, such asAleister Crowley’s Gnostic Mass (1942).

Far from being humiliated or angered byhis student’s recognition that his Book of Shad-ows was much a pastiche of many traditions ofwitchcraft, with rites and rituals copied fromancient lore, as well as a few bits and piecesfrom Freemasonry and Crowley, Gardnerinvited her to improve, if she could, upon hisfragments of the old and the new. Valienteaccepted the challenge and replaced nearly allof the Crowley and Masonic excerpts with thethoughts and inspirations that she hadreceived from her own mystical experiencessince childhood. The reconstruction of theBook of Shadows achieved by Valiente gave thepractitioners of Wicca a practical and work-able system which has been followed by manywitches ever since. Gardner and Valienteeventually parted company over his claim thathis “Old Laws” should be heeded above herrevisions, but Valiente continued to doubt theauthenticity of some of the laws that Gardnerclaimed were derived from ancient traditions.


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Although they later resumed their friendship,it was never again at the level which it hadonce attained.

When her husband passed away in 1972,Doreen Valiente began to devote herself towriting about witchcraft as she knew andunderstood it. After her An ABC of Witchcraft(1973) and Natural Magic (1975), she becamerecognized as an authority on magic andwitchcraft. Her last days were spent in a nurs-ing home, and after she had passed her magi-cal legacy on to John Belham-Payne, she diedon September 1, 1999.

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“Biography of Doreen Valiente” [Online]http://www.doreenvaliente.com/ Biography.htm.28 February 2002.


Valiente, Doreen. An ABC of Witchcraft, Past and Pre-sent. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1973.

———. The Rebirth of Witchcraft. Custer, Wash.:Robert Hale and Phoenix Publishing, 1989.

———. Witchcraft for Tomorrow. New York: St. Mar-tin’s Press, 1978.

Witchcraft

Since the Middle Ages, witchcraft, the“Old Religion,” or Wicca, the “ancientcraft of the wise,” all of which are differ-

ent names for the same nature-based religion,has been unjustly, and for the most part pur-posely, interwoven with Satanism until, inpopular thought, the two comprise a tapestryof confusion and misidentification. Wicca, inits contemporary expression, has evolved into


91Magic and Sorcery

The curandero works among the Hispanicpeople of California, Texas, Mexico, andmany areas of South America as a masterof the many skills involved in folk healing.

Whether male or female, they acquire their abilitiesthrough two basic methods: By serving as an appren-tice under the guidance of an experienced curanderoor by receiving a spiritual vision that gives the knowl-edge upon them. To be a curandero is to have receiveda gift from God. The three common types of curan-deros are the herbalist, the yerbero; the midwife, thepartera; and the massage therapist, the sabador.

After serving an apprenticeship and provingthemselves endowed with the requisite skills of heal-ing, the curanderos treat a wide variety of illnessesbrought to them by their patients. Among other nativehealers in the Hispanic culture, however, the curan-deros are the only ones to have the skills necessary toremove illnesses or physical maladies inflicted bynegative witchcraft.

Sources:

“Curandismo.” The Handbook of Texas Online. [Online] http://

www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/CC/

sdc1.html.

Middleton, John, ed. Magic, Witchcraft and Curing. Garden City,

N.Y.: Natural History Press, 1967.

Villoldo, Alberto, and Stanley Krippner. Healing States: A

Journey into the World of Spiritual Healing and

Shamanism. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. Fireside

Book, 1987.

Healing Powers

of the Curandero

what its followers term “neo-paganism,” aconcept reviewed in another section. The OldReligion, that which in the Middle Ages cameto be known as witchcraft, is thought to havehad its genesis in the later Paleolithic period,a time when early humans faced the elementsand their environment with little more thantheir hands and a few crude tools of bone andstone to aid them in the struggle to survive.Like the other creatures around them, StoneAge humans had to adapt themselves con-stantly to changes in the weather, climate,and food supply. Having greater powers of per-ception, humankind’s responses to thesechanges involved more than an instinctualchange of habits or location. The humanspecies could also wonder about the whys andwherefores of these things, and because of theremarkable facility of human imagination,these early men and women could ponder howthese things might change for the better orworse in the future. As consciousness ofhumans increased, their world became morewonderful and more terrifying.

Primitive humans were primarily hunters.They needed the meat obtained from theirprey, and they needed the animal skins forclothing. From the teeth and bones of theslaughtered animals, they fashioned simpletools and weapons. When the hunting wasbad, they knew that their own existence wasthreatened. Why was the hunt successful attimes and not at others? Perhaps there was aspirit who decided these things. If so, perhapsthat spirit could be persuaded to control thehunt in favor of the human hunter.

In his classic work The Golden Bough(1890), Sir James George Frazer points outtwo factors influencing the nature of primitivereligion:

1. the older concept of a “view of nature as aseries of events occurring in an invariableorder without the intervention of personalagency”; and

2. the later development that the “world is toa great extent worked by supernaturalagents, that is, by personal beings actingon impulses and motives.”

From the first concept arose the earliestrites of primitive religion consisting of sympa-

thetic magic, which is based on the belief thatsomething that resembles something else isable to become or attract that which it resem-bles, or a given cause always produces a cer-tain effect. An example of such rites is theshaman’s lighting of the ceremonial fire eachmorning to ensure the sun’s rising. If theshaman lights his fire each morning, then thegod who lights the great fire in the heavensmust see and follow suit.

By a similar process Stone Age humanssought to ensure the success of the hunt. InWitchcraft from the Inside (1997), RaymondBuckland writes:

One man would represent the Godand supervise the magick. As a God ofHunting, he was represented as beingthe animal being hunted. His represen-tative, or priest, would therefore dressin an animal skin and wear a headdressof horns.

This God of the Hunt, then, is the HornedGod pictured on the wall of the Caverne desTrois in southern France. At Le Tuc d’Audou-bert, near the Caverne des Trois, archeologistsfound the clay figure of a bison. The figureshows a number of marks where spears werethrust into it during a ritual of sympatheticmagic performed to ensure a successful hunt.According to Buckland: “A model of the ani-mal to be hunted was made . . . and under thepriest’s direction, was attacked by the men ofthe tribe. Successful in ‘killing’ the clay ani-mal, the men could thus go about after thereal thing confident that the hunt would goexactly as acted before the God.”

It is interesting to note the association ofhorns with divinity, a condition that findsexpression in numerous strange and seeminglyunassociated places. It is not difficult to asso-ciate the horned headdresses worn by theshamans of various tribal societies with theconcept of a God of the Hunt. The headpiecesof many ancient rulers, including thepharaohs of Egypt, include horns either ofrealistic or stylized design. Although the reli-gion of the biblical Israelites was representedas distinctly antipagan, their sacrifices wereoffered on horned altars. The two bronzealtars in Solomon’s (10th century B.C.E.) tem-


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93Magic and Sorcery

Followers of the order of Italian witchcraftknown as Stregeria claim that their traditionhas maintained an unbroken lineage that goesback before the days of the Roman Empire.

According to the ways of the strege, the Goddessof the Old Religion, whether known as Diana, Aradia,or Demeter, has always been the benefactress of theoutcast, the lonely, the people of the night. When thenew religion of Christianity achieved dominance inItaly, the strege revered Mother Mary as an expres-sion of the Goddess Diana.

Throughout Italy, Sicily, and Malta, there aremany strege passing as devout church members,including a few Roman Catholic priests, who acceptthe Blessed Virgin Mary because they know she isjust another incarnation of the Goddess Diana. Oneday, the strege believe religious tolerance willprogress to the stage where they will once again havea public temple to the Goddess. More than one schol-ar of the mass conversions of the pagan populace ofEurope during the Middle Ages has commented onthe fact that the common folk simply went under-ground with their worship of Diana, or made themotions of giving reverence to the Virgin Mary, whilesecretly directing their true devotion to the Goddess.

“Christianization forced the Old Religionists under-ground in the twelfth century, but the sculptors paidtribute to their goddesses Demeter and Persephone bycreating the Madonna and female Jesus. In ancienttimes people worshipped at the Temple of Demeter inEnna, Sicily, where they celebrated her daughterPersephone’s resurrection from the underworld tobecome Goddess of souls and immortality. To this daythe Sicilians worship the female deity more than themale, and every city has its sainted patroness.”

Sources:

Grimassi, Raven. Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft. St. Paul,

Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2000.

Machia, Arawn. “Ways of the Strega: An Introduction.” [Online]

http://www.monmouth.com/~equinoxbook/strega.html.

Steiger, Brad. Revelation: The Divine Fire. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:

Prentice-Hall, 1973.

Stregeria: Old

Religion or New?

ple were equipped with horns, as was the altarat the shrine of the Ark of the Covenant inJerusalem before Solomon. Most curious of all,however, is Michaelangelo’s (1475–1564)famous statue of Moses (14th–13th centuryB.C.E.), which depicts him with horns, therebycausing his head and face to bear a remarkableresemblance to Cerrnunos, as the Celts namedthe Horned God.

Because of the importance of human andanimal fertility, the Horned God was soonjoined by a goddess, whose purpose it was toensure the success of all reproductive activi-ties. She was also the goddess who oversaw thebirth of human and animal progeny. At a laterdate, when primitive religious thought hadevolved to the point of belief in some form ofcontinuation after death, the goddess oversawhuman and animal death as well.

With the advent of agriculture, the god-dess was called upon to extend her powers toensure fertility of the crops. From this pointon, the figure of the goddess began to over-shadow that of the Horned God. A populationthat did not have to keep on the moveincreased rapidly, and soon a portion of thehuman tribes began to move out of the Tigris-Euphrates valley, the so-called cradle of civi-lization, and spread northward to what is nowEurope and Asia. To the west, the fertile val-ley of the Nile proved an attractive site toagricultural peoples. And as humankindmoved, their gods moved with them.

The population of medieval Europe haddescended from the central Asian plateau.Centuries ago, they had strained against thebarriers that the Roman legions had setagainst them until they had finally brokenthrough and flooded the continent. Christian-ity and “civilized” ways were unknown tothem at first, and they brought their own gods,customs, and rituals into the land. At the dis-

solution of the Roman Empire, the civilizingforce in Europe became the Roman CatholicChurch, and even though the ecclesiasticalinstitution made great inroads into the paganculture, it could not completely wash away theold rituals and nature worship.

Surviving the Roman Empire socially inthe Middle Ages was the oppressive feudal sys-tem. Once-proud warriors were reduced to therole of serf farmers, and although they resent-ed such a docile status, they were forced bynecessity to accept it. Partially because of thefrustrations of the common people and par-tially because of the tenacity of long-condi-tioned customs, the celebration of nature wor-ship and various adaptations of the ancientmystery religions came to be practiced insecret. On those occasions when such seasonalnature celebrations were witnessed by mem-bers of the Christian clergy, the gatheringswere condemned as expressions of witchcraftand were named “black sabbats,” to distin-guish the ceremonies as the complete oppositeof the true and holy Sabbath days. TheHorned God was deemed to be Satan, and thegoddess believed to be Diana, goddess of themoon and the hunt.

For the serfs, the observance of the oldnature worship was an expression of their con-scious or unconscious yen to throw off theyoke of feudalism. The rulers had imposed theChristian God and the Christian ethic. Thenobility and high church officials realized thatsuch celebrations could only lead eventuallyto a rebellious and uncontrollable populace.The popularity of the pagan celebrations roseto its greatest height in the period of 1200 tothe Renaissance. During this period, Europewas devastated and depopulated by famines,the ill-fated Crusades, and the black death.

Raymond Buckland feels that it is the nat-uralness and simplicity of the Old Religionthat continues to hold great appeal for theindividual who has become alienated by thepomp and ceremony and exclusivity of ortho-dox religion, as well as the small size of the“congregation.” A coven of witches consists ofno more than 12 members, the high priest orhigh priestess bringing the number up to thetraditional 13.


Magic and Sorcery94

WITH the advent of agriculture, the goddesswas called upon to ensure crop fertility.

“Witchcraft is very much a religion of par-ticipation,” Buckland said. “Rather than beinga spectator sitting in a pew at the back of achurch, you are right there in the middle ofthings, participating.”

It was in their enjoyment of the excite-ment and vigor of the Old Religion that thepeasants could allow themselves the luxury ofexperiencing pleasure without the interfer-ence of the church, which sought to controland repress even human emotions. But it wasthat same expression of seeing the divine inall of the creator’s works that brought thewrath of the church down upon the witches inthe terrible form of the Inquisition.

M Delving Deeper

Buckland, Raymond. Witchcraft from the Inside. St.Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.

Frazer, Sir James George. The New Golden Bough.Edited by Theodor H. Gaster. New York: Criteri-on Books, 1959.

Grimassi, Raven. Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft.St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 2000.

Michelet, Jules. Satanism and Witchcraft. New York:Citadel Press, 1960.

Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Witchcraft in the Middle Ages.Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1972.


Trevor-Roper, H. R. The European Witch-Craze. NewYork: Harper & Row, 1967.

Familiars

The concept of certain spirit beings who assista magician or a witch undoubtedly hearkensback to the totem animal guides that attendedthe ancient shamans, for the familiars expressthemselves most often in animal forms. Theblack cat, for instance, has become synony-mous in popular folklore as the traditionalcompanion of the witch. Attendant uponsuch a sorcerer as the legendary CorneliusAgrippa is the image of the black dog or thedark-haired wolf.

The ancient Greeks called upon thepredrii, spirit beings who were ever at hand toprovide assistance to the physicians or magi-cians. In Rome, the seers and soothsayersasked their familiars or magistelli to provide

supernatural assistance in their performanceof magic and predictions. In many lands wherethe Christian missionaries planted their faith,various saints provided an acceptable substi-tute for the ancient practice of asking favorsor help from the witches’ familiar. Interesting-ly, many of the saints of Christendom areidentified by an animal symbol, for example,the dog with St. Bernard; the lion with St.Mark; the stag with St. Eustace; and the crowwith St. Anthony. However, in those regionswhere the country folk and rural residents per-sisted in calling upon their familiars, thechurch decreed the spirit beings to be demonssent by Satan to undermine the work of theclergy. All those accused of possessing a famil-iar or relying on it for guidance or assistancewere forced to recant such a devilish partner-ship or be in danger of the torture chamberand the stake. While the much-loved St.Francis of Assisi was often represented sym-bolically by a wolf, if any of the common folkidentified the wolf as their personal totem orguide, such a declaration would be taken asproof that they were witches who had theability to shapeshift into a werewolf.

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Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Dictionary of Sym-bols and Sacred Objects. Edison, N.J.: CastleBooks, 1988.

The Inquisition—The Time of

the Burning

The Inquisition came into existence in 1231with the Excommunicamus of Pope Gregory IX(c. 1170–1241), who at first urged local bishopsto become more vigorous in ridding Europe ofheretics, then lessened their responsibility fordetermining orthodoxy by establishing inquisi-tors under the special jurisdiction of the papacy.The office of inquisitor was entrusted primarilyto the Franciscans and the Dominicans, because


95Magic and Sorcery

of their reputation for superior knowledge oftheology and their declared freedom fromworldly ambition. Each tribunal was ordered toinclude two inquisitors of equal authority, whowould be assisted by notaries, police, and coun-selors. Because they had the power to excom-municate even members of royal houses, theinquisitors were formidable figures with whomto reckon. In 1257, the church officially sanc-tioned torture as a means of forcing witches, sor-cerers, shapeshifters, and other heretics to con-fess their alliance with Satan.

The Inquisition became a kind of hideousindustry. It employed judges, jailers, torturers,exorcists, woodchoppers, and experts todestroy the evil ones who were threateningthe ruling powers. “Witch persecutors…werecraftsmen with a professional pride,” KurtSeligmann wrote in The History of Magic(1948). “A hangman grew melancholic whena witch resisted him unduly. That was akin toa personal offense. In order to save face he letthe accused die under the torture, and thus hishonor was not impaired, for the blame for thekilling would then rest on the devil.…Thebusiness became so prosperous that the hang-men’s wives arrayed themselves in silkrobes.…For every witch burned, the hangmanreceived an honorarium. He was not allowedto follow any other profession, therefore hehad to make the best of his craft.”

It was not long before the torturers haddiscovered a foolproof method for perpetuat-ing their gory profession. Under torture, near-ly any witch could be forced to name a longstring of her “fellow witches,” thereby turningthe trial of a single individual into an ordealfor more than a hundred. One inquisitorboasted: “Give me a bishop, and I would soonhave him confessing to being a wizard!”Another declared that the Holy Inquisitionwas the only alchemy that really worked, forthe inquisitors had found the secret of trans-muting human blood into gold.

The Jesuit Friedrich von Spee (1591–1635)became an opponent of the witchcraft trials in1630 when the wise Duke of Brunswickbrought him and a fellow priest into a torturechamber. As the duke and the two fathers,champions of the cause of the Inquisition,stood beside a confessed witch, who was beingtortured further for her increased good of soul,the German nobleman asked the priests if, intheir consciences, they could say that the HolyTribunals were doing God’s work. When theJesuits answered loudly in the affirmative, theduke asked the poor woman on the rack tolook carefully at his companions. “I suspectthem of being witches,” he said. With this, heindicated that the wretch be stretched anothernotch on the rack. At once she began scream-ing that the two devout fathers were agents ofSatan, that she had seen them copulating withsuccubi and serpents and had dined with themon roasted baby at the last Sabbat.

Later, in an anti-Inquisition work, FatherSpree declared: “Often I have thought thatthe only reason why we are not all wizards isdue to the fact that we have not all been tor-tured. And there is truth in what an inquisitordared to boast, that if he could reach thePope, he would make him confess that he wasa wizard.”

By the late sixteenth century, the power ofthe Inquisition was beginning to wane. In1563, Johann Weyer (Weir) (1515–1588), acritic of the Inquisition, managed to publish Depraestigus daemonum in which he argued thatwhile Satan does seek to ensnare and destroyhuman beings, the charges that accused witch-es, werewolves, and vampires possessed super-natural powers were false. Such abilities existedonly in their minds and imaginations. Howev-er, as if to provide an antidote to Weyer’s callfor a rational approach to dealing with accusa-tions of witchcraft, in 1580 the respected intel-lectual Jean Bodin, often referred to as theAristotle of the sixteenth century, wrote De Lademonomanie des sorciers, a book that arguedthat witches truly possessed demonic powersand caused the flames once again to burn higharound thousands of heretics’ stakes.

With the spread of Protestantism throughEurope, Pope Paul III (1468–1549) established


Magic and Sorcery96

THE Inquisition came into existence in 1231.

the Congregation of the Inquisition (alsoknown as the Roman Inquisition and the HolyOffice) in 1542 which consisted of six cardi-nals, including the reformer Gian Pietro Cardi-nal Carafa (1475–1559). Although their pow-ers extended to the whole church, the HolyOffice was less concerned about heresies andfalse beliefs of church members than they werewith misstatements of orthodoxy in the acade-mic writings of its theologians. When Carafabecame Pope Paul IV in 1555, he approved thefirst Index of Forbidden Books (1559) and vigor-ously sought out any academics who wereprompting any thought that offended churchdoctrine or favored Protestantism.

Although organized witchcraft trials con-tinued to be held throughout Europe and eventhe American colonies until the late seven-teenth century, they were most often civilaffairs and the Inquisition had little part insuch ordeals. However, the Holy Office con-tinued to serve as the instrument by which thepapal government regulated church order anddoctrine, and it did try and condemn Galileo(1564–1642) in 1633. In 1965, Pope Paul VI(1897–1978) reorganized the Holy Office andrenamed it the Congregation for the Doctrineof the Faith.

For many years and in dozens of books andarticles on witches and Wicca, the number ofinnocent people executed for the practice ofwitchcraft during the four centuries of activepersecution has been estimated as high as ninemillion. In 1999, Jenny Gibbons released theresults of her research in the autumn issue ofPanGaia in which she verified that overall,approximately 75 percent to 80 percent ofthose accused of witchcraft were women, but todate (circa 1999) an examination of the officialtrial records of the witchcraft trials indicatethat less than 15,000 definite executionsoccurred in all of Europe and America com-bined. The period of the heaviest persecutionsof witches occurred during the 100 yearsbetween 1550 and 1650, Gibbons reported, andthe total number of men and women accused ofwitchcraft who were actually hanged or burnedprobably did not exceed 40,000.

Wiccan author and scholar Margot Adlerhas noted that the source of the oft-quoted

nine million witches put to death was first usedby a German historian in the late eighteenthcentury who took the number of people killedin a witch hunt in his own German state andmultiplied by the number of years variouspenal statutes existed, then reconfigured thenumber to correspond to the population ofEurope. “It serves no end to perpetuate themiscalculation,” Adler commented. “It’s timeto put away the exaggerated numbers forever.”

M Delving Deeper

Adler, Margot. “A Time for Truth: Wiccans Strugglewith Information that Revises Their History.”beliefnet. [Online] http://www.beliefnet.com/story/40/story_4007.html.

Gibbons, Jenny. “A New Look at the Great EuropeanWitch Hunt” (excerpted from “The Great Euro-pean Witch Hunt,” published in the Autumn1999 issue of PanGaia). beliefnet [Online] http://www. beliefnet.com/story/17/story_1744_1.html.

Lea, Henry Charles. The Inquisition of the Middle Ages.New York: Citadel Press, 1963.

Netanyahu, B. The Origins of the Inquisition. NewYork: Random House, 1995.




Sabbats

The Sabbat is a day of ascendancy for witches.In the European countrysides during the Mid-dle Ages, the eight festival observances tookon immense importance as thousands of peas-ants, common people, and members of thelesser nobility attended the seasonal celebra-tions. The Sabbats mark the passage of theyear as it moves through its seasons: Samhainbegins the year for those who follow the waysof witchcraft, and it occurs near October 31.


97Magic and Sorcery

BY the late sixteenth century, the power of theInquisition was beginning to wane.

Yule marks the Winter Solstice and is cele-brated near December 21, the longest, darkestnight of the year. Candlemas, observed onFebruary 2, is the festival of the GoddessBrigid. The Spring Equinox happens aroundMarch 21 and is a powerful time of magic.Beltane, May 1, celebrates love and oneness.The Summer Solstice, occurring around June21, is also a time of power and strength of thedeities of nature. August 1 recognizes Lam-mas, a time when fruit ripens and there aresigns that harvest is near. The Fall Equinox,near or on September 21, celebrates a balancebetween light and dark, night and day.

In the Middle Ages, the Christian influ-ence, so visible during the day, seemed to van-ish at night as great groups of people gatheredaround a statue of the Horned God and beganprofessing their allegiance to the great deitiesof nature. To staunch Christians, this horned

image was an obscene representation of Satan,a black, grotesque figure that was fiendishly litby the roaring fire in front of it. In the flicker-ing light, the torso of the figure appeared to behuman while the head, hands, and feet wereshaped like those of a goat and covered withcoarse, black hair. The altar beneath the imageof the Horned God was constructed of stones,and the ceremony performed was intricate.

Although there was plenty of food and beer,many scholars of witchcraft believe that thehigh priests and priestesses took advantage ofthe entranced state of most of the worshippersand spiked the drinks with belladonna or otherdrugs. The crowd was then easily whipped intoan intoxicated frenzy, which tended to free theinhibitions of the celebrants. At the peak ofthe collective emotions, the crowd acted as asingle person and began almost automaticallyto dance the hypnotic witches’ round. As the


Magic and Sorcery98

Before gathering in the forest for a Sabbat,many witches applied “flying ointment” ontheir bodies. According to ancient lore, thisointment enables the witch to fly through

the air, often accompanying the goddess Dianathrough the night sky. This ointment was made fromatropa belladonna, commonly known as deadly night-shade and contains certain alkaloids, which producevivid hallucinations.

Unfortunately individuals accused of witchcraftwere arrested by the Inquisition and tortured. Thepriests and witch-hunters were not satisfied withaccounts of merely flying to the gatherings in theforests. They wanted to hear how the witchesencountered the devil, sold their souls to him, andplotted evil against all god-fearing villagers.

In his The Black Arts (1967) Richard Cavendishrepeated the account of a woman who wished to testa recipe for witches’ flying ointment. She rubbed onthe ointment, uttered the appropriate spells, and infront of several witnesses, fell into a disturbed sleep.

When she awakened, she insisted that she had beenwith Lady Venus and the goddess Diana, although shehad not left the room.

Sources:

Ahmed, Rollo. The Black Art. London: Arrow Books, 1966.

Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts. New York: Capricorn Books,

1967.

Flying High with

the Witches

dance continued, the cathartic influence of theentire celebration magnified the energy of eachindividual until all of them forgot their ownpersonality in expression of worship of theHorned God and the Goddess.

The Sabbat dance, or, as it is commonlyknown, the witches’ round, was performedwith the dancers moving in a back-to-backposition with their hands clasped and theirheads turned so that they might see each other.A wild dance such as this, which was essential-ly circular in movement, would need little helpfrom the drugged drinks to bring about a con-dition of vertigo in the most hearty of dancers.The celebration lasted the entire night, andthe crowd did not disperse until the crowing ofthe cock the following morning.

Reports of regular celebrations of the vari-ous Sabbats came from all over Europe. Anestimated 25,000 attended such rituals in thecountrysides of southern France and aroundthe Black Forest region of Germany. As rumorsof even larger gatherings spread throughoutthe land, the nobility and the churchmendecided to squelch such expressions out ofexistence with the use of the hideous machin-ery of the Inquisition. Even the most innocentamusements of the serfs were taken away. Inthe face of such large-scale persecutions, themass meeting celebrations of the Sabbat weremade impossible. But even though great pres-sure was brought to bear on such outward man-ifestations of the rituals, the Sabbats were stillperformed in modified versions in the privatefields, orchards, and cellars of the peasants.

M Delving Deeper

Buckland, Raymond. Witchcraft from the Inside. St.Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.



Murray, Margaret. The God of the Witches. GardenCity, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1960.




Witchcraft Trials

In the period from about 1450 to 1750,somewhere around 40,000 to 60,000 indi-viduals were tried as witches and con-

demned to death in central Europe. Of thatnumber, as high as three-quarters of the vic-tims were women.

Numerous scholars have pointed out thatbeginning in the fourteenth century, the closeof the Middle Ages, the Christian establish-ment of Europe was forced to deal with anonset of social, economic, and religiouschanges. It was also during this time (1347–49)that the Black Death, the bubonic plague,nearly decimated the populations of the Euro-pean nations and greatly encouraged rumors ofdevil-worshippers who conspired with otherheretics, such as Jews and Muslims, to invokeSatan to bring about a pestilence that woulddestroy Christianity and the West. During mostof the Middle Ages, those who practiced theOld Religion and worked with herbs andcharms were largely ignored by the church andthe Inquisition. After the scourge of the BlackDeath, witchcraft trials began to increasesteadily throughout the fourteenth and fif-teenth centuries.

The first major witch-hunt occurred inSwitzerland in 1427; and in 1428, in Valais,there was a mass burning of 100 witches. In1486, the infamous “hammer for witches,”Malleus Maleficarum, the official textbook fortrying and testing witches written by themonks Sprenger and Kramer, was published.

In the early decades of the sixteenth cen-tury, when the Protestant Reformation beganto restructure nearly all of Europe politicallyas well as religiously, witches were largelyoverlooked by the rulers of church and statewho now struggled with the larger issues of thegreat division within Christianity. Then, after


99Magic and Sorcery

THE first major witch-hunt occurred inSwitzerland in 1427.

a time of relatively little persecution, the peri-od of the great witchcraft craze or hysteria thatmany practicing witches and students ofwitchcraft today refer to as the “BurningTimes,” occurred from about 1550 to 1650.

Although organized witchcraft trials con-tinued to be held throughout Europe and eventhe English colonies in North America untilthe late seventeenth century, they were mostoften civil affairs. About 40 people were exe-cuted in the English colonies between 1650and 1710, and half of these victims perished asa result of the Salem trials of 1692. Persecutionof witches and the trials held to punish themhad been almost completely abolished inEurope by 1680. One last wave of the witchcraze swept over Poland and other easternEuropean countries in the early eighteenthcentury, but it had dissipated by 1740. The lastlegal execution of a witch occurred in 1782 inGlarus, Switzerland—not far from where thewitch craze had begun in 1428. The last knownwitch-burning in Europe took place in Polandin 1793, but it was an illegal act, for witch trialswere abolished in that country in 1782.

The Inquisition or the Church itself hadlittle part in any witchcraft trials after the lat-ter part of the seventeenth century, but theHoly Office continued to serve as the instru-ment by which the papal government regulat-ed church order and doctrine.

M Delving Deeper

Adler, Margot. “A Time for Truth: Wiccans Strugglewith Information that Revises Their History.”beliefnet. [Online] http://www.beliefnet.com/story/40/story_4007.html. 25 February 2002.

Gibbons, Jenny. “A New Look at the Great EuropeanWitch Hunt” (excerpted from “The Great Euro-pean Witch Hunt,” published in the autumn1999 issue of PanGaia). beliefnet[Online] http://www. beliefnet.com/story/17/story_1744_1.html.25 February 2002.






England

The first record of a witch being burned at thestake in the British Isles was the execution ofPetronilla de Meath at Killkenny, Ireland, onNovember 3, 1324. But from that time untilthe witch craze ended in the eighteenth centu-ry, Ireland would neither try nor burn anymore witches. England did not really succumbto the witch craze that seized Central Europe.There was no law against witchcraft in Eng-land until 1542—and that law was repealed in1547. Perhaps because the nation had a strongcentral government, as opposed to the inde-pendent city states which at that time createdconstant political turmoil within so many ofthe European countries, England did not toler-ate wholesale witch burnings. The few burn-ings that did occur took place on the borderswhere different religious faiths were in conflictand the people were more disposed to seeSatan in the other person’s manner of worship.

The first recorded execution of a personassociated with witchcraft occurred in 1441,but the convicted woman, Margaret Jourde-maine of London, was put to death notbecause she was a witch, but because she hadbeen found guilty of murder. In 1563, perhapsin reaction to the witch craze in Europe, a newlaw against witchcraft was passed, and a 63-year-old widow named Agnes Waterhouse wascondemned to death in 1566 for bewitching aman to death.

Torture could not be used against accusedwitches in England; therefore, only about 20percent of those suspected of dealing with thedevil were executed. The single period duringwhich something approaching the witch hyste-ria on the European continent blighted Englandoccurred during the English Civil War during


Magic and Sorcery100

THE last legal execution of a witch occurred in1782 in Glarus, Switzerland.

the 1640s when the central government’s powercollapsed and opposing factions struggling fordominance were more likely to accuse theiropponents of trafficking with the devil.

The last witches executed in England—Temperance Lloyd, Susanna Edwards, andMary Trembles, all of Bideford, Devon—wereall hanged on August 25, 1682. The deathpenalty of witches in England was abolishedin 1736. Estimates of the number of witchesput to death in England are about 400, andapproximately 90 percent of those condemnedwere women.

Alleged murders by witchcraft and subse-quent trials for witchcraft have not disap-peared from the world scene, and the fear ofcursing, hexing, and causing death by witch-craft remains very powerful in many nations.

In 1998, in scenes reminiscent of theSalem witch hunts, mobs in Indonesiaattacked and killed 153 people who wereaccused of practicing sorcery. In an eight-year-period, from 1990 to 1998, more than 2,000cases of witchcraft-related violence, including577 murders, were recorded in the northerncorner of South Africa.

In June 2001, the London Sunday Timesreported that the president of Zimbabwe,Robert Mugabe, feared that he and his govern-ment had become the victims of black magicdirected at them by powerful Sangomas (witch-doctors). In August 2001, a teenaged girl inNigeria confessed to taking part in the ritualkilling of 48 people after being initiated into asecret witchcraft cult. Three men were arrestedby police in that African nation after theywere found in possession of a human skull thatthey were using in Black Magick rituals.

The Washington Post reported on Novem-ber 28, 2001, that Black Magic murders in thestate of Maranhao in northeastern Brazil hadclaimed the lives of at least 26 boys. Althoughas many as one in six Brazilians practice aform of religion that combines RomanCatholicism with the ancient beliefs ofAfrican and Amazonian magic, such as Tambode Mina, Umbanda, and Macumba, thepriests of those religions denied any part of themutilation deaths of the young boys. Authori-

ties remained convinced that Black Magicwitchcraft was somehow behind the murders.

In December 2001, the Romanian Parlia-ment announced that it was passing new lawsto regulate the thousands of witches practic-ing in their country. It was suggested thatpoliticians be given special advice on how todeal with the witches after the finance minis-ter sufferred a broken leg the day after heintroduced a special tax on witches.

Although the widespread horror of theInquisition being visited upon innocent indi-viduals and hauling accused men and womeninto torture chambers has receded into ashameful chapter in human history, trials forwitchcraft have by no means been relegated tothe Middle Ages.

M Delving Deeper

“Case Study: The European Witch-Hunts, c. 1450–1750,” Gendercide Watch. [Online] http://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts. html.

Faiola, Anthony. “Witchcraft Murders Cast a Grue-some Spell,” November 28, 2001. [Online]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25297-2001Nov27.html. 25 February 2002.

Johnson, R. W. “Mugabe’s Men on the Run fromWitchcraft,” June 2, 2001. [Online] http://www.sunday-times.co.uk.

Notestein, Wallace. A History of Witchcraft in Eng-land. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1968.




France

When an overview of the witchcraft trials inFrance is made in an effort to derive an accu-rate picture of the extent of the persecutions of


101Magic and Sorcery

THE law against witchcraft in England wasrepealed in 1547.

those alleged to be witches, the issue becomesclouded because of two great heretic huntsthat had far-reaching repercussions. The firstwas the crusade launched against the hereticalCathars in the south of France in 1208, andthe second was the trial of the Knights Tem-plar for heresy and witchcraft in 1312. Fromthe beginning of the thirteenth century to theend of the seventeenth century, neither thechurch or civil courts nor the common peoplewere able to make clear distinctions betweenCathars, heretics, and witches.

In 1246, Montsegur, the center of theAlbigensian (as the Cathars were also known)resistance fell, and hundreds of the sect whohad for so many years withstood the only cru-sade ever launched against fellow Christianswere burned at the stake. In that same year,the headquarters of the Inquisition was estab-lished in Toulouse. In 1252, Pope Innocent IV(d. 1254) issued a papal bull that placed theinquisitors above the law and demanded thatevery Christian—from the aristocracy to thepeasantry—assist in the work of seeking outwitches and heretics or face excommunica-tion. In 1257, the church officially sanctionedtorture as a means of forcing witches andheretics to confess to their evil ways.

In 1305, the Knights Templar, who had forcenturies been the bulwark of Christianityagainst those who would destroy or defame it,were themselves accused of invoking Satan,consorting with female demons, and worship-ping black cats. While many clergy, includingthe pope himself, were reluctant to believesuch charges against the Knights Templar, itsoon became apparent that the order hadbecome too wealthy and powerful to fit suit-ably into the emerging political structure ofFrance and the aspirations of its king, Philipthe Fair (1268–1314).

After years of persecution, many knightsscattered and went into hiding throughoutEurope and England. Those valiant Templarswho insisted upon presenting a defense werefinally brought to trial in 1312; and in spite of573 witnesses for their defense, at least 54knights were tortured en masse, burned at thestake, and their order was disbanded by PopeClement V (c. 1260–1314).

Perhaps because of such large numbers ofCathars having been executed at Montsegurand other cities in the Albi region of southernFrance, along with reports of the mass burningof the Knights Templar, exaggerated accounts ofmass executions of witches passed into the liter-ature of the witch craze in Europe and remainedthere for centuries. For example, there are manyreference books that document the burning ofseveral hundred witches in Toulouse between1320 and 1350. In one single terrible day duringthat time, according to the old texts, 400women were burned at the stake. Historianshave since determined that such mass execu-tions of witches at Toulouse never occurred.Such claims are exaggerations or fictions.

The old records also reveal that the witch-hunters in France were not as gender biased astheir counterparts in other European nations.Of the 1,300 witches whose appeals wereheard by the French parliament, just over halfwere men. Also, contrary to popular supposi-tion, in countries such as France, where theCatholic Church was firmly entrenched, theinquisitorial church courts were much morelenient than the civil courts in handing outdeath sentences to accused witches. Overall,in such Catholic nations as France, Italy, andSpain, the church courts executed far fewerpeople than the local community-based courtsor the national courts. According to some sta-tistics, in the period from 1550 to 1682, omit-ting the numbers of Cathars and KnightsTemplar executed, France sentenced approxi-mately 1,500 accused witches to death.

M Delving Deeper

“Case Study: The European Witch-Hunts, c.1450–1750.” Gendercide Watch. [Online]http://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts.html.25 February 2002.




Germany

From the perspecive of the papacy, it seemedthat witchcraft had become particularly virulent



in Germany, and in 1484, Pope Innocent VIII(1432–1492) became so distressed with condi-tions in that country that he issued the papalbull Summis Desiderantes Affectibus. As an addi-tional antidote to demonism, the pope autho-rized two Dominican inquisitors Henrich Insti-toris (also known as Kramer) (1430–1505) andJacob Sprenger (1436–1495) to prepare a kindof guide book for those witchhunters whosought to battle Satan in the Rhineland. Theircollaborative work, Malleus Maleficarum, “AHammer for Witches” (1486), soon became theofficial handbook for those who conductedwitchcraft trials throughout nearly all of Europe.While some members of the laity, the civilcourts, and even the clergy had begun to ques-tion the actual power of witches, Malleus Malefi-carum strongly refuted those arguments thatsuggested that the reality of the hellish works ofthose individuals who claimed an alliance withSatan existed only in troubled human minds.

According to Malleus, those angels whofell from heaven were intent upon destroyingthe human race—and anyone who believedotherwise believed contrary to the true faith.Therefore, any person who had consortedwith demons and who had become witchesmust recant their evil ways or die.

The country that gave birth to the Protes-tant Reformation was also the center of thewitchcraft trials in Europe, condemning to thestake 48 percent of all those who were accusedof consorting with demons, perhaps as many as26,000 victims. Oddly enough, although muchpolitical and religious restructuring was occur-ring in Germany, the country was not toleranttoward divergent ideas and beliefs. In south-western Germany alone, more than 3,000witches were executed between 1560 and1680. Perhaps the reasons for such heavy per-secution of suspected witches lay in the distrustthat the warring Christian factions—theRoman Catholics and the newly emergingProtestant sects—had toward one another, andtheir religious zeal prompted them to accuse avariety of scapegoats as servants of Satan.

In 1630, Prince-Bishop Johann Georg IIFuchs von Dornheim, the infamous Hexen-bischof (Witch Bishop), constructed a specialtorture chamber which he decorated with

appropriate passages from scripture. Heburned at least 600 heretics and witches,including a fellow bishop he suspected ofbeing too lenient.

While the Protestant states in Germanyabandoned the persecution of witches a gener-ation before those states under RomanCatholic dominance, the uncompromisingnature of the Lutheran and Calvinist doc-trines contributed to the continuation of thewitchcraft trials until around 1660. Thewitchcraft trials in Germany ended in 1684.Of the approximately 26,000 accused witchescondemned to death from around 1550 to1684, 82 percent were women.

M Delving Deeper

“Case Study: The European Witch-Hunts, c. 1450–1750.” Gendercide Watch. [Online] http://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts.html. 25 Febru-ary 2002.




Salem, Massachusetts

The Salem, Massachusetts, witchcraft trials of1692 provide a classic example of what schol-ars mean when they refer to the “witch craze”or “witch hysteria” that swept through Europein the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.Because of the accusations of a small circle ofprepubescent girls, an entire communitybecame crazed and caught up in the fear thatmany of their neighbors were serving Satan insecret. The witch hysteria in Salem villageresulted in the deaths of 24 men and women,who were hanged, were crushed to death, ordied in prison.

The reign of terror that seized the villageof Salem in Massachusetts Bay Colony in



THE witchcraft trials in Germany ended in 1684.

1692 remains perhaps the single most cele-brated of all witch hunts. Playwright ArthurMiller’s (1915– ) moving stage treatment ofthe nightmare at Salem, The Crucible (1953),receives periodic revivals on Broadway, and in1996 Miller wrote the screenplay for themotion picture version, starring WinonaRyder, Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Scofield, andJoan Allen. In her study of the witchcraft tri-als The Devil in Massachusetts (1961), MarionL. Starkey made the following observation:“No definitive history of the Salem witchcrafttrials has ever been written or is likely to be,for it would take a lifetime and would be ency-clopedic in dimension.”

The madness began innocently enough inthe home of the Rev. Samuel Parris when hisslave Tituba began telling stories of voodooand restless spirits to his nine-year-old daugh-ter Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams, 11.While it is certain that the Puritan preacherwould have either scolded or beaten Tituba for

filling the girls’ heads with such spooky tales,Abigail and Betty cherished these secret timeswith the slave woman and kept quiet aboutthe nature of their conversation. Soon theexciting storytelling sessions in the Parrishousehold were attracting older girls, such as16-year-old Mary Walcott and 18-year-oldSusanna Sheldon, who wanted Tituba to telltheir fortunes and predict their future hus-bands, as well as tell them ghost stories.Although Rev. Parris and the other preachersfulminated from the pulpits about the dangersof seeking occult knowledge, the girls ofSalem ignored such warnings in favor of hav-ing a thrilling pastime that could help themthrough a long, cold winter.

Then came the fateful afternoon whenAnn Putnam, a fragile, highly strung 12-year-old, joined the circle in the company of thePutnams’ maid, 19-year-old Mercy Lewis. Annwas much more widely read than the othergirls and was blessed with a quick wit, a high



Salem village witchcraft

trials in the 1690s. (THE


intelligence, and a lively imagination. Shesoon became Tituba’s most avid and apt pupil.Together with her literate mother, Ann hadread far more than the other girls in the circle,and she was quite familiar with the imagery inthe Book of Revelation with its dragons,horned beasts, devils, and damnation. It seemsthat while part of Ann’s psyche was thrilledwith the forbidden knowledge Tituba sharedwith them, another aspect was conflicted withguilt that they were flirting with devilishenchantment.

Undoubtedly most of the other girls werealso conflicted with conscience and the fear ofdiscovery. As the days passed, little Bettyseemed distracted from her chores, subject tosudden fits of weeping, often noted to be star-ing blankly at the wall. Shortly thereafter, Abi-gail went far beyond weeping and blank stares.She got down on all fours and began barkinglike a dog or braying like a donkey. Mary Wal-cott and Susanna Sheldon fell into convul-sions. Ann Putnam and the family maid, MercyLewis, also began to suffer seizures. Somethingevil seemed to have come to Salem.

About four years previously in the northend of Boston, four children in the John God-win family had fallen into such fits, babblingblasphemies, ignoring the prayers of the cler-gy. It took the famous preacher Cotton Math-er (1663–1728) to quiet the work of analleged witch, an Irish washerwoman namedGlover, and restore the children to normalcy.The memories of this horrid event, includingthe hanging of Witch Glover, were muchalive in the minds of the Salem clergy whenthey began to ask the girls who it was who wastormenting them.

To no one’s surprise, Tituba was the firstname from the possessed childrens’ lips. Nordid anyone doubt the naming of Sarah Good,considered by the townsfolk to be a bit of atramp with a foul-smelling pipe, who had beensuspected of spreading smallpox throughwitchcraft. But when the children namedSarah Osburne a witch, the village wasshocked. Osburne was a property owner, wholived in one of the most substantial homes inSalem. Nevertheless, warrants were issued forall three women.

And from such a dramatic beginning, thelist of names of the devil’s disciples who weretormenting the girls grew steadily longer. Thewealthy merchant Philip English; GoodwifeProctor, the wife of successful farmer and tav-ern keeper, John Proctor; Martha Cory, thewife of another prosperous farmer, Giles Cory.Sarah Good’s four-year-old daughter, Dorcas,was also put in chains as an accused witch.Two magistrates, John Hathorne andJonathan Corwin, were sent out from theGeneral Court of Massachusetts Colony tohear testimony that described tales of talkinganimals, dark shapes, red cats, and a tall man,who was undoubtedly the devil himself.

When 71-year-old Rebecca Nurse wasarrested for witchcraft against her neighbors,the townsfolk realized that if she could benamed as a witch, no one was safe from suchaccusations. Nurse was considered a veritablesaint by the village, a woman noted for herpiety and simplicity of heart. Although the juryinitially acquitted her, the judge ordered thejury to reconsider and she was found guilty. Shewas hanged on Gallows Hill on July 19, 1692.

Several hundred people in and aroundSalem were accused of witchcraft, even thewife of Massachusetts governor William Phips.Such an absurdity provoked Phips into takinga stand against any further imprisonments andhe forbade any more executions for witchcraftin Salem. Because of the governor’s actions,the nearly 150 men and women who were stillchained to prison walls were set free and manywho had been convicted of witchcraft werepardoned.

In 1711, the Massachusetts legislaturepassed a general amnesty that exonerated allbut six of the accused witches. In 1957, thestate legislature passed a resolution exonerat-ing Ann Pudeator, who had been hanged.



IN 1711, the Massachusetts legislature passed ageneral amnesty that exonerated all but six of theaccused witches.

Finally, on November 1, 2001, acting Massa-chusetts governor Jane Swift approved a billthat cleared all the accused witches hanged inSalem in 1692 and 1693. The bill exoneratedthe final five who had not been cleared by theprevious amnesty resolutions—SusannahMartin, Bridget Bishop, Alice Parker, Mar-garet Scott, and Wilmot Redd.

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Hansen, Chadwick. Witchcraft at Salem. New York:New American Library, 1970.

Noble, Christopher. “Relatives Cheer Bill ClearingSalem Witches.” [Online] http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20011102/od/life_witches_dc_1.html. 4 March 2002.

Starkey, Marion L. The Devil in Massachusetts: A Mod-ern Enquiry into the Salem Witch Trials. GardenCity, N.Y.: Dolphin/Doubleday, 1961.

“A Village Possessed: A True Story of Witchcraft.”Discovery Online. [Online] http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/witches/trials.html. 4 March2002.

Scotland

Although torture was forbidden to be used as aninstrument to obtain confessions from witchesin England, it was allowed in Scotland wherehalf of all those accused of witchcraft from 1537to 1722 were burned at the stake, a total of1,350 to 1,739 victims—at least three times asmany as were hanged in England—with womencomprising 86 percent of that number.

The first recorded execution of a witch inScotland occurred in July 1537 when JanetDouglas, also known as Lady Glamis, wasburned at the stake in Edinburgh. LadyGlamis died not because she was the victim ofa trial inspired by the witch craze of Europe,but because she had been found guilty of usingher abilities as a witch to murder.

In 1583, Englishman Reginald Scot(1538–1599) wrote The Discovery of Witch-

craft, which was his answer to the MalleusMaleficarum (1486) and what he consideredthe abuses being conducted against accusedwitches in Scotland, where torture was freelyused to wring confessions out of those unfortu-nate enough to have gone to trial. Scot consid-ered the witch-hunters to be sexually obsessedmadmen who took delight in inflicting sadistictortures on their victims. A person being putto torture could be made to confess to anycharge, Scot argued. And if the witches werereally so powerful, he questioned why had theynot enslaved the human race centuries ago?

Scot’s book so infuriated King James VI ofScotland (1566–1625) that he himself wrote atreatise on the reality of demon worship andthe power of witches entitled Demonologie torefute The Discovery of Witchcraft. A few yearslater, when he ascended the throne of Eng-land, one of King James’ first official acts wasto order the public burning of Scot’s book.

The last witch in the whole of the BritishIsles to be executed was Jenny Horn ofSutherland, Scotland, who was burned at thestake in 1722. Horn had been tried togetherwith her daughter, who, the jury decided, wasa victim of her mother’s witchcraft, ratherthan an accomplice.

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“Case Study: The European Witch-Hunts, c. 1450–1750.” Gendercide Watch. [Online] http://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts. html. 25 Febru-ary 2002.





Spain

In 1478, at the request of King Ferdinand V(1452–1516) and Queen Isabella I (1451–1504), papal permission was granted to estab-lish the Spanish Inquisition and to maintain itseparate from the Inquisition that extended itsjurisdiction over all the rest of Europe. The



IN 1583 The Discovery of Witchcraft waswritten.

Spanish Inquisition was always more interest-ed in persecuting heretics than those suspect-ed of witchcraft. It has been estimated that ofthe 5,000 men and women accused of beingwitches, less than 1 percent were condemnedto death. The Spanish Inquisition was con-cerned with trying the Marranos or conversos,those Jews suspected of insincerely convertingto Christianity; the converts from Islam, simi-larly thought to be insincere in practicing theChristian faith; and, in the 1520s, those indi-viduals who were believed to have convertedto Protestantism. The support of Spain’s royalhouse enabled Tomas de Torquemada (1420–1498) to become the single grand inquisitorwhose name has become synonymous with theInquisition’s most cruel acts and excesses.Torquemada is known to have ordered thedeaths by torture and burning of thousands ofheretics and witches.

The Spanish Inquisition seemed to takespecial delight in the pomp and ceremony ofthe auto-de-fe, during which hundreds ofheretics might be burned at one time. If anauto-de-fe could not be made to coincide withsome great festival day, it was at least held ona Sunday so that the populace could makeplans to attend the burnings.

The ghastly event began with a processionof the penitents led by Dominican friars.Behind them marched the wretched victimsof the Inquisition, barefooted, stumbling, hol-low-eyed with the pain and nightmare of theirordeal.

As in Spain, the same lack of concernregarding the practice of the Old Religion andthe folk customs of the herbalists and strega(witches) was also the prevailing attitude inItaly, another nation in which the Roman



Grimoires are books of ceremonies, ritu-als, and spells that are to be used in cer-emonial magic composed in Europe fromthe fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries.

The texts provide rules regarding symbols, chants,and spells, and describe how to utilize them to per-form effective magical effects.

The most famous of all Grimoires is the Key ofSolomon, allegedly prepared by the king himself. In thefirst century C.E. the historian Josephus (c. 37–c. 100)refers to a book of incantations for summoning spiritswritten by Solomon. Black magicians circulated thetext throughout Europe in the twelfth century; theInquisition condemned it as a dangerous text in 1559.

Sources:

Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts. New York: Capricorn Books,

1967.

Grimassi, Raven. Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft. St. Paul,

Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2000.

Spence, Lewis. An Encyclopedia of Occultism. New Hyde Park,

N.Y.: University Books, 1960.

The Power of

the Grimoires

Catholic Church was strong and was notweakened by the Protestant Reformation. Theclerical tribunals in either nation levied fewdeath sentences toward witches, but manyscholars have estimated that the neighborshad killed many men and women suspected ofwitchcraft. Some researchers have stated thatas many as 25 percent of those executed forwitchcraft in those countries were lynched bymobs who carried out the fatal sentences thatthey felt the Inquisition had failed to deliver.

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Swain, John. The History of Torture. New York: AwardBooks, 1969.

Witchhunters

In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII (1432–1492)so deplored the spread of witchcraft inGermany that he issued the papal bull

Summis Desiderantes Affectibus and authorizedtwo trusted Dominican inquistors, HenrichInstitoris (Kramer) (c. 1430–1505) and JacobSprenger (c. 1436–1495), to squelch thepower of Satan in the Rhineland. In 1486,Sprenger and Kramer published their MalleusMaleficarum, “A Hammer for Witches,” whichquickly became the “bible,” the official hand-book, of professional witch hunters. MalleusMaleficarum strongly refuted all those whoclaimed that the works of demons exist onlyin troubled human minds. The Bible clearlytold the account of how certain angels fellfrom heaven and sought to bewitch andseduce humans, and Sprenger and Kramerissued a strict warning that to believe other-wise was to believe contrary to the true faith.Therefore, any persons who consorted withdemons and became witches must recant theirevil ways or be put to death.

In his Witchcraft (1960), Charles Williamswrote that if one were to judge Malleus Malefi-carum as an intellectual achievement, the

work of Sprenger and Kramer is almost of thefirst order. While one might suspect a bookthat detailed horrible tortures to be adminis-tered to unfortunate men and women to bethe efforts of half-mad, sexually obsessed indi-viduals, Williams said that “there is no signthat they were particularly interested in sex.They were interested in the Catholic faithand its perpetuation, and they were, also andtherefore, interested in the great effort whichit seemed to them was then in existence todestroy and eradicate the Catholic faith.”

Williams believed that Sprenger andKramer proceeded with great care in theMalleus Maleficarum to examine the nature ofwitchcraft and to analyze the best methods ofoperating against its menace. The two devoutDominican priests took extreme measures tocorrect error, to instruct against ignorance,and to direct cautious action.

The judges of the great tribunals exam-ined, tried, and tortured female witches at aratio of 10–1, 100–1, or 10,000–1, dependingupon the authority cited. Only in the Scandi-navian countries were men accused of beingwitches and sorcerers at an equal or larger per-centage than women.

Once an accused woman found herself inprison through the testimony of someone whohad allegedly seen her evil powers at work, shemight well be as good as dead. At the height ofthe witchcraft mania in the fifteenth and six-teenth centuries, an accusation was equivalentto guilt in the eyes of many judges. Sadly, aneighbor woman jealous of the “witch’s” youthand beauty, a suitor angered by her rejection,or a relative who sought her inheritance, mayhave brought the accusation of witchcraft.And no lawyer would dare defend such anaccused witch for fear that he would himself beaccused of heresy if he pled her case too well.

The common justice of the Inquisitiondemanded that a witch should not be con-demned to death unless she convict herself byher own confession. Therefore, the judgeswould order her torture to force her to confessso that she might be put to death. In a viciousand most perplexing paradox of justice, thelearned men held that even though the accu-sation of nearly anyone was enough to land a



woman in prison as a witch—and if she got asfar as prison she was thereby consideredguilty—all the testimony counted for naughtunless the witch confessed her guilt. No one,under common justice, could be put to deathfor witchcraft on the evidence of another’s tes-timony. What is more, the witch must confesswithout torture by the court. Therefore, inorder to fully comply with the law, the judgesturned the accused witches over to the black-hooded torturers so they, themselves, wouldnot be the ones torturing the accused. Oncethe witch had confessed, she was now eligibleto be reconciled to the church, absolved of sin,and burned at the stake. Confession or not, ofcourse, the accused witch found her way to theflaming pyres. The difference, in the eyes ofMother Church, was whether the woman wentas guilty but penitent or guilty and impenitent.

Although recent scholarship has arguedthat the oft-cited figure of nine million inno-cent women and men condemned to tortureand death for witchcraft durng the Inquisitionshould be lowered more reasonably to a maxi-mum of 40,000, that number is still frighten-ingly representative of a ghastly miscarriage ofjustice toward human beings who were perse-cuted and killed in the name of religion.

Sometime in the 1550s, a highly respecteddoctor, Johann Weyer (Weir) (1515–1588),who believed in the power of Satan to deceiveEarth’s mortals, became a critic of the Inquisi-tion and its claims that mere humans couldreally attain such supernatural powers as thosewhich the tribunals ascribed to witches. Per-haps, he argued, Satan had tricked theseunfortunate individuals into believing thatthey could work such magic in order to causethem to worship the dark forces, rather thanGod. In 1563, against strong opposition,Weyer published De praestigus daemonum inwhich he presented his arguments that whileSatan sought always to ensnare human souls,the supernatural powers attributed to witchesexisted only in their minds and imaginations.

In 1583 Reginald Scot (1538–1599) wroteThe Discovery of Witchcraft, which serves as akind of answer or rebuttal to Sprenger’s andKramer’s “Hammer for Witches.” He said ifwitches were really as all-powerful and malig-

nant as the Inquisitors claimed, why had theynot enslaved or exterminated the human racelong ago?

Unfortunately for many decades, the voic-es of Weyer and Scot were those of only a fewsane men, desperately crying out in thewilderness of the incredible sexual mania thatprovided the fuel for the witchcraft persecu-tions. The reign of terror conducted by thewitchhunters in Europe and Great Britaincontinued until the early part of the seven-teenth century.

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O’Keefe, Daniel Lawrence. Stolen Lightning: The SocialTheory of Magic. New York: Vintage Books, 1983.







Pope Innocent VIII

(1432–1492). (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

Jean Bodin (c. 1529/30–1596)

Before he became obsessed with ridding theworld of the evils of witchcraft, the brilliantJean Bodin (Baudin or Bodinus) had beenhailed as the Aristotle of the sixteenth century.When he was but a youth, Bodin was noticedby academics as rising young intellectual, andsoon he was known throughout Europe as a for-midable scholar of history, political theory, andthe philosophy of law. Bodin became a cele-brated jurisconsult and a leading member of theParliament of Paris. In 1576, he wroteThe SixBooks of the Republic, a work that remains stud-ied in the twenty-first century. Bodin portrayeda kind of ideal society in which humankind wasgoverned by natural laws, a moral code giventhrough conscience and God. In general, Bodinidealized the potential of humankind as becom-ing steadily noble and less beastlike. Scholarsponder what became of the utopian politicianwhen Bodin sat down to write Demonomaniedes Sorciers and became one of the men mostresponsible for keeping the fires of the Inquisi-tion burning brightly.

The Demonomanie was first published inParis in 1581 and again in 1616, 20 years afterBodin’s death, as Fleau des demons et des Sor-ciers. In the first and second volumes of thismonumental work, Bodin offered his proofsthat spirits communicate with humankind,and he itemized the various means by whichthe righteous might distinguish the good spiritsfrom their evil counterparts. Those men andwomen who seek to enter pacts with Satan inorder to achieve diabolical prophecy, the abili-ty to fly through the air, and the power toshapeshift into animal forms are dealing withevil spirits. Bodin acknowledged that he waswell aware of spells by which one might sum-mon incubi or succubi for carnal pleasure.

The third volume details methods bywhich the work of sorcerers and witches mightbe destroyed, and the fourth volume lists thecharacteristics by which witches, shapeshifters,and other servants of Satan might be identi-fied. The massive work concludes with a refu-tation of Johann Weyer (1515–1588), a med-ical doctor and author of De praestigiis daemon-um (1563), who, Bodin determined was ingrave danger of committing heresy by arguingthat those men and women who claimed to be

witches and shapeshifters were merely peoplewith unsound minds.

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Henri Boguet (1550–1619)

When he presided at witchcraft trials, HenriBoguet, an eminent judge of Saint-Claude inthe Jura Mountains, was known for his cruelty,especially toward children. He had no doubtthat Satan gifted witches with the ability tochange shape into a variety of animal forms,especially the wolf, so that they might devourhumans, and the cat, so they might betterprowl by night. The craze of witch-huntingmay have been first formulated by the clergy,but by 1600 such jurists as Boguet, Jean Bodin,and Pierre de Lancre had eagerly assumed themantles of determined inquisitors.

In his book Discours des Sorciers (1610),Boguet recounted his official investigation ofa family of werewolves and his observation ofthem while they were in prison in 1584.According to his testimony, the members ofthe Gandillon family walked on all fours andhowled like wolves. Their eyes turned red andgleaming; their hair sprouted; their teethbecame long and sharp; their fingernailsturned horny and clawlike. In another caserecounted in his book, Boguet told of eight-year-old Louise Maillat, who in the summer of1598 was possessed by five demons, who iden-tified themselves as Wolf, Cat, Dog, Jolly, andGriffon. In addition, the little girl was accusedof shapeshifting into the form of a wolf.

Boguet devoted a chapter in his Discoursdes Sorciers to the carnal connection ofdemons with witches and sorcerers andexpressed his conviction that the devil couldbecome either a man or a woman to deceive



people into his fold. Under his interrogations,Pierre and his son George, of the Gandillonfamily of werewolves, also confessed to havingsexual liaisons with the devil. Boguet was alsofascinated by the accounts that witches gaveunder torture concerning the festivals of theBlack Sabbats and condemned them as mock-ing the high Christian festivals. In his records,Boguet noted that such Sabbats most oftenoccurred on Thursday nights at the stroke ofmidnight and lasted until cock-crow. He alsomanaged to wring confessions out of witchesthat they did, indeed, fly to such Sabbatsastride sticks and brooms. He also got witchesto confess that the Sabbats began always withthe adoration of Satan, who appeared some-times in the shape of a tall, dark man and atother times in the form of a goat.

The eminent jurisconsult, judge of theprovince of Burgundy and president of the Tri-bunal of St. Claude, was dreaded by all thosewho might one day find themselves standingbefore his judgment. He was fanatical, cruel,and implacable in his sessions of interrogation,and his Discours des Sorciers ran into 11 edi-tions and became for a time the authoritativetext for French bailiwicks. Boguet pronouncedor ratified about 600 death sentences againstwitches. And while this learned man’s wisdomwas relied upon to determine the remarkablepowers of witches and sorcerers, the level of hisscientific acumen in other matters might beevaluated by his understanding that rottensticks eventually turned into snakes.

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Matthew Hopkins (16??–1647)

It was once suggested that Matthew Hopkins,the witch-finder general, had become infalli-ble in his ability to track down witchesbecause he himself had employed a bit of sor-cery and managed to steal one of Satan’s

address books so that he might copy down thenames of the devil’s disciples. Although Hop-kins served England in the self-appointedcapacity of “witch-finder” for a period of onlytwo years, his name remains synonymous withthe overzealous persecution of those men andwomen suspected of witchcraft. From 1645 to1647, Hopkins and his two eager assistants,John Sterne and Mary Phillips, scoured thecounties of eastern England searching forthose who had Satan’s mark upon them.

Little is known of the early life of Hopkinsuntil he appeared on the scene as one whoreceived payment for finding witches on behalfof various villages whose townspeople suspect-ed evidence of Satan’s disciples in their com-munity. He was the son of James Hopkins, aminister of Wenham in Suffolk, and there arerecords to indicate that he became an unsuc-cessful lawyer in Ipswich. After moving toManningtree circa 1644, he apparentlyappointed himself to the position of a witchfinder and added the title “general” for its pres-tige value. Records suggest that Hopkins mayhave owned or been shown associated with theThorn Inn in the adjacent parish of Mistley,and it is here in the inn that he began holdinghis first witchcraft trials. With his knowledgeof English law and his earnest belief in thepower of witchcraft to work evil on the simpleand unsuspecting Christian villagers, Hopkinsundoubtedly felt that he had all the qualifica-tions necessary to become a professional witch-hunter. It is known that both Hopkins and hisassistant Stearne were Puritans, and those whoknew them stated that they were men of deepreligious convictions.

Hopkins seemed to have a general knowl-edge of some of the European literature onwitchcraft—enough, at least, to have becomeconvinced that all witches received a familiar,an imp often disguised as a cat or some other



EITHER guilty or innocent, of course, theaccused witch was eliminated as a real or a potentialemissary of Satan on Earth.

animal, after they had signed a pact withSatan. Hopkins believed the familiar sus-tained itself by feeding upon the witch’s blood,and if such an act of unholy nourishmentcould be observed, it would immediately provethe guilt of a suspected witch.

Because torture as an aid to interrogationwas forbidden in England, Hopkins devised asystem of watching, searching, and swimmingto test those individuals who had beenaccused of practicing witchcraft. The suspectwould be stripped naked, covered with aloose-fitting gown, and forced to sit on a chairin the middle of a bare room. Then witnesseswould watch the accused witch for hours, dayand night, for several days if necessary. All thistime, the alleged witch must be kept awake,sitting on the stool, forbidden to lie down, sothe witnesses could detect a familiar if itshould creep up to feed on its host. If theaccused should begin to slump forward insleep, he or she was immediately pushed erectand walked around the room to force him orher to remain awake. Since this process wouldoften be continued for days, the suspect’s feetmight become bloody and bruised from thewalking. While such an exhaustive and cruelregimen might not technically have been con-sidered torture, its brutal effects produced thesame results from its hapless victims.

In The Discovery of Witches, a pamphletHopkins published in 1647, he wrote that onone occasion he and Stearne witnessed siximps attempting to sneak into the roomwhere a witch was being watched. One was awhitish thing, not quite as large as a cat;another was something like a dog with sandyspots; and a third resembled a greyhound withlong legs. It seemed the other three got awaybefore the two witch-hunters got a good lookat them. On this particular occasion, sixtownspeople whom Hopkins had gathered asvolunteers in the watching part of the ordealswore that they, too, had seen the impsapproaching the witch, and their testimonywas often used by Hopkins to silence thoseskeptics who might doubt the reality ofdemonic familiars.

The “swimming” part of Hopkins’s three-part test was a foolproof method of determin-ing the guilt or innocence of a witch. Hopkinswould have the witches bound in a painfulposition with their right thumb to their leftbig toe and their left thumb to their right bigtoe, then he would order them thrown into ariver or a deep pond. If the witches sunk anddrowned, they were innocent. It was clear thatthey possessed no supernatural powers, afterall. If they somehow managed to stay afloat,however, they were judged guilty of witchcraftand men with long poles would push themunder the water until they drowned. Eitherguilty or innocent, of course, the accusedwitch was eliminated as a real or a potentialemissary of Satan on Earth.

Hopkins died on August 12, 1647. JohnStearne attempted to carry on in the witchfinder’s footsteps for about another year, butthe witchcraft craze was dying out in Eng-land.

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“Matthew Hopkins—The Witchfinder General.”[Online] http://www.rci.rutgers. edu/~jup/witches/bunn/matthew_hopkins.html.






Matthew Hopkins, Witch

Finder General. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

Pope Innocent III (1160 or 1161–1216)

Alarmed with the growing perceived influenceof Satan in the Europe of the Middle Ages, PopeInnocent III actively began to chastise hereticsas soon as he ascended to the papacy in 1198.The first burnings for heresy may have takenplace in about the year 1000 in Ravenna, but thefirst actual recorded burning occurred at Orleansin 1022, followed by others at Monforte in 1028.Such executions for heresy by burning at thestake were sporadic and few until 1197 whenPedro II of Aragon (c. 1184–1213) ordered theburning of heretics who had relapsed in theirpromises to repent of their sins of doubt andquestioning. In 1198, Pope Innocent declaredsuch individuals as traitors against Christ andcondemned them to death by burning.

In 1208, the Cathar sect—also known asthe Albigensians—had become so popularamong the people in Europe that Pope Inno-cent III considered them a greater threat toChristianity than the Islamic warriors whowere pummeling the Christian knights on theCrusades. To satisfy his concern, he orderedthe only crusade ever launched against fellowChristians by attacking the Cathars whoresided in the Albi region of southern France.

In the opinion of Pope Innocent III andmany of the church hierarchy, the Catharswere teaching the rudiments of witchcraft.Although the Cathars centered their faith inChrist, they perceived him as pure spirit thathad descended from heaven on the instruc-tions of the God of Good to liberatehumankind from the world of matter. Accord-ing to the Cathars, because Christ was purespirit, he did not die on the cross and theteachings of the church were false. TheCathars rejected all the Catholic sacraments,and they taught that the God of the Old Testa-ment was the lord of matter, the prince of thisworld—all terms which the Catholic Churchreserved for Satan. Not only did the Catharsbelieve that the God revered as the Creator bythe Church was really the devil, the Catharsinstructed their followers that most of thepatriarchs and prophets mentioned in the OldTestament were really demons.

The Cathars somehow managed to holdout against the armies massed against them

until Montsegur, their final stronghold, fell in1246. Hundreds of the remaining Catharswere burned at the stake—men, women, andchildren—but Innocent III did not live to seehis triumph over the heretics, for he died in1216. Before he died, however, Innocent IIIenacted a papal bull that allowed a judge totry a suspected witch or heretic even whenthere was no accuser and granted the judgethe power to be both judge and prosecutor.

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Pierre de Lancre (1553–1631)

By his own boast, witch trial judge Pierre deLancre tortured and burned more than 600men and women accused of consorting withdemons. In his books Tableau de l’Inconstancedes mauvais Anges (1613) and L’Incredulite etMescreance du Sortilege (1622), de Lancredefended the belief in demons, black magic,and witchcraft. In his considered opinion,even to deny the possibility of witchcraft washeresy, for God himself in the Holy Bible hadcondemned magicians and sorcerers. De Lan-cre, however, was not a member of the clergy,and his concerns were social, rather than the-ological. He believed that sorcerers and witch-es were a well-organized anti-social force thatsought to overthrow the established order.

It was customary for the judges of thewitchcraft trials to denounce Jews as hereticsand sorcerers. De Lancre was no exception,once stating that God had withdrawn hisgrace and promises from the Jewish people. Heclaimed also to have it on great authority that



THECathars rejected all the Catholic sacraments.

many Jews were powerful magicians who hadthe ability to shapeshift into wolves by night.

De Lancre, as so many of the trial judges,became rather fixated on the details that thewitches provided of their carnal encounterswith demons. The more questions he askedabout these sexual matters and the more torturethe witches suffered, the more lurid theaccounts became. De Lancre decided that Incu-bi and Succubi, those demonic seducers of menand women, had as their mission the inflictionof a double injury to their victims, attackingthem in both their body and their soul.

When men or women accused of beingsorcerers protested that the devil had notpicked them up and flown them anywhere,Judge de Lancre decreed that those sorcererswho walked to the Sabbats held in the forestswere just as guilty as those who were carried tosuch sites by Satan. De Lancre warned his fel-low members of the tribunals to be wary oftoads, for they could likely be familiars of thewitches. One witch whom he tried and whoconfessed at length, described a number oftoads that had attended a Sabbat in the Bass-es-Pyrenees region dressed in black and scarletvelvet with little bells attached to their coatsand trousers.

In 1609, the Parliament of Bordeaux sentde Lancre to Labourd in the Bayonne districtto administer punishment to the sorcererswho had infested the region. In short order, deLancre deduced that Satan deceived a numberof Roman Catholic priests into administeringBlack Masses to the witches in the area. Twopriests, an elderly man of 70 and a young manof 27, were executed almost immediately uponde Lancre’s arrival. The horrified bishop ofBayonne arranged for his five clergy membersaccused of sorcery to escape prison. He alsointerfered with the judge’s orders of imprison-ment for three other priests and arranged forthem to escape and flee the countryside.

When he was not sentencing men andwomen to their horrible deaths, de Lancre wasknown to his Christian contemporaries as asensitive and talented writer of idyllic pastoralaccounts of country living. When he at lastretired to his country estate, he turned all ofhis attention to writing and the construction

of chapels, fountains, and grottos to beautifyhis lavish grounds.

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alchemy From Greek, khemeia to Arabic,alkimiya via medieval Latin: alchimia andOld French, fourteenth century: alquemie,meaning “the chemistry.” A predecessor ofchemistry practiced in the Middle Agesand Renaissance principally concernedwith seeking methods of transforming basemetals into gold and the “elixir of life.”

apothacary From the Greek apotheke meaning“storehouse.” A pharmacist or druggist whois licensed to prescribe, prepare and selldrugs and other medicines, or a pharma-cy—where drugs and medicines are sold.

charlatan From the Italian ciarlatano, via sev-enteenth-century French ciarlare, meaning“to babble or patter” or “empty talk.”Someone who makes elaborate claims orwho pretends to have more skill or knowl-edge than is factual, such as a fraud orquack.

conjurations The act of reciting a name,words or particular phrases with the intentof summoning or invoking a supernaturalforce or occurrence.

enchantments Things or conditions whichpossess a charming or bewitching qualitysuch as a magical spell.

enigma From Greek ainigma “to speak in rid-dles” and ainos, meaning “fables.” Some-body or something that is ambiguous, puz-zling or not easily understood and mighthave a hidden meaning or riddle.

evocation The act of calling forth, drawingout or summoning an event or memoryfrom the past, as in recreating.



Gnostic From the Greek, gnostikos, meaning“concerning knowledge.” A believer inGnosticism, or relating to or possessing spir-itual or intellectual knowledge or wisdom.

incantation From fourteenth-century French,cantare, meaning “to sing” via Latin—incantare—“to chant.” The chanting,recitation or uttering of words supposed toproduce a magical effect or power.

Inquisition Fourteenth century, from Latininquirere via Old French inquisicion, mean-ing “to inquire.” In the thirteenth century,Roman Catholicism appointed a specialtribunal or committee whose chief func-tion was to combat, suppress and punishheresy against the church. Remainingactive until the modern era, the officialinvestigations were often harsh and unfair.

loa A spirit that is thought to enter the devo-tee of the Haitian voodoo, during a trancestate, and believed to be a protector andguide that could be a local deity, a deifiedancestor or even a saint of the RomanCatholic Church.

neo-paganism Someone who believes in acontemporary or modernized version ofthe religions which existed before Chris-tianity, especially those with a reverencefor nature over the worship of a divine orsupreme being.

rite Originally from an Indo-European basemeaning “to fit together” and was theancestor of the English words arithmeticand rhyme via, the Latin ritus. A formal actor observance as a community custom,such as the rite of courtship. Often has asolemn, religious or ceremonial meaning,such as the rite of baptism.

shape-shifter A supposed fictional being, spir-it or something that is capable of changingits appearance or form.

wizard A variant of the fifteenth century wordwisard, meaning “wise.” Someone whoprofesses to have magical powers as a magi-cian or sorcerer, or a male witch. In gener-al, someone who is extremely knowledge-able and clever.



Chapter 7

Prophecy and

Divination

Since the beginning of human history, men

and women have sought out glimpses into

the future. Soothsayers and seers have

attempted to predict the destiny of their

clients by interpreting signs in the entrails

of animals, the movements of the stars in

the heavens, the reflections in a crystal

ball, the spread of a deck of cards, and

even messages from the dead. All of these

ancient practices are still utilized today by

prophets and diviners who seek to answer

the demands of those who wish

foreknowledge of their earthly destiny.

117

Chapter Exploration

Astrology

Automatic Writing

Cartomancy/Tarot

Telling Fortunes with Modern Playing Cards

Dowsing

Graphology

I Ching

Kabbalah

Necromancy

Numerology

Palmistry

Prophets and Diviners

Edgar CayceDelphic Oracles

Jeane DixonIrene HughesOlof JonssonNostradamus

Mother Shipton

Scrying/CrystalGazing/Crystalomancy

Tea Leaf Reading (Tasseography)

Introduction

The desire to foresee the future quite like-ly began when early humans began toperceive that they were a part of nature,

subject to its limitations and laws, and thatthey were seemingly powerless to alter thoselaws. Unlike the beasts around them, however,humans lived most of their lives in the knowl-edge that one day they would die, and thataccidents and awful circumstances could snuffthem out at any time. In addition, under cer-tain circumstances, an unforeseen financialloss could be nearly as dreadful as a mortalwound. It was humanity’s attempts to alleviatethese fundamental anxieties regarding a fearfulfuture that caused it to seek foreknowledge oftomorrow from the earliest times.

Divination, the method of obtainingknowledge of the unknown or the future bymeans of omens, has been practiced in allsocieties—barbarous and civilized. Ancienthumans lived in a world of dualism, an arenaof constant combat between positive and neg-ative forces. Humans, the only creatures whoreact to their environment emotionally aswell as physically, felt themselves surroundedby powerful and mysterious forces over whichthey had no control. Hoping to influence thesupernatural beings whom they believed con-trolled their destiny, or at least to appease thebeings’ wrath, humans sought to know the willof the gods.

The ancient Chaldeans read the machina-tions of the gods in the star-filled heavens, aswell as in the bloody livers of sacrificed fowl.When the king of Babylon went forth to war,he wrote the names of cities on his arrows, putthem back into the quiver, and shook them.He then removed an arrow and attacked firstthe city whose name was written thereon. Thechildren of Israel sought the word of the Lordin the jewels of the Ephod; and Jonah deemedit a just verdict when the casting of lotsdecreed that it was he who was the cause ofthe storm. Pharaoh elevated Joseph from hisprison cell to the office of chief minister ofEgypt and staked the survival of his kingdomon Joseph’s interpretation of his dreams. Inthe same land of Egypt, priests of Isis and Ra

listened as those deities spoke through theunmoving lips of the stone Sphinx.

The writings of Hermes Trismegistuswere considered by the alchemists as a legacyfrom the master of alchemy and were, there-fore, most precious to them. The alchemists,who were concerned with the spiritual perfec-tion of humans as well as the transmutation ofbase metals into gold, recorded their formulasand esoteric truths in allegorical form. TheHermetics believed that the nature of the cos-mos was sacramental, and Hermes’ dictumthat “that which is above is like that which isbelow” was the essence of universal truth. Inother words, the nature of the spiritual worldcould be discovered through the study of thematerial, and earthly humans, created of the“dust of the ground,” comprised the primamateria of the heavenly, just as the base ele-ments of the earth comprised the raw materi-als for gold.

In Greece, where the world of matter washeld in subjugation to the powers of mind,arithmetic was used as a means of divination.Numbers were assigned to the gods and god-desses, and when the right number wasevoked, the corresponding deity answered.

The Roman emperors, considered some-what divine themselves, could consult thegods, but it was generally forbidden for com-moners to do so. Although up until the fourthcentury most of the Roman emperors wereopenly opposed to magic and divination, pre-science was widely known in the land of theTiber. Astrologers, both native and fromChaldea, were much in demand, and otherdiviners practiced augury utilizing the entrailsof slaughtered animals. Although diviners andsoothsayers were sometimes banished andsometimes executed, it was usually becausethey had failed to see what Caesar wantedthem to see or because they had seen morethan Caesar wanted them to see, not merelyfor the practice of their art.

It remained for the emperors who wereconverts to the new religion, Christianity, todeclare the religio paganorum (the religion ofthe country people) to be forbidden practicesand to pave the way for full-scale persecution.Although pagan temples were destroyed and


Prophecy and Divination118

images and books of the adepts burned, magi-cians continued to meet in secret and to per-form their rites of divination.

Although the practice of occult arts wassuppressed by Christianity, it was never com-pletely excised. The mystical Neoplatonistsput together a system of magic whose workingswere attributed to supernatural agencies andbeings, which were carefully differentiatedfrom the demons Christianity sought to banishfrom the minds of men and women. Becauseintellectual activity was thought to be boundup with the influence of these demons, Europedescended into an abyss of ignorance and reli-gious absurdity that history accurately termsthe Dark Ages (about 476 to 1000).

But the tree of forbidden knowledge was notso easily cut down. In the East, where the Cres-cent overshadowed the influence of the Cross,Arab intellectuals preserved knowledge of theoccult as well as significant portions of otherclassical thought and ancient lore. From Mus-lim-dominated Spain, this knowledge trickledback into Europe, where it was combined withalchemy and the Hermetic Mysteries.

The objects of divination may change, butnot their function. Many of the ancient formsof divination are alive and flourishing in theWestern world today. Many of them will beexamined in this chapter along with examplesof how they might be experienced. Instruc-tions of some of the methods of divinationand prophecies are included to encourageunderstanding of the techniques, not belief intheir powers.

Astrology

The earliest humans soon learned thatthe fertility of the soil was dependentupon the favor of the Sun, as well as

that of the rains, both of which were bestowedfrom the heavens. On the other hand were theadverse effects of lightning, wind, and hail, aswell as floods. These phenomena were quitemysterious, as well as wonderful or dreadful, asthe case might be. Then, as now, people feltthemselves at the mercy of these powers; and,since these good and bad energies all seemed

to originate in the skies above, it was mostlogical that they should come to regard theheavens as the seat of the great gods. Fromthis conviction evolved a theory of completeaccord between phenomena observed in theheavens and occurrences observed on Earth.

There is no doubt that the ancients heldthe celestial bodies in great regard, perhapseven in veneration. The Book of Job in theOld Testament affirms that “the morning starssang together” when the foundation of Earthwas laid. Later, Job was asked, “Do you knowthe ordinances of the heavens? Can you estab-lish their rule on Earth?” (38:33). It is clear,also, that the ancients believed that the starsinfluenced the turn of events here on Earth. InJudges (5:9) it is recorded that Barak, com-mander of the Israelite army that was facedwith a decisive battle with the Canaaniteforces under Sisera, took heart when he wastold by the prophetess Deborah, “From heavenfought the stars, from their courses they foughtagainst Sisera.” Deborah was not the only seerwho had knowledge of the stars. Amos (5:8)speaks of God as “He who made the Pleiadesand Orion, and turns deep darkness into morn-ing.” In Malachi 4:2, the righteous arepromised that the “sun of righteousness shallrise, with healing in its wings (rays).”

Babylonian priests developed and perfect-ed a system of interpreting the phenomenaobserved in the heavens for the purpose ofdetermining the will of the powers of heaven.The Greeks enlarged the scope of astrology toinclude all the known sciences.

Empedocles, a Greek philosopher of about450 B.C.E., developed the idea that the uni-verse is composed of four basic elements: fire,water, air, and earth. Following the conquestof Babylonia by Alexander the Great(356–323 B.C.E.), it was found that Chaldeanastrologers had divided the signs of the zodiacinto four triangles of three each and called the


119Prophecy and Divination

ANCIENTS held the celestial bodies in great regard.

groupings by the same names as were Empedo-cles’s four elements. Aries, Sagittarius, andLeo were termed fire signs; Cancer, Scorpio,and Pisces, water; Libra, Aquarius, and Gemi-ni, air; and Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo com-prised the signs of earth.

In essence, astrology deals with the rela-tionship between the positions of the Sun,Moon, and planets and the life of an individ-ual. Astrology has its philosophical root in thepremise that each individual is a universe in

miniature and mirrors within himself or her-self the astrological pattern found in the heav-ens at the time of the individual’s birth. Fromthe standpoint of astrology, this means thatthe nature or personality of all individuals isdetermined by the pattern of the heavens atthe time of their birth, plus their reactions tothe stimuli found in their environment duringgrowth and maturity.

The quality of personality that determineshow individuals react to their environment is



Astrological signs of the

zodiac. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

called temperament. Hippocrates (c. 460–c.377 B.C.E.) described four kinds of tempera-ment: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, andmelancholic. The four temperaments of Hip-pocrates were symbolized by linking cholericto fire and sanguine to air. Water was the sym-bol of the phlegmatic temperament, and earthwas that of the melancholic. The choleric andsanguine modes of reaction were characterizedby easy excitability and quick alteration ofinterest, the interests being feeble in the for-mer and intense in the latter. Conversely, thephlegmatic and melancholic temperamentswere characterized by persistent but slowexcitability of interest, the interest being fee-ble in the phlegmatic and in the melancholic,intense. (In usage today, only the negativeaspect of these temperaments are common.Thus choleric today means easy to anger;melancholic, depressed; sanguine, over opti-mistic; and phlegmatic, too slow.)

Although different schools of astrologymay designate different calendar dates forsome of the signs, there is seldom a differenceof more than a day or two. The interpretationsof the mental, emotional, physical, and spiri-tual characteristics of the individual signs mayalso vary widely, but there are some generalobservations regarding the personalities ofindividuals born under the various Sun signs:

Aries, the Ram, March 21 to April 20, is afire sign. The name comes from the Greek godof war. Individuals born under this sign havesome aggressive traits about them that makesthem dominant in friendship, partnership,and marriage. If they are deprived of theirdesire to dominate, they are liable to becomediscontented and difficult to get along with.Their views about life are definite, and theyhave little use for airs and graces. Aries peopleare a robust lot with a strong resistance to dis-ease of any kind. However, once they do suc-cumb to illness, they are inclined to run hightemperatures. Neuralgia and migraines mayalso hinder them.

Taurus, the Bull, April 21 to May 21, is anearth sign. The word comes from the Latinmeaning “bull.” Taurus people like to havethings their own way, but they are not quite asaggressive and as dominant as those under the

Aries sign. They are passionate in nature, andlove means much to them. They also makesplendid mothers or fathers. Taureans are gen-erally not bookish types; they prefer life itselfto fiction. Although Taureans are inclined tobe generous, they will fly into a rage if theylearn that they have been deceived.

Gemini, the Twins, May 22 to June 21, isan air sign. According to the ancient Romans,the sign of Gemini represents the twin sons,Castor and Pollux, who were born to Leda,the queen of Sparta, after Jupiter seduced her,the king of the gods. The twins were high-spirited, strong, and inseparable. Geminis areamong the most intelligent citizens of theZodiac; but they have a dual nature, and theyfrequently have difficulty in choosing betweentwo courses of action. They are active, andthey love freedom, change, and variety. Inmatters of health, nerves are liable to plagueGeminis, and they often prefer to live close tomeadows and woods where they are able togain vigor from the wind and the rains.

Cancer, the Crab, June 22 to July 22, is awater sign. The ancient Chaldeans namedCancer after the crab, because of its backwardor oblique movement, which brought to theirmind the sun’s immobility during the summersolstice as it enters this sign. Cancers have greatimaginations, and they glory in fantasies of loveand romance. Cancers hate to be flustered, andthey like to take their time over importantdecisions. Cancer people usually strive to becheerful and avoid depressions. Because of theirnatural affinity for water, whenever possiblethey make their homes on the coast or close toa lake or a large body of water.

Leo, the Lion, July 23 to August 23, is afire sign. Leo, the fifth sign of the Zodiac, rep-resents the lion, king of beasts, and accordingto Roman astrologers, the savage lion ofNemea, slain by Hercules. The typical Leo is arather impressive person who dearly loves to



THE four kinds of temperament are sanguine,choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic.

be in the limelight. Leo people generally haveplenty of energy and strongwill power, andthey make trustworthy and loyal friends. Leoscherish high ideals and love means a greatdeal to them. Because they tend to be adapt-able, they make good marriage partners. Leopeople are excellent and convivial hosts, wholove to entertain others with big parties.

Virgo, the Virgin, August 24 to Septem-ber 22, is an earth sign. Virgo was named inhonor of the Greek goddess of Astraea, god-dess of innocence and purity, who was placedamong the stars. A typical Virgo is cool, calm,and collected and never loses his or her headin emotional matters. Virgo people belong tothe intellectual class of individuals, and it isnot an easy task for anyone to sway themonce they have made a decision. On the neg-ative side, they tend to be overly critical ofothers. They are quick to give vent to their

opinions, and they can indulge in biting sar-casm if so moved.

Libra, the Scales, September 23 to Octo-ber 23, is an air sign. Libra is the only symbolof the zodiac that does not represent either ananimal or a human. Long associated with har-vest time and the fair measurement of crops,the scales may hearken back to ancient Egyptand the belief that the god Anubis weighedthe souls of the dead to determine their wor-thiness. Libra people are often attractive andconform to the idealistic picture of the modelman or woman. However, Libras tend to berather moody and thin-skinned, and they hateanything painful or ugly. Luxury has a greatattraction for them; and with their tendencyto avoid the unpleasant aspects of life, manyLibrans live to a ripe old age, having the abili-ty to recuperate from illness more quicklythan those born under other signs.



Astrological chart.


Scorpio, the Scorpion, October 24 toNovember 22, is a water sign. Diana, themoon-goddess of the Romans, commandedScorpio to kill the hunter Orion when Eos,goddess of the dawn, fell in love with him.After his death, Jupiter set the scorpion andOrion, still armed with his armor and sword,in the stars. Scorpios are definitely possessedof a passionate nature, and they are highlysuccessful in winning the affections of thosewhom they desire. Scorpio people do not tol-erate contradiction, and they can becomeexceedingly bitter once they are aroused tofury. On the other hand, they can be devotedfriends and marriage partners once they havebeen made to feel secure. Scorpios are blessedwith great reserves of strength, which theymay draw upon in emergency situations.

Sagittarius, the Archer, November 23 toDecember 21, is a fire sign. Sagittarius is rep-resented by Chiron, the wise centaur, a half-human, half-horse creature, who taught theancient Greeks and Romans philosophy,music, and medicine. Freedom and change arethe watchwords of Sagittarius people. Theyoften find their minds divided, and they hateto have to make a choice between two cours-es—thus they usually end by trying to get thebest of both. Impulsiveness is second nature tothem, and movement and change are essentialto their peace of mind. Sagittarians are oftenable to retain their physical youth intoadvanced maturity, and they are relatively freeof health problems as well.

Capricorn, the Goat, December 22 to Jan-uary 20, is an earth sign. Capricorn wasnamed first in honor of the ancient Babylon-ian god, Ea, a part-goat, part fish entity, whoemerged from the sea to bring learning andculture to the valley of Mesopotamia. TheRomans transformed Ea to Pan, a half-goat,half-human god who ruled the woodlands andthe fields. Capricorns are individuals ofdeeply rooted habits who tend to becomeindustrious and economical individuals withgreat powers of endurance. Although general-ly kind, Capricorn people tend to be some-what moody, often brooding over imaginedslights and injuries. Capricorns are liable tofeel sorry for themselves, and they may devel-op into super pessimists unless they are care-

ful. A Capricorn needs to keep things carefreeand light.

Aquarius, the Water Bearer, January 21 toFebruary 19, is an air sign. Aquarius hearkensback to ancient Egypt and the god Hap, whorepresented the Nile River, the sustainer of alllife. Aquarians are difficult to describe, forthey are often moody, untidy, and rathereccentric—while at the same time being high-ly gifted and intellectual men and women,who contribute much to art, literature, andallied subjects. Aquarians do not fit into thegeneral concept of conventional living, andthey make for most interesting, albeit unusual,friends and companions. Aquarians must befree of mental and emotional tensions if theyare to be healthy.

Pisces, the Fish, February 20 to March 20,is a water sign. Pisces, the fishes swimming inopposite directions, has been known by thatdesignation since the astrologers of Babylonianamed the constellation Two Fishes as longago as 2000 B.C.E. Although Pisces people areindustrious workers, they do not possess agreat deal of stamina. It seems that fate oftenpicks on Pisceans, and they are more liable tocome into contact with suffering. For this rea-son, nursing, social work, medicine, and mis-sionary work tend to attract Pisceans, andthey are generally willing to make sacrificesfor other people. Pisceans must always try tokeep their own emotional life on an even keelin order not to disturb their health.

While many people associate astrologyonly with the brief summaries of the zodiacalsigns in their daily newspapers and probablydon’t affix a great deal of serious attention tothe advice provided by astrology columns,there are millions of men and women todaywho still regard the celestial bodies with thesame veneration as did the ancients. Zolar,once described as “the dean of Americanastrologers,” wrote in the preface to his bookIt’s All in the Stars (New York: Zolar Publish-ing, 1962): “Astrology, in its purity, thoughforming a system of divination, is totallyunconnected with either fortune telling ormediumship. It is a divine science of corre-spondences, in the study and application ofwhich the intellect and intuition become



blended in a natural, harmonious manner.They commence to vibrate in unison. Whenthis union becomes complete, the ignorantman becomes the prophetic sage.”

Joseph Goodavage, author of Astrology:The Space Age Science (1966), began his bookwith the following declaration: “Over manythousands of years astrologers have deduced aconnection between the motions of the plan-ets and positions of the stars with every kindof terrestrial activity. Their ability to predictfuture trends—even actual events—has beenrepeatedly demonstrated.”

The “Star Gospel,” outlined in The Historyof Creation and Origin of Species (1967) byReuben Luther Katter, attaches religiousinterpretations to the 12 signs of the zodiac.Katter stated that the Star Gospel, also calledAdamic Theology, antedates the Old Testa-ment by 2,500 years. The Star Gospel uses thesame 12 zodiacal signs as does astrology, butbegins with Virgo and ends with Leo. Katterstated that, according to tradition, Jacob andhis 12 sons carried zodiacal tablets and ban-ners into Egypt and carried them out in theexodus. Like astrology, the Star Gospel holdsthat the 12 signs stand for 12 positions of theSun in relation to Earth.

While Western astrology evolved from theEgyptians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, andGreeks, Chinese astrology developed indepen-dently of outside influences and was formedaround the belief that the emperor was divine.Some scholars of astrology place the begin-ning of Chinese astrology during the reign ofEmperor Fu Hsi around 2800 B.C.E. andattribute the naming of the 12 signs of theChinese zodiac to a legendary Emperor Yao.

The figures of the Chinese zodiac bear nosimilarity to those of the West. Each sign isrepresented by a different animal and is com-posed of a 12-year cycle. The interpretations

of these signs emphasize different animal char-acteristics from those typical of classic West-ern stereotypes. For example, while a rat fills aEuropean with revulsion, the Chinese zodiacsees the rodent as hard-working and industri-ous. In addition, there are five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—ratherthan the four of Western astrology—earth, air,fire, and water. The animals of the Chinesezodiac are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon,snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, andboar. According to tradition, when the Bud-dha (c. 563–c. 483 B.C.E.) lay dying, he calledupon the animals to come to bid him farewell.The first 12 to arrive were the ones who areimmortalized in the Chinese zodiac.

Astrology has been an integral aspect ofdaily life in China for centuries and remainsso today. Although Communist doctrine andits rationalistic leaders have attempted tostamp out the influence of astrology and todepict its tenets as nothing more than super-stition, the average man or woman in Chinawill still make major decisions based on theguidance received from astrology.

Throughout Western history astrologershave claimed an association with the move-ments of the planets, comets, and eclipseswith every important event that has takenplace. Among the more familiar are theappearance of comets at the birth and death ofJulius Caesar (c. 100–44 B.C.E.); the advent ofWorld War I (1914) heralded by solar andlunar eclipses; and the birth and death ofMark Twain (1835–1910) coincident with theappearance of Halley’s comet. In addition,astrologers have proclaimed the influence ofthe “stars” on the lives of everyone fromAlexander the Great (356–323 B.C.E.) to Pres-ident George W. Bush (1946– ).

Many of the great philosophers who shapedthe ideals and concepts of the West employedastrology as an aid in developing theirthoughts. Individuals such as Pythagoras (c. 580–c. 500 B.C.E.), Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.),and Ptolemy (127–151) were all astrologers.Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), who gavescience its first rational view of the universe,was a doctor, theologian, astronomer, andastrologer.



THE Chinese zodiac is comprised of a 12-year cycle.

In the Middle Ages, magi, alchemists,scholars, and even the papacy embraced astrol-ogy. Pope Julius II (1443–1513) trusted hisastrologers to set the date for his coronation;Pope Paul III (1468–1549) was guidedthroughout life by his horoscope; and Pope LeoX (1475–1521) established a chair of astrologyat a major university. Church scholars began toassociate the signs of the zodiac with the 12apostles, and cathedrals throughout Europewere decorated with zodiacal symbols.

Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), who built the first astronomical obser-vatory in the Western world, practiced anddefended astrology. Brahe’s exact planetaryfigures allowed his pupil Johannes Kepler(1571–1630) to work out his great Laws ofMotion. Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), whofollowed in Kepler’s footsteps, used an eclecticmix of science and astrology to arrive at manyof his theories.

Admiral George Dewey (1837–1917) andPresident Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)con-sulted astrologers throughout their lives. Psy-chiatrist Dr. Carl Jung (1875–1961) usedastrology charts to assist him in diagnosis andtreatment of his patients. John J. O’Neill, sci-ence editor of the New York Herald Tribune,the first science writer to win a Pulitzer Prize,began as a skeptic and ended up a believer inastrology. Astronomer Gustaf Stromberg(1882–1962) of the Mount Wilson Observa-tory believed in the charts of astrology as wellas the science of astronomy. French psycholo-gist and statistician Michael Gauquelin (d.1991) spent more than 30 years investigatingastrology, exhaustive research that led him togive verification to the importance of theplanetary positions at a person’s birth. Britishastronomer and Fellow of the Royal Astro-nomical Society Percy Seymour (1901–1980)set forth his theory that astrology is neithermagical nor mystical—but in fact—magnetic.

During World War II (1939–1945), Alliedintelligence knew that Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) and a number of his inner circle of theNazi High Command, such as his deputyRudolf Hess (1894–1987) and S.S. chief Hein-rich Himmler (1900–1945), took a keen inter-est in astrology. During the dark days of the

blitz of London, someone in Great Britain’snewly established Psychological ResearchBureau (PRB) decided that if they had anastrologer in Britain who could make the samecalculations that the Nazi astrologers wouldmake, the Allies might be able to ascertainwhat Hitler intended to do next. Louis deWohl (1903–1961), the son of an officer in theRoyal Hungarian Army, a novelist by profes-sion, was known to be an expert in the field ofastrology who had studied the subject for morethan 20 years. De Wohl was solicited by thePRB to chart a course in the stars that wouldhelp bring about the downfall of the ThirdReich. His known opponents on the Nazi sidewere astrologer Karl Ernst Krafft (1900–1945),graphologist/astrologer Elsbeth Ebertin (1880–1944), and Wilhelm Wulff (1893–1984),Himmler’s personal astrologer for the SS.

While de Wohl made some startling hits,such as predicting the date that Germanywould invade Holland in 1940, overall hescored only an average number of accuratepredictions. However, for whatever astrologi-cal accuracy he may have lacked, he morethan compensated when he devised the inge-nious plan of forging 50 astrological quatrainsallegedly from the pen of Nostradamus



Ptolemy I.

(1503–1566) in which the great seer predictedthe downfall of the Third Reich. These astro-logical leaflets were then dropped over Ger-many with the desired demoralizing effect. DeWohl had done such a superb job of imitatingthe old French seer’s unique style in the“newly discovered quatrains” that even JosephGoebbels (1897–1945), Hitler’s propagandaminister who earlier had employed a similardeceit to predict Nazi triumph, was fooled.

Former President Ronald Reagan (1911– )and First Lady Nancy Reagan (1921– ) weredevotees of astrology long before their tenurein the White House, as were other actors oftheir Hollywood set, such as Tyrone Power(1913–1958), Susan Hayward (1918–1975),Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), Ronald Col-man (1891–1958), and Robert Cummings(1908– ). The Reagans continued to conferwith astrologist Joan Quigley regarding impor-tant dates and meetings while in office. Whilesome Americans were shocked to learn thattheir first lady was using the advice obtainedfrom an astrologer to plan her husband’s day-to-day schedule, citizens of India seemed toaccept calmly the fact that Indira Gandhi(1917–1984), prime minister from 1966 to1977 and 1980 to 1984, used astrology to assistin decision-making until her death by assassi-nation in 1984.

Many astrologers feel that the figure of aship upon the ocean, with no visible paths tofollow, no clearly defined turns or alternativeroutes, and with no landmarks on which toguide itself, is appropriate to describe themethods by which they may assist an individ-ual in a situation that requires decision-mak-ing, for, in the majority of decision situations,there can be more than one alternative. Theastrological diagram of the zodiac places eachindividual facing a moment of decision in thecenter of destiny, represented by a circle, uni-versally known as the symbol of infinity, as

well as perfection. The astrologer then drawsradial lines from the individual’s position tothe circumference, or, poetically, the perime-ter of eternity, thus symbolizing the unper-ceived number of possibilities accessible tohim or her. Even if the individual is aware ofonly 12 of these, as might be illustrated by thehouses of the zodiac, it is enough to cause himor her to wish for some sort of “navigator” tohelp interpret any directional signs that maybe present. The art (or science) of astrology, aspracticed by a competent astrologist, mayserve as one star to be used in making a fix onthe chart of destiny.

The astrologer and the celestial navigatorhave a number of things in common. Bothlook to the heavens for their points of refer-ence; both make use of charts and tablesdeveloped during centuries of observation andrecording. Both arrive at their conclusionsthrough mathematical computation. The nav-igator charts a course, but does not establish adestination. The astrologer casts a horoscope,but does not determine character or destiny.

The role of astrology, so say the astrologers,is comparable to a ship’s compass. The compasspoints the way to a predetermined destination,but it does not establish that destination. As ahelmsman turns the ship’s wheel to bring thevessel into accord with the compass, so theindividual’s free will must bring the vessel ofhis or her life into accord with the findings ofastrology, if he or she is to benefit from them.By placing each individual at the center of thezodiac, astrology affirms that person’s rightfulplace at the hub of the wheel of life, and itmaintains that there is more in heaven andEarth than is conceived of through variousphilosophies of the five senses.

Modern astrology recognizes that humanbeings were not created to be mindless mari-onettes able to move and act only through theremote direction of forces they cannot com-prehend, much less influence. At the sametime astrology requires its adherents to acceptresponsibility for themselves and for theiractions. In one sense it imposes an evengreater responsibility, for having been madeaware of their greatest potentials, according tothe best knowledge and techniques available,



CHURCH scholars associated the signs of thezodiac with the 12 apostles.

those who steer their lives by the stars can nolonger plead their failures due to blind chanceand the fickleness of fate.

According to the astrologer, free willincludes the prerogative of individuals to availthemselves of the best advice and directionfrom any and all sources they deem creditablebefore embarking on any course, before settingfoot on any path, before making any decision,great or small, and to follow through once he orshe has decided. Astrology, as practiced today,not only affirms the pre-eminence of free will,but insists upon it; and, according to its adher-ents, astrology, rightly used, serves as a depend-able compass, pointing the way across time.

M Delving Deeper

Adams, Evangeline. Astrology for Everyone. NewYork: Dell Books, 1971.

Forrest, Steven. The Inner Sky: Dynamic New Astrolo-gy for Everyone. New York: Bantam Books, 1984.

Goodavage, Joseph. Astrology: The Space Age Science.New York: Signet Books, 1966.

Goodman, Linda. Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. NewYork: Bantam Books, 1985.

Lee, Dal. Dictionary of Astrology. New York: Paper-back Library, 1968.

Quigley, Joan. Astrology for Adults. New York: Holt,Rinehart, Winston, 1978.

Woolfolk, Joanna Martine. The Only Astrology BookYou’ll Ever Need. New York: Madison Books,2001.

Automatic Writing

On the evening of July 8, 1913, “Pa-tience Worth,” who claimed to be thespirit of a seventeenth-century Eng-

lishwoman, became a spirit control for PearlLeonore Curran, a young woman in St. Louis,Missouri. Curran was not a practicing medi-um, nor did she have any interest in Spiritual-ism, yet during a period of three years,Patience Worth dictated through the processof automatic writing a stream of proverbs, lyricpoetry, and plays, and a number of intricatelyconstructed novels.

Curran’s formal education had ended withthe eighth grade. She seldom read, had never

traveled, and was completely unfamiliar withliterary people or people of a scholarly bent. Atno time in her life had she ever given any indi-cation of a latent creative gift. Yet, of one of thespirit-dictated novels, a reviewer for the NewYork Times wrote that the plot was fashionedwith such skill, deftness, and ingenuity thatsuch talent would be envied by many a novelist“in the flesh.” In an anthology of the “best”poetry for the year 1917, Patience Worth hadfive poems selected, as against three of AmyLowell’s (1874–1925), three of Vachel Lind-say’s (1879–1931), and one by Edgar Lee Mas-ters (1869–1950)—all highly respected Ameri-can poets, critics, and novelists.

Was Patience Worth a spirit or a secondarypersonality of Curran’s? Whoever she was, thelarge body of literary works that bears hername was transmitted through the process ofautomatic writing, wherein a medium pro-duces a script without the control of the con-scious self—but allegedly under the control ofa spirit entity.

The vast majority of those men andwomen who practice automatic writing on aregular basis do so because they believe thatthey receive spiritual and material guidancefrom intelligences in the spirit world or from ahigher aspect of their own mind. Most of theseindividuals cherish this information as highlypersonal and seldom to be shared with others.Few practitioners of automatic writing seek tochannel another “Patience Worth” and pro-duce extensive literary works.

Those who practice automatic writing seatthemselves comfortably at a table, a piece ofpaper before them, a pen or pencil held intheir hand in the manner in which they nor-mally write. The tip of the pen or pencil restslightly on the paper. The writer’s wrist andarm are kept loose, the wrist preferably in sucha position that it does not touch the table atall. No direct light is allowed to shine on thepaper. If necessary, it will be shielded with apiece of cardboard or something similar.

Automatic writers must learn to wait qui-etly and patiently and then give in to theslightest impulse to move the pen or pencil,keeping the paper smooth with the free hand.It is not necessary—and not even desirable—



that the writers concentrate on their handand what it is doing. If the writers do not wishto keep their eyes closed, they may even read abook while experimenting, just to keep theirthoughts occupied.

With practice and patience, messagesbegin coming through. Those individuals whoare successful at automatic writing say that itusually takes three or four sittings before thefirst intelligent results are achieved. Theyadvise beginners that the length of the sittingsshould not be prolonged unduly, even aftermeaningful messages have begun to appear.

M Delving Deeper


Petrie, Jodra. Tell Fortunes and Predict the Future. NewYork: Award Books, 1968.

Post, Eric G. Communicating with the Beyond. NewYork: Atlantic Publishing, 1946.

Cartomancy/Tarot

Seeking to foretell the future through adeck of cards (cartomancy) is an old andtime-honored practice and a favorite of

many professional, as well as amateur, psychicsand seers. The exact time and place in whichplaying cards originated is unknown. However,it is certain that the cards were originally usedas tools of divining the future, not for playinggames. Some authorities attribute the popular-ity of using cards to predict the future to the

Gypsies, but it is difficult to separate such anassertion from the many stereotypes of theoccult and the mysterious that have been visit-ed upon these nomadic people.

Whether or not the origin of card readingcan be attributed to the Gypsies, there is aloose consensus that it was wandering tribes ofgypsies who brought the prototype of what istoday considered a deck of cards to Europesome time in the fourteenth century.Although it is thought that the Gypsies camewest from India by way of Persia, they oftenclaimed that they were originally from Egypt.To make such an association with the ancientmysteries of the Nile added to their statuswith the Europeans and also increased theaura of the mysterious that they sought to cre-ate around themselves. Portraying themselvesas diviners in the magical traditions of Egypt,the Gypsies began reading fortunes with pic-ture cards called atouts that were popular inPersia. When the deck underwent a transfor-mation in Europe, it was called tarots. Thesedecks were similar to modern packs, but therewere 78, rather than 52, cards, and the suitswere not the familiar diamonds, spades, clubs,and hearts, but swords, cups, coins, and rods.Rather than king, queen, and jack, the tarotdeck had 22 picture cards, and the king,queen, knight, and knave (or page) joined the“spot” cards from 10 down to one for each suit.

The theory perhaps closest to the true ori-gin of the tarot cards as they appear todaydates from the Renaissance (14th–17th centu-ry). Prior to this time, Gnostics, who arebelieved to have introduced the tarot intosouthern Europe, had to take their faithunderground in order to escape persecution.To preserve their teachings, they recorded thefundamentals of their beliefs on a set of 22plates that depicted the spiritual growth ofhumankind. Each plate, or card, in the 22major mysteries (the Major Arcana) told thestory of a single aspect of an individual initi-ate’s inner spiritual progress to the state ofcomplete perfection.

The Major Arcana follow humankind’sspiritual pilgrimage toward the state of finalperfection. The Minor Arcana trace humani-ty’s journey through time. Essential to the



Stella Horrocks in an

automatic writing

session. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

understanding of the tarot is the doctrine ofreincarnation, which teaches that each soulmust experience birth into both sexes and allfive races before it can attain final perfection.

The tarot, which some authorities describeas one of the world’s oldest books disguised as apack of playing cards, has remained a popularmethod of divining the future. Combining eso-teric wisdom with the Hebrew system of num-bers, many individuals maintain that it is likelythat the philosophy of the ancient Kabbalahwas the spiritual ancestor of the philosophy ofthe tarot. Enthusiasts in the New Age Move-ment have rediscovered and embraced theteachings of the Kabbalah and the ancientEgyptian wisdoms believed to be instilled inthe cards. Although many authorities havesuggested that the tarot cards were adaptedfrom the pages of the legendary Egyptianbook of magic, the Book of Thoth—and cer-tain of the imagery on the cards encouragesthese perceptions—such an assertion cannotbe proved. What does appear to be authenticlore in regard to the tarot cards is the factthat the Gnostics, during a period of persecu-tion, recorded the fundamentals of theirbeliefs on plates similar to the cards of thetarot’s Major Arcana. Adepts of the Kabbal-ah formalized the figures and established 22allegories to correspond to the 22 letters ofthe Hebrew alphabet, maintaining that eachletter was itself a divine being with occultpowers of its own.

In the tarot, the two constituents of theworld, or the system of worldly things, are dulyrepresented. The 22 cards of the MajorArcana are concerned directly with the indi-vidual. The trump cards allegorize the traitsand qualities that combine into personality,the relative conditions of good and evil thatconstitute a concept of conventional morality,and the substances expressed by the ancientsas the four elements comprising a human’sphysical organism. The tarot is established onthe premise that each human being is his orher own macrocosm. Although comprising adistinctive universe in miniature, the individ-ual still functions as a component of the cos-mic macrocosm. In the world, humans musthave a society, with institutions to performcollectively for them the functions they can-

not accomplish as individuals. Again, the situ-ation is the same in the realm of the tarot.

Seeking to foretell the future through thetarot cards is an extremely ancient means ofdivination. Each card in the deck has acquireda traditional interpretation over the centuries,and the reader—or person telling the for-tune—must become familiar with these mean-ings in order to give an accurate reading forthe querent, the person seeking the foretellingof his or her future. There are many methodsof placing or laying out the cards in the courseof the reading. The reader may have the quer-ent select a card at random to represent himor her in the reading and the resultant spreadmay revolve around that particular card. Thereader may discover a particular spread or lay-out of the cards that seems to stimulate his orher psychic awareness and increase the abilityto “tune in to” the querent. Some readers pre-fer to lay out the cards in the pattern of across, a circle, or several rows of cards placedin various representations of what the reader



Cartomancy in hexagram

used for predictions in

the 1893 edition of The

Mystic Test Book.


IT is likely the Kabballah was the spiritual ancestorof the philosophy of the tarot.

perceives as best providing him or her with awindow to the querent’s future.

Here are some basic meanings of the indi-vidual cards in the Major Arcana:

The Juggler or Magician (arcanum one)stands with one hand raised to heaven and theother pointing to Earth, thereby confirming theteaching of Hermes Trismegistus that what isin heaven is like what is below, that the littleworld (microcosm) within a human being con-tains the elements of the universe (macro-cosm), and that the study of humankind canlead the adept to an understanding of all cre-ation. The number one signifies the first princi-ple, unity, and in every religion it is the numberrepresenting the Divine Being. One is also thenumber of the soul of nature, the soul of theelements, and the active, causative and cre-ative force of the unseen universe.

The High Priestess (arcanum two) is themost holy card in the tarot deck. It representshumankind’s innate ability to interpret theword of God, the highest form of intellectualactivity. The High Priestess symbolizes theknowledge hidden in the subconscious ofevery human being, and her image offers thewisdom that in order to tap the wellspring ofoccult knowledge, one must search one’s ownsubconscious. Number two stands for the

mother principle and represents the expres-sion of unity through woman (one and one).

The Empress (arcanum three) is the symbolof feminine instinct, a thought or solutionthat arises directly from the subconscious. Thenumber three is the key that unlocks the doorto intuition and is the driving energy thatunites positive and negative, male and female.On the material level, the Empress card repre-sents the human aspect of love and symbolizesthe sexual conjunction of male and female.

The Emperor (arcanum four) warns that noone can compromise with his or her con-science. The Emperor of wisdom is activatedby the fire of the vital force within all humansand regenerated by the alchemical slogan thatall nature is regenerated by fire. The numberfour represents the primordial substance thatis the origin of all the universe and is thenumerical constituent of all manifestations inthe third dimension.

The Hierophant, or Pope (arcanum five),stands for the search for truth and representsall organized religions, education, schooling,and any other kind of formal learningprocesses. The Pope, the interpreter of sacredmysteries, points the way to the pathways ofsilence and watchfulness and enables seekersto discover the inherent power of creativeability that lies dormant within them. Num-ber five stands for the universal power of faithover human imagination, the faith to be cre-atively new.

The Lovers (arcanum six) represents mar-riage, the love of sibling for sibling, of parentfor child, or the mystical bond that unites allthose who are alike in soul. Number six signi-fies spiritual development, charity, and divinelove and represents the duality of every prob-lem in terms of both attraction and repulsion.

The Chariot (arcanum seven) driven by theking—its horses and wheels seemingly pullingaway from each other, yet drawing the samevehicle—is an allegory of the struggle of thenegative and positive forces that operate in allpeople during their journey toward the spiritu-al life. The Chariot symbolizes the victory ofthe inwardly united individual over the obsta-cles of life. Number seven represents theFatherhood of God and divine realization.



French tarot cards.


Justice (arcantun eight), as it is expressed inthe tarot’s imagery, is not blindfolded. Theancients pictured Justice as a woman of matureage with large, open eyes; it is modern culturethat has pictured Justice as blind. Justice alsorepresents self-initiation into life’s adversities,during which one looks inwardly and withoutbias at one’s true self. The number eight signi-fies dualism, positive and negative, and theactions of unseen forces on matter.

The Hermit (arcanum nine) stands forevery spiritual seeker in search of himself orherself. The Hermit pursues the lonely path ofthe awakened soul in his search for truth,guided by his lantern and protected by hisstaff. In essence, this card represents the expe-rience of self-initiation and signifies wisdomand silence. Nine symbolizes astral light, thematrix of all visible forms of life.

The Wheel of Fortune (arcanum ten) is thecard of victory, the sign of obstacles overcomeby good fortune and by the active participationof the individual in the activities of the micro-cosm. The Wheel, or circle, is the symbol ofcompletion, as every human is a closed systemwithin himself or herself. A blind virgincranked the Wheel, as all humans are con-trolled by unperceived psychic powers.Humans must learn to use their psychic abili-ties to control their life, rather than allow theirlife to be buffeted about in a blind manner.

The Force (arcanum eleven) symbolizes theinner strength by which one may overcomeobstacles placed in the path of spiritualprogress. Eleven is the number of the Aquari-an Age, and represents universal energy—prana. Eleven also symbolizes spiritual willpower, vitality, and/or intense strength.

The Hanged Man (arcanum twelve) repre-sents taking on the new and giving up the old.This card allegorizes the prudent adept ofarcanum nine (The Hermit), who has nowfreed himself from the Wheel of Life andRebirth of arcanum ten. The adept has beenelevated to glory through the equation andharmony between the higher and lower selves.Number 12 symbolizes sacrifice and signifiesimmortality and the elixir of life.

Death (arcanum thirteen) is interpreted asthe giving up of old ways, the complete sever-

ance with the past, and the ending of friend-ships or close associations. Tarot card 13 alsosignifies discarding old ideas and modes ofaction. Death’s sickle is a symbol of reaping,allegorizing the harvest of what humankindhas endured in the physical state. The number13 is neither lucky nor unlucky when consid-ered by itself, and the number most often sig-nifies a change for the better, a new birth.

Temperance or Patience (arcanum four-teen) signifies a time of waiting, a time forputting aside petty squabbles, a time for learn-ing patience and understanding. Temperance,the Angel of Time, symbolizes hermetic har-mony and equilibrium, the working unity ofthe male and female principles of nature andof humankind; and in humanity, the mergerof soul and spirit. The number 14 symbolizesthe descent of spirit into matter and repre-sents the activity of humankind in the roundof the seasons.

The Devil (arcanum fifteen) representstrouble. Being an individualist, the Devil upsetthe commandments of heaven, which enforcedmoral conduct, and so brought turmoil to themasses. He is the symbol of bad luck and of



Female tarot card reader

displaying a prediction.


destruction, the antithesis of good. Fifteen sig-nifies destiny and represents the immense forceor power in the mind of humankind.

The Tower of Destruction (arcanum six-teen), the Lightning-Struck Tower, depictspandemonium, bedlam, and disruption. Thestruck tower symbolizes the dark night of thesoul when the spiritually untested and imma-ture seekers are confronted by a dramatic testof their faith. In this respect, the Tower ofDestruction has also been referred to as the“Fall of the Angels.” The number 16 symbol-izes an ending, a move, or a change; therefore,this card can also signify the breaking up of aromance or a love affair.

The Stars (arcanum seventeen) representsgood luck or hope. The seven small stars onthe card symbolize the universe along withthe charity and hope represented by the num-ber seven. The water in the stream beforewhich the woman kneels symbolizes patience,utilized in overcoming obstacles. Above thekneeling woman’s head are seven stars, sym-bols of solar energy directing beneficent rayson the enlightened adept. Directly above thewoman’s head, the top star—the star of theMagi—indicates the challenge presented byyouth in its attempt to revitalize the earth.The number 17 represents wisdom andimmortality.

The Moon (arcanum eighteen) is the rep-resentation of unknown facts, of knowledgeobscured, and an interference with thesearch for hidden knowledge. The Moon’smagnetism preserves and generates life, andthe dog pictured on the card undoubtedlybelongs to Hecate, the goddess of the Moon’sdarker aspect, or to Diana, goddess of thechase. The Moon itself symbolizes thereflected rays of the subconscious, and thelight falling from the Moon signifies thedescent of spirit into matter. The number 18is a sign of trouble, anxiety, failure, and hid-den dangers in general.

The Sun (arcanum nineteen) stands forgood luck. The Moon (arcanum eighteen)gives insufficient light to illuminate hiddensubconscious knowledge, but the Sun bringsclarity, resulting in understanding, comprehen-sion, and happiness. It enables adepts to see the

essence of their acquired knowledge and fostersfurther enlightenment. The Sun card symbol-izes complete identification with life here andnow, and the hope and possibility of a life, orlives, yet to come in a higher state of being.

On The Judgment (arcanum twenty),Gabriel’s trumpet summons the adept to new-ness of life, to change. The Judgment is a posi-tive card, bringing portents of goodness andhappiness. The man pictured rising from thedepths of the earth represents self-conscious-ness. The woman rising with him symbolizesthe subconscious, and the figure of their childrepresents the regenerated personality of theadept made manifest. The card does not referto a final or universal judgment, for the earthtraveler is summoned to judgment many timesby the cyclical workings of karma.

The World (arcanum twenty-one) is thelast numbered card of the Major Arcana andpresents an allegory of transmutation com-pleted. The adept has reached the ultimateend of his or her journey and has achieved aninnate knowledge of all that is good in theuniverse, which is symbolized by the wreaththat surrounds the Virgin. The World cardrepresents honesty and truth, as well as suc-cess, harmony, and attainment.

The figure of The Fool (arcanum 0), standsfor an individual who becomes so involved inthe occult sciences that he or she misses thepath to spiritual development. The Fool alsoreminds everyone that they learn from theirmistakes. It carries a small pack on a stick,symbolizing the karmic debts which all menand women must carry through life. The Foolwarns the wise that the more they know theless they really know, once they have becomeaware of the vast unknown.

The 56 cards of the Minor Arcana symbol-ize the four basic component groups ofmedieval society. The pip cards, therefore, aredivided into four suits, each bearing a symbolrepresenting one of these groups. Batons, alsoknown as rods, which once represented thepeasant or serf class, have come to be the sym-bol of money and financial interests. Coins,the card of the merchant or tradesman class,symbolize enterprise and worldly glory. Cups,the symbol of love and happiness, is the tarot



representative of the clergy, while swordsstand for the medieval nobility and allegorizehatred and misfortune.

Each of the four suits of the Minor Arcanahas its own royal family. These are the king,queen, cavalier (knight), and knave (page,young male or female servant). In the world, aking is a man who rules a major territorialunit, one who holds a preeminent positionand is a chief among competitors. It is thesame in the tarot. The kings of batons, coins,cups, and swords each stand for a powerfulmale person with superior qualities, knowl-edge, and abilities in the category representedby his symbol. A queen, in the world and inthe tarot, is the female counterpart of a king,and the same may be said for the queen ofeach respective suit with respect for gender. Acavalier, or knight, is a man upon whom a cor-responding dignity has been conferred by amonarch, and in the tarot, represents a youngman with qualities much like those of his par-ents, the king and queen of the same suit. Allroyal families have servants, and so it is withthe rulers of the Minor Arcana suits. Theknave in each suit represents either a youngman or woman of humbler station than thecavalier, who is at times tricky, even deceitful.

Coins. Coins, or money, is the symbol ofenterprise and worldly glory. The king of coinsrepresents a man of refinement, wise in the waysof the marketplace. If the king of coins turns upin an inverted position, he will bring the nega-tive qualities of doubt, fear, and danger.

The queen of money represents the hopeof acquiring the ability to overcome obstacles.If inverted, she becomes a sign of evil.

The cavalier of coins symbolizes omens ofdisunion, discord, or quarrels. If this card turnsup with the knight’s head downward, its sig-nificance is reversed.

The knave, or servant of the house ofcoins, brings good news. If the knave is dealtupside down, he becomes a bearer of ill tidings.

The “spot” or numbered cards of the suit ofcoins are interpreted as follows: Ten brings thequalities of confidence, security, and honor.Nine signifies order, discipline, and an abilityto plan. Eight is a sign of understanding.Seven promises success in life, gain for one’s

enterprises, and a general condition of advan-tage and profit. Six is read as a sign of apromising undertaking. The five of coinspoints to gain and riches. Card four predicts asuccessful enterprise. The three also points toa prosperous enterprise. Two is a happy omenof good fortune. The one signifies a beginning.

Cups. Of more vital concern than moneyin the lives of most people are love and happi-ness. The king of cups represents a just man offair play. Likewise, the queen of cups evokesthe image of a well-loved, motherly woman.The knight of cups symbolizes a fair youngman who possesses the same qualities as theking and queen. The page symbolizes similarqualities of love and happiness. If any of thesecards are dealt inverted, their meaning signi-fies aspects of distrust and unhappiness.

The ten of cups represents satisfaction inpersonal accomplishments. The nine means tri-umph. Eight insures the forthcoming fulfill-ment of a wish. Seven indicates the presence offresh concepts or images. The six of cupsreveals thoughts of past loves. Five portends aunion, possibly marriage. Four indicates dis-pleasure over a relationship. Three is a happycard, promising success. The two of cups sym-bolizes love, the result of one added to one. Theone-spot alludes celebrations and good cheer.

Swords. The tarot cards bearing swordsbring associations of power, authority, hatred,and misfortune. The king of swords representsa man of authority, one used to issuing ordersand seeing to their execution even if theybring about grief and fear. The queen ofswords allegorizes a woman who is malicious,spiteful, selfishly domineering. The knight ofswords brings to mind the same dark thoughtsas the king and queen. The valet of this omi-nous suit can be seen as a spiteful, malicious,and prying young man or woman. Inverted,these cards suggest more positive applicationsof wealth and power.

The ten of swords foreshadows tears, afflic-tions, and sorrow. The nine is a card of hope.The eight relates to general calamities, such assickness or injury. The seven reverses the illomens of its predecessor, with an upsurge ofhope and confidence. Six denotes a voyage.Five is a card of sadness and mourning. The



four mirrors thoughts of stillness and periodsof solitude. The three of swords is the card ofseverance and removal. The two stands forfriendship. The ace is a herald of triumph.

Batons. The batons, also called rods orclubs, are symbols of the peasants or serfs ofmedieval society. The king of batons epito-mizes the self-made man, a symbol of successthrough hard work. The queen of clubs is aloving woman, but very reserved. The knightof clubs indicates the presence of a helpfulperson. The valet who attends the royal familyof finance is a man or woman of extremelysensitive nature. If any of these cards areinverted, they indicate individuals who maycause severe problems.

The ten of batons depicts gambling forhigh stakes. Nine indicates a loss of money.Eight brings good luck. The seven is a happycard of profit and gain. The six of batons is aportent of gifts, of gratification of desires. Thefive reveals thoughts permeated by avariceand greed. Four symbolizes gaiety and thepleasures money can buy. Three is a noblecard, representing dignity transcending frivo-lous, impulsive actions. The two of clubs indi-cates a loss of money. The ace reveals a stateof perfect contentment and triumph.

It is essential to remember that the mean-ing of any card of the tarot is colored by theinterpretation the reader gets clairvoyantly.Although it may often appear that cosmicforces rule the tarot, and that the sequence ofa shuffled and cut deck is not accidental, thecards must still be regarded as a device to freethe reader’s psychically sensitive subconsciousand to serve as a generator of spontaneousthought. Its legendary powers exist within,not without, the human psyche.

Telling Fortunes with Modern

Playing Cards

As with the tarot, each card in the moderndeck of playing cards has acquired a tradition-al interpretation over the centuries, and thereader—or person telling the fortune—hasbecome familiar with these meanings. Thenext step in the process is to interpret thedrawing or placing of each card by the querent(or questioner)—the person seeking the for-

tune—in terms of certain of the cards next towhich it appears in the layout or draw.

There are about as many methods of plac-ing or laying out the cards as there are cardreaders. The reader may have the querentselect a card at random to represent him orher in the reading and the resultant spreadmay revolve around that particular card. Thereader may also through the process of trialand error develop a spread or layout thatseems to stimulate his or her psychic aware-ness and increase the ability to “tune in to”the querent. Some readers prefer to draw—orallow the querent to draw—one card at a timeand do a free-flowing interpretation. Otherslike the pattern of a cross, a circle, or severalrows of cards placed in various representationsof what the reader perceives as best providinga window to the querent’s future.

Listed are some basic meanings of the indi-vidual cards in the traditional deck—minusthe Joker (some readers use this card to repre-sent the querent):

DIAMONDS: Diamonds represent thepractical, material side of life, especiallymoney. They can also stand for difficultiesthat will arise if insufficient energy is expend-ed in the desire to accomplish financial goals.

The ace of diamonds signifies a beginningor an important message that brings money ora gift to the recipient. The king of diamondsrepresents a man who has achieved materialwealth and success. The queen of diamonds isa woman who is noted for her flirtatiousnature and her tendency to gossip about oth-ers. The jack of diamonds symbolizes a jealousfriend or relative.

Regarding the “spot” or numbered cards ofthe suit of diamonds: Ten brings money—orpossibly a journey that will result in financialsuccess. Nine signifies a wish to wander andexplore. Eight is a sign of financial success or amarriage that will take place. Seven warns ofill fortune in a financial enterprise. Six is readas an early marriage that is likely to fail. Thefive of diamonds points to gain and prosperityin business and in marriage. Four predicts thatquarrels and disagreements lie ahead. Thethree points to disputes, quarrels, and poten-



tial lawsuits. Two is a happy card of good for-tune in both love and business.

HEARTS: Hearts symbolize a strong emo-tional force that can nullify evil and indicatesuccess in business, as well as in love.

The ace of hearts alludes to happiness inthe home. The king of hearts is a just man,remembered for his fair play and his generosi-ty. The queen of hearts evokes the image of awell-loved woman, a mother, faithful wife, orone’s true love. The jack symbolizes a reliableand trustworthy friend or relative.

The ten of hearts promises success andgood fortune in any project. The nine repre-sents triumph, fulfillment, and success. Whenthe eight turns up, it insures a happy occasion.Seven indicates false hopes. The six reveals aweakness to be overly generous and trusting.Five is a card of indecision. The four of heartsis the card of the bachelor or the spinster. Thethree is a card of cautions against becomingimpetuous or easily angered. The two of heartssymbolizes success in love and in business.

SPADES: Although they have a reputa-tion for being all bad, spades often signifywarnings and cautions, rather than predictingactual dire consequences. Generally, though,when spades appear in a spread, they indicatebad luck, financial loss, illness, separation,divorce, even death.

The ace of spades is the card of misfortune,sometimes dramatically named the “deathcard.” The ace may also signal the end of arelationship or a business situation. The kingof spades represents a man whose uncheckedambitions may cause him to prove to be a dan-ger. The queen of spades allegorizes a womanwho is malicious, spiteful, selfishly domineer-ing. The jack of spades can be seen as a spite-ful and prying young man or woman, who onlypretends to be a friend.

The ten of spades is an unlucky card thatforeshadows tears, afflictions, and sorrows.The nine of spades is regarded as the absoluteworst card in the pack and indicates forth-coming illness, loss of money, the infidelity ofa loved one, or the failure of a business. Theeight warns about false friends. The seven cau-tions one to avoid misunderstandings withfriends and relatives. Six of spades is associat-

ed with discouragements, but the card alsooffers the hope of overcoming troublesthrough perseverance. Five is a lucky card rep-resenting business success and a happy mar-riage. The four of spades indicates a brief ill-ness, temporary financial reverses, and warnsagainst the petty jealousy of others. The threeof spades is an unhappy card of severance andseparation in love or marriage. The two indi-cates a complete separation from loved ones,the loss of a home, or a death.

CLUBS: While clubs most often symbolizefriendship, they also warn of hypocrisy andtreachery. Although clubs are generally goodcards, they may advise caution in any life situ-ation that involves placing too much trust infair-weather friends.

The ace of clubs reveals a state of perfectcontentment and triumph. It is a card of wealth,fame, and success in a chosen profession. Theking of clubs represents a man who, thoughsometimes a rival, is a valuable friend. Thequeen of clubs is a woman who is occasionallytemperamental, but who can always be reliedupon to be loyal in love or in friendship. Thejack signifies a generous, sincere, and constantfriend whose devotion is never in question.

The ten of clubs is a strong good luck card.Nine indicates a loss of money and a variety ofother troubles, including serious disputes withfriends or family members. Eight of clubswarns against incurring bad debts. The sevenis a happy card of profit and gain. The six ofclubs is the partnership card, a sure portent ofsuccess based on a trustworthy friendship. Thefive is a marriage card, usually representing ahappy future for both parties. Four symbolizesdanger or a sudden misfortune or failure.Three is a sign of a second marriage and possi-bly a third. The two of clubs is an unwelcomecard, indicating a loss of money or friendship.

How often may the cards be consulted bythe querent? Most card readers answer thatquestion by saying as often as the client wish-es. Generally, repeat deals or readings shouldonly be done to clarify questions left unan-swered or unclear.

M Delving Deeper

Cirlot, J. E. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York:Barnes & Noble, 1993.



Gibson, Walter B., and Litzka R. Gibson. The Com-plete Illustrated Book of the Psychic Sciences. Gar-den City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1966.

Karcher, Stephen. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Div-ination. Rockport, Mass.: Element Books, 1997.

Louis, Anthony. Tarot Plain and Simple. St. Paul,Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1996.


Waite, Arthur E. A Manual of Cartomancy and OccultDivination. Kessinger Publishing, 1997.

Dowsing

Dowsing, scientifically known as radioes-thesia, is the interaction of the mind ofthe dowser and the energy of the object

of interest. Most dowsing is used to find waterand minerals. It has been used to find lostobjects, even people. The ability to find people,artifacts, or substances by use of maps, pictures,or physically being in a place are currently themost popular applications of dowsing.

The method of dowsers seldom varies.They grasp the ends of a forked twig (peach,apple, maple traditionally work best, thoughsome modernists say a bent metal coat hangerworks just as well) with palms upward. As they

begin their search for water, they carry thebutt of the stick pointed upward. When theynear water, they can feel the pull as the buttend begins to dip downward. When thedowsers are over the water, the twig has beenbent straight down, having turned through anarc of 180 degrees. A stick of brittle wood willbreak under the grip of a dowser as the buttmoves downward. Pliable twigs will twistthemselves downward despite an effort to holdthem straight.

Few manifestations of so-called psychicability have been more hotly debated thanthat of dowsing. On the one hand is the pro-nouncement of the scientific communitywhich declares that locating water by meansof a forked stick is utter nonsense, and on theother side of the argument are those men andwomen who go ahead and locate water withtheir forked maple twigs, completely impervi-ous to the ridicule visited upon them by theskeptics. They could not care less whether ornot a laboratory technician believes thatwater cannot be found in such a manner. Allthey know is that it works and that they havebeen finding water in just that way for years.

Novelist Kenneth Roberts stated in hisbook, Henry Gross and His Dowsing Rod(1951): “Not all the derision of all the geolo-gists in the world can in any way alter theunfailing accuracy of the dowsing rod inHenry Gross’s hands. Not all the cries of‘hokum,’ ‘fanciful delusion,’ ‘hoax,’ ‘pseudo-science’ can destroy or even lessen the valueof Henry’s dowsing.…”

In 1953, UNESCO sponsored a committeeof prominent European scientists in their studyof radioesthiesa. Their carefully consideredconsensus was that “there can be no doubt thatit is a fact.” The Academie des Sciences ofParis has commented that “it is impossible todeny the existence of the power, although itsnature cannot be determined.” Five NobelPrize winners have endorsed dowsing, and sohas the Institute of Technical Physics of theDutch National Research Council.

In Germany in 1987 and 1988, more than500 dowsers participated in more than 10,000double-blind tests conducted by physicists in abarn near Munich. The researchers who held



Water divining

instruments. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

DOWSING, or radioesthesia, is used to findwater and minerals.

the so-called “Barn” experiments claimed thatthey had empirically proved that dowsing wasa real phenomenon. However, subsequentanalysis of the data by other scientists raisethe argument that the results could reasonablybe attributed to chance, rather than any kindof unknown psychic ability to find water orhidden objects.

M Delving Deeper

Baum, Joseph. Beginners Handbook of Dowsing. NewYork: Random House, 1974.

Bird, Christopher. Divining Hand: The 500-Year-OldMystery of Dowsing. Atglen, Pa.: Whitford Press,1993.

Carroll, Robert Todd. “Dowsing (a.k.a. water witch-ing).” The Skeptic’s Dictionary.[Online] http://skepdic.com/dowsing.html. 8 March 2002.

Graves, Tom. Diviner’s Handbook: A Guide to theTimeless Art of Dowsing. Rochester, Vt.: InnerTraditions, 1990.

Roberts, Kenneth. Henry Gross and His Dowsing Rod.Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1951.

Webster, Richard. Dowsing for Beginners: The Art ofDiscovering Water, Treasure, Gold, Oil, Artifacts.St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1996.

Graphology

Graphology or handwriting analysis isbased upon the interpretation of cer-tain signs and symbols to be found in a

specimen of handwriting. In the view of agraphologist, the complicated mental, physi-cal, and psychic machinery known as humanbeings betray so much detail about themselvesin their handwriting because the actual processof handwriting begins in the mind, withthought. All handwriting is first an idea thatbecomes a desire to communicate that thoughtto paper. Graphologists perceive handwritinganalysis as a doorway to the subconscious. Assuch, not only conscious but subconsciouslyformed habit patterns and personality traitsshow up in an individual’s handwriting.

Because handwriting reveals the inner per-son through his or her subconscious, grapholo-gists believe that there are universal symbolsthat are evident in handwriting, beginning asearly as a child’s first attempts at writing. For

example, if in a child’s handwriting analystswere to observe angular patterns formed likethe points of arrows or spears, they would havelittle difficulty recognizing such formations aslikely symbols of aggression. There has beensome conflict within the ranks of graphologyon the question of whether or not pre-writingscribbles may indicate personality traits inchildren. A scribble, as defined by grapholo-gists, is a spontaneous discharge of energy. It isnot meant to convey a message, and childrenmake them for the sheer joy of it. To children,scribbling is simply a means of expression.They leave on the paper, therefore, a record oftheir prevailing mood, whether joy or unhap-piness. Likewise, if they are angry, they may sitdown and make motions on a piece of paperresembling the slashing actions of a knife.

Graphologists are convinced that hand-writing analysis can reveal an individual’sinnermost thoughts, motivations, and desires.The handwriting of individuals with anadvanced psychosis and extreme neurosiswould differ from that of an “average” person.In psychosis, the analyst would see traits thatare considered normal, but they would beexaggerated, amplified, carried to such lengths



King Faria, a water

witch, holds a divining

rod made of weeping

willow. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

HANDWRITING analysis is perceived asa doorway to the subconscious.

that they would become, then, undesirabletraits. For example, in the case of a schizo-phrenic, where the personality has separateditself from the everyday world and formedanother world of its own, a graphologist wouldexpect to see the handwriting symbols forimagination exaggerated to a tremendousdegree. In the case of the extreme neurotic, thedifferences are again quantitative, rather thanqualitative, dealing with a blown-up effect onone trait, and perhaps, a diminished, or totallyabsent, symbol trait which could balance theoveremphasized qualities of the other.

Normal handwriting would, therefore,have to show the balance missing in neuroticor psychotic handwriting. A balanced hand-writing would be the outward manifestation ofa balanced mind. Leftward movement of thehandwriting indicates a writer who has a ten-dency to live in the past and to be of a passivedisposition. Rightward movement usuallyreveals a writer who is future-minded andsomewhat aggressive.

The degree to which individuals have bal-anced their tendencies and personality traits isan invaluable clue to a prospective employer,and many companies and businesses havebegun employing a graphologist on their staff.Graphologists maintain that an employer canget an indication as to how an individual willreact under stress and determine whether ornot a person in their employ would act in aviolent, antisocial manner in moments ofexcitement in dealing with customers. Toillustrate the above point, graphologists haveshown how prospective embezzlers would givethemselves away by their handwriting. Theoval letters—the “o,” the “a,” and in certaincases, the oval formations on the small letters“p” and “d”—would be opened up at the bot-tom. It would appear as though someone hadcome along and erased the bottom of theseletters, suggesting that the embezzlers want tofill up the holes with some money.

The above signs constitute a general ruleand should not be regarded as universal orabsolute. A cautious and discreet graphologistwould be careful never to make a definite find-ing on the basis of only a few signs, but manyhandwriting analysts believe that company

executives in charge of hiring could gain help-ful information about prospective employeesby looking for such signs as the following.

Small writing shows either the ability or thepotential for a high degree of concentration.Narrow, peaked connecting strokes betweenwords are an expression of withdrawal.

Introverted people are likely to sign theirnames far to the left of the main body of apiece of writing, continuing a general leftwardtrend.

Graphologists believe that even a glanceat the white spaces to the left and right andabove and below the written matter providesinstant insight into the writer’s personality.For example, if a left margin starts out narrowand widens as the lines of writing proceeddown the page, the body of the writing shouldnormally reveal, among other things, indica-tions of enthusiasm, optimism, and generousspending habits. The left margin representsthe beginning point for the writer’s activities.If the lines of writing are begun far to the rightof the page’s left edge, the writer’s pen had tomake a considerable “leap” before tracing thefirst word. Individuals who begin writing inthis way are also prone to “leap” enthusiasti-cally into their undertakings.

If the left margin of the writing is overlywide, the writer may have erected a facade toconceal true feelings.

Since the hand must travel from left toright to execute a line of writing, a narrow leftmargin indicates a reluctance to move intothe realm of action. The complete absence ofa left margin may symbolize the writer’s sub-conscious desire to return to an infantile stateof dependency.

Individuals who set themselves apart fromothers because of snobbishness or pride leaveinordinately wide left margins, but the graphol-ogist must be careful, for such margins are alsocharacteristic of the writing of shy persons.

If the left margin widens as the writingproceeds down the page, it is a sign of hasteand a nervous nature. If, on the other hand,the left margin narrows as the lines descend, itshows that the writer suffers from fatigue,physical weakness, or perhaps, illness. Such a



margin is also the sign of psychological orphysiological depression.

The right margin symbolizes destinationsreached, goals achieved, and the writer’s atti-tude toward the future. In contrast to the leftmargin, which corresponds to the false frontindividuals may use to hide their feelings, theright margin reveals a genuine desire to beclose or distant to the other people they con-tact in the course of living life. A wide rightmargin shows that the writer actually prefersto remain distant, while a narrow right marginshows a genuine desire for close relationships.

The idea of graphotherapeutics began inthe early part of the twentieth century when anumber of psychologists, psychiatrists, doctorsof medicine, and graphologists cooperated in astudy of the reciprocal effects of personalityand handwriting. They interpreted symbols inhandwriting as having been formed by a sortof feedback process. Not only does the mindinfluence or shape handwriting, but handwrit-ing can also shape the mind. The flow of elec-trical energy in the form of nerve impulsesthroughout the nerves and various nerve end-ings also returns to the mind along other neur-al pathways. Working under this premise,when people see what they know to be anundesirable trait appearing in their handwrit-ing, they can change the trait by changingtheir handwriting.

When handwriting experts in police labo-ratories examine a suspected forger’s signatureor an alleged note left by a suicide victim, thefirst problem they face is to determine thewriter’s special characteristics. Even skilledforgers may not be able to see the subtlemarks, pressures, slanting, and shading that anexpert graphologist will perceive almost at aglance. The FBI Laboratory and laboratoriesof state and city police departments keep onfile all extortion and ransom notes, all threat-ening and defamatory letters, and all messagesthat threaten bombings, arson, or personalattacks on individuals. As strange as it mayseem, criminals of all kinds who once put theirdemands or threats in writing will most oftendo so again.

A famous case that demonstrates howgraphology can be effective in solving crimes

occurred on July 4, 1956, when Mrs. MorrisWeinberger, a young mother of two, left her33-day-old baby, Peter, in his carriage on thepatio in the backyard of their home in West-bury, Long Island. Although she had beengone for only 15 minutes, when she returnedshe found the carriage empty and a ransomnote that stated a demand for $2,000 and wassigned, “Your Baby Sitter.” In spite of herbroadcast pleas for the return of their child, nofurther demands were issued by the kidnapperuntil July 10, when the Weinbergers receiveda telephone call and a second note.

Under the law at that time, the FBI couldnot enter a kidnapping case until seven dayshad passed. Once that time period had beenobserved, experts began immediately to studythe kidnapper’s notes. It was decided that theransom notes had been written on a piece ofpaper that appeared to have come from a linedtablet designed for use in writing publicrecords. Among distinctive aspects of the kid-napper’s writing, there was a peculiarly loopedcapital “P,” a rounded “A” with a short tail,and a capital “Y” that was strangely bold.

Six weeks after little Peter Weinberger hadbeen taken from his carriage, a group of hand-writing analysts managed to match the hand-writing on the ransom note to that of a signa-ture by a man who had received a suspendedsentence. It was the 1,974,544th documentthat had been studied during the desperatesearch for baby Peter.

Tragically, the kidnapper, Angelo JohnLaMarca, who lived five miles from the Wein-bergers, had thought he could solve his moneyproblems by snatching a rich family’s child.LaMarca had panicked on August 23rd andleft the baby in a dense thicket to die. Thekidnapper was found guilty of murder and diedin the electric chair.

Although handwriting analysis may pro-vide valuable leads that in some cases may leadto the discovery of the perpetrator of a crimeand that person’s subsequent arrest, the testi-mony of graphology by itself has not beenaccepted by appellate courts in the UnitedStates. In spite of the claims made by graphol-ogists, the courts have ruled that it does notmeet the requirements of the kind of science



that may be relied upon in a court of law. Inthose instances where a person’s employmentmay have hinged upon a graphoanalyticalevaluation, plaintiffs may sue an employer whoused graphology in an employment decision.

M Delving Deeper

“The Legal Implications of Graphology.” WashingtonUniversity Law Quarterly. [Online] http://ls.wustl.edu/WULQ/75-3/753-6.html. 20 May 2002.

Loth, David. Crime Lab. New York: Julian Messner,1964.

Lowe, Sheila R. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hand-writing Analysis. New York: Alpha Books, 1999.

McNichol, Andrea. Handwriting Analysis: Putting It toWork for You. New York: McGraw Hill, 1994.

Santoy, Claude. The ABC’s of Handwriting Analysis: AGuide to Techniques and Interpretations. New York:Marlowe & Co., 2001.

I Ching

The I Ching or Book of Changes hasbeen used as a method of divination formore than 5,000 years, and in spite of

its venerable age, modern enthusiasts insistthat it is the most sophisticated method of pre-dicting future events ever devised. Querentsapproach the I Ching with such questions as“What does the future hold for me?” “Should Imarry now?” and throw coins. Each coin isassigned a number, so the results of the tossesare totaled to find the corresponding hexagramto learn the answers to the inquiries. The“book” consists of 64 hexagrams, each com-prising six broken or unbroken lines. Althoughthe text accompanying the I Ching does notrefer to the two primal cosmic principles—theyin and the yang—in essence, the philosophi-cal premise of the I Ching does hold that the



Woman consulting with

the book I Ching and

using fortune sticks.


broken line and the unbroken line can repre-sent any pair of polar opposites, such as male/female, light/dark, and so forth.

Those who believe in the wisdom of IChing maintain that within the 64 sectionsthere exist teachings for every possible situa-tion that anyone will encounter throughout hisor her life. Within the hexagrams are represent-ed numerous archetypal situations in cater-gories such as “The Rise to Power,” “ProperRelationships,” “Negativity,” and so forth. Thehidden meanings of the hexagrams weredivined by ancient Chinese sages who were intune with the philosophy of the Tao, whichviews human beings as creatures of nature andteaches that instincts, feelings, and imagina-tion should be allowed to have free reign. Tao-ism is in sharp contrast to Confucianism, whichenvisions humankind as rational and moralcreatures who have responsibilities to theirsociety. The essential philosophy of Taoism isthat the natural world and the Tao are one.

Those who rely on the I Ching as theirdependable window to the future explain thatthey find this method of divination to besuperior to all others because, as its nameimplies, it recognizes the difficulty of focusingon events that have not yet occurred and ittakes into account the likelihood of changesthat may most certainly occur. In fact, thebasic premise of I Ching is that every situationin the panorama of human events has withinits context an inherent tendency to change.While some may despair and complain thatthe only thing constant in life is change, thosewho rely on I Ching agree—but remain confi-dent that changes occur within cycles andthat these cycles may be observed, predicted,and acted upon.

M Delving Deeper

Carroll, Robert Todd. “I Ching.” In The Skeptic’s Dic-tionary.[Online] http: //skepdic.com/iching.html.9 March 2002.

Dening, Sarah. The Everyday I Ching. New York: St.Martin’s Press, 1997.

Seabrook, Myles. I Ching for Everyone. New York:Barnes & Noble, 1998.

Wilhelm, Helmut, Richard Helmut, and Irene Eber.Understanding the I Ching. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1995.

Kabbalah

The Kabbalah (also Cabala, Kabala,Kaballah, Qaballah, etc.) is a mysticalJewish tradition that teaches that the

elect of God shall know both Him and theuniverse and will be raised above commonknowledge to a spiritual level where they willunderstand the secrets of Holy Writ and cre-ation through symbolic interpretation. Kab-balists affirm that the elect shall discover inthe ancient texts whatever they choose, andthey have the right to assert that the thingsthey discover had been in the sacred scripturesfrom the beginning.

Letters and numbers, the Kabbalah teach-es, are not merely signs invented by humans torecord things, events, and thoughts, but are inthemselves reservoirs of divine power. Hebrew,in the Kabbalistic sense, is a universal lan-guage, capable of restoring to humankind theuniversal understanding that existed before theconfusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. Itis interesting to note that the Greek school ofneo-Pythagorean philosophers also understoodnumbers and letters to be divine thingsendowed with supernatural powers.

The Kabbalah began to emerge as a text ofpower and influence in Spain and southernFrance in the thirteenth century. Many of itsteachers proclaimed that the Kabbalah(Hebrew for “received tradition”) had beengiven by God to Moses (14th–13th centuryB.C.E.) on Mt. Sinai along with the Torah, andgenerations of magi, alchemists, and magiciansbelieved this claim to be true and revered theancient texts as a legacy of the Creator tohumankind, the apex of His creation. Con-temporary scholarship suggests that ratherthan a divinely authored text, the Kabbalahwas a product of the earlier mystical traditionof the Maaseh Bereshit and Maaseh Merkavah,both of which would only be taught to one stu-



THE Kabbalah emerged as a text of power andinfluence in the thirteenth century.

dent at a time. The Maaseh Bereshit (Hebrewfor “work of creation”) dealt with the divineutterances that brought the universe intobeing and how control of these sounds or let-ters would grant great magical powers over thematerial substance of the world. MaasehMerkavah (Hebrew for “work of the chariot”)attempted to utilize the mystical practices ofheavenly ascent achieved by Ezekial in hisvision of the fiery chariot and the throne ofglory in heaven. After a period of intensepreparation, including fasting, meditation,chanting, and the recitation of certain lettercombinations and the names of angels, theadept of Maaseh Merkavah sought to attain avision of the divine throne of God and tobecome transformed from human to angel.

Combined with the Maaseh Merkavahand the Maaseh Bereshit to form the Bible ofthe Kabbalists was the Zohar (Hebrew for“splendor”), which was ascribed to the follow-

ers of Simeon Bar Yochai, who was said tohave recorded the mystical teachings of Eli-jah during the years the prophet spent hidingin a cave. Moses De Leon who claimed topossess a copy of the ancient manuscript, pub-lished The Zohar in the thirteenth century.After De Leon’s death, however, his wifeadmitted that he had attributed his own writ-ings to Simeon Bar Yochai in order to assuresales to those interested in such ancient magi-cal texts. Modern scholars concede that whilethe Zohar splendidly depicts the spiritualreality that lies behind everyday experiencein the material world, there are many passagesthat betray the influence of Spanish cultureof the thirteenth century and were likelywritten at that time by De Leon.

The influence of the Kabbalah on mysticalJudaism, as well the European alchemists,scholars, and philosophers of the MiddleAges, was powerful and all pervasive, and thetext remained a source of strength and inspira-tion to seekers of enlightenment for manycenturies. As the influence of the ChristianChurch grew stronger throughout all ofEurope, the Kabbalah and those who taughtits mysteries retreated into the shadows of uni-versities and libraries; and for many scholars,the text was regarded as one of the esotericand sometimes forbidden hidden works ofancient wisdom. In the twentieth century,Carl G. Jung (1875–1961) introduced theKabbalah to the psychotherapeutic communi-ty and spoke highly of its value in achieving asense of wholeness with the universe.

Study of the Kabbalah underwent a dra-matic rebirth of interest in the 1960s whenthere was both a resurgence of Jewish spiritu-ality and an interest in the mystic teachings ofthe Kabbalah by many individuals in the NewAge Movement. The appeal of the Kabbalisticteachings to those seekers in the New Age layto a great extent in the understanding thatGod’s essence may emanate through variousrealms of existence and that each human maydraw from that supreme power to help bringthe act of creation to its final perfect state.Many Kabbalistic groups sprang up around thecountry utilizing the ancient teachings toassist their members to achieve deeper statesof meditation, to accomplish healings of



Engraving from Kabbala

Dnudata Seu Dotrina

Hebraeorum

Transcendentalis et

Metaphysica Atove

Theologica by Christian

Knorr von Rosenroth,

1677. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)



In March 2002, a red heifer was born in Israelthat some Jewish traditionalists, as well asChristian and Muslim fundamentalists, believecould bring about the end of the world in 2005.

According to ancient Jewish teachings, it was onlythe ashes of a flawless red heifer that could purifyworshippers who went into the Temple in Jerusalem.The First Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzarin 586 B.C.E.; the Romans demolished the Second Tem-ple in 70C.E. Without a flawless red heifer to sacrificeto purify the Temple Mount, the Third Temple couldnot be rebuilt and the Messiah could not come.

Fundamentalist Christians shared the excitementof the birth because they believe that after JesusChrist (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.) has returned and defeatedthe forces of evil at the battle of Armageddon, he willbegin his millennial reign from the Third Temple—which could not be rebuilt until the Temple Mount hadbeen purified by the ashes of the red heifer.

The genetically engineered red heifer born in 1996created a great deal of tension in Jerusalem, for Mus-lim leaders were concerned that fundamentalist Jewsand Christians might use the sign of the calf’s arrival asa signal to take over the Temple Mount, which theMuslims have occupied since 1967. Muslims reverethe Temple Mount as the place where Muhammad (c.570–632) ascended into heaven; and in 685, followersof the Prophet began constructing the 35-acre siteknown as the Noble Sanctuary, which today includesthe Dome of the Rock and the al Aqsa mosque.

Once again, traditional rabbinical scholars insistthat the three-year waiting period be observed, whichmeans in their religious belief, that if no hairs of anyother color have appeared in the heifer, it is of divineorigin and may be sacrificed to purify the TempleMount and construction on the Third Temple maybegin. As Rod Dreher writing in the National ReviewOnline put it: “You don’t have to believe that a rust-col-ored calf could bring about the end of the world…butthere are many people who do, and are prepared toact on that belief.”

Sources:

Dreher, Rod. “Red-Heifer Days.” National Review Online, April

11, 2002. [Online] http://www.nationalreview.com/script/

printpage.asp?ref’dreher/ dreher041102.asp.

Unterman, Alan. Dictionary of Jewish Lore and Legend. London:

Thames and Hudson, 1991.

Will the

Red Heifer

Bring About

Armageddon?

themselves and others, and to reach higherlevels of mystical insight.

M Delving Deeper

Berg, Yehuda. The Power of Kabbalah. San Diego,Calif.: Jodere Group, 2002.

Kaplan, Aryeh. Meditation and Kabbalah. New York:Weiser, 1989.

Scholem, Gershom. Kabbalah. New York: PenguinGroup, 1978.

Spence, Lewis. Encyclopedia of Occultism. New HydePark, N.Y.: University Books, 1960.

Unterman, Alan. Dictionary of Jewish Lore and Legend.New York: Thams and Hudson, 1991.

Necromancy

Necromancy involves the evocation ofspirits of deceased individuals for thepurpose of divination. Some magi-

cians believed that spirits could only be sum-moned during the first year of that person’sdeath. Necromancy was forbidden by the Lawsof Moses, but even the great king Saul (11thcentury B.C.E.) sought the advice of theprophet Samuel through the mediumship ofthe Witch of Endor. The Christian clergy alsocondemned the practice since the earliest daysof the church. None of these warnings andproclamations have prevented sorcerers andmagi from attempting to evoke the spirits ofthe dead through a variety of rituals.

A spirit could not be called without themagician first taking steps to protect himself.Should he not do this, his soul would be indanger. Protection took the form of talismans,seals, special powdered concoctions, and, mostimportantly, the magic circle. As long as themagician stood within the magic circle, hewas invulnerable to whatever spirit entity hemanaged to call up.

A variety of circles were used. Sometimesa triple circle was drawn, the diameter of eachconcentric circle being six inches less thanthe one surrounding it. The outermost circlewas marked at four equidistant points fornorth, south, east, and west. Magical wordswere written at each point: “Agial” at theeastern, “Tzabaoth” at the southern, “Jhvh” at

the western, and “Adhby” at the northern.Between each of these points a pentacle, orfive-pointed star, was drawn.

The magician placed his brazier of lightedcharcoal at the eastern point, in the smallestcircle. Then his altar, its center plumb withthe center of the brazier, was equipped. Uponthe altar were the ritual tools, including saltwater, incense, candles, and herbs appropriateto his specific undertaking. Lighted candleswould also be placed around the outside circle.Each tool was carefully consecrated andwrapped in white linen.

In the circle with him, the magician wouldhave prepared the proper talismans. Inscribedalso within the circle were the seals of thespirits to be evoked. Next, a triangle wasdrawn to the side of the magic circle, and itwas in this triangle that the spirit would mani-fest. The magician then commenced with theconjuration, the first order of business beingthe evocation of the magician’s own guardianspirit. This was a further assurance of protec-tion. Then the evocation of the planetaryspirit was attempted.

Still other rites demanded that the magi-cian draw a circle containing Solomon’s seal(Star of David) with a rectangle superim-posed over it, a cross within the center dia-mond formed by the seal. Solomon’s seal wasespecially recommended for summoning airspirits. According to Peter of Abano (anoccult author who lived from 1250 to 1318),this summoning should take place when themoon is waxing. Abano also recommendedthe inscription of four concentric circles forthe invocation of good spirits. This shouldbe done in the first hour of a Sunday inspringtime. The names inscribed in the cir-cles were Varcan, the Lord’s king-angel ofthe air, and Tus, Andas, and Cynabel, whoare the Lord’s holy ministers. The highestangels of Sunday, according to Abano, areMichael, Dardiel, and Huratapal. The northwind carries these angels, and they can beinvoked by magical ceremonies employingincense made of red sanders.

M Delving Deeper




De Grivy, Emile Grillot. A Pictorial Anthology ofWitchcraft, Magic & Alchemy. New Hyde Park,N.Y.: University Books, 1960.

Levi, Eliphas. Transcendental Magic. London: Rider &Co, 1958.

Waite, Arthur Edward. The Book of Ceremonial Magic.New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1960.

Numerology

According to numerologists, each num-ber possesses a certain power that existsin the occult connection between the

relations of things and the principles in naturewhich they express. All that humans are capa-ble of experiencing can be reduced to the digitsone through nine. These single numbers arederived from the simplification of all combina-tions of numbers to their basic essence. Thisessence then vibrates through the single digit.

Because numerology became popularamong New Age diviners in the 1970s, manypeople who have been introduced to the tech-nique for the first time believe that it is ofrecent origin. On the contrary, numerology isamong the oldest of the psychic sciences, andnumerological divination and number charmsare found in India, Greece, Egypt, China, andEurope.

Pythagoras (c. 580–c. 500 B.C.E.), the greatGreek mathematician and mystic, proclaimedthat the very world is built upon the magicalpower of numbers. According to his doctrines,numbers contained within them the essenceof all that is in the natural and the spiritualworlds. For those who followed the teachingsof Pythagoras, the number one symbolizedunity and therefore the Creator-God. Tworepresented the duality of good and evil andstood for the devil. Four, symbolizing balance,was considered by Pythagoreans as their mostholy and sacred number, and their mostsolemn oaths were sworn on four. Pythagore-ans also used numbers to represent variousplanets and elements. For example, five stoodfor fire; six, earth; eight, air; twelve, water.

In addition to the teachings of Pythago-ras, Cornelius Agrippa’s (1486–1535) workOccult Philosophy (1533) quite likely fur-

nished the basis for much of the belief innumerology practiced in the Western world.Agrippa also emphasized the powers inherentin numbers and even prescribed certain num-bers as tools in banishing evil, promotinghealing, and summoning benign spirits. Theenergy found in the number five, for instance,could exorcise demons and serve as an anti-dote to poisons.

Contemporary numerologists use their var-ious systems to produce assessments of an indi-vidual’s personality traits, behavior patterns,and to describe compatibility and a possiblecourse of future events for their clients.Depending upon the numerological system,the first and most important number derivesfrom one’s birth date and is determined byreducing the numbers of that date into singledigits. Beyond this cycle of nine, though, arethe two Master Numbers 11 and 22. Thesenever are reduced to single digits. Take thefollowing birthdate for purposes of illustration:

March 29, 19853 11 233 + 11 + 5 = 191 + 9 = 10

The number has been found in this man-ner: March, the third month, provides thenumber 3. The day gives 2 + 9 = 11. 1 + 9 + 8+ 5 = 23. Three reduces no further. Elevendoes not reduce, being a Master Number.Twenty three (2 + 3) reduces to 5; 3 + 11 + 5= 19, 1 + 9 = 10 reduces to 1.

The number one, then, is the most impor-tant number in this person’s life. It is his or herdestiny, which cannot be changed, but whichhe or she does have the ability to direct. Fromthis number, individuals may determine theirpotential; their hidden aptitudes, talents, anddesires; and their specific mission in life.

According to numerology, there are specif-ic meanings for each number, with both posi-



NUMEROLOGY is among the oldest ofthe psychic sciences.

tive and negative aspects. Interpretations ofthe nine numbers may vary with the individ-ual numerologist, but here, briefly, are somebasic meanings for each number:

1—Number one people are independentand need to be, as they tend to be the oak thatshelters multitudes. They must control anddirect their body, mind, and spirit to theutmost efficiency. They should accept no limi-tations, yet they must learn to cooperate with-out losing their individuality. The negativeaspect of the number one lies in the danger ofemphasizing the needs of self over others.

2—People of the number two will naturallyfollow the lead of others. Those with this num-ber become excellent diplomats, peacemakers,and go-betweens. Here, as opposed to thenumber one, the attraction is to groups, tocommunities. The number two is a perfect wifeor husband, for all other numbers are compati-ble with them. The negative aspect of numbertwo lies in the hazard of withdrawing from oth-ers and becoming extremely self-effacing.

3—Those on this path through life havediscovered the joy of living. They will tend tofind their opportunities on the lighter side oflife, in circulating and socializing. An artisticenvironment is best for the three personalitiesas they are always seeking expression throughwriting, speaking, or art. The negative polarityfor the number three personality is to becomesuperficial.

4—These people are the builders, thosewho start with a firm foundation and buildsomething of lasting importance. People whoare “fours” serve patiently and dependably andare capable of great achievements. They dothe job at hand, striving to perfect the form ofthe task before them. The opposite polarity forthe four personality is to become distant andremoved from others.

5— Those with the number five as theirdestiny must be prepared for frequent, unex-pected change and variety. Five personalitiesdo a lot of traveling and learn to understandall classes and conditions of people, and theyare generally without racial prejudice. Fivepeople always are seeking the new and pro-gressive. Number five personalities must guardagainst becoming self-indulgent.

6—Because six is the number of devotion-al, impersonal love, these people serve quietly,cheerfully, and efficiently, applying the law ofbalance to adjust inharmonious conditions.People often come to six personalities formaterial or spiritual aid, and they must alwaysbe ready to give it. Some persons with a sixlife-path are musically endowed, but their reallove is for the home and the harmony therein.The opposite polarity for the six personality isto become tyrannical.

7—Seven is a cosmic number related to theseven planets, seven days of the week, sevencolors, and seven notes on the musical scale.Things and opportunities are brought to theseven persons, without their actively seekingthem. Those with this number should use theirmental abilities to probe the deep mysteries andhidden truths of the universe. They are poten-tial mystics; and with their extreme sensitivity,the seven personalities must guard against theirtendency to wish to withdraw from the largersociety in which they find themselves.

8—Those bearing the number eight intheir life-path are the practical people of thematerial world. They usually desire andachieve love, power, and success. Eight is thenumber associated with large corporations andorganizations. It is a powerful number, andthose bearing the responsibilities of the num-ber eight may succumb to the negative polari-ty of becoming demanding individuals.

9—Nine is the number representinghumanitarianism. Those under this vibrationmust be prepared to give up all personal desireand ambitions. Number nine operates underthe Law of Fulfillment, and its appeal is to theall-inclusive, to the many. The negative polar-ity of the number nine personality is tobecome egocentric.



NUMEROLOGISTS assessedpersonality traits, behavior patterns, and describe

compatibility and a possible course of future events.

11—A Master Number: This is the num-ber of the dreamers, the visionaries, the oneswho receive their ideals intuitively. Their des-tiny is to reveal something new and upliftingto the world. Number 11 is the messenger, thespokesman or broadcaster. The negative polar-ity for revelators is to become fanatical andjudgmental in their beliefs.

22—A Master Number: This is the practi-cal idealist who is concerned with the benefitand progress of humankind. A 22 readily con-ceives philanthropic plans and seeks to helpthe masses with their improvement, expan-sion, and growth. The negative vibrationsthat accrue around the 22 personalities maylead them to become self-promoters, ratherthan idealists who work for the general goodof the many.

According to the precepts of numerology,one’s name is very important, as it is concernedwith sound, a direct manifestation of vibration.Therefore, since each letter of every alphabethas its distinctive sound, it follows that eachletter would have its own distinctive number.Using the one to nine cycle it is imperative toestablish the essence of the number.

The graph that follows, with a name givenas an example, shows how to arrive at thenumber vibration.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9A B C D E F G H IJ K L M N O P Q RS T U V W X Y Z

Example:M A R Y J O H A Y E S4 1 9 7 1 6 8 1 7 5 1

21 7 223 7 4

14 (1+4)= 5

The five is the number of this person’sname, and according to numerology such anumber relates to the person’s character andpersonality. Referring back to the basic expla-nation of the number vibration, a five wouldmake Mary a progressively minded who mustbe prepared for much travel and manychanges in her life.

Numerologists claim that numbers hold thekey to determining many aspects of one’s life and

destiny. Some who practice numerology evenbelieve that totaling the number of the vowels ofone’s name can identify the essence of a person’sinner self and the soul. Using Mary’s name again,we get the numbers 1 + 6 + 1 + 5. By totalingand simplifying these we arrive at the final digitof four. This number represents Mary’s inner self.It expresses her real potential, longings, and hid-den talents. As a four, her expression is to serveothers patiently and dependably and to createsomething of lasting importance.

M Delving Deeper


Gibson, Walter B., and Litzka R. Gibson. The Com-plete Illustrated Book of the Psychic Sciences. Gar-den City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1966.


Lagerquist, Kay, and Lisa Lenard. The Complete Idiot’sGuide to Numerology. New York: Alpha Books,1999.



Woodruff, Maurice. The Secrets of Foretelling YourOwn Future. New York: Signet, 1969.

Palmistry

Palmistry, most often associated with carni-val fortune-telling booths and gypsy cara-vans, has been a popular means of divina-

tion for centuries. Some traditions state that theBrahmins of ancient India practiced the occultscience as a means of determining the potentialof their students. An old story has it that Aristo-tle (384–322 B.C.E.) discovered a treatise on thesubject of palmistry that was written in letters ofgold, which he then presented to Alexander theGreat (356–323 B.C.E.), who took great interestin examining the character of his officers by ana-lyzing the lines on their hands. Many years later,this magical volume was translated into Latinand found its way to Arabian magi and to magi-cians in Europe.

Essentially, those who read palms envisionthe human hand as a microcosm on which the



individual’s life path can be foreseen on thelines that crisscross the palm. Palmistry is sub-divided into three parts: chirosophy, the deter-mination of the mystical significance of thevarious lines; chirogonmy, analyzing the over-all shape of the hand itself; and cheiromancy,divining the future and/or past from the formof the hand and fingers and the lines andmarkings thereon. Some palmists concentrateon reading only the lines of the hand. Othersinclude the fleshy mounts, fingernails, fingers,and even the wrist lines for clues to an indi-vidual’s life patterns.

There are a variety of opinions regardingwhich hand to read, left or right. Most com-monly, the right hand is read in a right-hand-ed person, and the left for a left-handed per-son. Traditionally, in a right-handed person,

the left hand represents future potential,whereas the right hand depicts the actuality oftheir personality as it presently exists. For aleft-handed person, this would be reversed.Other schools of palmistry state that in aright-handed person the subjective hand, theleft, should be read first, for it indicates thenatural inclinations and abilities of the sub-ject. The right hand, the objective hand, pre-dicts how far the individual will follow thepattern of life indicated by the subjectivehand. In left-handed people, the right hand issubjective and the left is the objective.

For a palmist, each part of the hand is asso-ciated with a planetary spirit. The mount ormound of Jupiter is located at the base of thefinger of Jupiter, the forefinger. The mount ofSaturn is located at the base of the finger ofSaturn, the second finger. The mount of theSun is found at the base of the finger of theSun, the third finger. The mount of Mercuryrests at the base of the little finger, the fingerof Mercury. The mount of Venus is the fleshypart of the palm at the base of the thumb. Themount of the Moon is located in the thickerpart of the side of the hand, directly beneaththe mount of Mercury below the little finger.

The major lines of the palm are the Life,Head, and Heart, which describe the basicpersonality traits as laid out in the palm. TheLife line is the prominent line that begins atthe base of the thumb (the mount of Venus)and runs up toward the finger of Jupiter—or,in other terms, the line that starts abouthalfway between the thumb and the forefingerand curves around the area of the thumb, end-ing usually near the base of the thumb, nearlyat the wrist.

The Head line begins at the start of theLife line, and the two lines should be joinedtogether, just touching. Once palmists locatethe beginning of the Head line about midwaybetween forefinger and thumb, they trace itscourse across the palm toward the outside ofthe hand.

The Heart line begins in the area of themount of Jupiter at the base of the forefinger,then runs across the base of the other mountsto the edge of the hand. It is the first horizon-tal line in the palm.



An illustration plate on

palmistry from the

German book Die Kunst

Ciromantia (The Art of

Chieromancy). (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

The line of Mercury, found beneath thelittle finger, is not present in many people’shands. The line of the Sun is located under-neath the third (ring) finger. The line of Sat-urn, the so-called Fate line, is only found inabout 40 percent of the population. This ver-tical line (s) runs from the wrist up towardsthe middle finger. The Girdle of Venus is com-posed of curved lines that will appear under-neath the middle and ring fingers. The line ofIntuition is a curved, crescent-like line thatextends from the lowest part of the mount ofthe Moon to the mount of Mercury, locateddirectly below the little finger. The lines ofAffection or Marriage are located on the sideof the hand under the little finger in the areacalled the mount of Mercury.

The longer one spends studying the humanpalm, the more lines and markings one is likelyto discover. There are “bars,” short lines thatcross major lines, indicating warnings of seri-ous interference. There are “crosses” that rep-resent periods of ill health, unhappiness, orproblems at work. There are even small “stars”

consisting of several little crosslines that revealsomething extremely rare or unusual. One mayalso see “triangles” (ingenuity), “squares,” or“rectangles” (signs of protection).

Although few scientists have taken palmreading seriously, on December 9, 2001, theAnanova Internet News Service reported thatresearchers at Barcelona University in Spainhad announced the preliminary results ofextensive research that indicated that intelli-gence can be predicted by palm reading.According to these scientists, people withlearning disabilities have distinctive patternsof lines on their palms. Other research indi-cated that the lines on the palm can reveal aperson’s susceptibility to heart disease, autism,anxiety, and schizophrenia.

M Delving Deeper

Fairchild, Dennis. Palm Reading: A Little Guide toLife’s Secrets. Philadlephia: Running Press, 1995.

Gibson, Walter B., and Litzka R. Gibson. The Com-plete Illustrated Book of the Psychic Sciences. Gar-den City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1966.



Palm reading at the

Festival of Mind, Body,

and Spirit. (GUY LYON

PLAYFAIR/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

Hazel, Peter. Palmistry Quick & Easy. St. Paul, Minn.:Llewellyn Publications, 2001.


“Palm Reading Shows Intelligence: Research.”Ananova,December 9, 2001. [Online] http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_469117.html.9 March 2002.

Petrie, Joda. 7 Ways to Tell Fortunes & Predict theFuture. New York: Award Books, 1968.


Prophets and Diviners

Thousands of years before the contempo-rary era, wise men and women listenedwhile murmuring springs and streams

spoke to them of what was to be, and theylooked through the brilliance of preciousstones into the world of tomorrow. Trees spoketo these early mediators between the gods andhumans, as did the wise serpent, the wolf, andthe birds that flew overhead.

Many centuries later, Chaldean priests con-templated the night sky and conceived the ideaof a supreme spirit from whom sprang a familiarhost of lesser deities. In the aftermath of thismodification of the traditional order of things,a caste of priests arose, vested with all knowl-edge of the occult. Subsequently these priestsbecame adept in the practice of divination,finding signs in the organs and intestines of sac-rificed animals and translating dancing shapesof flames and swirls of smoke into images offuture events. When the gods spoke directly toindividuals in the symbolic language of dreams,the priests were there to interpret. In these andother ways, the will of the cosmic rulers wasrevealed to their earthbound subjects.

The children of Israel, even though theyspurned the hordes of good and evil spirits rec-ognized throughout the ancient world, prac-ticed divination in several forms. The book ofGenesis records that Laban, the father ofRachel, who became the wife of Isaac, possessedTeraphim—instruments of divination whoseoracles were held to be of the highest truth.

Although the practice of sorcery and div-ination was forbidden to the Hebrews, the high

priests of Israel inquired of the Lord regardingthe future by means of the high priests’ jeweledEphod and the Urim and Thummim. Whenthe Lord failed to speak to him through theEphod, Saul (11th century B.C.E.), first king ofIsrael, resorted to necromancy, or divinationthrough the spirits of the dead. Saul entreatedthe fabled Witch of Endor to call up the spiritof the great prophet Samuel, only to hear hisown death foretold. According to tradition,Solomon (10th century B.C.E.), wisest of all theHebrew monarchs, foretold the future by con-sulting demons, which he summoned with hismagic lamp and great seal.

The Sphinx, the guardian of Egyptianmagic, served as an oracle for diviners of thatland. According to Plutarch, such thinkers asSolon, Thales, Pythagoras (c. 580–c. 500B.C.E.), and Lycurgus traveled to Egypt to con-verse with priests who heard the voice of theSphinx. Ancient magi solemnly testified thatthe statues of Egypt spoke, and when these ora-cles of hewn stone uttered their pronounce-ments, scribes wrote their words on rolls ofpapyrus while priests listened.

The Greeks saw in numbers the mysticalkeys to the Great Mind of the cosmos; and thefates of kingdoms, commerce, and humanlives hung on the enigmatic utterances of theDelphic oracle. A Greek sect called the psych-agogues conjured the spirits of the dead, whobrought petitions for their survivors as well asprophetic messages. With so many deities tokeep track of, it is no wonder that the Greekswere ever on the alert for omens, even in suchsimple phenomena as birds in flight and thesequence in which a fowl picked up kernels ofgrain. Socrates (c. 470–399 B.C.E.) foretoldthe future with the aid of his own familiarspirit, which replied to yes-and-no questionswith sneezes to the right or to the left.

The Roman emperors, while officially for-bidding divination, rewarded Chaldeanastrologers with drachmas when their readingswere favorable and with death or exile whenthey found adverse omens in the stars. Eventhe early Christian Church, which persecutedmagicians and soothsayers, found that the useof crosses, beads, and relics and bones of thesaints were useful aids in bringing the faithful





Austrian physician Franz Joseph Gall(1758–1828) speculated that differentmental functions are located in specificparts of the brain, therefore becoming the

first person to complete the theory of cerebral local-ization. In his book The Anatomy and Physiology ofthe Nervous System in General and the Brain in Par-ticular, a four-volume set published between 1810 and1819, Gall set down the principles that focused on thecontours and measurements of the human head asthe basis of his doctrine on cranioscopy or phrenolo-gy. (The word phrenology stems from phrenos, ormind, and logos, meaning study.)

Gall believed it possible to establish individualbehavior, personality, character, and strengths andweaknesses by studying the contours or bumps onthe head. Complete with topographical maps depict-ing and illustrating his findings, his book and theoriescaused a sensation that still continues today. Manyeither embraced and hailed phrenology as a new sci-ence, or shunned or scorned it at best, as a “pseudo-science.” Even today, there are some doctors, practi-tioners, societies, and websites advocating theauthenticity and accuracy of phrenology.

Perhaps because it appeared so logical, witheasy-to-follow maps and interpretations of them,phrenology provided a relatively simple diagnostictechnique, and caught on as a raving sensationthroughout parts of Europe and the United States. Thesupposed scientific, medical application of phrenolo-gy soon found its way into the hands of self-taughtand self-styled “experts” who exploited it. Phrenologybecame the basis for many things, from the selectionof marriage partners to employees for the workplace;as a diagnostic tool for mental illness to a way ofdetermining personality profiles— but mainly to gen-erate money. Phrenology parlors were everywherebetween 1820 and 1842, giving rise to many inven-tions. Phrenology machines made it possible for aperson to get a detailed interpretation of their person-ality by allowing a helmet to descend upon his or herhead and measure and read the bumps on the skull.Some of these machines and their history are pre-

served and on display in the Museum of QuestionableMedical Devices, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Sources:

Cooper, Helen, and Peter Cooper Heads, or the Art of

Phrenology. London: London Phrenology Co. Ltd., 1983.

Gall and Phrenology. [Online] http://human-nature.com/mba/

chap1.html. 22 November 2002.

Hedderly, Frances. Phrenology, A Study of Mind. London: L. N.

Fowler & Co. Ltd., 1970.

Phrenology

into a state of mind in which the voice of theHoly Spirit might be heard.

All human cultures throughout historyhave given great attention to their prophetsand seers. Perhaps the quintessential prophetis Nostradamus (1503–1566), whose namehas become synonymous with prophecy andwho is better known to the general publicthan any of the Old Testament prophets. TheFrench seer has inspired numerous books,countless articles, and a number of televisionspecials. Although his visions of the futurewere written in poetic verse and read like gib-berish to the skeptics, those who believe firm-ly in Nostradamus’s gift of prophecy quote hispredictions as if they were Holy Writ. Theclaim that Nostradamus had predicted thetragedy of the World Trade Center terroristattack on September 11, 2001, was widely cir-culated on the Internet and on talk radio. Thealleged prediction was soon exposed as a hoax,but not before thousands of books on Nos-tradamus were sold.

The twentieth century produced a numberof prophets who gathered their believers andprovoked their disbelievers, but none receivedthe mass attention of Edgar Cayce (1877–1945), the famous “sleeping prophet” of Vir-ginia Beach, and Jeane Dixon (1918–1997),Washington, D.C.’s “window on the world.”Although there will always be seers who willproduce an occasional startling prophecy thatcomes to pass and attract transient devoteesuntil the next prophet comes along with aneven more startling prediction, the trend atthe onset of the twenty-first century appearsto be individuals relying upon their own pow-ers of prophecy and the insights gained fromutilizing their own methods of divination.

M Delving Deeper

Cotterell, Arthur, ed. Encyclopedia of World Mytholo-gy. London: Dempsey Parr Books, 1999.

Gaskell, G. A. Dictionary of All Scriptures & Myths.Avenel, N.J.: Gramercy Books, 1981.



Edgar Cayce (1877–1945)

According to many, Edgar Cayce was one ofthe greatest clairvoyants of all time. Before hisdeath at the age of 67 in 1945, the “Seer ofVirginia Beach” went under self-induced hyp-nosis twice per day and gave more than 30,000trance readings—9,000 of them medical diag-noses. In his lifetime, Cayce earned the grati-tude of thousands of men, women, and chil-dren whose lives he had saved or improvedthrough his diagnoses of illnesses that hadescaped the examinations of highly trainedmedical personnel.

Always a controversial figure, Cayce wasderided by cynics who asked how a man whoseformal education had terminated with theninth grade could become a greater healerthan professional medical men with years oftraining behind them. His defenders werequick to point out that Edgar Cayce did notheal patients who sought his help, he merelydiagnosed their ailments—often with a coop-erating family physician standing at their side.

The skeptical German scholar Dr. HugoMunsterberg investigated Cayce in 1910 withthe announced intention of exposing him.Weeks later he left the seer to prepare anendorsement, rather than an expose, ofCayce’s work. In 1929 Dr. William MoseleyBrown, head of the psychology department atWashington and Lee University, declared,after an extensive investigation, that if everthere were such a thing as an authentic clair-voyant, that individual was Edgar Cayce. Theauthenticated cures attributed to Cayce’s diag-noses number in the thousands.

Cayce’s son, Hugh Lynn Cayce, once com-mented that his father had said that everyonewas psychic, “but for many people manifesta-tion of this ability can be very disturbing,upsetting, and in fact, it can even destroy thepersonality if it runs rampant in the person’slife. This can be damaging if the individual



THE practice of sorcery and divination wasforbidden to the Hebrews.

does not use these abilities constructively. Ifhe takes ego trips with it, or begins to fake it,the result can be destructive to the personali-ty, particularly that of young children.”

In 1931, the Association for Researchand Enlightenment (ARE) was chartered inthe state of Virginia as a nonprofit organiza-tion to conduct scientific and psychicalresearch based on the Cayce readings. In1947, two years after his death, the EdgarCayce Foundation was established. The origi-nal ARE has become the membership arm ofthe Cayce programs. The foundation is thecustodian of the original Cayce readings, andthe memorabilia of the great contemporaryseer’s life and career. Both are headquarteredin Virginia Beach, Virginia, and there aremore than 1,500 ARE study groups aroundthe world.

The ARE maintains an extensive library ofinformation concerning the entire field of psy-chical research and metaphysics, as well as theCayce materials. It also sponsors regular semi-nars, publishes a journal, and establishedAtlantic University as an environment inwhich various psychic attributes can be exam-ined and developed. Since the establishmentof the ARE, thousands of people from everycorner of the nation, as well as from aroundthe world, have journeyed to Virginia Beachto attend lectures and conferences and toinvestigate the information in the Cayce read-ings. Among these have been Jess Stern,author of Edgar Cayce—The Sleeping Prophet(1967) and Thomas Sugrue, author of There Isa River (1942), both of which are importantbooks about the life and work of Edgar Cayce.

Astonishing tales of clairvoyant feats suchas the location of missing persons, objects, andcriminals have filled many books by a numberof authors. Equally intriguing are the “life read-ings” that the seer gave regarding the pastincarnations of individuals. Others speak of theseries of trances in which Cayce gave a detailedrecreation of everyday life in ancient Atlantis,and spoke of the Great Crystal that poweredtheir society. According to his clairvoyantinsights, Cayce perceived a secret room in theSphinx, a veritable Hall of Records that wouldreveal many remarkable facts about the evolu-

tion of humankind on Earth. He also put for-ward a number of prophecies about the future.

In the period 1958 to 1998, Cayce foresaw anumber of dramatic geographic changes. Hepredicted a shifting of the poles, which wouldbe caused by the eruption of volcanoes in thetorrid zones. Open waters would appear northof Greenland, and new islands would rise in theCaribbean Sea. He also stated South Americawould be shaken by a violent earthquake.While these cataclysmic events have not yetoccurred, many of Cayce’s followers believethat there are definite signs that such geograph-ic changes are in the process of manifesting.

Long before his death in 1945, Cayceappeared to envision the racial strife that layahead. “He [the African American] is thybrother!” Cayce said while in trance. “Thosewho caused or brought servitude to him with-out thought or purpose have created thatwhich must be met within their own principles,within their own selves.…For He hath made ofone blood the nations of the earth!…Raise notdemocracy above the brotherhood of man, thefatherhood of God.”

As early as 1938, Cayce foresaw difficulty forRussia as long as its people were denied freedomof speech and the right to worship. Then, in aprovocative vision, he declared, “…throughRussia comes the hope of the world—not inrespect to that which is sometimes termedCommunism or Bolshevism—no! But freedom!That each man will live for his fellowman.”

Hugh Lynn Cayce died on July 4, 1982, inVirginia Beach. Posthumously, a collection ofhis speeches concerning Edgar Cayce’s teach-ings on Jesus and Christianity was publishedunder the title The Jesus I Knew. Hugh Lynn’sson Charles Thomas Cayce became the presi-dent of the ARE in 1976 after his father suf-fered a heart attack, and he still serves theorganization in that position.

M Delving Deeper

Boltan, Brett, ed. Edgar Cayce Speaks. New York:Avon Books, 1969.

Carroll, Robert Todd. “Edgar Cayce.” InThe Skeptic’sDictionary. [Online] http://skepdic.com/cayce.html.

Cayce, Hugh Lynn. Venture Inward. New York: Paper-back Library, 1966.



Cerminara, Gina. Many Mansions. New York:William Morrow, 1950.

Stearn, Jess. Edgar Cayce—The Sleeping Prophet. NewYork: Doubleday, 1967.

Sugrue, Thomas. There Is a River: The Story of EdgarCayce. New York: H. Holt and Co., 1942.

Delphic Oracles

The famed Oracle of Delphi on the slopes ofMt. Parnassos in Greece made known the willof the gods to rulers, philosophers, generals,

politicians, and anyone else of reasonably highstatus who was anxious to hear a favorableword from the gods. For centuries, the Templeof Apollo at Delphi in central Greece con-tained the most prestigious oracle in the Grae-co-Roman world, a favorite of public officialsand individuals alike. At various timesthroughout its long history, the oracle was saidto relay prophetic messages and words of coun-sel from Python, the wise serpent son of theMother-goddess Delphyne or from the Moon-goddess Artemis through their priestess daugh-



Painting depicting

Aegeus of Athens

consulting the Oracle of

Delphi. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

ters, the Pythonesses or Pythia. Then, accord-ing to myth, the god Apollo murdered Del-phyne and claimed the shrine and the Pythiafor himself, imprisoning the serpent seer in therecesses of a cave beneath the temple. Thename of Delphi means “womb,” and suggeststhe journey that the seekers of propheticknowledge had to take as they entered thecave of the Pythoness and descended deeperinto the mystical recesses of the oracle, deeperinto the womb of Mother Earth.

The Pythia would await the seekers whileseated upon a three-legged seat, or tripod, andit was from such a perch that she would issueher prophetic utterances. The many tripodsscattered throughout the cave were, in essence,individual altars for her sister priestesses, thethree legs symbolizing the connection betweenthem and the triadic spirit of prophecy.

In the summer of 2001, Jelle de Boer of Wes-leyan University in Connecticut and coworkersdiscovered a previously unknown geologicalfault that passes through the sanctuary of theTemple of Apollo. Such a crossing makes thebitumen-rich limestone found there much morepermeable to gases and groundwater. Theresearchers went on to speculate that seismicactivity on the faults could have heated suchdeposits, releasing light hydrocarbon gases, suchas ethylene, a sweet-smelling gas that was onceused in certain medical procedures as an anes-thetic. Although fatal if inhaled in large quanti-ties for too long a period of time, in small dosesethylene stimulates the central nervous systemand produces a sensation of euphoria and afloating feeling conducive to an oracle’s visions.

M Delving Deeper

Cotterell, Arthur, ed. Encyclopedia of World Mytholo-gy. London: Dempsey Parr Books, 1999.

De Boer, J. Z., J. R. Hale, and J. Chanton. “New Evi-dence of the Geological Origins of the AncientDelphic Oracle.” Geology 29 (2001): 707–710.

Gaskell, G. A. Dictionary of All Scriptures & Myths.Avenel, N.J.: Gramercy Books, 1981.

Piccardi, L. “Active Faulting at Delphi, Greece: Seis-motectonic Remarks and a Hypothesis for theGeologic Environment of a Myth.” Geology 28(2001): 651–54.


Jeane Dixon (1918–1997)

According to a popular story concerning theremarkable abilities of the seeress JeaneDixon, President Franklin D. Roosevelt(1882–1945) took the time one day in 1944 toclear his desk so that he might give undividedattention to her predictions concerning thoseterrible days during World War II (1939–45).After she had answered his questions aboutthe efforts on the various military fronts, heasked her directly how much longer he wouldhave to carry out the tasks that he had setbefore himself.

As if she had expected the question, shewarned him as compassionately as she couldthat he would have very little time. The presi-dent was not satisfied. He wanted a more spe-cific answer. She told him, then, that hewould have no longer than the middle of thefollowing year.

According to those who hold that JeaneDixon was the most famous and accurate seerof political events in the twentieth century,she correctly predicted the results of everypresidential election, foretold the deaths ofU.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold(1905–1961) and President John F. Kennedy(1917–1963), predicted that the Russianswould win the race into space, and in generalforesaw events on both personal and interna-tional scales too numerous to mention. Adevout Roman Catholic who faithfully



Psychic Jean Dixon

(1918–1997). (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

attended Mass each morning, Dixon was con-vinced that the gift of prophecy that she pos-sessed was closely associated with the power ofGod, and she claimed to be cautious that shedid not abuse this ability. In the 1960s, whenshe was hailed as “Washington’s Window tothe Future,” she ran a profitable real estateconcern in Washington, D.C., with her hus-band, James L. Dixon.

There seemed to be no standard procedure tothis seer’s prophetic insights. They came toher at various times, in various places, and invarious emotional states. In the book The Callto Glory (1971), she envisioned herself as aprophet who issued predictions in order to ful-fill the mission that God had given her. Thebook’s acknowledgements named Rev.Stephen Hartdegen, a Roman Catholic priest,as her “personal religious consultant” for thebook. Dixon appeared to believe firmly that itwas her God-given mission to predict thechange in the top leadership positions of Sovi-et Russia while in front of television cameras,or while under a beautician’s hair drier, towarn the woman sitting next to her to avoidan approaching airline disaster.

In 1956, for an interview in Parade maga-zine, Dixon was asked to predict the results ofthe 1960 presidential election. She foretoldthat the election would be won by a Democ-rat, but that he would either be assassinated ordie in office. In the 1960 presidential electionmany friends remembered her prediction.Even though Richard Nixon (1913–1994),the Republican candidate, would have morevotes than Kennedy, the candidate on theDemocrat’s ticket, Kennedy would becomepresident and, tragically, die while in office.Although the account of Dixon’s famousKennedy prediction was recalled in RuthMontgomery’s three million-copy bestseller AGift of Prophecy: The Phenomenal Jeane Dixon(1966), many skeptics have pointed out that

Montgomery neglected to include the seeress’s1960 prediction that John F. Kennedy woulddefinitely fail to win the presidency.

In spite of those who were skeptical of thetrue accuracy of her predictions, Jeane Dixon’smany supporters insisted that her propheticpowers extended beyond the political sphere.According to numerous accounts, with but thebarest knowledge of the people involved, shewas been able to predict murders, suicides, theresults of horse races, fires, and accidents.Once she was able to foresee the number thatwould win a raffle and purchased the corre-sponding ticket for her husband. He won a car.

After the death of Josef Stalin (1879–1953), world interest focused on Russia’s nextprime minister. When Georgy Malenkov(1902–1988) was finally elevated to the posi-tion, Jeane Dixon was asked before a nationaltelevision audience how long Malenkovwould be prime minister of the Soviet Union.The question was asked by the former U.S.ambassador to the Soviet Union, JosephDavies, and he was obviously dubious aboutDixon’s prophetic power.

Using a crystal ball to focus her attention,Jeane Dixon said that Malenkov would bepremier for less than two years. AmbassadorDavies disagreed with Dixon in a tone thatapproached open mockery. He was sure thatno premier of the Soviet Union would ever bereplaced. It seemed in the nature of Russianpolitics that the leader would either be assassi-nated or die a natural death before anotherman could take over.

But Dixon stood firm. While smoothlyacknowledging the ambassador’s superior knowl-edge of the Russian situation, she nonethelesspredicted that Malenkov’s replacement would bea portly military man with wavy hair, green eyes,and a goatee. Davies had been in Russia formany years and said that he knew of no suchman. Ignoring his apparent skepticism, Dixonwent on to predict that not only would the Rus-sians win the race into space, they would alsodictate the terms of world peace.

Premier Malenkov was replaced by NikolaiBulganin (1895–1975). Malenkov was notkilled, and the new premier was exactly asDixon had described him: “. . . a portly military



JEANE Dixon foretold the death of U.S.President John F. Kennedy.

man with wavy hair, green eyes, and a goatee,”a comparatively unknown figure to the West.In 1957 Russia launched the first successfulartificial Earth satellite, but Dixon was incor-rect when she predicted that the Soviets wouldbeat the United States to the moon. And, ofcourse, far from dictating the terms of worldpeace, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Dixon’s popularity enabled her to write acolumn on astrology that was nationally syn-dicated and to write a series of books, includ-ing My Life and Prophecies (1968), Yesterday,Today and Forever (1976), Jeane Dixon’s Astro-logical Cookbook (1976), and A Gift of Prayer(1995). In 1962, she told Ronald Reagan(1911– ) one day he would be president, andfor a number of years, she served as the Rea-gans’ astrological advisor.

Dixon’s list of annual predictions inspiredmany recordkeepers doubtful of her gift ofprophecy to maintain a tally of her hits andmisses. Skeptic Robert Todd Carroll declaredmost of her predictions to have been “equivo-cal, vague, or mere possibility claims.” JohnAllen Paulos, a mathematician at Temple Uni-versity, coined the term “the Jeane Dixoneffect” to describe the manner in which themedia and a believing public would loudly pro-claim a few accurate predictions and overlookthe much larger number of incorrect forecasts.

When Jeane Dixon died from cardiopul-monary arrest on January 25, 1997, sheremained a remarkable prophet in the eyes ofher admirers, a spiritually devout woman whofulfilled her mission from God by sharing withthe public her gifts of prophecy.

M Delving Deeper

Bringle, Mary. Jeane Dixon: Prophet or Fraud? NewYork: Tower Books, 1970.

Carroll, Robert Todd. “Jeane Dixon and the JeaneDixon Effect.” InThe Skeptic’s Dictionary, [Online]http://skepdic.com/dixon.html. 20 May 2002.

Delfano, M. M. The Living Prophets. New York: DellBooks, 1972.

Montgomery, Ruth. A Gift of Prophecy: The Phenome-nal Jeane Dixon. New York: Bantam Books, 1966.

“Psychic Jeane Dixon Dies—‘Astrologer to Stars’ HadLegions of Believers.” CNN Interactive, January26, 1997. [Online] http://www.cnn.com/ SHOW-BIZ/9701/26/dixon/index.html. 20 May 2002.

Irene Hughes (c. 1926– )

In 1966 with her vision of the exact dates for agreat Chicago blizzard, Irene Hughes soonbecame known widely as the “Chicago Seer-ess.” She has foretold deaths, assassinations,marriages, divorces, winning teams in sports,major weather disasters, and the outcome ofelections. Notarized statements, personal let-ters of affirmation, and newspaper records,have validated her predictions. She has pre-dicted the following: In 1966, the Middle East-ern War of June 1967; in January 1967 Presi-dent Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) wouldnot seek another term, which he announced inApril of that year; in November 1967,theassassination of Robert Kennedy (1925–1968),which occurred in June 1968; in 1969, a“tragedy for Senator Kennedy, in or aroundwater” prior to Edward “Ted” Kennedy’s(1932– ) crisis at Chappaquidick when theautomobile that he was driving went into thewater, drowning one of his campaign workers.In 1987 she published her prediction of aplummeting stock market and told a group ofmillionaires that the market would drop “400points” on the following Monday. On “BlackMonday,” the market dropped 500 points. Twoweeks before Princess Diana’s (1961–1997)



Irene Hughes. (ARCHIVES

OF BRAD STEIGER)

death in 1997, Hughes told her radio audiencethat the princess was in a death cycle and thather death would occur soon.

An area in which she has devoted particu-lar attention has been that of offering psychicassistance to criminal investigators. In allcases, the police solicited Hughes’s help.

Hughes’s experience with the law and herown research into all phases of psychic phe-nomena has given her time to give thought tothe matter of psychics and possible legal con-flicts. “It should be stressed that the informa-tion a psychic gives to police officers shouldbe for their use alone to check out and turninto factual evidence,” she said. “No psychicinformation should ever be used in court with-out the police having first checked it out andproved it to be accurate.”

M Delving Deeper

Hughes, Irene. ESPecially, Irene: A Guide to PsychicAwareness. Blavelt, N.Y.: Rudolf Steiner Publica-tions, 1972.

Irene Hughes. [Online] http://www.irene-psychic.com. 29 May 2002.

Steiger, Brad. Know the Future Today. New York:Paperback Library, 1970.

Olof Jonsson (1918–1998)

In February 1971 all the media was abuzz withrumors that one of the astronauts on theApollo 14 mission was conducting a Moon-to-Earth ESP experiment with a psychic-sensi-tive somewhere on Earth. On February 26,Life magazine was revealed that Chicago-based Olof Jonsson was the psychic who hadbeen chosen to participate with astronautEdgar Mitchell in the experiment. Jonssonwas considered the most tested, tried, labora-tory-evaluated psychic-sensitive in the UnitedStates and Scandinavia.

In March 1952, Jonsson’s psychic detectivework led to a murderer responsible for thedeaths of 13 victims. In each instance, the manattempted to destroy evidence by torching thehome of his victim. The murderer turned out tobe the police officer assigned to work closelywith Jonsson on the investigation. When theofficer realized the investigation was directedtoward him, he committed suicide.

Jonsson came to the United States in 1953to be investigated by the well-known parapsy-chologist Dr. J. B. Rhine. For the next 14 yearsJonsson submitted to testing at various ESPtesting laboratories. He would sit guessingZener cards—the classic testing deck consistingof the symbols cross, square, wavy line, circle,and star—by the hundreds or the thousands.

In 1978, Olof Jonsson joined a crew of 11treasure hunters, including President Ferdi-nand Marcos (1917–1989) of the Philippines,to locate the gold that had been plundered byJapanese officers during World War II andhidden on the islands. Jonsson was instru-mental in locating several mineshafts con-taining more than $2 billion in gold. Jonssonand a number of the other treasure huntersrecalled later how the mine shafts were filledwith the sorrowful spirits of the men andwomen the Japanese military had enslaved todo the digging.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Jonssonjoined numerous treasure hunters who soughtthe watery graves of ships that had gone downwith cargo on board. Although he continuedto be successful in these quests, Jonssonreceived little income from these enterprises.

M Delving Deeper

Psi-Stjarna. [Online] http://paranormal.se/topic/olof_jonsson.html. 23 November 2002.

Margaret Harrell’s website. [Online] http://www.marharrell.com/Pages/NDonO1.html.

Seagrave, Sterling. The Marcos Dynasty. New York:Harper & Row, 1988.

Steiger, Brad. The Psychic Feats of Olof Jonsson. Engle-wood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971.

Nostradamus (1503—1566)

On December 14, 1503, Michel de Nostredamebegan a life that was destined to be filled withpolitical intrigues, Renaissance rationalism,and mysticism. Born in Saint-Remy inProvence, France, Nostradamus came from along line of Jewish ancestors who had firstcome to Europe during the Dispersion. Some-time before his birth, Nostradamus’s parentshad publicly converted to Roman Catholicismbecause of a papal edict decreeing disfavor toall those who were not of the Christian faith.



However, during their son’s formative years, thereligious practice of the family had become acurious blend of Catholic and Jewish customs.In addition, there was a strong current of mysti-cism in the family. Young Michel’s grandfatherwas considered one of the most influentialastrologists on the entire continent.

When he was old enough, Nostradamuswas sent off to study liberal arts at Avignon.His great interest was in studying astrology,and this prompted his practical-minded fatherto reconsider the choice of vocation he hadmade for his son. The next time Nostradamuswas sent to school it was to Paris, and there hestudied to become a man of medicine. Afteralmost four years of intensive study, Nos-tradamus passed his examinations and wasallowed to establish a practice. His plans tocontinue study for the doctorate were disrupt-ed when the plague struck Southern France.

Nostradamus is said to have been success-ful in his treatment of the Black Death, eventhough some of his fellow doctors complainedthat his methods were unorthodox. Later hereturned to the University of Paris and thereearned his doctorate. He accepted a positionat the university and also married.

His unorthodox interests and unquench-able desire to travel made him unhappy in theuniversity setting, but his deep affection for hisfamily enabled him to achieve some satisfac-tion. After his wife had borne him two chil-dren, another outbreak of the plague swept hisfamily away. Grief stricken, Nostradamus aban-doned his practice and set about wanderingacross Europe. It was during this period that hefirst began to cultivate his prophetic powers.

As he wandered, he made predictionswhich would later make him famous. Whiletraveling in Italy, Nostradamus saw a youngFranciscan monk coming toward him. He wasan ex-swineherd named Felice Peretti fromAncona. As the young monk passed, theprophet bent one knee to the ground devoutly,in an attitude of deep respect. Afterwards, Nos-tradamus’s traveling companions questionedhim about his strange behavior. His reply wasthat he must submit himself and bend a kneebefore His Holiness. In 1585, Cardinal Perettibecame Pope Sixtus V (1520–1590).

Everywhere the seer went he was in greatdemand. Once, visiting a noble family inFrance, he spotted two pigs running togetherside by side. Nostradamus told his host thatthat evening they would eat the black one,and the wolf would eat the white one.

The host decided on a plot to foil theprophet. He ordered the cook to slaughter thewhite pig and serve it for supper. The cook didas he was ordered. But while he had his backto the spitted carcass, a wolf cub that the fami-ly had been attempting to domesticate stoleup to it and began making a meal of the fresh-ly killed animal. Eventually the cook chasedthe cub away, but he knew that he could notput an apple in a mutilated pig’s mouth anddrop it on the master’s table. So the cook hadthe other pig, the black one, butchered andprepared for the master’s table that evening.

That evening at dinner, the noble French-man explained to his guest how he hadarranged to fool him by ordering the cook toprepare the white pig and not the black one.As respectfully as possible, Nostradamus dis-agreed. The cook was summoned to settle thematter, and the entire story was brought tolight, showing the exact fulfillment of Nos-tradamus’s prediction.

Later in his life, the great prophet wassummoned to give a reading for Catherine deMedici (1519–1589), the queen mother andcontroller of France. She was concerned forher children, and no prophet in his right mindwould have told her what was to happen tothem even if he could have envisioned it.Catherine’s children were all destined to dieyoung as the result of political intrigues.

Perhaps because of the nature of the inspi-ration Nostradamus received, but more likelybecause of public response, the prophet beganto hide his predictions in obscure poetic lan-guage. It would have been sheer folly to tell



NOSTRADAMUS believed he was guidedin his prophecies by the angel Anael.

the ruthless Catherine de Medici that all herchildren were destined for miserable deaths.His only recourse was to disguise the uglytruth in poetry and preserve his own skin.

In his astrological studies, which he turnedto late in his career, Nostradamus, who believedhe was guided in his prophecies by the angelAnael, also resorted to poetic quatrains, four-line verses, arranged in groups of 100 (Cen-turies). According to many Nostradamus schol-ars and enthusiasts, a large number of prophe-cies contained in these quatrains were fulfilled.Those who believe in his prophetic powersinsist that Nostradamus foresaw airplanes, rock-ets, submarines, and many great historic events.Other more skeptical researchers believe theprophecies to be nonsensical gibberish.

In a famous quatrain that many feel refersto Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), Nostradamuswrites that a son of Germany named “Hister”

will obey no laws. Skeptic James Randi’s trans-lation, however, points out that “Hister” refersto a geographical region, rather than a person.

Some believe that Nostradamus foresaw thedownfall of Communism in a quatrain that says“the law of More” (a widely read treatise oncommunal living in Nostradamus’s time) willbe seen to decline because of “another muchmore attractive doctrine.” But the seer missedhis target on another interesting prophecy thathad to do with a masculine woman, who, at thetime of the double eclipse in July and August1999, would rise to power in Russia.

According to some interpreters, Nos-tradamus foresaw the decline of the papacy inthe year 2000. While some may argue thatsuch a decline has begun, others will counterthat in many ways the papacy has a greaterworld influence in the twenty-first centurythat it has enjoyed for quite some time.Another quatrain tells of the next-to-lastpope declaring Monday as his day of rest andwandering far because of a frantic need todeliver his people from economic pressures.

A last great battle, in which the “barbarianempire” shall be defeated, is determined bysome interpreters of Nostradamus as beingpredicted for the year 2332. In this last battleof Armageddon, a young German leader willforce the warring nations to lay down theirarms and observe a lasting world peace. Nos-tradamus and a host of other prophets havedesignated Palestine as the site for this lastdesperate warfare.

Perhaps the controversial prophet’s mostunusual prediction was fulfilled in June 1566.That month, although Nostradamus had notsuffered an unhealthy day in his life, he diedafter a short illness. Nostradamus had previ-ously informed his physician that he would dieon June 25, and he upheld his reputation as aseer by doing so.

M Delving Deeper

Cheetham, Erika. The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus.New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1990.

Crockett, Arthur. Nostradamus: Unpublished Prophe-cies the Untold Story. New Brunswick, N.J.: InnerLight, 1983.



Michel Nostradamus.


Hogue, John. Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies.Element Books, 1997.

Randi, James. The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophe-cies of the World’s Most Famous Seer. Buffalo, N.Y.:Prometheus Books, 1993.


Mother Shipton

Often called the world’s most famous prophet-ess, Mother Shipton was born in a cave besidethe River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England in1488. Previously known as Ursula Sontheil,she would display supernatural powers by theage two that earned her the nickname of Childof the Devil.

Although little is known about the rest ofher youth, stories circulated about an incidentthat occurred early in her childhood. Uponreturning to her house after doing an errand,her foster mother found the door wide openand Ursula missing. Reporting dreadful wail-ing and strange noises coming from the house,the neighbors told a story of an invisible forcethat wouldn’t let them enter the kitchen.Together, they all returned to the house to dis-cover the girl sitting in the kitchen. Com-pletely naked, Ursula was sitting on the iron

bar in the chimney from which the cookinghooks were suspended, pleased that she hadwreaked havoc. From that time on, gossipspread and rumors abounded about her grow-ing uncanny abilities.

In addition to being mischievous, Ursulamade rhymes or prose of events or circum-stances that would often come true. She suf-fered from a physical deformity that made her avictim of merciless teasing, and she soon devel-oped what seemed a power to reap revenge onthose who did so. For the most part, Ursula wasan oddity, and said to even be feared by many.

Accused of using witchcraft in order tomake a man fall for her, she married TobyShipton, a carpenter, in 1512. Ursula Shiptoncontinued to tell fortunes and predict events.Her fame spread throughout Europe, for herpredictions in riddle that forecast such eventsas the Fire of London in 1666, the defeat ofthe Spanish Armada in 1588, and future tech-nology. Born fifteen years before Nostradamus,it is reputed that she predicted the end of theworld and even predicted her own end, withher death in 1561.

Although the first known edition of MotherShipton’s prophesies appeared in print in 1641,(The Propheceyes of Mother Shipton…Fortelling



Drawing of the famous

witch Mother Shipton.


the Death of Cardinall Wolsey, the Lord of Percy,and others, As Also What Should Happen in Insu-ing Times), by an anonymous author, eightyyears after her death, it was also published inLondon by Richard Lowndes. It was a 1684 edi-tion by Richard Head and edited by CharlesHindley, which included her earliest biographi-cal data. Both Hindley and Head, in later years,said the whole thing was a hoax and they madeup and invented most of the details of her life.

There is controversy as to whether or notShipton ever really existed outside of legend.Some say thirteen of her prophecies wereaccurate and fulfilled; while others say shemay have been a real person, but her prophe-cies were all part of the legend and were writ-ten after the events had already come true.

M Delving Deeper

Shipton, Mother. Mother Shipton’s Fortune Teller; Or,Future Fate Foretold by the Planets. New York:Padell Book Co.: 1944.

Harrison, W. H. Holmes. Mother Shipton Investigated.The Result of a Critical Examination of the ExtantLiterature Relating to the Yorkshire Sybil. London:Holmes Publishing Group LLC: 2001.

Windsor, Diana. Mother Shipton’s Prophecy Book: TheStory of Her Life and Most Famous Prophecies.London: Wolverson Publishing: 1988.

Weed, Joseph J. Complete Guide to Oracle and Prophe-cy Methods. New York: Parker Publishing. 1975.

Glass, Justine. They Foresaw the Future. The Story ofFulfilled Prophecy. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.1969.

Scrying/Crystal

Gazing/Crystalomancy

For many centuries, those who woulddivine the future have assisted their clair-voyant abilities by crystal gazing, known

technically as scrying. This method of divina-tion is of such vast antiquity that it would beimpossible to state exactly where it originated.It is known that both the ancient Egyptiansand Babylonians scryed by means of gazinginto low, open stone dishes filled with palm oil.But who can say for certain when the firstdiviner entered into an altered state of con-sciousness while gazing into a pool of water, acrystal globe, the surface of a polished gem, orany transparent object and received what he orshe believed to be a vision of the future?

The practice of scrying consists of fixedlygazing into a crystal ball, often placed upon ablack cloth in order to shut out all brillianthighlights and reflections.

In place of a crystal ball, scryers will occa-sionally use the surface of a pool or a glass orsaucer full of water, ink, oil, or other liquids.Such surfaces, when used by scryers for the pur-pose of divination, are known under the nameof “speculum.” In other instances, scryers willutilize a large piece of natural quartz crystal toserve as their window into other dimensions.

In their instructions to those who wouldbe scryers or crystal gazers, practitioners of theart advise the apprentice to make their mind ablank. They should gaze, rather than stare,steadily at the crystal, blinking as little as pos-sible. It is also advised that they should notextend such steadfast gazes for more than fiveminutes at a time. If their eyes begin to water,this may be taken as an indication that theirtime limit has been reached. They shouldthen end their experimentation without delay.

Sooner or later, the accomplished scryerspromise, the crystal ball or the scrying devicewill cloud over and, when this passes, smallfigures may be seen moving about in the crys-tal itself. A varying panorama, not unlike



Charlie Chan portrayed

by actor Sidney Toler as

he gazes into a crystal

ball. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)



Predicting the future

using a crystal ball and

tarot cards. (PHILIP

PANTON/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

miniature motion pictures, will develop, andcertain scenes portraying the future or the pastwill be played out before their eyes. Such pic-tures and scenes—whether they are of familiaror strange locations—do not actually appearin the ball, crystal, or liquid; they are merelyprojected into the object by the subconsciousmind of the scryers.

If beginners are unable to see anything inthe crystal or the liquid, the experienced prac-titioners remind them that they can attemptto train their latent ability. They suggest vari-ous exercises, such as strengthening their visu-al memory by first looking at a certain objectin the room and then trying to project it,mentally, into the crystal. Neophytes mightalso close their eyes for a few minutes, think-ing intensely of someone well known to them,and then trying with their eyes open to visual-ize a picture of that person in the crystal.

M Delving Deeper



Post, Eric G. Communicating with the Beyond. NewYork: Atlantic Publishing, 1946.

Tea Leaf Reading

(Tasseography)

Acenturies-old method of divining thefuture involves the interpretation of thefragments of tea leaves at the bottom of

a client’s cup. The first rule to follow in tea leafor tea cup reading, also known as tasseography,is to brew the tea in a pot without a strainer inorder to allow sufficient bits of leaves to enterthe cup. Obviously, tea bags will not work atall. For those who prefer reading coffeegrounds, the same rule applies: fresh-brewedcoffee—no instant coffee or coffee bags. Therest of the rules that follow regarding tea leafreading are also those required for the interpre-tation of coffee grounds.

The best results in a reading will beobtained from a white or light-colored cup

with a wide top. The person whose fortune isto be read must drink the tea, leaving a littlein the bottom of the cup. Once the tea hasbeen drunk, the subject of the reading shouldslowly move the cup from left to right threetimes, thereby distributing some of the leavesaround the sides of the cup.

At this point, most tea leaf readers may sitfor a few minutes in silence, allowing the psy-chic rapport to be better established with theclient. When they feel a mental connection hasbeen made, the readers will take the cup fromthe client and begin an interpretation of thesymbols made by the bits of leaf within the cup.There are some readers who prefer to have theirclient shake the cup to be certain the leaves arescattered around its surface and then place itupside down on the saucer. When the cup hasbeen emptied, it is handed to the reader forinterpretation of the leaf particles. Whichevermethod the individual reader prefers, they allagree that the first impression upon looking intothe cup is the most important.

Experienced readers take in the total pat-tern of the leaves and envision the varioussymbols in terms of the whole picture beforepicking up on individual details. Again, thereis little dogma among tea leaf readers. Forsome, the rim of the cup represents the future;the bottom, the past. For others, the rim repre-sents the present, the sides predict the future,and the bottom foretells the very distantfuture. There seems some consensus that thecup’s handle stands for the client’s home lifeand personal environment, so the nearer thesymbol to the handle, the sooner it will occur.

If the reader sees some of the specks of tealeaves as forming numbers, these may be inter-preted as representing time—hours, days,weeks, months, depending upon other impres-sions received by the reader. If the reader envi-sions some bits of leaves as letters of the alpha-bet, they usually represent people close to theclient. Very small specks, appearing as dots,indicate a journey for the client. Larger dotsindicate money coming soon. Leaf residue thatappears to be arranged in a wavy line suggestuncertainty. Straight lines represent a definitecourse of action that must be followed carefully.If the reader interprets any specks as stars or tri-



angles, the indication is good fortune; circles,great success; squares, a need to be cautious.

The reputation of any tea leaf reader isdependent upon his or her innate psychicability and an imaginative interpretation ofthe meaning of the symbols that have beenformed by the scattered bits of leaf. Here aresome suggested interpretations of tea leafimagery that seem somewhat common amongtea leaf and coffee grounds readers:

• Angel: Good news is on the way. Someone iswatching out for your best interests.

• Ant: You are an industrious person, butthere is more hard work ahead for you.

• Axe: Someone near to you may be planningto stab you in the back with lies or deceit.

• Bear: Trouble ahead.

• Bell: Good news. Perhaps a wedding day willsoon be set.

• Bird: There is a journey to be planned soon.It will be pleasant and productive.

• Cat: Keep your eye on a treacherous friendor relative.

• Clouds: If the flecks are scattered, troubleswill soon be over. If they are solidly grouped,financial woes will soon materialize.

• Flies or other insects: Minor annoyances willsoon become major problems if not dealtwith immediately.

• Flowers: Love or an important honor isabout to come to you.

• Frog: Be ready to make a dramatic change inyour life.

• Heart: There is someone close to you inwhom you may always confide.



Tea leaf reading.


• Horseshoe: Go ahead with your plans. Theoutcome will be fortunate.

• Hour glass: Take more time to make yourdecision.

• Knife: Avoid misunderstandings with thoseclosest to you. Be more mindful of yourhealth. Beware of a potential lawsuit.

• Moon: If it appears full, there is romanceahead for you. A half moon represents a timeto leave old projects for new. The quartermoon warns against making hasty decisions.

• Ring: There is an approaching marriage orengagement for you or someone close to you.

• Snake: A small misfortune will only slightlyimpede your plans for success, for you willeasily overcome its ill effects.

• Wheel: You or someone close to you are aboutto receive great advances in work and willsoon receive much needed financial increases.

• Woman: Your great desire is for love and ahappy family life.

M Delving Deeper




Woodruff, Maurice. The Secrets of Foretelling YourOwn Future. New York: Signet, 1969.


clairvoyant Someone who has an ability orinsight to perceive or see objects, events oractions in a supernatural way, beyond thenormal senses.

cosmos From the Greek kosmos meaning“order, universe, ornament.” The entireuniverse as regarded in an orderly, harmo-nious and integrated whole.

deity From late Latin deitas “divine nature,”and deus “god.” A divine being or some-body or something with the essentialnature of a divinity, such as a god, goddess.

The Dispersion From the Greek diasporameaning to scatter or disperse. Refers to theperiod in history when the Jewish peoplewere forced to scatter in countries outside ofPalestine after the Babylonian captivity.

haruspicy A method of divining or telling thefuture by examining the entrails of animals.

horoscope From Greek horoskopos, literallymeaning “time observer” and from horameaning “time, or hour,” referring to thetime of birth. A diagram or astrologicalforecast based on the relative position inthe heavens of the stars and planets in thesigns of the zodiac, at any given moment,but especially at the moment of one’sbirth.

neophyte From the Greek neophutos meaning“newly planted.” A person who is a newconvert to a religion or religious communi-ty. Somebody who is a beginner at anendeavor or task.

soothsayer From Middle English, literallymeaning “somebody who speaks the truth.”Someone who claims to have the ability toforetell future events.



ATEA leaf reader’s reputation is dependentupon their innate psychic ability and an imaginative

interpretation of the meaning of symbols.

Chapter 8

Objects of

Mystery and Power

An object of mystery and power can be an

everyday object that an individual believes

brings good luck or fortune, ranging from

an item of clothing that was worn when

some great personal success was achieved,

to an antique necklace passed on from

generation to generation by a revered

member of the family tree. In addition to

such items of personal significance,

individuals prize objects that reportedly

brought victory or good fortune to heroes of

long ago. Still others search for mysterious

relics imbued with supernatural attributes

that have accomplished miracles so that

such powers might be theirs.

167

Chapter Exploration

Amulets

BellsBloodstone

CandlesCauldronCrystals

Fairy CirclesGarlic

Hand of GloryHorseshoes

KnifeLove Knots

Mandrake RootMaypoleMirror

MistletoeRingsSalt

SilverStones for Healing and Energy

TreesVoodoo Dolls

Tribal Empowerment

Crystal SkullsFetishes

MegalithsRunes

TalismansTotems

Things of Sacred Power

The Ark of the CovenantCrosses

The Holy GrailPhilosopher’s Stone

The Spear of DestinySwastikas

Introduction

Objects of power and mystery rangefrom ancient stone structures withpuzzling origins and purposes, to leg-

endary lost relics that reportedly reappearedcenturies later, to everyday objects that arebelieved to have special powers that will bringgood fortune to the bearer.

Salt, for example, represents life andhealth to many people: it has been used as aflavor enhancer and food preservative sinceancient times. A superstition for new parentsin Europe and the Americas involves placingsalt in a baby’s cradle to protect the infantuntil it is baptized; a similar custom in someMiddle Eastern countries calls for babies to berubbed with salt to protect them from demons.It’s bad luck in many cultures to spill salt, butthere is a quick way to recover: toss a pinch ofsalt with the right hand over the left shoulderin order to stave off any bad luck resultingfrom the salt spill. Throwing salt over one’sleft shoulder is also believed to be a way toward off the devil, who is said to look over theleft shoulder of people; the salt tossed over theshoulder goes into the devil’s eyes.

Some people keep or carry a certain objectthey believe brings them good luck and helpsward off bad fortune. Those items are based onsuperstition, religious belief, cultural practices,or personal associations. A “good luck charm,”an object that symbolizes some importantevent, or a sacred religious item all possess somesignificance that combines with personal con-viction to bring a sense of power, protection,and influence. The word “charm,” however, didnot always refer to an object of good luck. Inthe past, a charm was an incantation or inscrip-tion meant to result in an act of magic.

Amulets and talismans are objects intendedto attract good luck and ward off bad luck. Anamulet is most often a stone or a piece of metalwith either an inscription or figures engravedon it. When talismans are crafted, the makerusually follows a ritual in order to infuse the tal-isman with a certain power. For example, a tal-isman crafted for a particular individual mightbe made of a metal corresponding to the quali-ties associated with a person’s astrological sign.

The metal would have to be melted and forgedduring a positive astrological cycle.

Just as powerful in stirring the imaginationare items associated with Judaism and Chris-tianity that were lost in ancient times and wereclaimed to be recovered later. No physical evi-dence is available to determine that suchobjects ever existed, but they continue to bepursued. Sometimes, distinctions between whatis real or imagined become blurred. The HolyGrail is never mentioned in the Bible, forexample, but by medieval times it was popular-ized as “the holiest relic in Christendom”through Le morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malo-ry (fl. 1470). Tales of knights questing for theHoly Grail actually preceded a full account ofthe history of the grail. Yet, so powerful is thelegend that the term “Holy Grail” is commonlyused nowadays to describe an elusive, ultimateachievement. It is questionable as to whetherthe Holy Grail ever existed as a physical object,but it continues to inspire the imagination.

When it comes to things of mystery andpower, then, the human imagination usuallyplays a key role in broadening the mystery andmaking it more powerful. Even when scienceprovides data or physical proof that somethingmysterious can be explained, the ability tounderstand the impact of the explanationrequires imagination, and often a change inoutlook. Such is the power of objects of mys-tery: imagination and skill was used to createthem, and imagination is required to begin tocomprehend them by the more advancedhuman race of many centuries later.

M Delving Deeper

Bracken, Thomas. Good Luck Symbols and Talismans:People, Places, and Customs. Philadelphia:Chelsea House Publishers, 1997.

Budge, E.A. Wallis. Amulets and Talismans. New York:Collier Books, 1970.

Mintz, Ruth Finer. Auguries, Charms, Amulets. MiddleVillage, N.Y.: Jonathan David Publishers, 1983.

Nelson, Felicitas H. Talismans & Amulets of the World.New York: Sterling Publishers, 2000.

Pavitt, William Thomas. The Book of Talismans,Amulets, and Zodiacal Gems. New York: SamuelWeiser, 1970.

Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbolsand Sacred Objects.Edison, N.J.: Castle Books, 1988.


Objects of Mystery and Power168

Amulets

The word “amulet” comes from theLatin (amuletum), an indication of thepower Romans invested in amulets as

protection against evil spells. Prehistoricamulets representing fertility and animalshave been found near some of the oldestknown human remains. Archaeologists havealso unearthed shells, claws, teeth, and crys-talline solids dating to 25,000 B.C.E.; engravedwith symbols and sporting small holes, theobjects were probably worn as necklaces.

Animals have been used as symbols inamulets since the earliest times. Modernamulets include a rabbit’s foot; when rubbed itis activated to bring luck. The wishbone fromthe breast of a bird is believed to make wishescome true to the person lucky enough to holdthe larger half when the bone is broken with apartner, a common practice at ThanksgivingDay dinners in the United States. Metal rep-resentations of wishbones and rabbit’s feethave become popular amulets in contempo-rary times.

By the time the Roman Empire was estab-lished in the first centuries B.C.E., however,amulets had a long history of being worn forluck and protection. Egyptians consideredamulets necessary for protection of the livingand the dead. An amulet with a heart on itwas often placed with the dead to help repre-sent them in judgment about their fate in theafterlife. Likenesses of scarabs (a kind of bee-tle) were also prominent. A scarab encloses anegg in mud or dung and rolls it along to a spotwhere it can be warm and safe. Egyptians con-sidered this a metaphor for the journey of thesun each day. The scarab amulet became acommon emblem for regeneration and wasplaced with the dead.

Sumerians, who inhabited Mesopotamia(present-day Iraq) and were contemporaries ofthe Egyptians, had amulets inscribed withimages of animals and gods. They also inscribedsuch images on seals for everything from pot-tery to vaults to doors: the emblem on the sealrepresented a guardian spirit that would bringbad luck to those who opened the sealed com-partment without permission of the owner.

The treasures of King Tutankhamen ofEgypt (c. 1370–1352 B.C.E.) abound with crys-tals in the form of gems and jewels. They wereintended for personal adornment, but theyalso had symbolic meaning: they werebelieved to possess mystical and religious pow-ers. Today, crystals are still worn for decorativepurposes in the form of gems and jewels; thosewho believe in the mystical powers of crystalswear them as amulets.

Many amulets have religious significance.Ancient Jews wore amulets around their necksthat contained slips of parchment on whichthe laws of God were written. The Torah,comprising five books of the Old Testament ofthe Bible, is among the copies of holy booksincluding the Bible (Christians), Vedas(Hindu), the Koran (Muslims), and the Aves-tar (Zoroastrians) believed by the faithful to


169Objects of Mystery and Power

ANCIENT AMULETS OF

THE MIDDLE EAST

Ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians,Arabs, and Hebrews placed great impor-tance in amulets:

• Frog—protected fertility

• Ankh—everlasting life

• Udjat—health

• Scarab—resurrection after death

Some of the Egyptian amulets are massive—astone beetle at Karnak measures five feet long bythree feet wide and weighs more than two tons.

Source:

“Amulets History” [Online] http://www.paralumun.com/amulet.

htm. November 11, 2002.

bring good luck and to ward off evil. Afavorite contemporary Muslim amulet consistsof a square-inch miniature of the Koranenclosed in metal and worn around the neck.Muslims also believe they gain power by wear-ing amulets inscribed with a form of the nameof Allah.

Amulets are frequently mentioned in Tal-mudic literature where they are called kemiyaand often consist of a written parchment orroot of herbs worn on a small chain, a ring, ora tube. Many such amulets had healing pur-poses: they were considered legitimate onlyafter having worked successfully in healing onthree different occasions. Another kind ofparchment amulet was the mezuzah, a Hebrewword for door post. Moses (14th–13th centuryB.C.E.) commanded Israelites to inscribe the

words “Hear O Israel, the Lord Our God IsOne God” on the doorposts of their homes.An amulet with those words continues to beattached to doors in many modern Jewishhouseholds, or worn as a gold chain aroundthe neck for good luck.

Early Christians inscribed the word ichthys(Greek for “fish”) on their amulets because theword contained in Greek the initials for JesusChrist, Son of God, Savior. The fish symbolhas been important to Christians ever since.

A simple cord is perhaps the plainestamulet of them all. Wrist, ankle, and neckcords are popular in contemporary times andhave a long history. Unlike other amulets,which when lost or broken are believed to endluck or protection, cords release magic tocome true when they break naturally fromwear. An amulet lost or broken might be a rea-son for despair, but a broken cord should sig-nal the beginning of good fortune.

M Delving Deeper


Budge, E. A. Wallis. Amulets and Talismans. NewYork: Collier Books, 1970.

Mintz, Ruth Finer. Auguries, Charms, Amulets. Mid-dle Village, N.Y.: Jonathan David Publishers,1983.



Bells

Bells have been associated with mysticaloccurrences and the spirit world since ancienttimes. Goddess images were frequently cast inthe shape of bells. Ancient Jews wore bellstied to their clothing to ward off evil.

The ringing of bells or death knells for thedeceased is an old custom. Some authoritiesbelieve that the ringing of bells at times ofdeath originated in the practice of seeking tofrighten away the evil spirits that lurk beside acorpse, waiting the opportunity to seize thenewly released soul. In ancient times bells



Amulets at the Wat

Market. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

EGYPTIANS considered amulets necessaryfor protection of the living and the dead.

were rung only when important people died,but with the advent of Christianity it becamethe custom to ring death during burial servicesfor all church members.

In medieval times, church bells were rungduring epidemics with the hopes of clearing theair of disease. It was generally believed thatchurch bells had special magical or spiritualpowers, especially because of their position, sus-pended between heaven and Earth, guardingthe passageway between the material and non-material worlds, frightening away demons. Thesacred bell of the Buddhists, the ghanta, servesthat spiritual expression in a similar manner,driving away the negative entities and encour-aging the positive spirits to manifest. The verysound of a bell is a symbol of creative power.

People along the west coast of Africa usedto tie a bell to the foot of an ill child to wardoff evil, and food was placed nearby to lurethose spirits away. In contemporary times,bells above the door of a shop alert the shop-keeper that customers have entered. Thatpractical function is predated by the use ofbells over doors to keep evil spirits from enter-ing into a home or shop.

M Delving Deeper


Gaskell, G. A. Dictionary of All Scriptures and Myths.Avenel, N.J.: Gramercy Books, 1981.


Bloodstone

Carnelian is a red-colored variety of chal-cedony that for many centuries has beenknown as “bloodstone” and credited with thepower to stem loss of blood from wounds orexcessive menstrual flow. Although somehave declared that its name was derived fromthe Latin carne, “flesh,” most authoritiesmaintain that the origin of the bloodstone’scommon European version, carnelian, lies inthe word cor, “heart.”

The blood redness of carnelian made ithighly desired among ancient Egyptians who

used it to represent the blood or virtue of thegoddess Isis and placed it within the body cav-ity of a mummy. The Egyptian jewelers alsofavored the bloodstone as an addition to theirheart amulets and proclaimed it as a symbol ofthe heart-soul of the goddess.

Carnelian is called the Mecca stone bymany Muslims and is carried by them as anobject that may assist in fulfilling all wishesfor perfect happiness. While many authoritiesstate that the “sardis” mentioned as the firststone in the breastplate of Aaron, Moses’sbrother, was a ruby, others suggest that it was acarnelian, or bloodstone.

Some bloodstones are greenish in color,with bright red flecks of jasper within themthat look like flecks of blood. In folk medicineit matters little which bloodstone oneemploys, for in the mind of the practitioner,the stone is certain to halt the flow of bloodand promote healing. And for the practicalmagician, the use of a bloodstone in ritualsand incantations is believed to greatlyincrease the realization of all desires.

M Delving Deeper

Kunz, George Frederick. The Mystical Lore of PreciousStones. San Bernardino, Calif.: Borgo Press, 1986.



Candles

Candle burning has been associated with reli-gious and magical ceremonies since earliestantiquity. To light a candle in respectfulremembrance of a person who has died is acommon practice in many religions. The lightof a single candle is held by many to be sym-



CARNELIAN is called the Mecca stone bymany Moslems.

bolical of the illumination of the soul in themidst of earthly despair or of death.

Ancient Romans honored Juno Lucina,Mother of the Light, whenever a candle was litto spread its light and sweet scent into the dark-ness. Juno Lucina controlled the sun, moon,and stars, and granted to newborn children the“light” of their spirit. Each year during the win-ter solstice a festival of lights was celebrated inher honor. This winter celebration became theChristian feast of Santa Lucia (Saint Lucy),which is still observed in Sweden with a youngwoman wearing a crown of candles and portray-ing the Lussibruden or Lucy Bride.

The custom of the lighting of the Yulecandle also has its roots in the pagan obser-vance of the winter solstice. Whereas Chris-tians light an oversized candle that they hopewould burn through the night from ChristmasEve to the dawn of Christmas Day to bringgood luck for the coming year, the Scandina-vians of old ignited a bundle of kindling andconducted a religious ceremony that wasdesigned to encourage the sun to return fromthe long night of darkness.

For many centuries, candles have beenvery popular in the practice of certain rites ofmagic. In the Middle Ages, it was believedthat a candle formed in the image of a womanand burned with the proper incantation couldbring love to a man seeking the favor of a par-ticular lady. According to tradition, a red-col-ored candle brought about the best results.First, according to the charm, the candle wasto be anointed with perfume to signify femi-ninity. Then, after the candle had burned for afew minutes a brief invocation was offered toloving spirits to bring the man’s love to himforevermore. The invocation was to be madeat sunset—once over the flame of the candle,then repeated over the smoking wick. Thespell was to be repeated on consecutive sun-sets until the candle had been consumed.

A black candle formed in the shape of askull was often used in ceremonial magic todispel curses. The skull-candle was to beburned at midnight and a proclamation,which had been formally written on paper,was to be read above the flame, demandingthe removal of any curse that had been set

against the magician. The candle was to beanointed with oil and was to be burned pre-cisely at midnight.

It was believed that power and successmight be gained through the ritual burning ofa candle with oil and setting before it anincense offering of sandalwood or myrrh. Thecandle was lighted, and the magician concen-trated on a mental image of the goal that he orshe most wished to attain.

If a Magi felt that he had become the unwel-come recipient of a candle spell, he believedthat he might reverse its effect through anancient Medieval candle burning ceremony. Forfive consecutive nights, the magician was care-ful to light two large, black candles just as thesun was phasing into dusk. As the candlesburned, the supplicant recited an invocationthat called upon benevolent spirits to removethe curse from his head and to redirect it towardwhomever had summoned the powers of dark-ness to cast a malediction against him. The ritu-al required that two candles must be allowed tobe completely consumed each night.

M Delving Deeper

Buckland, Raymond. Advanced Candle Magic: MoreSpells and Rituals for Every Purpose. St. Paul,Minn.: Llewellyn, 1999.

Cooper, Phillip. Candle Magic: A Coveted Collection ofSpells, Rituals & Magical Paradigms. New York:Weiser, 2000.

Riva, Anna. Candle Burning Magic. Toluca Lake,Calif.: International Imports, 1995.

Telesco, Patricia. Exploring Candle Magick: CandleSpells, Charms, Rituals & Divinations. FranklinLakes, N.J.: Career Press, 2001.


Cauldron

Cauldrons were used in various Celtic rites.Some cauldrons were believed to possess mag-ical qualities: they would not boil the meat ofa coward or an unrighteous person; they grant-ed divine inspiration; or they provided greatquantities of food. Early Celts used cauldronsin rites of fertility, and “cauldrons of plenty”were associated with abundance. The mead in



the cauldron of the Celtic goddess Cerridwengave divine wisdom, and that of the goddessBranwen promised regeneration.

Cauldrons in Celtic cultures may have alsobeen used in acts of human sacrifice. TheGundestrup Cauldron, recovered from a peatbog in present-day Denmark dating fromaround 100 B.C.E., has a carved image of a vic-tim being plunged into a cauldron.

The following ritual goes back to the earlyMiddle Ages and has become a legendary magi-cal method of gaining a desired lover’s affection.It requires a cauldron of the first rain water inApril. As the water boils, the following ingredi-ents are to be collected and stirred into thebrew: seven hairs from a blood snake (an oldcolloquialism for sausage prepared in the gutand/or hide of a pig), seven feathers from anowl, seven scales from a snake, a hair from theobject of love and a bit of his nail paring. Whenall the ingredients have been incorporated intothe cauldron, the magical “stew” must beallowed to boil briskly for seven minutes. At theend of this time, the magician must permit thebrew to cool before he or she sprinkles it uponthe intended lover. The brew is meant to warmthe lover up a bit, not to scald him or her.

M Delving Deeper

Cooper, Phillip. Candle Magic: A Coveted Collection ofSpells, Rituals & Magical Paradigms. New York:Weiser, 2000.

Hope-Simpson, Jacynth, ed. Covens & Cauldrons: ABook of Witches. London: Beaver Books, 1977.


Crystals

Crystals were prized in many ancient cultures,and they remain so today—both for their sci-entific and their mystical qualities. Crystalshave practical uses in radios, lasers, and com-puters, among other devices; and traditionalNative American healers and New Age prac-titioners of alternative medicine believe thatthey have marvelous curative powers.

Ancient Greeks valued quartz crystal forits beauty and believed it had supernaturalpowers. The Greeks thought that the mineral

quartz with its crystalline structure was waterfrozen so thoroughly that it could never bethawed, and they called quartz, “krystallos,”from the word “kryos,” which means icy cold.Krystallos became “crystal” in English duringthe Middle Ages to refer to stones with struc-tures like quartz. Atoms and molecules in crys-tals are always arranged in tidy rows. Theserepeated, orderly patterns give crystals theirbeautiful sparkle and special shapes.

Some crystals, when compressed, developelectrical charges (piezoelectricity) at theirends, and others develop similar charges whenheated (pyroelectricity). Both of those proper-ties are evident in quartz and make the miner-al useful in sonar and radio, for amplifyingelectric current, and to help make possible thesolar battery that converts sunlight into elec-trical energy.

Lithium crystals are an energy source inthe popular Star Trek television and movieseries to fuel the starship Enterprise. On Earth,lithium is the lightest known metal and isoften used in storage batteries.



A woodcut of witches at

a cauldron. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)



Marcel Joseph Vogel, born in San Fran-cisco in 1917, was revived after beingpronounced dead at the age of sixfrom pneumonia. At this time, Vogel

encountered a near-death experience (NDE). Itcaused him to question the meaning of life. Every day,from the age of six, he walked to early morning Massto pray and questioned the purpose of his existence.

At age 12, an answer came as a “voice” that toldMarcel he would be a “phosphor chemist” doing workin luminescence. Majoring in chemistry and physicsat the University of San Francisco, Vogel found littlewritten, or taught, in the field of luminescence. So hetranslated articles he found written in German onphosphors. Due to deteriorating health, he left collegeand completed his education privately, with Dr. PeterPringsheim, a German professor.

Pringsheim and Vogel published a book, TheLuminescence of Liquids and Solids and Their Practi-cal Application (1943). Vogel published other papersand formed his own corporation, Vogel Lumines-cence. The company pioneered in the manufacturingof fluorescent paints, oils, crayons, chalk, Day-Glocolors, invisible ink, and tagging and tracing pow-ders—used to detect bacteria and disease, includingcancer. He worked part-time for IBM and he becamea senior research scientist in 1957. He remained withIBM until 1984, when he founded his own lab, PsychicResearch, Inc.

Vogel’s work with human–plant communicationexperiments led to his discovery of an intelligentmatrix existing in crystal/liquid crystal with an abilityto store, amplify, and transfer information, and thatcrystal can be altered during its growth stage. Seven-teen years of research in this area led to his facetedcrystal inventions, useful in laser applications. Vogelwas also working on the structuring of water forpurification purposes, and the structuring of wines torapidly age them.

Sources

Vogel, Marcel, and Peter Prigsheim. The Luminescence of

Liquids and Solids and Their Practical Application. New

York: Wiley-Interscience, 1943.

Vogel-cut Crystals by Lifestream Associates. [Online] http://

www.vogelcrystals.com.

Stephen Quong-Vedic Astrologer: Healing Crystals [Online]

http://www.jyotisha.com/Healingcrystals.htm.

Crystal Distributing Company. [Online] http://www.

heartsharmony.com/vogel.htm.

Crystal Wings. [Online] http://www.crystalwings.com/vogelc.html.

Marcel Vogel,

Man of

Crystal Vision

The verifiable qualities of crystals are show-cased in numerous applications in modern tech-nology, but the mystical qualities of crystals aremore difficult to explain and depend more onbelief. Since the days of ancient Egypt, crystalshave been believed to have healing propertiesand the ability to rid the body of negative ener-gies. Crystals are believed to be able to storeimages and thoughts, serving as keepers ofknowledge of the past. Among other attributesreputed of crystals is the ability to store and dis-charge light; to receive impressions fromhumans, who are able to program crystals for cer-tain functions; to emit frequencies; and tobecome reenergized by sunlight and moonlight.Clear quartz is said to attract positive energy, andsmall wands with crystals mounted at both endscan supposedly locate pain or illness in a body.

Some mystics claim that inhabitants of thelegendary continent of Atlantis used crystalsto produce psychic energy and establish inter-stellar communication. Some believe that apowerful crystal energy source ultimatelydestroyed Atlantis. The popular twentiethcentury mystic Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) toldhis followers about his visions of the greatcrystals that powered Atlantis, and he referredto the healing capacities of crystals. Caycetaught that crystals possessed an energy withinthemselves that could be transmitted to peo-ple and be of great assistance in meditation,healing, and the achievement of higher levelsof consciousness.

In 1976, medium/channel Frank Alperfounded the Arizona Metaphysical Center inPhoenix and began channeling spirit messagesthat outlined methods of crystal therapy. InExploring Atlantis (1982), three volumes of spiritdirectives on the powers of crystals, Alper out-lined techniques that were followed with carefulattention by New Age enthusiasts around theworld. Within a very short time, crystal thera-pists were applying the ancient healing exercis-es that Alper’s channeled messages described ashaving originated in ancient Atlantis.

New Age believers in crystal power weretold by a number of channelers that all peoplehad within themselves a Higher Self that wasthe ultimate expression of their personality.This Higher Self could become a conduit

between themselves and a source of divinitythat had the power to activate a crystal for thepurpose of healing. Those who wished to focusthe healing abilities inherent in crystal weretold that they must activate their crystal bybreathing their “intent” to help others intothe crystal. The process of activation involvedtheir taking their crystal in the left hand.According to New Age channeling, the act ofholding one’s crystal in the left hand will stim-ulate the creative, intuitive process in theright brain hemisphere. Once this hasoccurred, the supposed vortex of energy in thecrystal begins interacting with the individual’selectromagnetic field and will start to increasethe field energy around him or her.

When the energy field has been activated,the individual is to begin to breathe into thecrystal the intention to be able to heal thephysical bodies of those who request a healing.The individual healer must remember alwaysthat the crystal will magnify his or her inten-tion and thereby serve as a powerful healinginstrument.

In addition to its use in healing, crystalshave always been popular as devices utilized in



Crystal necklaces for

healing and well-being.


scrying, the ancient fortune telling techniqueof foreseeing future events in a clear surface.Pure quartz crystals polished into spheresbecame popular for divining purposes duringthe Middle Ages, and such crystal balls arestill used by various contemporary psychicreaders to obtain glimpses of the future.

M Delving Deeper

Conway, D. J. Crystal Enchantments. Santa Cruz,Calif.: Crossing Press, 2000.

Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham’s Encyclopedia ofCrystal, Gem & Metal Magic. St. Paul, Minn.:Llewellyn Publications, 1987.

Gienger, Michael. Crystal Power, Crystal Healing: TheComplete Handbook. New York: Sterling Publica-tions, 1998.

Jones, Wendy. Magic of Crystals. West Sunbury, Pa.:Harper House Books, 1996.

Simpson, Liz. Book of Crystal Healing. New York:Sterling Publications, 1997.

Sullivan, Kevin. The Crystal Handbook. New York:New American Library, 1996.

Fairy Circles

In most traditions, especially in the BritishIsles and Scandinavia, the fairy folk weresupernormal entities who inhabited a magicalkingdom beneath the surface of the earth.Fairies have always been considered to bemuch akin to humans, yet something morethan mortal person. As many of the ancienttexts declare, the fairies are “of a middlenature between Man and Angel.” One factorhas been consistent in fairy lore—these so-called “middle folk” continually meddle in theaffairs of humankind, sometimes to do themgood, sometimes to do them ill.

Tales have been told with endless modifi-cations and variations, but it remains essen-tially a story of a fairy outwitting a greedy

human. Less widely known are the many sto-ries in which the person who discovers thefairies at their work is whisked away by themto the fairy kingdom, from which he or shemay return much later as an old person believ-ing that only a day or so has gone by.

In The Science of Fairy Tales by Edwin Sid-ney Hartland, published in London in 1891,the account is given of a shepherd who wentout one day to look for his cattle and sheep onthe mountain and seemingly disappeared intothin air. After about three weeks, the searchparties had abandoned hope of ever findinghim again. His wife had given him up fordead, and it was at that time that he returned.When his astonished wife asked him where hehad been for the past three weeks, the manangrily said that he had only been gone forthree hours. When he was asked to describeexactly where he had been, he said little menwho closed nearer and nearer to him untilthey formed a small circle surrounding him.They sang and danced and so affected himthat he got lost.

Near Bridgend is a place where a woman issaid to have lived for 10 years with the fairyfolk and who upon her return insisted that shehad not been out of the house for more than10 minutes.

The Germans, the Irish, the Scots, theEnglish, and the Scandinavians have no endof such accounts of fairies interacting withpeople and stealing time. There are variants ofthese tales in Wales, in the Slavic countries,and in Japan and China. Stories are told ofmen and women who returned years, some-times even generations, after they had steppedinto a fairy circle and been enchanted by thesinging and dancing of the wee people. Addi-tional anecdotes are told of those who coupledwith fairy folk and produced a hybrid ofhuman and fairy individuals.

In Scotland the story is repeated of a manwho went with his friend to enter his first child’sbirth in the record books and to buy a keg ofwhiskey for the christening. As the two men satdown to rest, they heard the sound of pipingand dancing. The father of the newborn childbecame curious, and spotting some wee folkbeginning to dance, he decided to join them.



NATIVE American tribes have similar stories of interactions with entities they

call the “pukwudjinis.”

His friend fled the spot, and when the newfather did not return for several months, thefriend was accused of murdering him. Some-how he was able to persuade the court that heshould be allowed a year and a day to vindi-cate himself. Each night at dusk, he went tothe spot where his friend had disappeared tocall out his friend’s name and to pray. One dayjust before the term ran out, he saw his frienddancing merrily with the fairies. The accusedman succeeded in grabbing him by the sleeveand pulling him out. The bewitched mansnapped angrily because his friend would notlet him finish the dance. The unfortunatefriend, who would face the gallows if he couldnot bring the enchanted man home, told thecelebrating father that he had been dancingfor 12 months and that he should have hadenough. When rescued from the fairies’ circle,the man would not believe the lapse of timeuntil he found his wife sitting by the door ofhis home with their year-old son in her arms.

Several Native American tribes have simi-lar stories of interactions with entities theycall the “pukwudjinis,” the little vanishingpeople. The tribespeople also refer to the med-icine or magic circle. If anyone stepped inside

one, he or she could disappear for months oryears or a lifetime.

M Delving Deeper

Bord, Janet. Fairies: Real Encounters with Little People.New York: Dell Publishing, 1998.

DuBois, Pierre. The Great Encyclopedia of Fairies. NewYork: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Keightley, Thomas. The World Guide to Gnomes,Fairies, Elves, and Other Little People. New York:Random House, 2000.

Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins:An Encyclopedia. New York: W. W. Norton &Co., 1998.

Spence, Lewis. The Fairy Tradition in Britain. London:Rider and Co., 1948.

Garlic

Some naturally formed amulets can be wornor kept to ward off evil. Garlic reportedlykeeps one safe from vampires, and also repelsevil spirits. For garlic to perform that functionin Mexico, it must be received as a gift. SomeRoman soldiers wore garlic for extra protec-tion when they went into battle.

It is possible that the tradition of garlic asan agent capable of warding off creatures of



A T. H. Thomas drawing

from the book British

Goblin (1880) by Wirt

Sikes of a man being

pulled back before

entering a fairy circle.


darkness grew out of the simple fact thatheavy consumption of garlic greatly affects thebreath odor of those who have liberally par-taken of the herb. In the ancient mystery reli-gions, which emphasized the goddess and fer-tility rites, those who had eaten heavily of gar-lic were ostracized from worship.

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Allison, Lynn. The Magic of Garlic. Boca Raton, Fla.:Cool Hand Communications, 1993.



Hand of Glory

One of the most macabre of all occult prepara-tions was the Hand of Glory, a magic lightmade from the hand of a dead man. Once thehand had been severed from a corpse—oftentaken from the body of a hanged highwaymanswinging on a gallows—it was to be slowlydried in an oven. When it was judged as quitedry, it was to be soaked in the melted fat of a

black tomcat. Each finger served as a separatecandle, and twisted human hair wrappedaround the fingers served as wicks.

Although used as a protection against evilby those common folk who somehow man-aged to acquire such a grisly deterrent of theforces of darkness, the Hand of Glory was afavorite acquisition of burglars and thieveswho believed that as long as the fingersburned the persons whose house they invadedwould remain fast asleep and allow them toconclude their thievery undetected. Therewas even a little rhyme to be said when thehand was lit:

Let those who rest more deeply sleep;

Let those awake their vigils keep.

O, Hand o’ Glory shed thy light,

Direct us to our spoils tonight.

Flash out thy light, O skeleton hand,

And guide the feet of our trusty band.

The only way to stop the power of thehand once it had been ignited was to douse itwith either milk or blood. According to belief,water alone was incapable of extinguishingthe flames of a Hand of Glory.

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Opie, Iona, and Moira Tatem. A Dictionary of Supersti-tions. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1999.

Steiger, Brad, ed. The Occult World of John Pendragon.New York: Ace Books, 1968.

Horseshoes

Horseshoes have long been popular in folkmagic as an instrument of bringing the ownergood luck—provided the object is worn outand found, rather than new and purchased.

In some countries the horseshoe is hungwith the open end downward as a fertilitysymbol, but in Ireland, Britain, and the Unit-ed States it is commonly hung with the openend pointing upward, so luck won’t run out. Agreat debate rages: should a horseshoe be hungwith its ends pointing downward, so luck canpour out in a steady, unending stream, or is itbetter placed upward, to collect, store, andbestow luck?



Some people use garlic

to ward off vampires.


In Italy, a horseshoe is hung by the door,not above the door, as it is elsewhere, so it canbe touched by whomever passes over a thresh-old. In Mexico, horseshoes are wrapped up inbright colored threads. In Turkey, horseshoecharms are manufactured to help ward off theevil eye.

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Knife

The original cutting implements used byhumans consisted of pieces of flint or otherstone that had been chipped to form an edge.Such bits of stone evolved into the knife,among the first tools to be developed byhumankind. Eventually, the stone blade becamelonger; the handle was wrapped with leather toavoid accidentally cutting the hand; and theknife was carried everywhere its owner went.

In the martial encounters between tribes,the spear, which is a knife with a long handle,and the club were favored in order to keepsome distance between combatants. But whenthings got up close and personal, the knifecame into play. Thus when the arts of warfareevolved and bronze weapons were used, thesword—a large and long knife—together withthe spear and club were considered honorableimplements of war. The knife was deemed thelast resort of the gentleman or the soleweapon of the brigand and the assassin. In thedays of chivalry, the knights bore swords andlances for self-defense while peasants and out-laws carried knives to protect themselves. Theknife was a kind of secret weapon, and there-fore considered base by those who faced oneanother with swords or lances. Men andwomen of any means whatsoever used knives

primarily for cutting their food before they atetheir meals with their fingers. Forks wereunknown as table utensils until well into theeighteenth century, and table knives were ararity until about the same time. People car-ried their own serviceable knives so they werealways prepared to dine.

In various systems of magic, from the timesof human and animal sacrifice to ceremonialrituals, the knife has played an extremelyimportant role. The magic circles of protec-



“The Hand of Glory” from

Albertus Parvus

Grimoire. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

IN witchcraft, the ceremonial knife is referred toas the athame.

tion that surround the magus and the sorcerermust be drawn with the magician’s specialknife, blessed by an invocation to a deity. Inwitchcraft, the ceremonial knife is referred toas the athame.

Knives are used in various divination prac-tices simply by spinning them and seeingtoward which object, number, person, and soforth, the blade points. Other traditionsbelieve it is bad luck to spin a knife on thetable, fearing that it symbolizes death for theone to whom it points.

While magicians use their magic knife tostir their potions, many individuals believe thatthose who use a knife to stir their tea, coffee, orfood will summon strife. To drop a knife whileeating, some people believe, is a sign that unex-pected company will soon arrive. Others fearthat to drop a knife will bring illness to thehousehold. With the knife having played suchan important and integral role in the societaland spiritual development of humankind, it islittle wonder that there should be many super-stitions regarding its use and misuse.

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Gaskell, G. A. Dictionary of All Scriptures and Myths.New York: Gramercy Books, 1981.

Opie, Iona, and Moira Tatem. A Dictionary of Supersti-tions. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1999.


Love Knots

The expression “tying the knot” when onespeaks of the marriage vows seems to havealmost universal meaning. Africans tell ofsimilar “knot-tying” love spells in their owntribes. Somehow it seems the most naturalkind of symbolism to visualize the binding ofone’s self to the object of one’s love while thefingers weave the knots and the lips chant asoulful litany. Here is how the ancient lovespell of the seven knots was woven:

The magician would take a length of cordor ribbon that would sustain seven knotsstrung out at a distance of about an inch fromone another. According to the ritual, the firstknot was to be tied in the middle of the cordwith the admonition that the two loversremain bound to each other from thatmoment and that their love was in the circlethat bound them.

At about the distance of one inch, theconjurer formed the second knot to the rightof the first, telling the lovers that their lovewould endure with the strength of steel. Thethird knot was tied to the left of the first knotand the lovers were told that they would notbe able to break away from one another, eventhough from time to time their passion mightwaver. The fourth knot was placed to the rightwith the message that all good spirits and theHoly Light would always keep the image ofthe other in the lovers’ mind. The fifth knotwas done to the left, assuring fidelity through-out their lifetimes. The sixth knot was boundon the right, binding the exclusivity of theiraffections, one to the other. The last knot, theseventh, was secured to the left and the offici-ator declared that the two should stand alwayswithin the circle of their love and happiness,unable to be separated by any power of Earth.

The incantation completed, the maker ofthe ritual would then bind the two ends of the



Chinese jade knife, c.

2500–2000 B.C.E.


cord together and wear it in the manner of agarter upon her or his left arm above theelbow. The “seven-knot-love-garter” was to beworn to bed for seven alternate nights. Uponthe fourteenth day, the charm was either to beburned in offering to good spirits or to be hid-den in a secret place.

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Mandrake Root

Mandrake, also known as mandragora offici-narum, has a long tap-root that resembles ahuman form. This resemblance created thesuperstition that it literally shrieked when itwas uprooted. Those who heard the screamwere to die, or, if it didn’t kill them, it causedthem to go insane.

This relative of the potato family was apopular anaesthetic during the Middle Ages.In the Elizabethan Age it was used as a nar-cotic.

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“The Mandragora Plant—Myths and other Informa-tion.” [Online] http://www.wordfocus.com/anesthes-wrd-hist.html#mandragora. November11, 2002.

Maypole

The ancients in Great Britain and NorthernEurope believed that May 1 was the bound-ary day between summer and winter and thaton this day a war took place between the twoseasons to determine which would prevail. Itbecame customary to stage a mock warbetween two people, one to represent winter;the other, summer. Summer always managed

to win and was promptly crowned King of theMay. In triumph he held aloft green branchesdecorated with beautiful May flowers andsang an old folk song, the essence of whichseems to have been, “I have won, I bring yousummer!”

Later, as the custom evolved, a young treewas cut down and decorated with ribbons andflowers. This tree was set up triumphantly inthe village and everyone danced around it.The Druids worshipped the tree, and it is pos-sible that the Maypole originated with them.But long before the time of Charles I (1600–1649) in England the tree had given way tothe pole. Huge poles were planted in theground and decorated with green branchesand flowers. Long streamers were attached tothe top, and each dancer held on proudly tohis or her end of the ribbon.



Mandrake root shaped

like mother with child.

(RAYMOND

BUCKLAND/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

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Eichler, Lillian. The Customs of Mankind. GardenCity, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1937.



Mirror

The first mirror was quite likely a quiet pool inwhich one caught a fleeting reflection of animage of oneself. The early Greeks had mirrorsthat were made of circular pieces of polishedbronze, sometimes with richly adorned han-dles. The early Egyptians also had bronze mir-

rors, highly polished dishes, usually withgraceful and decorative handles.

Since early times the mirror has been usedin divination, in attempts to read the future orthe past. In ancient Greece divination per-formed by means of water and a mirror was sopopular and so widely practiced that it wasgiven a definite name—“catoptomancy.” Thereare still seers and fortune-tellers called “scryers”who “see” the past and the future in crystalsand mirrors.

An early belief was that one saw the will ofthe gods in the mirror. To break a mirror acci-dentally, therefore, was interpreted as an efforton the part of the gods to prevent the personfrom seeing into the future. This was construedas a warning that the future held unpleasantthings.

It was not until 1688 that glass mirrorswere invented. In that year, a Frenchman,



Group of young women

performing the Maypole

dance. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

Louis Lucas, invented plate glass that, backedwith the proper alloy, formed a mirror that forthe first time gave both sexes a true reflectionof their appearance.

One of the most common of modernsuperstitions is that to break a mirror invitesdeath, or seven years of bad luck. This old folkbelief originated with the Romans about thefirst century C.E. They believed that thehealth of a person changed every seven years,and as the mirror reflected the health or theappearance of the person, to break a mirrorwould be to shatter one’s health for a period ofseven years. Among highly superstitious peo-ple the breaking of the mirror came to belooked upon as a death omen. Somehow thissuperstitious belief has prevailed and stillexists even among educated people.

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Mistletoe

Mistletoe is another natural amulet. It is com-monly hung in homes during Christmastime;the custom of kissing under the mistletoe goesback to ancient Europeans, who believedmistletoe brought fertility, healing, and luck.They hung it in homes and barns. Mistletoewas sacred as well to Celts. It is a parasiticplant that grows on trees without formingroots in the earth. This quality led Celts tovenerate mistletoe as a divine substance.

For many centuries, people around theworld have created many folklore beliefsabout mistletoe:

• Central Australian aborigines believed thatthe ratapa, spirits of unborn children oftheir tribe, lived in trees, rocks, and sprigs ofmistletoe.

• The Japanese chopped mistletoe, leaves,and millet, and offered prayers for a goodharvest.

• Swedes hung a mistletoe besom (broom) inthe house as a charm against lightning.

• Swedes used mistletoe rods to locate trea-sure in the earth. The rod was supposed toquiver, like a divining rod, when it was overthe treasure.

• Austrians hung mistletoe over the doorstepto protect people in the house from night-mares.

• Since ancient times, a kiss under the mistle-toe was a pledge of love and a promise ofmarriage.

• The kiss of friendship was given under amistletoe to signify a truce. Enemies who metunder the mistletoe in the forest were to laydown their arms, exchange friendly greetings,and keep a truce until the following day.

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Man and woman

hanging mistletoe.


“Mistletoe.” [Online] http://www.celticattic.com/olde_world/myths/mistleoe.htm. November 11,2002.



Rings

The ring as a pledge can be traced back to greatantiquity. “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, ‘SeeI have set thee over all the land of Egypt.’ AndPharaoh took off his ring from his hand, andput it upon Joseph’s hand” (Genesis 41:42).

Similar use of signet rings as symbols ofrespect and authority is mentioned in severalparts of the Bible, and it would appear thatrings were commonly worn by persons of rankat that period, and that rings were bestowedupon others either as gifts or for the purpose oftransferring authority.

Rings worn only as ornaments were com-mon in early Egypt, in Greece, and even amongless civilized peoples. In antiquity, it was thecustom among people of the lower classes tobreak a piece of gold or silver to seal the mar-riage pact. One half of the token was kept bythe man, the other half by the woman. Thiscustom came before the exchange of rings. Inancient Ireland, for instance, it was the customfor the man to give the woman he wanted tomarry a bracelet woven of human hair. Heracceptance of it was symbolic of accepting theman, of linking herself to him for life.

It appears that the ring as a love pledgeexisted at an early period. It was customary inthe early Middle Ages to make a solemnbetrothal by means of a ring to precede matri-mony. In England, rings were exchanged toseal the verbal contract of betrothal. In Italythe use of the ring was widespread, and the

diamond was the favorite gem. The diamondremains the favorite gem for the engagementring in modern times. Indeed, many peoplethink only of the diamond in connection withrings of betrothal. According to an old super-stition, the sparkle of the diamond is supposedto have originated in the fires of love. There-fore the diamond engagement ring is consid-ered by many persons as the only true engage-ment ring, portending love and happinessthroughout life.

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Salt

In Finnish mythology, the mighty god of thesky, Ukko, struck fire in the heavens. A sparkfrom this celestial fire fell into the ocean andturned to salt. Another old legend is that theoceans are made up of the tears of all thosewho have suffered since the world began; andas tears are salt, the oceans’ waters are salt.

Salt was used long before the contempo-rary era, and it was highly valued by those whoincluded it in their diet. Salt was probablybeing traded even in Neolithic times. TheIsraelites believed that no meal was completewithout a bit of salt to help digest it. Homer(9th–8th century B.C.E.) called salt divine,and Plato (c. 428–348 or 347 B.C.E.) describedit as a substance valued by the gods.

At one time salt was regarded as beingalmost as valuable as gold, and soldiers, offi-cials, and working people in Greece and Romereceived all or part of their pay in salt. Moneypaid for labor or service was termed “salari-um,” the origin of the word “salary,”—moneypaid for services rendered. From this custom ofpaying with salt comes also the popular phrase“to earn one’s salt.”

It was a custom in early times to place saltbefore strangers as a token or pledge of friend-ship. “Take a pinch of salt with me” was thepopular method of inviting a friend or



IN England, rings were exchanged to seal theverbal contract of betrothal.

acquaintance to one’s home to partake ofone’s hospitality.

In many Asian countries salt was offered toguests as a token of hospitality, and if any parti-cles fell to the ground while being presented itwas considered an omen of ill luck. The beliefwas that a quarrel or a dispute would follow.

Among the Germans there is the old say-ing, “Whoever spills salt arouses enmity.” Theancient Romans believed that to spill salt wasto cause quarrels or disputes, and when saltwas spilled it was the custom to exclaim, “Maythe gods avert the omen!” Another old tradi-tion says that if salt is thrown over the leftshoulder, it will appease the devil, who willotherwise make enemies of friends wheneversalt is spilled.

According to some authorities, the wide-spread notion that the spilling of salt producesevil consequences is supposed to have originat-ed in the tradition that Judas overturned a saltshaker at the Last Supper as portrayed inLeonardo da Vinci’s (1452–1519) painting. Butit appears more probable that the belief is dueto the sacred character of salt in early times.

These old salt superstitions are found inmany widely separated countries. Long agothey captured the public fancy, and they havesurvived. There are still many people whobelieve that to spill salt is an omen of a quarrelor bad luck, and that to toss a bit of the saltover the left shoulder is to cancel the negativeconsequences.

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Silver

Silver is said to offer protection and enhanceone’s psychic qualities. Silver was associatedwith the moon in Roman and Chinese cul-tures, and was considered divine (rather thana naturally formed metal) by Incas of South

America. Egyptians coveted silver because itwas not found in their region.

Silver bullets are reportedly good for killingvampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Anothermetal, brass, is especially good for amulets sinceit is believed to repel evil spirits.

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Stones for Healing and Energy

Perhaps the most popular amulets in folkmagic are the 12 birth stones. These semi-precious gems, mounted in rings and pen-dants, have enjoyed widespread appeal forcenturies. Because most people are familiar



Salt crystals. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

with these stones, the magic powers of each isas follows:

Agate. This stone may appear as striped orclouded quartz, and is astrologically associatedwith the sign Gemini. An agate amulet isbelieved to promote good health. An agatering bestows wealth and honor; also, it can beused to obtain favors from people in high posi-tions. Legend has it that any person who gazesupon this gem will be compelled to speak thetruth and cannot maintain secrecy.

Amethyst. This gem, a purple variety ofquartz, is traditionally considered to be theAquarian birthstone. An amethyst ring is usu-ally worn for protection against sorcery andthe evil eye. An amethyst pendant preventsdepression and supposedly bestows spiritualvisions.

Bloodstone. Also known as heliotrope, thisvariety of quartz is the Piscean birthstone.Worn as a pendant, it allegedly prevents mis-carriage and other illness during pregnancy.Mounted in a ring, the amulet reportedly pro-motes creativity. Worn to bed, bloodstonemay bestow pleasant dreams and clear visionsof the future.

Diamond. This precious gem is astrologi-cally associated with the sign of Aries. A dia-mond amulet traditionally symbolizes endur-ing love and happiness in a marriage. Given asa gift, the gem is believed to strengthen emo-tional bonds and promote loyalty. A diamondpendant may be worn to obtain honor andfriendship. Mounted in a ring, the amuletinsures lasting marriage and financial success.

Emerald. Traditionally associated with theastrological sign Taurus, this precious greengem has several unique properties. An emer-ald pendant is thought to afford women pro-tection against assault. Mounted in a ring, thestone promotes domestic stability and fortune.According to legend, this amulet may be usedto combat epilepsy, depression, and insanity.

Garnet. This semiprecious gem is thebirthstone of Capricorn people. Early Egyp-tians and Phoenicians used the stone exten-sively. It reputedly healed snakebite and foodpoisoning by absorbing foreign chemicals inthe blood through the skin. A garnet pendantis usually worn to arouse the passionate love of

the opposite sex. A garnet ring reputedly com-bats fear and pessimism. Argument and even-tual separation of two lovers is thought toresult when garnet is given as a gift.

Opal. This semiprecious gem is associatedwith the astrological sign Libra. Worn as aring, this amulet reputedly alleviates indiges-tion and other stomach disorders. Also, itinstills tranquility and joy. An opal pendant isworn to attract happiness in love, fortune andfavorable judgment in court. The opal amuletis believed to take on a dull gray appearancewhen minor illness is forthcoming. A sicklyyellow hue presages injury by accident.

Ruby. This popular birthstone, which isassociated with the astrological sign Cancer,reputedly promotes mental health and tranquil-ity. A ruby pendant is thought to combatdepression and enable the wearer to overcomesorrow. A ruby amulet worn as a ring bestowsknowledge, health, and wealth. This stoneshould never be given as a gift, as it is thoughtthat discord and broken relationships will result.

Sapphire. This deep blue corundum isastrologically associated with the sign Virgo.A sapphire pendant is a reputed cure for fever,seizures, and delusions. Mounted in a ring, thegem bestows wisdom and compassion. Whendanger is imminent, this amulet reportedlytakes on a chalky appearance, which remainsuntil the hazard has subsided.

Sardonyx. The birthstone of Leo people,this gem is a popular remedy for impotence.Ancient occultists believed that a sardonyxamulet could be worn to alleviate this afflic-tion in less than a week. Mounted in a ring,sardonyx has no power; however, worn as apendant, the stone combats sterility. Given asa gift, the sardonyx amulet is thought to guar-antee the recipient’s fidelity.

Topaz. This gem is the birthstone of Scor-pio people. Some medieval occultists insistedthat a topaz amulet promoted psychic sensitiv-ity and facilitated control of destiny. A topazpendant reputedly bestows honor, happiness,and inner peace in addition to the above ben-efits. Mounted in a ring, the gem insures pro-motion and financial success.

Turquoise. The birthstone of Sagittarians,turquoise has been worn in amulets since the



earliest times. Native Americans consideredthe stone sacred, and medieval sorcerers usedit in various magic rituals. Modern authoritiesclaim that a turquoise amulet is an effectivedeterrent against illness and injury. Worn as apendant, the stone also protects its bearerfrom a violent death. A turquoise ring is saidto have the power to allow the wearer torekindle old love affairs.

In addition to the 12 birthstones, othergems of magical and healing significance war-rant consideration. These are:

Amber. This gem, which has been used formagical purposes from time immemorial, isprimarily a health aid. An amber pendantreportedly cures diseases of the blood, poorcirculation, and prevents heart attack.Mounted in a ring, this stone is believed tocombat malfunction of the kidney and protectthe wearer against heat stroke and suffocation.

Beryl. This opaque stone usually comes inyellow, pink, green, or white. Worn as a pen-dant, it is claimed to promote happy marriageand honesty. Given as a gift, it is a populardeterrent to unfaithfulness. A beryl ring is fre-quently worn to insure good health duringpregnancy.

Carnelian. This reddish quartz gem washighly popular with Old World occultists.Early Chaldeans gave their stone to enemiesand thereby rendered them harmless.

Chrysocolla. This stone is recommendedfor treatment of diabetes and asthma and issaid to build inner peace and strength and toattract prosperity and good luck.

Coral. This stone occurs in a variety of col-ors and is allegedly invaluable to careless peo-ple. As an amulet, it is said to take on a chalkywhite appearance when in close proximitywith sick people. A coral ring or pendant mayalso be worn to promote health and wisdom.

Jade. Throughout history, magicians haveused this gem as a deterrent to sorcery anddemonic possession. Jade is therefore consid-ered to be one of the most potent protectivedevice known to humankind. Modernoccultists claim that a jade pendant may beworn to achieve these effects, and that a ringcombats tragedy and depression.

Jet. Perhaps one of the most powerfulamulets known, this lustrous black gem holds animportant place in the legends of various cul-tures. In ancient Greece, occultists believedthat it was a sacred substance, and in Assyria itwas considered to be the gods’ favorite jewel.Medieval legend credits the jet amulet withsupernatural powers. The person wearing thisstone supposedly attains complete control of thenatural elements—fire, air, earth, and water.

Lapis Lazuli. This stone has long been val-ued as an aid to cleanse the mind and body oftoxins and promote psychic abilities.

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Trees

Many trees and plants are used as objects ofpower. Hazel, the wood of choice for magicwands, was commonly used for divining rodsas a means for locating sources of undergroundwater so that wells could be dug. A hazel rodwas used by St. Patrick (fifth century C.E.) todraw out the snakes of Ireland, which he thencast out to sea.

To the Druid and other magicians, treesare a good source of radiant vitality and maybe drawn upon for relief, and even cure, ofbackache conditions. Many who are attunedto nature seek to create a tree charm to bringthem strength. The prospective charm maker



HAZEL is the wood of choice for magic wands.

selects a suitable tree, strong, upright, freefrom distortions, and of good size. Ash, spruce,and birch are recommended. For best results,the tree should be situated as far away fromhuman contamination as possible.

Once a proper tree has been selected, themagician makes friends with it by touching it,talking to it, and thinking into it. The treeshould be circled nine times while the magustouches it gently with his or her fingertips.Upon the completion of the encirclement, themagician takes a final position to the north,leans back against the tree, and reaches his orher hands behind so that they might touchthe bark of the tree. In this position, themagus chants:

0 Tree;Strong Tree; King Tree:Take thou this weakness of my back.Give me strength instead.That I may be as upright as thyselfBetween the Heavens (look up)And the Earth beneath (look down).Secure from storm

And blessed in every branch.May this be so!

The magician repeats the incantationuntil a feeling of rapport is established withthe tree. When it is felt that the treatment isover, the magician breaks contact gently andthanks the nature spirits for their help.

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Cirlot, J. E. A Dictionary of Symbols. Translated byJack Sage. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1993.


Gifford, Jane. The Wisdom of Trees: Mystery, Magic andMedicine. New York: Sterling Publications, 2000.

Paterson, Jacqueline Memory. Tree Wisdom. GreatBritain: Thorson Publishing, 1997.

Voodoo Dolls

To accomplish the placing a curse or a spellupon an individual, many magic traditionsutilize a wax or cloth image to represent ahated enemy or a desired loved one. To prop-erly effect such a spell or curse, it is generallyrequired to obtain some personal bit of theobject of one’s intentions, i.e., nail parings,hair, excrement, saliva; and mix this in withsoft wax or sew it in the cloth. Once this hasbeen accomplished, the wax or pieces of clothmay be shaped into the form of either a maleor female figure.

In the popular mind the so-called voodoodoll is the most well-known of such effigies,and many tourists have brought such sou-venirs home from their visits to New Orleansor Haiti where Voudun (Voodoo) is practicedas a religion. Over the years, the portrayal of avoudun priest or priestess sticking pins into adoll that represents someone who has incurredtheir wrath has become so common that sucheffigies or puppets are known collectively asvoodoo dolls. Actually, such figures have norole in the religion of voodoo, and the prac-tice of sticking pins in dolls or poppets (pup-pets) is a custom of Western European witch-es, rather than the Haitian or Caribbean prac-titioners of voudun. Perhaps the misunder-standing arose when outsiders who witnessed



Voodoo doll. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

certain rituals saw the followers of voudunsticking pins in the figures of saints orguardian spirits. Such acts are done not tobring harm to anyone, but to keep the goodforce of magic within the object.

One method of effigy cursing calls for themagician to fashion a wax or cloth skeletonand to inscribe the name of the intended vic-tim on its back. The image is then pierced witha thorn or a sharpened twig in the area corre-sponding to the victim’s body part that the sor-cerer desires to inflict with pain. Once pierced,the skeleton is wrapped in a shroud and prayedover as if it were a deceased person. When thedeath-rites have been accomplished, the effigymust be buried in a spot over which theintended victim is certain to walk.

Waxen and cloth images may also be usedto bring about unions of love, as well as terri-ble deeds of hatred and revenge. In order toweave a love spell with wax effigies, the magi-cian fashions two hearts of wax, baptizes themwith the lovers’ names, and then joins the

hearts together with three pins. The imagesare then given to the one who desires such aunion so that she or he might press the waxhearts to her or his own heart.

When magicians are convinced that theythemselves have been cursed, they might forman image, or puppet, to represent the one whohas cast the malign spell. Once the magicianshave fashioned such a puppet, they bury the boxcontaining the puppet under a thin layer of soil.Over the soil, they light a bonfire and chanttheir wish that the curse set against them will beconsumed along with the flames that burn thepuppet representing the one who cursed them.



Replica voodoo doll.

(KLAUS AARSLEFF/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

EVERY magic tradition in every culture utilizesa wax or cloth image to represent a hated enemy or adesired loved one.

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Tribal Empowerment

In Black Elk Speaks (1932), John G. Nei-hardt told of accompanying Black Elk, theaged holy man of the Oglala Sioux, to

Harney Peak, the same place where the spiritshad taken Black Elk in a vision when he wasyoung. Neihardt wrote that as those whostood by watched, thin clouds began to gatherout of a clear sky. A scant chill rain began tofall, and there was low, rumbling thunderwithout lightning. With tears running downhis cheeks, Black Elk chanted that the GreatSpirit, the Six Powers of the World, heard hisprayer to preserve his people. According toNeihardt, Black Elk stood for a few minutes in

silence, his face uplifted, weeping in the rain,and then the sky was once again cloudless.

While those witnesses who observe suchapparent control over the weather by a tribalshaman consider it magic, the practitionersthemselves regard such abilities as empower-ment. The tribal medicine men and womenuse forces that have been here for all time forthe benefit or needs of their people. In theirview, magic is not magic if one understands it.Their medicine power enables them to willsomething into existence because they haveneed of it.

When evolving humankind existed in aless technological state in tribes around theworld, there was a conscious or unconsciousawareness that humans were a part of nature,part of one whole. And conversely, the wholewas part of humankind. Because of this one-ness, humans understood that they were a partof the power of creation and of all the crea-tures that walked, swam, or took flight.

To be a recipient of tribal empowerment,the practitioner, the shaman, or the priestmust live their commitment every moment ofevery day. They must believe in the unity andthe cooperation of all forms of life. When theyare forced to take the life of an animal in orderto survive, they kill only after uttering aprayer, beseeching the group spirit of that ani-mal to understand that such an act was neces-sary in the turning of the great wheel of life.

When those tribal initiates who seekempowerment have displayed the proper atti-tude of receptivity, they must go alone intothe wilderness to fast, to receive their spiritguide, and to receive a secret name and asacred song. Perhaps the guide will also grantspecial powers of healing or prophecy to thesupplicants.

The recipient of tribal empowerment is ableto obtain personal contact with the invisibleworld of spirits and to pierce the sensory worldof illusion which veils the great mystery. Oftenthis gift is heightened by the intoning of thepersonal mantra, the personal song, the holysyllables that attune him or her with the eter-nal sound, the cosmic vibration of all creation.

A crucial element in tribal empowermentis the ability to rise above linear time. Most



Witchcraft puppet.


people have accepted the conventional con-cept of time as existing in some sort of sequen-tial stream flowing along in one dimension. Insolitary, mystical experience, those recipientsof tribal empowerment are able to enter a real-ity of time that is not clock-measured orclock-controlled and that places their psychesin a dimension beyond linear time and space.

The ethnologist Ivar Lissner believed thatin the sophistication of the modern world,people must not forsake the heritage of spiritu-ality that has been bequeathed to humankindover hundreds of thousands of years. Humansmust never allow the materialist or the puretechnologist to dictate the fate of humanity. Inhis view, surveying the contributions madeover the centuries by those nontechnologicalsocieties and their tribal empowerments,humankind must be guided by “great, universalminds which are closer to the secrets of thetranscendental and throw more into the scalesthan mere weight of technological progress.”

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Gill, Sam D., and Irene F. Sullivan. Dictionary ofNative American Mythology. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1992.

Gregor, Arthur S. Amulets, Talismans, and Fetishes.New York: Scribner, 1975.

Harner, Michael.The Way of the Shaman. New York:Bantam Books, 1982.

Lissner, Ivar. Man, God and Magic. New York: G. P.Putnam’s Sons, 1961.

Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks. New York:William Morrow, 1932. Reprint, New York: Pock-et Books, 1972.

Crystal Skulls

Crystal skulls are fashioned from large pieces ofcrystal, usually from the mineral quartz. Theyare often life-sized and bear the same distin-guishing characteristics as a human skull witheye sockets, a nasal cavity, and a rounded cra-nium. The most exquisite crystal skulls havefinely crafted jaws with removable mandibles.

In addition to claims of paranormal activi-ty, controversy concerning crystal skulls cen-ters on their origins. More than a dozen ofthem were claimed to have been discovered inMexico and Central America and are dated by

their founders or those who currently possessthem as being hundreds, perhaps thousands ofyears old. Common methods for dating arti-facts can neither confirm nor refute claimsabout when these crystal skulls were crafted,but, generally speaking, skulls sculpted withmetal tools cannot be more than a few cen-turies old if they originated in Mexico andCentral America.

Some crystal skulls are attributed to theMayan culture that thrived in southern Mexi-co and Central America during the first mil-lennium C.E. However, as established throughstudies of recurring symbols, artifacts, or refer-ences in hieroglyphics, there is no known cul-tural tradition among the Mayans that relateto crystal skulls or any kind of skull worship orfascination. There is some evidence of skullsbeing symbolically important in Aztec culture,which flourished earlier and further norththan Mayan civilization, yet there are farfewer claims among crystal skull enthusiaststhat connect the objects to Aztec culture.Radio-carbon testing is not applicable to crys-tal, because the method works only on previ-ously animate objects.

Crystal skulls are credited by believers forhaving the ability to awaken human con-sciousness to a higher level of being. Somepeople assert that they experience a psychicconnection when viewing a crystal skull, andcommonly declare that they were infused withpositive energy. Skulls of quartz crystal, likeother quartz objects, are believed by mysticcrystal enthusiasts to have the ability torecord events, thoughts, and emotions thatoccur in their presence.

Some believers in mystical qualities ofcrystals credit ancient peoples with havingcrafted crystal skulls. According to them,ancients used the skulls to predict the future,to control the weather, as healing devices, asoracles to receive cosmic wisdom, as receivers



CRYSTAL skulls are believed to awaken thehuman consciousness to a higher level of being.

of universal knowledge, and as a tool meantfor future use to gain divine knowledge.

There is a crystal skull on display at theLondon Museum of Mankind, and the ParisCrystal Skull is on display at the TrocaderoMuseum. Both skulls can be traced back toMexico, where records show they were pur-chased in the 1890s. The London Museumacquired its skull through Tiffanys of NewYork in 1898. Tests conducted in 1995revealed scratches from steel tools, perhaps ajeweler’s wheel, confirming the skull must beof modern origin. The date of the skull wasmoved from ancient Aztec times to the morerecent period after the Spanish conquest ofMexico in 1520. Night workers at the museumreportedly refused to work near the skullunless it was covered, citing vibrations, colorsappearing in the skull, or a simple associationof skulls and death.

The Amethyst Crystal Skull and theMayan Crystal Skull were found in Guatemalain the early 1900s. The latter skull received itsname because it was found at the site ofMayan ruins. “Maya” is kept by a psychic whouses the skull to assist her in readings.

Two skulls exhibit particularly exquisitecraftsmanship. The Rose Quartz Crystal Skull,found along the Guatemala-Honduras border,includes removable mandibles, as does theMitchell-Hedges skull, the most famous andnotorious of crystal skulls. Named after itsfounders and keepers, F. A. Mitchell-Hedges(1882–1959) and his daughter Anna (1910– ),it is considered the finest example of a crystalskull. Fashioned from clear quartz, theMitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull is realistic insize (the cranium approximates that of anaverage female adult), and its jaws wereformed from the same piece of crystal as theskull. The jaws fit neatly into sockets andmaintain a perfect balance with the skull.

The two biggest mysteries of the Mitchell-Hedges skull concern the craftsmanship usedto make it and the story surrounding its dis-covery. The skull is believed to have beenformed from a large block of crystal that wascarved into a rough shape of a skull and thensmoothed into its final shape with water and asolution of silicon-crystal sand or, perhaps,

through some unknown technology. There areno scratches on the Mitchell-Hedges skullthat would indicate the work of metal tools.Shafts within the skull are said to channellight from the base of the skull to the eyesockets in a manner similar to modern optictechnology, and the sockets have concaveforms that reflect light to the upper cranium.Internal prisms and light tunnels are believedto be the reason why objects are magnifiedand brightened when held beneath the skull.

Like other crystal skulls, the Mitchell-Hedges skull reportedly changes color, some-times clouding up white, and other timesgrowing from a small patch of black tointensely black. Many of those who haveviewed it report strange visions when lookingin, and some have detected a faint hum or ascent. Like other mystical crystal objects, theMitchell-Hedges version has been reputed tohave oracular and healing powers, to be ableto accumulate natural magnetism, and toamplify and transmit energy. Its keeper andearly publicist, F. A. Mitchell-Hedges, alsoclaimed it had the power to kill, citing severalof his enemies who died before he did.

Mitchell-Hedges was an explorer and gam-bler who wrote books about his searches forremnants of lost tribes and the lost continentof Atlantis (Lands of Wonder and Fear, 1931)as well as his encounters with sea monsters(Battles with Giant Fish, 1923, and Battles withMonsters of the Sea, 1937). In 1927, Mitchell-Hedges and his daughter Anna were clearingdebris atop a temple in the ancient Mayancity of Lubaantum (modern-day Belize) whenAnna discovered what became known as theMitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull on her seven-teenth birthday. Weeks later, near the samesite, she found the jaw of the skull.

Mitchell-Hedges did not publicize theskull until 1943, when he began referring to itas the Skull of Doom and claimed it was 3,600years old. Curiously, he barely mentioned theskull in his autobiography, Danger, My Ally(1954). After he died in 1959, daughter Annabecame the keeper of the skull.

It is now generally accepted that AnnaMitchell-Hedges did not discover the fabledcrystal skull in the ruins of a Mayan city in



1927, but Mitchell-Hedges bought the artifactat an auction at Sothebys in London in 1943.Such claims have been verified by records atthe British Museum, which had bid againstMitchell-Hedges for ownership of the object.

In 1970, the Mitchell-Hedges skull wasexamined by art conservator and restorerFrank Dorland. He claimed to have seen a spir-it after studying the skull late at night in hishome. According to Dorland, tests conductedat Hewlitt-Packard laboratories in SantaClara, California, vouched for its craftsman-ship including an absence of scars that wouldindicate metal tool work, and evidence that itwas cut against the crystal axis. The validity ofthe tests has been questioned, as has the wholestory of how the Mitchell-Hedges CrystalSkull was found and how far back it dates.

Jo Ann and Carl Parks became owners ofthe famous Texas Crystal Skull, whom theyaffectionately call Max, in 1980 when aTibetan healer bestowed the artifact on themin payment of a debt. Admittedly unaware atfirst of the significance of this object, Carl andJo Ann, residents of Houston, placed the skullin a closet for the next seven years. Not untilthey came into contact with F. R. “Nick”Nocerino of Pinole, California, one of theworld’s foremost authorities of crystal skullsand director of the Society of Crystal Skulls,did they learn what an important artifact itwas. Nocerino had been searching for thatskull since the 1940s. He knew of its exis-tence, but its actual location had sent him ona quest that had led him around the world.

Of the 13 crystal skulls known toresearchers that are the actual true size of ahuman head, Max is the largest, weighing 18pounds compared to the others, which weighnine to 11 pounds. Max was found in a Mayantomb at a site in Guatemala, and it has beenestimated that Max came from a 50-to-60-pound piece of crystal that was more than ahalf a million years old. Other than Max andthe crystal skull owned by Anna Mitchell-Hedges of Canada, all the others, each differ-ing somewhat in size and detail, are held inmuseums or private collections.

People claim that being in Max’s proximi-ty provokes images and visions within them.

They believe to see scenes from the past histo-ry of Earth, and frequently they perceiveUFO-related scenes and messages. “Whetheryou believe any of that or not, if you simplylook at the artifact on a scientific and archae-ological level, you cannot help being over-whelmed and awed at the skilled worksman-ship that was involved in creating him,” JoAnn Parks has commented.

The British Crystal Skull on display at theLondon Museum of Mankind is considered tobe a nineteenth-century artifact. Scientists, atleast, are convinced that all evidence weighstoward recent origins of all crystal skulls.Until convincing evidence that a known civi-lization venerated such an object, or that crys-tal skulls are remnants of a vanished civiliza-tion, belief in special qualities of the skulls arein the minds of beholders of mysticism.

M Delving Deeper

Bryant, Alice. The Message of the Crystal Skull: FromAtlantis to the New Age. St. Paul, Minn.:Llewellyn Publications, 1989.

Garvin, Richard M. The Crystal Skull: The Story of theMystery, Myth and Magic of the Mitchell-HedgesCrystal Skull. New York: Doubleday, 1973.

Gienger, Michael. Crystal Power, Crystal Healing: TheComplete Handbook. New York: Sterling Publica-tions, 1998.

Sullivan, Kevin. The Crystal Handbook. New York:New American Library, 1996.

Fetishes

Fetishes (from the Portuguese word feitio,meaning artificial, or false) are distinguishedfrom amulets and talismans by supposedlybeing endowed with human thoughts or feel-ings, or infused with a spirit. Drawings of ani-mals on cave walls by prehistoric people werebelieved to infuse humans with the qualitiesof strength, speed, or other attributes associat-ed with that animal. Today, fetishes carved ofwood or stone by Native Americans of theSouthwest have the same purpose. Fetishescarved in the likeness of an animal are givenas gifts, with the recipient supposedly gainingsome of the qualities of that animal. Fetishesfrom the Zuni tribe are particularly soughtafter in modern times, sustaining a tribal tradi-tion stretching back in time for centuries.



Fetishes are important in the vodoun reli-gion, originating in western Africa as smallpouches or chests, or items worn as amulets,and evolving into doll fetishes that werebelieved to possess the spirit of the person onwhom the doll was modeled. That mysticalpractice of vodoun practitioners was misrepre-sented and generally overdramatized as a hor-ror element of voodoo in popular culture, inmovies, television shows, and fiction.

Egyptians had dolls called shawabtis thatwere occasionally buried with the dead for theiruse in the afterlife. A central African tribecalled the Bakongo had a fetish called Nkosi.

Unlike an amulet, which works automaticallyto bring luck or ward off misfortune, the Nkosiwas believed to work only through an elaborateceremony, where its power to identify the partyguilty of a crime was coaxed and sometimesforced into action. That is the nature of fetish-es, and what distinguishes them from amuletsand talismans. Fetishes have personalities thatmust be appealed to in some way in order forthem to work; amulets, invested with powerbased on the material and inscriptions, are sup-posed to work automatically; and talismanswork automatically if they were crafted follow-ing a specific, ritualistic practice.

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Assortment of voodoo

dolls and fetishes on

display at an outdoor

fetish market in Lome,

Togo. (CAROLINE

PENN/CORBIS

CORPORATION)

DRAWINGS of animals on cave walls werebelieved give humans the qualities of strength, speed,

or attributes of that animal.


Megaliths

Around Carnac, in the Brittany region ofFrance, stand more than 4,000 stones datingback 6,000 years. Some of them stand individu-ally, some are aligned in rows, and some markthe sites of chambered graves beneath nearbymounds. Intricate burial chambers in Ireland,like many of the 12,000 ancient chamberedburial sites beneath mounds in northernEurope, have arrangements of stone or mark-ings that correspond with lunar and solarcycles. All of those ancient structures andarrangements of large stones are examples of amegalith (from the Greek “megas” meaninglarge, and “litho” meaning stone), a term usedmost specifically in reference to stone struc-tures erected for ceremonial, astronomical, andreligious purposes, and as monuments. Mega-lith building (placing large stones in a specificsite) dates back to at least 5000 B.C.E. Many ofthe most famous megaliths were erectedbetween then and 1500 B.C.E. The communi-ties that erected them eventually faded into therecesses of history, but the megaliths they leftbehind continue to tantalize the imagination.

Adding to the mystery of these ancientstructures is the supposition that they wereerected by people not credited with possessingthe knowledge and technology needed tomove massive stones. Even if large labor forceswere available, most megalithic structuresdemanded keen architectural and mathemati-cal skills for planning and erection. Addition-ally, many ancient megaliths seem to have hadsophisticated uses as solar and lunar calendarsand as astronomical observatories. In fact, thediscipline of archaeoastronomy (the study ofastronomy among ancient societies) hasbecome a burgeoning field of study during thepast few decades, with ancient megaliths oftenserving as the focus of the discipline.

As ancient megaliths are studied, a greaterappreciation for the skills and knowledge ofprehistoric civilizations comes forth. Missingpieces of the puzzle of human developmentremain, however, fueling more speculation andtheories. Perhaps survivors from vanished civi-

lizations passed knowledge on to inhabitants ofdistant lands. As the old myths sometimes sug-gest, the megalith builders themselves mayhave known magic secrets of levitation and oftransforming and reassembling solid materials.UFO enthusiasts argue that visitors from outerspace may have directed the erecting of mega-liths, particularly since so many megalithicsites were devised with the intention of view-ing and charting the skies above.

Ancient megaliths are generally dividedinto five categories:

1. alignments, stones placed in rows andother non-circular shapes;

2. burial chambers, underground chambersusually covered by a mound of some kind;



White witch Kevin

Carlyon working with

crystals at Stonehenge.

(KEVIN CARLYON/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

3. monoliths (from the Greek; “mono” meanssingle, “litho” is stone), single standingstones, also called menhirs;

4. monument memorials to gods or commu-nity leaders; and

5. stone circles.

The greatest concentration of alignedmegaliths is in the Carnac area of Brittany,France, where megaliths are aligned in rows inthree different fields. Le Menec has two stonecircles at either end of 12 rows of megaliths.The tallest stones stand 13 feet in height, andthe stones dwindle in size moving from west toeast, totaling 1,099 megaliths. Kermario has10 rows and 1,029 megaliths. One tall menhir,in which five serpents are engraved, serves tosignal a nearby tumulus, an earthen moundthat covers a chambered grave. The thirdfield, Kerlescan, has 13 rows of aligned mega-liths that form the shape of a barrel.

The megaliths of Carnac first underwentradio-carbon dating techniques in 1959. Atthat time it was expected the results wouldshow the megaliths were erected during thefirst or second century B.C.E., for it was gener-ally believed that the megalith builders hadcome from the eastern Mediterranean regionfrom Egypt, or Mycea (a civilization that pre-ceded ancient Greece). The radiocarbon test,however, pushed the megalith builders back asfar as 4650 B.C.E. All previous theories aboutthe origins of the Brittany megaliths wereundermined. The structures originated withpre-Roman and pre-Celtic civilizations, andthey were older than similar structures in theeastern Mediterranean region from which theengineering expertise to erect the megalithswas previously believed to have originated.

The question of how the megaliths werepositioned at sites where they stand is baffling.Modern-day tests conducted on moving the

megaliths from quarries to nearby sites showedthat it was possible for the primitive societiesto move and erect the megaliths using rope orsimply pushing the stones. Such effort, how-ever, would have required coordinating thelabor of hundreds of workers. One test duringthe 1970s showed that 200 people could movea 30-ton stone two to three miles in a few daysby rolling the stone over logs.

Some monoliths (single blocks or largepieces of stone) are formed naturally and gainmythical importance based on their sublimeappearance. In the Australian desert standsthe world’s largest monolith, Uluru (alsocalled Ayers Rock), which reaches about athousand feet high. Uluru is venerated by abo-rigines (native people of the area), whobelieve the ground beneath it is hollow and isa source of energy called Tjukurpa Dream-time. According to their belief, all life as it istoday is part of one vast unchanging networkof relationships that can be traced to the spiritancestors of the Dreamtime. The great spiritswalked along the earth and literally sangmaterial objects into existence.

The Uluru monolith extends downwardmore than three miles beneath the surface.Approximately 500 million years ago it waspart of the ocean floor at the center of pre-sent-day Australia. Depending on the time ofday and the atmospheric conditions, Ulurucan dramatically change color, from a deepblue to glowing red. The area draws a varietyof visitors, from those seeking to tap mysticalenergy, to tourists bussed in and out for a cou-ple hours’ worth of viewing time.

Among natural monoliths with mysteriousqualities are “healing stones,” usually a largestone with a hole through it. The Men-an-Tolin Cornwall, England, is one of several exam-ples of a stone reputed to have healing proper-ties. According to legend, people can be curedof back and leg pains by passing through thehole in the stone.

M Delving Deeper

Burl, Aubrey. Megalithic Brittany: A Guide to over 350Ancient Sites and Monuments. London: Thamesand Hudson, 1985.

Daniel, Glyn Edmund. Megaliths in History. London:Thames and Hudson, 1972.



MANY ancient megaliths appear to have hadsophisticated uses as solar and lunar calendars and as

astronomical observatories.

Lancaster Brown, Peter. Megaliths, Myths, and Men:An Introduction to Astroarchaeology. New York:Dover, 2000.

Michell, John F. Megalithomania: Artists, Antiquarians,and Archaeologists at the Old Stone Mountains.Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1982.

Mohen, Jean-Pierre. The World of Megaliths. NewYork: Facts on File, 1990.

Runes

Although the various markings on objects ofstone and wood known as runes are commonlyreferred to as an ancient alphabet of the North-ern European Germanic and Scandinavianpeople, they do not really constitute a languageas such. The runes are essentially symbols withparticular meanings that were used to conveybrief magical inscriptions and were often usedin rites of divination. The word “rune” means“secret,” especially as it might apply to a hiddenwisdom, and the various symbols were inscribedon a wide variety of objects to give them power.The runes were used to send secret messages, tocast spells, to divine the future, and to commu-nicate with the spirit world.

Some scholars say that some of the symbolsused in the mystical runic markings may haveoriginated as far back as Paleolithic times andbeen combined in historic times with certaincharacters from an old Etruscan alphabet. Cer-tain traditions attribute the runes to the Vol-sungr, an ancestral tribe of heroic and semi-divine beings that settled in Northern Europejust prior to the Ice Age. According to some ofthe legends of the Volsungr, the godlike beingsgave the magical symbols as a gift that mightassist lesser humans in their struggles to survivein the harsh environment of Ice Age Europe.In the Old Norse religion, it was Odin, thefather of the gods, who, seeking higher wis-dom, hung upside down from the World Treefor nine days before he received the rune sym-bols as the answer to his quest.

When the runic symbols were placed onsmall rocks or blocks of wood, the Old Norsecast them to predict the success of a huntingor fishing expedition, when to plant crops, orwhat course their children might followthroughout their lives. In the eleventh centu-ry when Christianity began to replace the old

Viking religion and Latin became the writtenlanguage of the educated, the runes were notreplaced, but gained an even stronger reputa-tion for containing magical powers. While thepriests of the new religion frowned upon anysupernatural connotations attributed to therunes, the symbols remained as integraldesigns in folk art, jewelry, and wearing appar-el. In recent years, the casting and reading ofrunes—the “Viking Oracle”—has againbecome a popular tool of divination.

M Delving Deeper

Blum, Ralph. The Book of Runes: A Handbook for theUse of an Ancient Oracle. New York: St. Martin’sPress, 1993.

Davidson, H. R. Ellis. Pagan Scandinavia. New York:Frederick A. Praeger, 1967.

Gordon, Stuart. The Encyclopedia of Myths and Leg-ends. London: Headline Publishing, 1994.


Sawyer, Brigit. The Viking-Age Rune Stones: Customand Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Talismans

The word “talisman” comes from the Arabicand means “to make magical marks.” An amuletcan be a found object, a common item, or onebought in a store. A talisman, on the otherhand, is inscribed with pictures, words, letters,or mystical signs and is crafted for a specificfunction. When properly designed, talismansare believed to bring love, treasures, and health,and can allow one to communicate with thedead. Talismans must be crafted following a spe-cific ritual based on the intended use, and therecipient’s astrological sign, religion, or otherqualities are often taken into consideration.

Talismans are intended to remain mysteri-ous. While amulets often feature recognizedsymbols to bring protection or luck, talismans



TALISMANS are often used by members ofsecret societies.

have inscriptions meant to be secret or specif-ic only to the individuals wearing them. Talis-mans must be crafted at a proper time and in aproper way to be effective; injury is believed toresult from carelessness in the making or wear-ing of talismans.

Talismans are often used by members ofsecret societies. Kabbalists, for example, com-bined a complicated system of knowledge thatutilized elements of numerology and astrologyto create magic squares that protect againstsorcery. Magic squares feature letters that spellout the name of God or numbers arranged inrows and columns that produce an equal sumwhen added in various sequences.

The magic triangle, another talisman, isbased on the belief that systematic reductionsof an inscription, line by line, create powerthat can ward off evil spirits and heal mal-adies. The mystical word “Abracadabra,” forexample, was used in medieval Europe as achant to reduce fever. Each time the word wasspoken in the chant, a letter was dropped. Asthe chant reduced, the fever was dispelled.Such talismans were especially popular duringthe Great Plague that swept through Londonduring the mid-1660s.

A talisman of vodun, called gris-gris, is asmall cloth bag filled with items from herbs to

cloth to animal parts, created in a ritualisticpractice and intended to bring money, love, orgood health to the wearer.

M Delving Deeper

Bach, Marcus. Inside Voodoo. New York: Signet, 1968.




Nelson, Felicitas H. Talismans & Amulets of the World.New York: Sterling Publishing, 2000.

Totems

Among the shamanic teachings of the tradi-tional Native Americans, the totem repre-sents the physical form of one’s spirit helper,his or her guardian or guide. The totem entitymay in some ways be comparable to the con-cept of a guardian angel or spirit guide thatpresents itself on the physical plane in theform of an animal.

Traditional Native Americans believedthat the great mystery prepared the land as aplace where all things that swam, walked,crawled, and flew were to mingle in harmony.Gifts were bestowed upon each creature, withabilities to learn lessons from one another.The native people accepted their kinship withall of nature and believed that each entity per-formed its specific talents according to its abil-ities. Therefore, it was advantageous for allhumans to learn the identity of their totemand to receive its lessons in order to maketheir lives more complete.

In the shamanistic tradition, all creaturesare called relatives and are considered broth-ers, sisters, parents, and so forth. All nonhu-man entities are regarded as “people,” andeveryone has an important role to perform inthe larger system of life.

It was the totem animal that guidedshamans through the portal that led to theother world, to the mysterious transcendentreality beyond the material world, the dimen-sion that lay beyond time and space. For all themembers of the tribes, their own totem animal



Bone pendants. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

gave them their spiritual power and providedthem with their own instrument of passageinto the spirit world. Their totem animalwould guide them in the purification of theirspirit, helping them to achieve self-disciplinethrough fasting, prayer, and the emptying oftheir hearts of all earthly desires. Althoughmany in the Judeo-Christian tradition prefer toemphasize the charge that humans shall havedominion over all animals, it might be mindfulto also take serious notice of Job 12:7–8: “Askthe animals, and they will teach you, or thebirds of the air, and they will tell you; or tospeak to the earth, and it will teach you, or letthe fish of the sea inform you.”

Although totems are most often associatedwith Native Americans, many cultures have atsome time in their past used animal totems.Local sport teams use names such as the Tigers,Lions, Bears, Cardinals, and Falcons. Variousreligions and sects use expressions like theLamb of God, the Dove of the Holy Spirit, andthe Lion of Judah. People through history haveeven had such surnames as Bear, Beaver, Wolf,Crane, Crow, Drake, Finch, Fish, Fox, Hawk,Robin, Pike, Lamb, Partridge, and Salmon.

For many centuries, humans have allowedanimals to be both surrogates and teachers.The ethnologist Ivar Lissner has pondered theprovocative mystery of why those anonymousFranco-Cantabrian cave artists of more than20,000 years ago never left mankind any clear-ly defined self-portraits that would show theexact physical appearance of human ances-tors. Aside from a few Venus-type mother-goddess statuettes, people are left with a ratherbizarre collection of ghostly creatures with theheads of animals and birds, strange half-human, and half-animal entities.

Lissner suggested that the Stone-Age artistsreally were portraying themselves, “…but in theguise of intermediary beings who were strongerthan common men and able to penetrate moredeeply into the mysteries of fate, that unfath-omable interrelationship between animals,men, and gods.” The ancient cave painters mayhave been saying that “…the road to supernat-ural powers is easier to follow in animal shapeand that spirits can only be reached with an ani-mal’s assistance.”

For countless centuries, those people whotrust their totems have relied upon the assis-tance of their personal animal totem to leadthem to higher spiritual awareness.

M Delving Deeper

Gill, Sam D., and Irene F. Sullivan. Dictionary ofNative American Mythology. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1992.


Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman. New York:Bantam Books, 1982.

Lissner, Ivar. Man, God and Magic. New York: G. P.Putnam’s Sons, 1961.

Steiger, Brad. Totems: The Transformative Power ofYour Personal Animal Totem. San Francisco:HarperSanFranciso, 1997.

Things of Sacred Power

Things of sacred power associated withJudeo-Christian history as recorded inthe Bible and in various apocryphal



Totem pole. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

texts have enraptured believers for centuries.Whether pilgrims seek the physical remains ofNoah’s Ark or the cup from which Jesus (c. 6B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.) drank Passover wine at theLast Supper, great controversies over the phys-ical existence of certain objects mentioned inthe Bible have persisted for thousands of yearsand continue in the new millennium.

So prevalent is the belief that Noah’s Arkcan be located on the slope of the tallestmountain in Turkey, Agri Dagi (Mt. Ararat),that some travel agencies include participa-tion in expeditions to search for the ark aspart of tour packages to Turkey. Several arksightings on Mt. Ararat occurred during thetwentieth century. During a thaw in the sum-mer of 1916, a Russian Imperial Air Forcelieutenant flying over Mt. Ararat reported see-ing half the hull of some sort of ship pokingout above surface of a lake. A photographtaken in 1972 by the Earth Research Techni-cal Satellite (ERTS) is said to reveal anunusual feature at 14,000 feet on Mt. Ararat.It was reported to be the same size as the Ark.In the 1980s, former NASA astronaut JamesIrwin participated in expeditions up themountain, but he found only the remnants ofabandoned skis. With the breakup of the for-mer Soviet Union, expeditions up the moun-tain intensified during the 1990s, and thesearch for Noah’s Ark continues.

As described in the Old Testament book ofExodus, the Ark of the Covenant, a woodenchest covered with gold, is said to contain suchsacred relics as the tablets of law from Godthat Moses (14th–13th century B.C.E.) broughtback from Mt. Sinai. The ark possessed super-natural powers and served as a means throughwhich God could express his will to theIsraelites. It was last known to have rested inthe Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, but eversince Babylonian forces conquered the city in587 B.C.E. the whereabouts of the Ark of theCovenant has been a mystery. Interest in theArk of the Covenant has inspired generationsof those who would recover the sacred relic. Inmedieval times the Knights Templar suppos-edly came into possession of the ark.

A whole mythology has been built aroundthe legendary Holy Grail, said to be the drink-

ing vessel of Jesus at the Last Supper before hiscrucifixion and resurrection. The legend of thegrail has been perpetuated through literaturesince the twelfth century, particularly in talesinvolving knights of Camelot who served thelegendary King Arthur of Britain. Through theinspirational recounting of the various quests,Christian teachings and virtues are presented.In modern times, the Holy Grail persists as asymbol of an ultimate achievement, a higherorder of being for which people search.

Another thing of sacred power that hasinspired generations of Christians is theShroud of Turin, which is discussed in an ear-lier chapter. The Bible mentions a “cleanlinen cloth” (Matthew 27:59) in which thedead body of Jesus was wrapped following hiscrucifixion. Several cloths purported to be theone mentioned in the Bible have been madepublic through the centuries. The Shroud ofTurin is a linen cloth that bears the image of abearded, crucified man. The claims that theimage on the Shroud of Turin was that of Jesuswere first made public in the fourteenth cen-tury. The Shroud has been controversial eversince—embraced as authentic by believers,and written off as a forgery by skeptics. Eachtime evidence seems to weigh heavily againstthe authenticity of the Shroud, a new findingrenews the controversy and inspires believers.

Perhaps a greater stretch for the skepticalmind is the belief that the lance that piercedJesus’ side has been preserved down throughthe centuries as a symbol that will bring vastpolitical power to the one who possesses it.Nevertheless, when Christian crusaders dis-covered the lance in the Church of St. Peterin Antioch during the First Crusade in 1098,they used it as a symbol to rally their forcesand defeat the Saracens. From that timeonward, European monarches coveted theHoly Lance as a sign that their reigns wouldbe far-reaching and long-lasting. Fortunately,the power of the Spear of Destiny ebbedwhen it fell into the possession of the Nazisand their leader, Adolf Hitler (1889–1945).

This section will examine these objects ofsacred power and discuss why they have beendeemed so precious and holy by believersdown through the centuries.



M Delving Deeper

Bernstein, Henrietta. The Ark of the Covenant, theHoly Grail. Marina del Ray, Calif.: DeVorss Publi-cations, 1998

Goodrich, Norma.The Holy Grail. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 1992.

Hancock, Graham. The Sign and the Seal. London:Heinemann, 1992.

Weston, Jessie L. From Ritual to Romance. Mineola,N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1997.

The Ark of the Covenant

Ever since the Babylonian Captivity ofJerusalem in the sixth century B.C.E., thewhereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant hasbeen a mystery. As described in the Old Testa-ment of the Bible, the ark served as the visiblesign of God’s presence to the Israelites. TheIsraelites would rally and vanquish their foeswhen the ark was brought to sites of battle,and death came to those in the presence ofthe ark who were enemies of God, betrayedtheir allegiance to God, or who simply forgotabout the ark’s immense power. According tothe Bible, the ark was last known to have rest-ed in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.Whether it was destroyed, stolen, moved, orremained hidden after Babylonian forces con-quered the city and leveled the temple in 587B.C.E. is not known.

Another mystery concerning the ark is itscontents. The ark is said to contain numeroussacred relics, including the tablets of law fromGod that Moses (14th–13th century B.C.E.)brought back from Mt. Sinai; Aaron’s rod, akind of rounded stick that miraculously grewleaves as a sign of God’s trust in Aaron, broth-er of Moses; and/or a specimen of manna, themysterious food that had provided an unend-ing source of nourishment to the Israelites asthey wandered in the desert. Additionally, theark possessed a supernatural power that awedand overwhelmed those who viewed it, and itserved also as a means through which Godcould express his will.

The idea of the ark was expressed by Godto the Israelites and was then made into amaterial object by skilled craftsmen in about1462 B.C.E. They built a chest (about 2 cubitsin length and 1 cubits in height or about 3 feet,

9 inches in length, 2 feet, 3 inches in height)using setim (acacia) wood overlaid with thepurest gold. The outside of the ark had a goldrim and four golden rings, one on each cornerof the chest. Two poles made of setim and cov-ered with gold ran through the gold rings oneither side; the poles were used to lift the arkand were never removed from the rings. Theark had a cover of gold on which two cherubimfaced each other, each with wings spread. Theoracle (word, or commands) of God wouldissue from the ark from a cloud between thetwo cherubim (Exodus 25:19–22).

The ark originally provided safety to theIsraelites in their journey to the PromisedLand. The power of the ark was manifestedseveral times and enemies were scattered.When priests carrying the ark stepped into theRiver Jordan, the water stopped flowing andall the Israelites were able to cross. At the bat-tle of Jericho the ark was carried by a proces-sion around the walls of the city for sevendays, after which the walls came down and theIsraelites won the battle.

After losing a series of battles with thePhilistines, the Israelites brought the ark to abattle site, hoping for inspiration and wantingto strike fear into the Philistines. However, thePhilistines won the battle and secured posses-sion of the ark. The Philistines viewed theircapture of the ark as a victory over the Israelitesand their God. The ark was treated as a trophy,but several disasters fell upon the Philistines,including the rapid spread of a plague and aninvasion of mice wherever the ark was placed.The Philistines eventually built a cart on whichthey placed the ark and representations of theirafflictions; they yoked two cows to the cart andset it forth. The cart made its way to the territo-ry of Israel, where the ark came into the posses-sion of the Bethsames. A large number of Beth-sames fell dead when they failed to showrespect for the ark. Fearful of the ark’s power,



THE Ark of the Covenant was last known tohave rested in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

the Bethsames offered it to the inhabitants ofnearby Cariathiarum, who took it in their pos-session with proper sacraments.

Later, when David (d. 962 B.C.E.) becameking of Israel and established Jerusalem as theholy center of the nation, the ark was to bemoved there. Along the way, however, a cartcarrying the ark was jostled and the ark begansliding off. Forgetting about the ark’s strangepowers, a man who reached out to secure itwas struck dead. The ark was then housed at anearby site outside the city, where it was theobject of veneration for several monthsbefore the journey to Jerusalem was complet-ed. The ark was taken once from Jerusalem toinspire David’s army in its battle against theforces of Absalom.

Eventually, the ark was placed in the newTemple of Solomon in Jerusalem. It was occa-sionally taken away from the temple for a battleor ceremony, but soon the ark was not allowed

to leave the temple. As decades passed, thesacredness and powers of the ark were largelyforgotten. When Jerusalem was invaded andtaken by Babylonians led by King Nebuchad-nezzar II (c. 630–562 B.C.E.; the BabylonianCaptivity of Jerusalem is dated from 587 B.C.E.),the whereabouts of the ark became a mystery. Itwas either destroyed along with the city or, assuggested in Kings 4:25, taken to Babylon asone of the spoils of victory.

Some biblical scholars theorize that thoseIsraelites still faithful to God were forewarnedabout the fall of Jerusalem and moved the arkto safety. Jeremiah is said to have moved theark to a cave on Mt. Sinai, the mountain inEgypt where Moses first spoke with God. TheTalmud, the ancient, authoritative history ofthe Hebrews, indicates that the ark was keptin a secret area of the Temple of Solomon andsurvived the destruction and pillaging ofJerusalem. The Temple of Solomon wasrebuilt on its original foundation after the



Ark of the Covenant.


Babylon Captivity. Around 150 B.C.E., a suc-cessor of Alexander the Great invadedJerusalem and took valuable items from thenew temple, but the ark was not mentionedamong them.

One account has the illegitimate son ofSolomon and Sheba stealing the ark about1000 B.C.E. and hiding it in Aksum, Ethiopia,where it was guarded by a monk in a church.Other stories have the ark being transportedduring a Hebrew migration to Abyssinia(Ethiopia) that preceded the Babylonian Cap-tivity. There, according to that version, theark remained on an island in Lake Tana. Withthe spread of Christianity throughout theRoman world by 300 C.E., Abyssinia was large-ly Christian. Later, during the sixteenth cen-tury, fierce battles were waged by invadingMuslim armies on the Christian empire ofAbyssinia, causing much destruction, includ-ing the razing of monasteries on the islandTana Kirkos, where the ark was believed tohave been kept. A cathedral was built afterthe Muslim armies retreated, and there,according to this legend, the ark remains safe.

In December 2000, Erling Haagensen andHenry Lincoln published their thesis that theArk of the Covenant and the Holy Grail wereboth hidden in sites on the Baltic Sea islandof Bornholm about the year 1170.

Interest in the Ark of the Covenant hasrecurred through the centuries. In medievaltimes the Knights Templar supposedly cameinto possession of the ark. In contemporarytimes, interest in the ark was renewed withthe 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, where itis the object of a search just prior to WorldWar II (1939–45) between Nazi forces and anAmerican archaeologist named Indiana Jones.The ark is found and, as in the Bible, its powerkills (literally melts) all of those who do notpay it proper respect. In the film, as in the OldTestament, the presence of the ark bringsdestruction to the wicked and to the vain. InRaiders of the Lost Ark, the relic eventuallyends up in an undistinguished crate in anoverstocked U.S. government warehousewaiting to be archived.

In December 2001, Rev. John McLuckiefound a wooden tablet representing the Ark of

the Covenant in a cupboard in St. John’s Epis-copal Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rev.McLuckie, who had lived in Ethiopia, recog-nized the artifact as sacred to Ethiopia’s Ortho-dox Christians, and arranged to have thetablet returned in a special ceremony in 2002.

M Delving Deeper

Bernstein, Henrietta. The Ark of the Covenant, theHoly Grail. Marina del Rey, Calif.: DeVorss Publi-cations, 1998.

Deevey, Edward S. “Ancient Wonders Abound inEthiopia.” International Travel News 23, no. 11(January 1999): 23.

“Ethiopian Artifact Found in Cupboard.” BBC News,December 6, 2001.[Online]http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1695000/1695102.stm.

Hancock, Graham. The Sign and the Seal: The Questfor the Lost Ark of the Covenant. New York:Crown, 1992.

Heverly, Lorry. “Where Is the Ark of the Covenant?”Christian Science Monitor. (March 30, 2000): 18.

Starck, Peter. “Are the Holy Grail and Ark of theCovenant Hidden on Baltic Sea Island?” [Online]http://www.rense.com/general6/baltic.htm

Crosses

Christians wear crosses to remember the cru-cifixion of Jesus Christ (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.)and because they believe that nothing unholycan stand in the presence of the cross. Thecross as a Christian amulet dates back to thefourth century, when the Roman emperorConstantine (d. 337) adopted it as his symbolinstead of the traditional Roman Eagle. Thatact symbolized the conversion of Rome to aChristian empire.

But amulets with crosses date back toMesopotamia and Egypt, and served as a sym-bol long before associations of the cross withthe crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Native Ameri-cans already had amulets with crosses by the



THE cross as a Christian amulet dates back tothe fourth century.

time of first contact with Europeans. Europeanadventurers, beginning with ChristopherColumbus (1451–1506), assumed that Chris-tians had arrived previously when they sawthe crosses on Native Americans, but theywere really viewing a people who investedbelief in the power of a universal symbol.Crosses and circles are among the symbols andfigures worn for protection and prosperity byhumans since the earliest times. Such crossesoften signified the four directions, the fourforces (earth, water, air, and fire), and, whenenclosed in a circle, the oneness of life.

M Delving Deeper




Nelson, Felicitas H. Talismans & Amulets of the World.New York: Sterling Publishing, 2000.

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail is most often identified as aserving dish or a chalice that was used by Jesus(c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.) during the Last Supper.The word “grail” may have originated from“garalis,” which derives from the medievalLatin word “cratalis” (a mixing bowl). Garalisbecame “greal” in medieval French, “grail” inEnglish. Another possible origin for the wordis based on the writings of a Christian monknamed Helinandus, who served the Cistercianorder as a chronicler and died around 1230.He wrote of a hermit who around the year 717saw a vision of a dish used by Jesus Christ atthe Last Supper. The hermit supposedly wrotea book in Latin and called the dish “gradale.”In French, gradale meant a wide and deep dishon which various meats are placed; it is similarto the word “greal” (“pleasant”). Greal was theword used to describe the dish in French tales,and it became “grail” in English.

In the history that developed after grailstories emerged, Joseph of Arimathea cameinto possession of the vessel following the cru-cifixion of Jesus. As the story continues,Joseph of Arimathea was imprisoned for sever-

al years for expressing his faith that Jesus wasthe Messiah, the son of God. After beingreleased, he traveled to Britain and took thegrail with him. When he died, the grail passedon to his descendants. The grail had magicalqualities for the righteous, providing food andassurances of the grace of God. A few genera-tions later, because of some transgression anda general lack of humility and virtue by keep-ers of the grail, the powers of the vessel werelost and its existence was virtually forgotten.

The legend of the grail has been perpetuat-ed through literature since the twelfth century,particularly in tales involving knights ofCamelot who served the legendary KingArthur of Britain. Stories of their quests to findthe Holy Grail blend supernatural adventures,love stories, Christian myth, and the lore ofCelts, a people who occupied much of Europeuntil the spreading of the Roman Empire.

King Arthur, the legendary ruler of ancientBritain, was most likely based on a figure fromaround 500 or earlier. According to Celtic lore,Arthur helped stave off invasions by Anglesand Saxons, Germanic tribes that subsequentlyconquered Britain in the fifth century. Arthurbecame more established as a historical figureduring the 1100s, when a book written byGeoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100–1154), Histo-ry of the Kings of Britain, included details of hisheroic reign. Much of Geoffrey’s material wasgathered from folktales and contains historicaland chronological inaccuracies. However,Geoffrey’s work was popular and was translatedfrom its original Latin into French (by a poetnamed Wace) around 1155 and into MiddleEnglish (by a poet named Layamon) a fewyears later. Between 1160 and 1180, theFrench poet Chretien de Troyes (fl. 1170)wrote five major works about Arthur and hisknights based on history and legend.

Chretien helped introduce and popularizethe grail legend, but he died before completinga full account of the mysterious and powerfulobject kept in the Grail Castle. In his version,Arthur’s knights Gauvain (Gwain in English)and Perceval (Percival in English, Parzeval andParsifal in German) journey to the castlewhere the grail is kept. Chretien’s unfinishedmanuscript was continued by others.



Around 1200, the German poet Wolframvon Eschenbach (c. 1170–c. 1220) wrote agrail legend, Parzeval, about a youth who setsout to become a knight in King Arthur’s court.Along the way the title character stops at thecastle of the Fisher King, where Parzeval wit-nesses a procession bearing a glowing object(the grail) and a spear (the one that woundedChrist). In the presence of the grail, the FisherKing is struck dumb. Parzeval fails to inquireabout the mysterious procession and theobjects. Since Parzeval had a pure soul, hecould have spoken in the presence of the grailand used its magical powers to heal the infirmFisher King. Only much later, after many wan-derings, does Parzeval learn about the truenature of the grail and his missed opportunity.He returns to the castle of the Fisher King,who is revealed to be his uncle, heals him, andrestores the king’s land, which had becomebarren when he became infirm.

Later stories concerning the Holy Grailreflect the influence of Christianity, mostnotably Morte d’Arthur by the fifteenth-centuryEnglish writer Sir Thomas Malory (fl. 1470). Inthis most famous collection of Arthurian tales,the grail becomes the object of a quest amongthe knights of the roundtable at King Arthur’scastle, Camelot. Sir Galahad, who is com-pletely without sin, eventually realizes thegrail quest. He is in the company of Sir Borsand Sir Percival (Parzeval), two other virtuousknights, but Sir Galahad, as an emblem ofChristian virtue, alone achieves the grail.

Arthurian legends and the grail may bebased to some extent on Celtic lore. The HolyGrail might well have been developed fromreferences to magic cauldrons that appear inmany Celtic myths and practices. In her bookFrom Ritual to Romance (1920), Jessie Westontraced some similarities between Celtic mythsand grail legends. Some Celtic fertility rituals,



“Galahad and the Holy

Grail” by Edwin Austin

Abbey. (CORBIS

CORPORATION)

for example, were designed to ensure thehealth and vigor of a community leader: thephysical welfare of the land was connectedwith that of the king. The silence and sterilityof the Fisher King in a tale like Parzeval, then,would indicate some transgression and physi-cal failure of the king that affected his land.Celtic legends have references to the FisherKing as the leader of a barren land, referred toas the Waste Land and “the land laid waste.”Other noted studies that trace Celtic sourcesfor grail stories include The Grail: From CelticMyth to Christian Symbol (1963), by Roger S.Loomis, and The Evolution of the Grail Legend(1968), by D. D. R. Owen.

The legendary Holy Grail remains nearlyas popular in modern culture as it was duringthe period from 1150 to 1250. Back then, grailstories were a hit in the courts of France, Eng-land, and Germany. Nowadays, books aboutgrail adventures are popular, as are films rang-ing from Monty Python and the Holy Grail(1975), to Excalibur (1981), to Indiana Jones

and the Last Crusade (1989). Whether magicalor divine, the grail persists as a symbol of ahigher order of being for which people aresearching, a striving toward some ultimateachievement.

M Delving Deeper

Bernstein, Henrietta. The Ark of the Covenant, theHoly Grail. Marina del Rey, Calif.: DeVorss Publi-cations, 1998.

Goodrich, Norma Lorre. The Holy Grail. New York:HarperCollins Publishers, 1992.

Starck, Peter. “Are the Holy Grail and Ark of theCovenant Hidden on Baltic Sea Island?” [Online]http://www.rense.com/general6/baltic.htm

Weston, Jessie L. From Ritual to Romance. Mineola,N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1997.

Philosopher’s Stone

At the center of the alchemist’s quest was thelegendary philosopher’s stone, a magical pieceof the perfect gold, which could immediatelytransform any substance it touched into goldas pure as its own nature. The Emerald Tabletsof the great Hermes Trismegistus spoke ofsuch a marvelous catalyst, and ever since thatsecret knowledge had been made known tocertain individuals, the philosopher’s stonehad become the symbol of the alchemical pur-suit. According to tradition, Albertus Mag-nus actually came to possess such a wonder oftransmutation, and Helvetius was given asmall piece of the philosopher’s stone by amysterious man in black.

Some alchemists believed that the stone wassomehow hatched like a chick from an egg ifone could only find the proper ingredients withwhich to create the substance of the shell andthe “yolk.” Others believed that the philoso-pher’s stone, that most marvelous of all cata-lysts, oozed somehow out of the moon or fromone of the stars and fell to Earth where it solidi-fied into the magical stone of transformation.

As the works of more of the alchemistshave come to light, it becomes clear that thephilosopher’s stone wasn’t really a stone atall—even though it is always referred to assuch. Sometimes the catalyst of transmutationis described as a divine child, an angel, a drag-



Cast members of “Monty

Python and the

Holy Grail.”

(THE KOBAL COLLECTION)

THE legend of the Holy Grail has been perpetuated through literature since the

twelfth century.



The use of the prayer wheel as a mysticalpractice dates back to at least 400 C.E. inChina. The idea itself of the prayer wheelmight have originated as a play on words

of “turn the wheel of the daharma”—a classicalmetaphor used for Buddha’s teaching activity.

There are many types and sizes of prayer wheels.The most common one is a simple hand-held metal orwooden object, from four to six inches long, with acylindrical body and a metal or wooden axle thatserves as a handle at one end, while the other end iswrapped with a roll of paper on which a mantra orprayer is written. The prayer or mantras are repeatedin a row, with the length of paper sometimes reachingtwenty yards or more. An ornate cover protects thespool of prayers; the prayers cycle and turn with eachrotation of the wrist, due to a weighted cord or chain.It is customary to turn prayer wheels in homes firstthing in the morning and last thing before bed in theevening, and many people carry and rotate one whilewalking throughout the day.

Most common in Tibet, they are sometimes evenreferred to as “Tibetan Prayer Wheels” or “Mani,”derived from the mantra or prayer “Om Mani PadmeHum.” Tibetan Buddhists believe these words sacredand its recital, silently or out loud, evokes a powerful,spiritual and benevolent blessing. Traditionally, eventhough the wheel itself and its practical uses for cartswere known from other cultures, the Tibetans consid-ered the wheel very sacred and did not allow its use forany other purpose other than that of the prayer wheel.

Ironically, in recent years the reverse is true, asmuch of Tibetan culture has had to seek refuge outsideits homeland. Now the wheel is used largely for trucks,cars, busses, and tanks, and the spiritual uses of thewheel and other practices are severely restricted.

Sources:

Ladner, Lorne. The Wheel of Great Compassion. Boston: Wisdom

Publications: 2000.

Lama, His Holiness the Dalai. Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins.

Foreword by Tenzin Gyatso. The Meaning of Life. Boston:

Wisdom Publications: 2000.

Rinpoche, Dagyap. Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture: An

Investigation of the Nine-Best Known Groups. Boston:

Wisdom Publications: 1995.

The Prayer

Wheels in Asia

on, an elixir, a tincture, or an as-yet unknownchemical compound.

Many alchemists began to consider thatsomehow the philosopher’s stone was not athing at all, but a system of knowledge. Oncethe alchemist truly perceived the reality thatlay behind the symbols, he would achieve anintellectual and spiritual level wherein hewould become one with the power that exist-ed within the mysterious goal for which hesearched so long. Once he understood whatthe philosopher’ stone represented, he wouldhave found it at last—and he would havebecome one with it.

Many scholars have since insisted that thetrue alchemists sought not to turn base metalsinto gold, but to transform the dense material

of their physical bodies into a spirituallyevolved immaterial entity. In this perspective,the philosopher’s stone becomes the HolySpirit that mystically transmutes humans intotrue manifestations of God on Earth.

M Delving Deeper


De Saint-Didler, L. Hermetical Triumph: The VictoriusPhilosopher’s Stone. Edmonds, Wash.: HolmesPublishing Group, 2001.

Kelly, Edward. The Stone of the Philosophers. Edmonds,Wash.: Holmes Publishing Group, 1990.

Smith, Patrick. A Light from Out of the Darkness: On theComposition of the Stone of the Philosophers.Edmonds, Wash.: Holmes Publishing Group, 2001.



Philosopher’s stone and

the serpent of alchemy

from the 1622 edition of

Philosophia Reformata

by J. D. Mylius. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

The Spear of Destiny

The Spear of Destiny, also known as the HolyLance, is in Christian tradition the spear thatthe Roman soldier Longinus thrust into theside of Jesus (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.) as he hungon the cross. (“Then came the soldiers andbrake the legs of the first and of the otherwhich was crucified with him. But when theycame to Jesus and saw that he was dead already,they brake not his legs: But one of the soldierswith a spear pierced his side and forthwithcame out blood and water” [John 19: 32–34KJV]). Christian knights discovered the HolyLance at Antioch during the First Crusade in1098. The sight of the sacred artifact in theChurch of St. Peter so inspired the beleagueredChristian soldiers that they rallied and routedthe Saracens from the city. From that timeforth, according to legend, whoever claims thespear and solves its secret holds the destiny ofthe world in his hands for good or evil.

Although there are a number of relics invarious European churches that claim to bethe genuine Holy Lance, the spear that is ondisplay in the Weltliches SchatzkammerMuseum (the Hapsburg Treasure House Muse-um) in Vienna has been considered the mostauthentic and it has found a home there for250 years. It is also known as Constantine’sLance, and it was employed as a symbol of theimperial power of Holy Roman emperors atthe time of their coronation in much a similarmanner as the orb and scepter are used in thecoronation of the monarchs of Great Britain.According to Trevor Ravenscroft in The Spearof Destiny (1997), a 19-year-old Adolf Hitler(1889–1945) was first led to the lance in 1908and from the moment of his first encounterwith it in the museum, it became “the centralpivot” in his life and the “very source of hisambitions to conquer the world.” In additionto Constantine (d. 337), Hitler found that asmany as 45 emperors had owned the lancebefore the great Charlemagne (742–814) hadpossessed it. Frederick the Great of Germany(1194–1250), who founded the TeutonicKnights on which Hitler allegedly based hisSS, had also been an owner of the Spear ofDestiny at one time. Ravenscroft claimed inhis book that Hitler would often visit themuseum, stare at the Holy Lance, and enter

into a trance state in which he would view hisfuture glory as the master of the Third Reich.

Thirty years later, on March 14, 1938,Hitler arrived in Vienna to oversee the annex-ation of Austria. He also observed the transferof the Hapsburg Crown Jewel collection,which included the Holy Lance, from Viennato Nuremberg, the Nazis’ favorite city. Withthe Spear of Destiny now safely ensconced inGermany, Hitler declared that the war couldbegin in earnest. The lance would be well pro-tected in the hall of St. Katherine’s Church,where it had once rested for nearly 400 years.

However, later in the war when Alliedbombers damaged a portion of St. Katherine’s,the many treasures looted by the Nazis andstored there were taken to another hidingplace. In the chaos and confusion, the HolyLance was inadvertently left behind.

The Spear of Destiny fell into the hands ofU.S. soldiers on April 30, 1945. A few hoursafter the Holy Lance passed from Nazi posses-sion on to its next claimant to world power,Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his Berlinbunker. Later, the United States officiallyreturned the Holy Lance to Austria, along



The spear of Longinus

with Templar cross.


with the other treasures that the Nazis hadstolen. Today, the Spear of Destiny standsagain in the Hapsburg Treasure House Muse-um in Vienna.

M Delving Deeper

Anderson, Ken. Hitler and the Occult. Amherst, N.Y.:Prometheus Books, 1995.

Angebert, Jean-Michel. The Occult and the ThirdReich. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1974.

Ravenscroft, Trevor. Spear of Destiny. New York: RedWheel/Weiser, 1987.

Ravenscroft, Trevor, and Tim Wallace-Murphy. TheMark of the Beast: The Continuing Story of the Spearof Destiny. New York: Red Wheel/Weiser, 1997.

Sklar, Dusty. The Nazis and the Occult. New York:Dorset Press, 1989.

Swastikas

The swastika has an evil association in thetwentieth century, but it has a long, rich posi-tive history, for the meaning of the word svasti-ka in Sanskrit means “good fortune” or “well-being.” Swastikas were the symbol of thesupreme God in ancient, southeast Asia andwere used by Native Americans as a sign forgood luck. Swastikas appear among artifacts ofancient Rome and Greece. Buddha’s (c. 563–c.483 B.C.E.) footprints were said to leave impres-sions in the shape of swastikas. To CentralAmericans long before contact with Europeans,the swastika represented good luck, long life,and prosperity. The symbol appears on Navajoblankets and on ancient Chinese coins.

Helene Petrovna Blavatsky, founder ofthe Theosophical Society, included theswastika in the seal of the society. RudyardKipling (1865–1936) combined the symbol ina circle with his signature to form his personallogo. Coca-Cola once issued a swastika pen-dant for patrons of its soft drink. The Girls’Club published a magazine entitled TheSwastika; and until 1940, just before the Unit-

ed States entered World War II, the BoyScouts awarded a swastika badge.

The earliest known swastikas date from2500 or 3000 B.C.E. in India and Central Asia.It was the German archaeologist HeinrichSchliemann, who, during his excavation ofHomer’s Troy on the shores of the Dardanelles(1871–75), presumed that the swastikas hefound on certain artifacts were somehowlinked to religious symbols of his ancestors.

By 1914, the Wandervogel, a militaristanti-Semitic German youth group, beganusing a curved swastika on a cross as itsinsignia. In 1920, a dentist named FriedrichKrohn, a member of the Nazi Party, designedthe official symbol of the party, the flag with ablack swastika in its center. Adolf Hitler’s(1889–1945) contribution to the insignia wasto reverse the direction of the swastika so itappeared to spin clockwise. From that timeonward, a once great symbol of good fortunebecame the most potent icon of racial hatredand violence the world has ever known.

M Delving Deeper

Boxer, Sarah. “One of the World’s Great SymbolsStrives for a Comeback.” The New York Times onthe Web, July 29, 2000.




Invocation The act of calling upon or appeal-ing to a higher power such as a deity, spirit,or God for assistance. A form of prayer,inviting God’s presence, at the beginningof a ceremony or meeting. In black magic,can be the casting of a spell or formula toinvite an evil spirit to appear.

manna The food miraculously supplied to theIsraelites by God, according to the Old Tes-tament, as they wandered in the wildernessduring their flight from Egypt. Spiritualnourishment or something of valuereceived of divine origin or unexpectedly.



THE earliest known swastikas date from 2500or 3000 B.C.E. in India and Central Asia.

sarcophagus From the Greek sarx meaning“flesh,” and Greek sarkophogos, literallymeaning “flesh-eater.” Originally a kind oflimestone that had properties to aid in therapid decomposition of the deceased bod-

ies and was used in the making of coffins.Eventually came to mean any stone coffin,especially one with inscriptions or decorat-ed with sculpture and used as a monument.



Chapter 9

Places of Mystery

and Power

This chapter visits many sites sacred to

world religions, examines the theories of

lost civilizations, and evaluates places that

harbor ancient mysteries—both legendary

and real.

213

Chapter Exploration

Angkor Wat

Mt. Ararat

Atlantis

Avalon

The Bermuda Triangle

Chartres

Cursuses and Leys

El Dorado

Easter Island

Glastonbury

Hollow Earth

Jerusalem

Karnak

Lemuria and Mu

Lourdes

Machu Picchu

Mayan Temples

Mecca

The Nazca Lines

The Great Pyramid (of Kfhufu),at Giza

Sphinx

Stonehenge

Taos Pueblo

Tiahuanaco

Introduction

Throughout their history of cultural andreligious development, humans havealways discovered or created places that

are special to them—sites where they mightgather to participate in social rituals or wherethey might retreat for solitude and reflection.In such places, many people claim to experi-ence a sense of the sublime, something largerthan life. Others, while in a solemn place ofworship or in a beautiful natural setting, attestto feeling a special energy that raises theirconsciousness and perhaps even heals theirphysical body.

Mysterious megaliths (from the Greek:“mega” means large, “lithos” means stones)are those placed at a site by ancient peoplewho left no records explaining how they man-aged to lift and transport stones weighing sev-eral tons. Such sites include the standingstones of Brittany, the Bighorn MedicineWheel in Wyoming, the monoliths of Zim-babwe, and the monuments of Easter Island.All of these places were ostensibly significantto an ancient society or religion, but manywere long abandoned by the time they becameknown to the larger world, and the meaning ofthe megaliths remains unexplained.

The most popularly known megalithicstructures are probably Stonehenge in GreatBritain and the complex of pyramids and theGreat Sphinx in Egypt. Like many ancientmegalithic structures, those sites have beenexamined, written about, mythologized, andspeculated upon for centuries, yet they stillcontinue to conceal old secrets and occasion-ally yield surprising information that forcesnew historical interpretations of past societies.

Rising up on a plateau called Giza, 10miles west of present-day Cairo, Egypt, theGreat Pyramid, its two companion pyramids,and the Sphinx are probably the world’s oldestand best-known enigmas. Among the myster-ies of the pyramids are the questions of wherethe immense amount of rock forming them(11 million cubic yards of stone for the GreatPyramid alone) was quarried, and how it wasmoved and then erected into an astonishinglyprecise structure. Academic debates are ongo-

ing concerning what surveying methods andequipment were used to ensure that the land-scape was level and that measurements wereaccurate. Many researchers argue about thenumber of workers needed for such an under-taking and wonder how such an army of labor-ers could be mobilized, housed, and fed.

Other mysteries surrounding the pyramidsare the contentions that the structures are sit-uated at cardinal points on the compass, andtheir numerous astronomical uses showknowledge of mathematics in advance ofother civilizations. In addition, the body ofthe pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) for whom thetomb was built, and precious objects that usu-ally surround the bodies of royalty in Egyptiantombs, have never been found. In fact, allthree of the pyramids at Giza were allegedlyerected as tombs, yet not a single body hasbeen found in any of them.

Other places have become mysterious sitesbecause things have happened there that areimpossible to document fully, yet physical evi-dence remains that promotes further specula-tion. The claimed miraculous healings at Lour-des, the accounts of spiritual illumination atJerusalem and Mecca, and the sacred visions atTaos provide testimonies of faith and wonderthat must be assessed by each individual.

This chapter also deals with accounts ofvanished civilizations—places where ruins arefound that offer mute evidence to the majestyand glory of prior cultures. No one can disputethe evidence of the Mayan temples, the splen-dor of Tiahuanaco, the mystique of AngkorWat, but scholars fiercely debate the intrica-cies of the purpose of certain of these struc-tures and the lifestyles of their inhabitants.Uncertainty also persists about why so manyof these ancient peoples suddenly chose toabandon settlements that they labored sohard—sometimes for centuries—to build. TheMayans of Mexico and Central America leftbehind immense structures that were eventu-ally overrun by the surrounding rainforest. Inpresent-day Bolivia, the amazing structures ofTiahuanaco were constructed and abandonedbefore the great Inca dynasty conquered thearea in the fifteenth century. The Great Hous-es of the Anasazi in the southwestern area of


Places of Mystery and Power214

the present-day United States were leftbehind more than five centuries before theywere seen by the first white settlers.

Some sites acquire a reputation for beingeerie because of their appearance or because ofevents that are alleged or rumored to havehappened there. The Nazca Lines of Peru andvarious so-called “spirit pathways” are cloakedin mystery as to their actual purpose as placesof worship, initiation, or contact with alienbeings. Lines where spirits or natural energiespass have been traced in Great Britain (wherethey are called Ley lines) and Germany(where they are called holy lines). Based onthe idea that earlier civilizations were moreattuned to mysterious Earth energies and builttheir sites along those lines, proponents of leysattempt to recreate those lines by tracingalignments of ancient sites. Many ancientstructures were erected with consideration forthe surrounding landscape and adjacent struc-tures. In that sense, the community erectingthe structure viewed the area as a sacred land-scape. The landscapes were integral to ritesperformed there.

More than 2,500 years ago, a legend firstbegan to spread about an ideal society of thepast that enjoyed an abundance of naturalresources, great military power, splendid build-ing and engineering feats, and intellectualachievements far advanced over those ofother lands. Called Atlantis, this ancient soci-ety was described as existing on a continent-sized area with rich soil, plentiful pure water,abundant vegetation, and such mineral wealththat gold was inlaid in buildings. In the ensu-ing centuries, no evidence of Atlantis hasbeen found, but its attributes have expandedto include engineering and technological featsthat enhance its legendary status in the popu-lar imagination. Atlanteans are commonlythought by enthusiasts to have had cosmicconnections with extraterrestrial life.

The truth behind such alleged places ofmystery and power as the Bermuda Triangle,an area off the coast of Florida where shipsand aircraft are said to vanish without a trace;El Dorado, the city of gold which drove theSpanish conquistadors on endless fruitlesssearches; and Avalon, the mystical place

where the legendary King Arthur was takenafter receiving mortal wounds in battle arealso examined. Although the stories ofCamelot, Arthur, and the Knights of theRound Table are only myths, there are actualsites on which Avalon may well have beenbased. Some sources suggest that Avalon liesoff the coast of Great Britain or is possibly theisland of Greenland. Others have consideredArran, an island off the coast of Scotland, as apossible model for Avalon.

Sometimes legends really do come to life.The Lost City of Willkapanpa the Old, a prin-cipal city rumored to consist primarily ofIncan rulers and soldiers, was not discovereduntil 1912 when a historian from Yale Univer-sity found the site now known as Machu Pic-chu hidden at 8,000 feet in altitude betweentwo mountains, Huayana Picchu (“youngmountain”) and Machu Picchu (“ancientmountain”) in Peru. The ridge overlooks asacred river and valley called Urubamba. Themost accepted view of Machu Picchu is that itwas a religious sanctuary that served highpriests and “virgins of the sun” (Incas wor-shipped the sun). Even though many myster-ies abound about Machu Picchu, manyresearchers have been inspired to call it “theeighth wonder of the ancient world.”

Everyone has his or her own special and pri-vate place of mystery, power, and wonder. Thischapter shall explore those sites—both sacredand secular—that have fascinated and inspiredmen and women for thousands of years.

M Delving Deeper

Gaddis, Vincent H. Invisible Horizons: True Mysteriesof the Sea. Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965.

Gordon, Stuart. The Encyclopedia of Myths and Leg-ends. London: Headline Books, 1993.

Harpur, James, and Jennifer Westwood. The Atlas ofLegendary Places. New York: Konecky & Konecky,1997.

Ingpen, Robert, and Philip Wilkinson. Encyclopedia ofMysterious Places. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1999.

Kusche, Lawrence D. The Bermuda Triangle Mystery—Solved. New York: Harper and Row, 1975.

Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore. New York:Larousse, 1995.

Spence, Lewis. The History of Atlantis. New York:University Books, 1968.


215Places of Mystery and Power

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat, in present-day Cambodia,formed part of the capital of the KhmerEmpire from 802 until 1295, and is

probably the largest religious monument everconstructed. Built over a 30-year period withsandstone and laterite (a dense, porous, iron-bearing soil that can be quarried like stone),the rectangular structure (2,800 by 3,800 feet)faces west, in Hindu belief the direction takenby the dead when going to their next life.

At the center of the complex stands a tem-ple with five lotus-shaped towers, a larger cen-tral tower, and four smaller surrounding towers.They represent the five peaks of Mount Meru,the mountain where a pantheon of Hindu godsreside and from which, according to Hindubelief, all creation comes. Three square terracessurrounds the central tower. The entire com-plex is surrounded by a moat more than threemiles long and rimmed by a causeway that leadsto four gateways into the temple complex. Dec-orating the causeway are carvings that depictdivine serpents, known as nagas.

Angkor Wat was taken by the Cham armyfrom northern Cambodia in 1177, after whichthe complex began to fall into ruin. It wasreclaimed, but not inhabited, in 1181. Pil-laged by Thai invaders in the fifteenth centu-ry, the ruins were somewhat refurbished andexpanded by later rulers of Cambodia. AngkorWat was intermittently inhabited by Buddhistmonks, and the former Hindu temple subse-quently became a destination for Buddhist pil-grims from all over the world.

M Delving Deeper

Ingpen, Robert, and Philip Wilkinson. Encyclopedia ofMysterious Places. New York: Barnes & Noble,1999.

Mt. Ararat

According to Genesis 8:4, after sevenmonths and 17 days afloat in the arkupon the waters of the great deluge

that destroyed all life on Earth, Noah, hisfamily, and his massive living cargo of live-stock came to rest upon the mountains of



Angkor Wat is the main

temple in northern

Cambodia. (KLAUS

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PICTURE LIBRARY)

Ararat, near the headwaters of the EuphratesRiver in what is today eastern Turkey. Soprevalent is the belief that Noah’s Ark canbe located on the slope of the tallest moun-tain in Turkey, Agri Dagi (Mt. Ararat), thatsome travel agencies include participation inexpeditions to search for the ark as part oftour packages to Turkey. Two thousand yearsearlier, in the first century B.C.E., nativeArmenians of the region routinely declaredthat remnants of the ark could still be seen.The same declaration was made in the thir-teenth century, as recorded in the notes ofadventurer Marco Polo (1254–1324). Arme-nians told him of the ark as he crossedthrough the region during travels that tookhim as far east as China from his nativeVenice, Italy. Several claims of sightings ofthe ark in the twentieth century make it amodern-day mystery as well.

The rugged environment of the area thatincludes Mt. Ararat makes it difficult to sus-tain an expedition. Six to eight weeks offavorable weather are the most searchers canhope for as they try to maneuver along thetreacherous paths of the 16,000-foot highmountain, where glaciers and deep pockets ofsnow have little time to begin thawing beforethe return of cold weather.

Even if the ark can be located on Mt.Ararat, the elements work against being ableto reach it and excavate around it. Severalyears of drought might be needed to meltsnow and lower water levels in areas wherethe ark is most often thought to rest. Mean-while, some ark researchers believe the vessellanded further east, and others claim the arkcame to rest in present-day Ethiopia. Othersdoubt whether the ark ever existed.



Each year since the eighth century, Hindu pil-grims have traveled to one of the four sacredcities—Hardvar, Prayag, Ujjain, and Nasik—each located on a different sacred river—to

seek forgiveness of sins as they bathe in the holywaters. According to Hindu mythology, the four citiesbecame consecrated by the four drops of the nectar ofimmortality that fell upon them from the vessel that thegods used to carry the elixir of life away to heaven.

The ancient city of Prayag, now known as Alla-habad, is a city of about 900,000 located on theGanges River in southeast Uttar Pradesh in NorthIndia. Allahabad is called the Titharaja, “King ofTithras” (King of the Holy Cities), for it is locatedwhere three sacred rivers meet—the Ganges, theYamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati, known asSangam. (The Sarasvati, according to tradition,flowed from the Himalayas before it transferred itsmagical powers to the Ganges and disappeared intothe north Indian desert.) The very act of bathing at theconfluence (the Triveni) is believed to bestow a tripleblessing upon the Hindu pilgrim.

Sources:

“Allahabad.” India Food and Fun.

[Online] http://www.indiafoodandfun.com/travel/allahabad.htm.

Crim, Keith, ed. The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San

Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1989.

The Sacred City

of Allahabad

According to the Bible (Genesis, 6–10),God had become angered at the wickedness ofhumans and was determined “to end all flesh.”He called on Noah, whom God deemed a justman, and told him to build a large barge withthree interior decks. The barge was to be con-structed of wood and sealed with bitumen. Itslength was to be 300 cubits (about 450 feet),its width 50 cubits (about 75 feet), and itsheight 30 cubits (about 45 feet). The arkwould be able to survive the deluge throughwhich God would wipe out life.

The ark held Noah’s family—his wife,their three sons, and the sons’ wives—and atleast two animals from every species to popu-late the earth again. All the food needed fortheir survival was provided for them. The arkand its inhabitants survived the deluge by sail-ing on the floodwaters, and all aboardreturned to the land to repopulate the earthafter the rain stopped and the water receded.What happened to the ark after it came to restand all those aboard disembarked safely is notmentioned in the Bible.

Questions persist about where the ark final-ly landed. The Bible cites the mountains ofArarat, which could designate a region (thenknown as Armenia) or a specific mountainpeak. Some biblical scholars locate it in Kur-distan, an area that encompasses Mt. Ararat

and parts of present-day Turkey and Iran. TheBabylonian account of the Deluge in the Epicof Gilgamesh names Mt. Nisir in that region.After the ark came to rest, according to theGilgamesh epic, pilgrims would scrape off bitu-men (a sealant against water) and makecharms of it to guard against witchcraft.

Most evidence and sightings are based onlocations on Mt. Ararat. As the Christian reli-gion spread in the first century, the Christiansof Apamea, in Phrygia, built the monastery ofthe ark, where a feast was celebrated annuallyto commemorate Noah’s disembarking. MarcoPolo, in journals of his journey to China in1271, wrote, “In the heart of Greater Armeniais a high mountain, shaped like a cube (orcup), on which Noah’s ark is said to have rest-ed, whence it is called the Mountain of Noah’sArk.” Identifying the place as Mt. Ararat,Marco Polo wrote, “On the summit the snowlies so deep all the year round that no one canever climb it; this snow never entirely melts,but new snow is for ever falling on the old, sothat the level rises.”

Several ark sightings on Mt. Araratoccurred during the twentieth century, thoughnone of them have been documented wellenough to satisfy skeptics. During a thaw inthe summer of 1916, according to one account,a Russian Imperial Air Force lieutenantnoticed a half-frozen lake in a gully on the sideof Mt. Ararat. World War I was raging and theRussian pilot was flying high-altitude tests toobserve Turkish troop movements. Flyingnearer to the lake, he saw half the hull of somesort of ship poking out above the lake surface.He reported it to his captain. The captain wasflown over the site. Believing it was Noah’sArk, preserved because it was encased in icemost of the year, the captain sent a report tothe Russian tsar at St. Petersburg. The tsar senttwo corps of engineers up the mountain. It wasnearly a month before the ark was reached.

Measurements by the engineers wereallegedly taken and drawings and photographswere made, but none of those were ever offi-cially documented. According to accounts,the photographs and reports were sent bycourier to the attention of the tsar, butNicholas II (1868–1918) apparently never



Mt. Ararat, Turkey.


PICTURE LIBRARY)

IN the first century B.C.E., native Armenians declared that remnants of Noah’s Ark

could still be seen.

received them. The Russian Revolution wasunderway in 1917, and the results of theinvestigation were never reported publicly.

According to another story, the Turkish AirForce in 1959 conducted an aerial survey of theArarat region. A photograph revealed the out-line of a ship on one of the lower slopes of Mt.Ararat (just over 6,000 feet). The ship’s dimen-sions were similar, though somewhat larger,than those of the ark. Another alleged aerialsighting was made in 1960. A Turkish armypilot and a liaison officer reported seeing evi-dence of an enormous, rectangular barge on thesoutheast slope at about 13,000 feet altitude.

A photograph taken in 1972 by the EarthResearch Technical Satellite (ERTS) revealedan unusual feature at 14,000 feet on Mt.Ararat. It was reported to be the same size asthe ark. The existence of the photograph isdisputed, however. Even if it does exist in thefiles of a U.S. government agency, it hasapparently been given no special designationto accommodate search requests: a request for“satellite image of ark,” for example, bringsthe reply, “no responsive records.”

In the 1980s, former NASA astronautJames Irwin participated in expeditions up themountain, bringing much publicity to thesearch for the ark. He found only the rem-nants of abandoned skis. With the breakup ofthe former Soviet Union, expeditions up themountain intensified during the 1990s. Previ-ously, expeditions were considered a securitythreat by the Soviet government because theregion bordered the former Soviet Union.

The search for Noah’s Ark continues, asdo questions concerning how best to under-stand the story of Noah and the ark: shouldthe Bible’s description of the ark, the extent ofthe deluge, and the capability of lodging everyspecies of animal and bird be taken literally, oris the message most important? The delugeoccurred, according to the Bible, because Godhad become disgusted with the wickedness ofhumankind. Those searching for the ark withthe hope of making great profits probablymissed that most enduring legacy of the story,a moral that persists regardless of whether ornot physical remnants of the ark have been, orcan be, found.

M Delving Deeper

Fasold, David. The Ark of Noah. New York: WynwoodPress, 1988.

Harpur, James and Jennifer Westwood. The Atlas ofLegendary Places. New York: Konecky & Konecky,1997.

Kite, L. Patricia, ed. Noah’s Ark: Opposing Viewpoints.San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989.

Toumey, Christopher P. “Who’s Seen Noah’s Ark?”Natural History, l06, no. 9 (October 1997): 14–17.

Atlantis

More than 2,500 years ago, a legendfirst began to spread about a societyof the past that enjoyed an abun-

dance of natural resources, great militarypower, splendid building and engineeringfeats, and intellectual achievements faradvanced over those of other lands. CalledAtlantis, it was described as a continent-sizedarea with rich soil, plentiful pure water, abun-dant vegetation and animals, natural hotsprings for health and vigor, and such mineralwealth that gold was inlaid in buildings andwas among the precious metals and stonesworn as jewelry. Slaves performed manuallabor, allowing a large elite to pursue knowl-edge, enjoy sporting events, and continuallyimprove upon an already thriving society.

In the ensuing centuries, no conclusive evi-dence of Atlantis has been found, but its attrib-utes have expanded to include additional engi-neering and technological feats that enhanceits legendary status in the popular imagination.In 1882, Ignatius Donnelly (1832–1901) pub-lished Atlantis: The Antediluvian World, arguingthat all civilization is an inheritance fromAtlantis. Listing numerous parallels betweenancient cultures spaced far away from eachother, Donnelly argued that their commonnessresulted from contact with Atlanteans.



THE idea of Atlantis was first expressed in theworks of Plato.

Similarities do indeed exist among variousancient cultures, as do significant differences.Flood myths and sun worship, for example,might be based on a shared teaching, or theymight be separate reactions to beneficient anddestructive elements of nature. Pyramids werebuilt in Egypt and the Americas, but they arealso significantly different in their structures.The walls of pyramids in the Americas did notconverge to form a true point, as they did inEgypt; rather, the walls reached a certain levelupon which a platform was built and often atemple erected. If Atlantis did indeed fallsomewhere between 8500 and 9500 B.C.E.,what accounts for the long time lag until thepyramids were erected in Egypt (generallydated around 2500 B.C.E.) and North America(generally dated after 200 C.E.)?

Since the 1800s, Atlanteans have beencredited for having had the technology togenerate electricity, build flying machines,and harness nuclear power for energy and war-fare—all developed more than 9,000 yearsbefore such things came into being in modernsociety. Other claims have Atlanteans knowl-edgeable about a formidable death ray, secretsfor levitation, and pure forms of energythrough crystals. Many Atlantis enthusiasts

firmly believe that the inhabitants of the lostcontinent had cosmic connections withextraterrestrials and may actually have been acolony established on Earth by alien explorers.

Since Atlantis was first described, claimshave been made that certain members of thecivilization escaped destruction during its cat-astrophic final days and managed to imparttheir knowledge to other peoples of the world,helping civilize primitive societies, passing onthe secret of written language, and supervisingconstruction of some of the world’s most mys-terious structures of the ancient world. Thepyramids of Egypt and the Americas, theSphinx in Egypt, and the megaliths of westernEurope are among the structures attributed tothe genius of Atlanteans.

According to most accounts, Atlantis wassuddenly destroyed by a cataclysm of earth-quakes and floods and swallowed up by thesea. No definitive remnants have ever beenfound, and the exact location of the “lost con-tinent” remains debatable. The idea ofAtlantis was first expressed in the works ofPlato (c. 428–348 or 347 B.C.E.), the Greekphilosopher, who stressed that a perfect worldexists in Ideas. For example, a shoe, accordingto Plato, exists as an idea before a craftspersonmakes the material object identified as a shoe.The material world, then, is a reflection ofideas, never quite reaching the perfection ofideas, but which serve as models for which theadepts might strive.

While Plato used the model of Atlantis torepresent a world of perfect order in contrastto all that was imperfect in the world aroundhim, he labeled the story of Atlantis “literallytrue”—a significant declaration. For Plato wassuspicious of fiction and art. If ideas are theprimary reality, and the material world is areflection of ideas, then art, as a reflection ofthe material world, is twice removed fromreality, according to Plato. His claim that theAtlantis story is literally true helps sustain thecontinuing legend of Atlantis. It remains alegend, or an Idea, however, until some mater-ial proof shows that Atlantis existed in thematerial world. Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.),another of the great Greek philosophers,viewed the Atlantis legend as fiction.



Fate magazine and its

feature article on

Atlantis. (LLEWELLYN

PUBLICATIONS/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

Plato’s writings comprise several letters and25 dialogues. His views and those of his men-tor, Socrates (c. 470–399 B.C.E.), were present-ed as dramatic conversations exploring suchtopics as truth, the origin of the world and itscomposition, the purpose of humankind, andwhat an individual should choose as an aim oflife. Atlantis is discussed in two of Plato’s dia-logues, Timaeus and Critias. Timaeus provides adescription of the island continent and howAtlanteans conquered all the known worldexcept for the Athenians (Plato was anAthenian). Critias, named after the primaryspeaker in the dialogue, Plato’s great-grandfa-ther, presents a history of Atlantean civiliza-tion and describes the ideal society that flour-ished there. Critias notes that the stories wereoriginally passed on by an ancestor, Solon(638–558 B.C.E.), a politician and poet whotraveled widely. Critias and Solon were bothancestors of Plato.

Solon, as the story goes, was informed byEgyptian priests in the city of Sais, located inthe Nile delta, that there was once a landeven older in history than Egypt, which theGreeks acknowledged as being centuries olderthan their own society. The priests described alarge island continent called Atlantis thatprospered some 8,000 years earlier, whichdates Atlantis before 8500 B.C.E. The conti-nent was located beyond “the Pillars of Her-cules,” the Greek term for the rocks that formthe Straits of Gibraltar, the westernmost pointof the Mediterranean Ocean. Beyond thestraits is the Atlantic Ocean.

There were several cities on the continent.The primary city, also called Atlantis, waslocated in the center of a series of concentricrings that alternated between rings of waterand land. The water rings served as canals fortrade and helped form a series of naturaldefenses that made an invasion of Atlantisextremely difficult.

The city of Atlantis, in the innermost cir-cle, had palaces and temples where wise andpowerful rulers lived. The ruling coalitiondescended from Poseidon, the Greek god ofthe sea. Poseidon and Clieto had five sets oftwin sons, according to Greek mythology,each of which was given a region of Atlantis.

Atlas, the firstborn son, was given the largestprovince, which became the city of Atlantis, aname that derives from Atlas. The fineststructure on the island, the Temple of Posei-don, honored the god and served as the homeof the primary ruler.

Atlantis had a powerful army of profes-sional soldiers, as did each of the other nineregions of the continent. The culture ofAtlantis promoted learning, through whichadvances in engineering and science made theland bountiful, beautiful, and powerful. Inaddition to magnificent architectural struc-tures, a network of bridges and tunnels linkedthe rings of land, and clever uses of natural



Nineteenth-century map

of Atlantis. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

resources provided security and abundance.Many groves provided solitude and beauty,racetracks were used for athletic competitions,and irrigation systems ensured great harvests.

In Plato’s account, the people of Atlantiseventually became corrupt and greedy, puttingselfish pursuits above the greater good. Theybegan invading other lands with the idea ofworld domination. Angered by these develop-ments, Poseidon set about destroying the civi-lization, battering the continent with earth-quakes and floods until Atlantis was swal-lowed up by the ocean.

That description of the destruction ofAtlantis has been linked by some to other cat-aclysmic events—stories of a great deluge inthe Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and floodmyths in other societies. Some contend thatthe end of the Ice Age between 12,000 and10,000 B.C.E. likely resulted in rises of waterlevels in various parts of the world and thatearthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and climatechanges, either incidental or associated withthe Ice Age, occurred during the time identi-fied with the destruction of Atlantis.

The location of Atlantis has been claimedon each of the seven continents, and in sever-al spots in the world’s oceans and seas. Addi-tionally, many of the ancient world’s wondershave been attributed to Atlanteans who, pre-sumably, escaped the destruction of theirhomeland and spread their advanced engi-neering skills elsewhere.

The text of Plato’s dialogue suggests theAtlantic Ocean “beyond the pillars of Her-

cules” as the location of Atlantis. As late asthe twentieth century, a belief persisted that alandbridge once existed in the ocean and ranbetween Europe and Africa and North andSouth America. Such a land-link concepthelps explain similarities in flora and faunaexisting on continents spread thousands ofmiles apart. The mid-Atlantic ridge, a series ofundersea mountains, has been presented as aremnant of the land bridge, or as the remainsof Atlantis.

Jacques Collina-Girard of the Universityof the Mediterranean in Aix-en-Provence hadbeen studying patterns of human migrationfrom Europe into North Africa at the heightof the last Ice Age, 19,000 years ago, when hisreconstruction of the area revealed an ancientarchipelago with an island at the spot wherePlato wrote Atlantis existed. The island wasnamed Spartel, and it lay in front of the Pillarsof Hercules to the west of the Strait of Gibral-tar at a time when the sea level was 130meters lower than it is today. According toCollina-Girard (New Scientist, September2001), the slow rise of post-glacial sea levelswould gradually have engulfed the island andthe archipelago 9,000 years before Plato.

While the concept of an island being swal-lowed by the sea in the area before the Pillars ofHercules seems a viable theory, there is as yetno evidence discovered to prove that a conti-nent existed in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Theshallow waters around the northwest coast ofAfrica and extending to the Canary Islands isan area that may have been above the ocean atone time and has been suggested as a locationfor Atlantis, but no physical remains of humanhabitation have been located there.

Alan F. Alford, a leading authority onancient mythology, spent five years investigat-ing Plato’s account of Atlantis, and, inDecember 2001, announced his conclusionthat the myth of the lost continent took placeonly in Plato’s mind. In Alford’s theory, theGreek philosopher invented Atlantis as ametaphor for the ancient version of the con-temporary “Big Bang Theory.” Atlantis, as asymbol for a lost paradise, represented a kindof cataclysm of all cataclysms that broughtabout the beginning of all time.



Floorbed of Atlantis.

(ARCHIVES OF

BRAD STEIGER)

The discouraging theories of the skepticaldo little to diminish the enthusiasm of thosewho earnestly believe in the physical reality ofAtlantis. The Atlantic Ocean location for thelost continent received renewed attention inthe late 1960s, specifically the region nearBimini Island in the Bahamas, an island chainoff the coast of the United States. Fueling theexcitement over what appeared to be discov-eries of actual roadways, walls, and buildingsunder the water was the fact that they werefound in the exact location and at the samepoint in time as prophesied by Edgar Cayce(1877–1945), a psychic, whose “life readings”for clients revealed that many of their present-life psychological traumas were being causedby a terrible incident that the sufferer hadexperienced in a past life. Many of thepresentlife traumas of his clients, according toCayce, were due to the sufferings they hadexperienced as people who lived in Atlantis ina previous life.

Cayce helped popularize a modernizedview of Atlantis as a superior civilization thathad developed planes, submarines, x-ray, anti-gravity devices, crystals that harness energyfrom the sun, and powerful explosives. Hetheorized that an explosion in 50,000 B.C.E.blew Atlantis up into five islands; anotheroccurred in 28,000 B.C.E.; and the third, theone described by Plato, occurred around10,000 B.C.E. Cayce claimed that he had beenan Atlantean priest from around 10,500 B.C.E.who had foreseen the coming destruction andsent some of his followers to Egypt. Those fol-lowers directed the building of the Sphinx andthe pyramids.

In 1940 Cayce predicted that remnants ofAtlantis would rise again near the Bahamas inthe late 1960s. In 1967, two pilots pho-tographed a rectangular structure in the oceanoff the coast of Andros, the largest island ofthe Bahamas. Another configuration of stone,in the shape of a “J,” was found by divers offthe island of Bimini. The J-shaped formationwas believed to be a road of stone. Extensivediving expeditions became common in thearea, and some divers claimed to have seenremnants of temples, pillars, and pyramids.However, none were documented by exten-sive excavations.

The J-shaped structure became popularlyknown as the Bimini Road and was a cause ofcelebration among enthusiasts of Atlantis andCayce. Geological tests, however, show thatthe J shape is actually a limestone beachrock.Fractures in the formation give it the appear-ance of a construction of blocks, but the entireformation shows the same grains andmicrostructure—a quality difficult to replicatein a series of blocks. Radiocarbon testing ofshells in the stone show that the formation isrelatively young—about two or three thou-sand years old, some 9,000 years younger thanthe alleged final destruction of Atlantis. Final-ly, the curve of the J parallels the beachline ofthe nearby island, showing it has been shapedby the same currents affecting the island.

The rectangular structure off the coast ofAndros, on the other hand, was indeed man-made—it was a storage facility built in the1930s where sponges could be deposited afterthey were collected in the surrounding ocean.Despite these explanations, enthusiasm overthe Bahama site continues among believers.

Another theory suggests that Antarcticawas once located in the mid-Atlantic and hada more temperate climate where a civilizationonce thrived. Antarctica, thus, has beenclaimed as the site of Atlantis and of a similartype of advanced civilization.

The question of where Atlantis was locat-ed still persists. Among the many possible sitesfor Atlantis on the seven continents or underthe seas, two popular locations are based onareas that, like Atlantic Ocean regions“beyond the pillars of Hercules,” can be relat-ed to Plato’s time. One site is the island ofCrete, where the thriving Minoan civilizationfell into disarray around 1400 B.C.E. The othersite is in present-day Turkey, known inancient times as Anatolia, where associationswith Atlas and his descendants were strong.

Little was known about Minoan culturebefore the discovery in 1900 of a great palaceat Knossos on the island of Crete by theBritish archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans(1851–1941). He named the culture that cre-ated Knossos and thrived on Crete “Minoancivilization” after Minos, the legendary king ofCrete. The palace at Knossos was probably



damaged by an earthquake about 1700 B.C.E.,a date that marked the end of one phase of theearly history of Crete. Minoan civilization hadregular contact and trade with ancient Egypt,which lies southeast, across the Mediter-ranean, from Crete. Crete, then, qualifies as aland far to the west (in those days) of Egyptwhere Atlantis was said to be by the Egyptianpriests who spoke of the continent to Solon.

Archaeological excavations early in thetwentieth century unearthed remarkable arti-facts of Minoan civilization. Then, in 1939,Greek archaeologist Sypridon Marinatos(1901–1974) discovered pumice, volcanicash, on Crete. Marinatos connected the ash tothe tremendous eruption of a volcano onThera, a nearby island. The eruption wasreported in ancient histories. The explosionwould have created havoc on Crete and per-haps a tidal wave that swept over the island.To illustrate that possibility, Marinatoslikened the Thera explosion to the 1886 erup-tion of Mt. Krakatoa that could be heard athousand miles away and created tidal wavesthat killed 36,000 people. The volcanic ashon Crete helped preserve excellent artifacts ofMinoan civilization, including whole streetsand houses as well as frescoes and pottery.

However, while Plato’s text cites earth-quakes and floods as having destroyedAtlantis, there is no mention of a volcano.The date of the Thera volcano, around 1500B.C.E., does not match the period of the down-fall of Atlantis, which Egyptian priests toldSolon had occurred 8,000 to 9,000 years earli-er. The 1500 B.C.E. date does coincide if theclaim of 8,000 years is reduced to 800 years.That tactic was suggested by Greek geologistAngelo Gelanpoulous in 1969: he theorizedthat all dates and measurements related bySolon were exaggerated and were actuallyone-tenth as large as claimed. Gelanpoulous’theory provided some neat correlations, butthey work only in a few circumstances.

Another problem with identifying the fallof Atlantis with the destruction of Minoan civ-ilization is an inexact correlation between theeruption of Thera and the demise of ancientCrete, where Minoan civilization continued onfor another century after the volcanic eruption.

In fact, during twentieth-century excavations,some volcanic ash was found beneath an elabo-rate palace, showing that construction sooncontinued after the eruption. Furthermore,there was no apparent disruption in tradebetween the Minoans and Egyptians. The vol-canic eruption caused havoc on Crete, but itdid not destroy Minoan civilization.

The kings of Knossos attained their greatestpower about 1600 B.C.E., when they controlledthe entire Agean area and traded extensivelywith Egypt. The subsequent destruction ofKnossos and the collapse of Minoan culturecoincided with the beginning of the most flour-ishing period of Mycenae civilization inGreece; this coincidence suggests that it mayhave been the warlike Mycenae who attackedand destroyed Minoan civilization.

Lydia, an ancient country of Asia Minor(now Turkey), was located in the valleys ofthe Hermus and Cayster rivers (now theGediz and Büyükmenderes rivers). Knownearlier by the name Maeonia, it had fertilesoil, rich deposits of gold and silver, and amagnificent capital, Sardis. Lydia prosperedas a powerful dynasty beginning about 685B.C.E. During the sixth century B.C.E., Lydiaattained its greatest splendor under the rule ofKing Croessus. The empire ended when thePersian ruler Cyrus the Great (c. 585–c. 529B.C.E.) captured Sardis about 546 B.C.E. Afterthe defeat of Persia by Alexander III (c. 356–323 B.C.E.), king of Macedonia, Lydiawas brought under Greco-Macedonian con-trol, and then in 133 B.C.E. it became part ofthe Roman province of Asia.

Lydia was across the Agean Sea fromGreece. A legendary king of Lydia was namedTantalis: his name sounds similar to Atlantis,and he shared many mythic attributes amongLydians that the god Atlas had among Greeks.Like Atlas, Tantalis was a leader of the Titans,the group of gods who were overthrown byZeus. In Greek mythology, Zeus punished Atlasby banishing him to the west and made to holdup the sky. A similar fate was shared by Tantalisin myths of Anatolia (an old name for theregion in Asia Minor that includes Turkey).

According to that myth, Tantalis ruled overa fabulously wealthy city he founded on Mt.



Sipylus in Lydia. His city was shattered by earth-quake and flood and was reputed to have sunkwhen he lost the favor of the Olympian gods.

During the 1990s ruins were found on thenorthern slope of Mt. Sipylus. The area hadundergone several phases of change throughthe centuries. Among the ruins was a statue ofthe goddess Cybele that was dated around1400 B.C.E., a time when the Hittite rule overthe area was overthrown by locals affiliatedwith the Mycenae civilization of Greece. Thearea of Tantalis had been conquered, and per-haps razed. Or, it subsequently was buried dur-ing an earthquake, and eventually submergedby a lake. The area is in a major fault zone,and heavy earthquake damage to the cities ofLydia was documented in 17 C.E. Among thehardest hit of twelve ancient Lydian cities wasMagnesia at Sipylus, in the region where Tan-talis was located.

Lake Saloe in Turkey has long been identi-fied with the lost city of Tantalis. The lake waspumped out in modern times to provide moreland for farming. It is now a fertile plain withnearby rivers. An old caravan route wasfound, certainly not a remnant of a mightyempire, but the tantalizing prospect that Tan-talis was Atlantis remains.

Enthusiasts of the lost continent were tan-talized once again in December 2001 whenexplorers using a miniature submarine toprobe the sea floor off the coast of Cubaannounced their discovery of stone structuresdeep beneath the ocean surface that were sug-gestive of ruins left by an unknown humancivilization thousands of years ago. Represen-tatives of the Canadian-based Advanced Digi-tal Communications, together with expertsfrom the Cuban Academy of Sciences, saidthat the structures were discovered at a depthof around 2,100 feet and were distributed as ifremnants of an urban area. Estimates of theancient city under the sea were somewhere inthe vicinity of 6,000 years, thereby makingthem about 1,500 years earlier than the greatGiza pyramids of Egypt. Whether this newintriguing site proves to be Atlantis or evi-dence of a land bridge that once linked Cubato mainland Latin America, it is certain to becontroversial.

M Delving Deeper

Cawthorne, Andrew. “Explorers View ‘Lost City’Ruins under Caribbean.” abcNews.com, Decem-ber 6, 2001. [Online] http://abcnews.go.com/wire/SciTech/reuters20011206_346.html.

Copley, Jan. “Sea Level Study Reveals Atlantis Can-didate.” New Scientist, September 19, 2001.[Online] http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp? id’ns99991320.

Donnelly, Ignatius. Atlantis: The Antediluvian World.1882. evised Edition. Ed. by Egerton Sykes. NewYork: Harper & Row, 1949.


Hill, Amelia. “Myth of Atlantis All Took Place inPlato’s Mind.” The Observer, December 16, 2001.[Online] http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story /0,6903,619567,00.html.

Muck, Otto. The Secrets of Atlantis. New York: TimesBooks, 1978.

Plato. The Timaeus and Kritias. Trans. by DesmondLee. London: Penguin Books, 1977.

Spence, Lewis. The History of Atlantis. New York:University Books, 1968.

Avalon

Avalon is the place where the legendaryKing Arthur was taken after receivingmortal wounds in battle. Although it is

a mythical place, there are sites on whichAvalon may well have been based.

Avalon is mentioned in a widely read textin History of the Kings of Britain (1138), writtenby Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100–1154). Partfiction, part history, and partly based on Celticfolktales, Geoffrey’s work was the first popularsource to depict the exploits of King Arthur, aleader believed to have ruled in Britain duringthe fifth or sixth century. That era falls withinthe Dark Ages, a period after the RomanEmpire retreated from northwestern Europeand the area was assailed by invaders from east-ern Europe and Scandinavia. Not much isknown about the history of that period.

Geoffrey’s work helped bring attention tomyths of the Celtic people, who were over-whelmed by Romans and then other invaders



during the first six centuries. His recounting ofthe exploits of King Arthur inspired a trend oftales written and told about Arthur and hisknights. The tales were especially popular inthe courts of Europe from about 1150 to 1250,and have enjoyed several revivals since.

After Arthur received mortal wounds inbattle, he was tended to by a maiden andplaced aboard a boat bound for Avalon. Thelocation of Avalon, usually called an island,varies according to which of the manyArthurian tales is being read. Some sourcessuggest Avalon lies off the coast of GreatBritain, or “across the sea,” a term some have

interpreted as the Atlantic Ocean, with Aval-on possibly being the island of Greenland or alocation in North America.

Geoffrey likely took the name from “Aval-lon,” a Celtic term equivalent to “appleplace.” Celtic myths had identified a paradisein terms that translate to an “island of apples.”The old Welsh language, where the word“Avallach” referred to a mythical island, isanother possible source.

Arran, an island off the coast of Scotland,has been considered a possible model forAvalon. The name Arran derived from“Emhain of the Apple Trees.” Another popu-lar claim for the site of Avalon is Glastonbury,a longtime apple-growing area in England.

M Delving Deeper





The Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, also called theDevil’s Triangle, is an imaginary areathat can be roughly outlined on a map

by connecting Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puer-to Rico; and the Bahamas, an island chain offthe coast of the United States. Within thattriangular area of the Atlantic Ocean haveoccurred a number of unexplained disappear-ances of boats and planes. Additionally, read-ings on directional devices do not operatenormally inside the triangle.

Unusual events in that area date back inrecorded history to 1493 and the first voyageof Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) to theNew World. In his log, Columbus noted thathis compass readings were askew within thearea now called the Bermuda Triangle, and heand his crew were confused by shallow areas ofsea with no land nearby.



Merlin and Vivien, the

fairy queen of Avalon.


The term “Bermuda Triangle” was firstused in an article written by Vincent H. Gad-dis for Argosy magazine in 1964. Gaddisclaimed that several ships and planes had dis-appeared without explanation in that area.The article was expanded and included in hisbook, Invisible Horizons: True Mysteries of theSea (1965), where he described nine mysteri-ous incidents and provided extensive detail.Many newspapers carried a story in Decemberof 1967 about strange incidents in the Bermu-da Triangle after a National Geographic Soci-ety news release brought attention to Gaddis’sbook. The triangle was featured in a coverstory in Argosy in 1968, in a book calledLimbo of the Lost (1969) by John WallaceSpencer, and in a documentary film, TheDevil’s Triangle, in 1971. Charles Berlitz’s1974 bestseller The Bermuda Triangle markedthe height of the disaster area legend, but

some of its sensationalized claims were quick-ly proved inaccurate.

As early as 1952, George X. Sands hadnoted in a report in Fate magazine that anunusually large number of strange accidentshad occurred in the region associated with theBermuda Triangle. That many of the accidentsin the area are intriguing, and that the areadoes have some natural conditions that sailorsand pilots need to be aware of, has not beenchallenged. However, neither statistics nordocumented evidence indicates that the num-



The “Devil’s Sea” and the Dragon’s Trianglelocated in the Philippine Sea off China’seastern coast is known for vanishing shipsand seamen similar to the legendary

Bermuda Triangle. While sensational theories for themysterious disappearances speak of extraterrestrialsand lost kingdoms under the sea wreaking havoc, oth-ers believe that the region displays the same magneticanomalies as the Bermuda Triangle. The area, whichcan be marked off on a map by connecting Japan, Tai-wan, and Yap Island, has become known as the Drag-on’s Triangle after a centuries-old Chinese myth.According to the myth, dragons live deep beneath thesurface and their movement can suddenly churn upwaves, whirlpools, thick fog, and sudden storms.

In 1950, Japanese officials declared the triangle adanger zone for shipping. In 1952, a research vessel,the Kaio Maru No. 5, sent by the Japanese governmentto investigate the troubled waters, vanished without atrace, and 22 crewmen and nine scientists were lost.

Like the Bermuda Triangle, the Devil’s Trianglearea may be volatile, subject to sudden weather

changes and ocean swells not yet understood. Under-sea volcanoes are believed to influence the area’ssudden environmental changes. Others cite mikakuninhiko-buttai, Japanese for UFOs.

Sources:

Berlitz, Charles. The Dragon’s Triangle. New York: Wynwood

Press, 1989.

“The Dragon’s Triangle.” [Online] http://dragonsunlimited.

tripod.com/index-8.html.

Japan’s

Dragon’s Triangle

THE Bermuda Triangle is also known as theDevil’s Triangle.

ber of accidents is unusually high or withoutexplanation.

In March 1918, during World War I, theUSS Cyclops vanished in the Bermuda Triangle.That ship may have been a casualty of war, butthe December 1945 disappearance of Flight 19,a training squadron of five U.S. Navy torpedobombers, became the most notorious of disap-pearances associated with the Bermuda Trian-gle. The squadron left Fort Lauderdale, Florida,with 14 crewmen and disappeared after radio-ing in several distress messages. A seaplane sentin search of the squadron also vanished. Thosetwo airplane disappearances were frequentlycited as the Bermuda Triangle legend grew dur-ing the 1960s and 1970s.

Few of those stories included telling details.All of the crewmen of Flight 19 were in train-ing, for example, except for their patrol leader,who had tried to withdraw from his flight dutythat day because he was feeling ill. After hiscompass malfunctioned soon into the flight,the flight leader decided to navigate by land-marks below on the islands of the Florida Keys,with which he was familiar. Visibility became aproblem because of a sudden storm, and theleader became disoriented. Flight 19 was stillin radio contact with the Fort Lauderdale airbase, but after some mechanical difficultiesthey failed to switch to an emergency frequen-cy. Radio recordings indicate that some of thecrew believed they were heading out over theAtlantic Ocean, instead of the Gulf of Mexicoas their leader reported.

A search plane took off and was claimed tohave disappeared into the Bermuda Trianglewith Flight 19. The plane actually blew up 23seconds after takeoff. Wreckage from Flight 19has never been recovered.

Other aircraft that have disappeared in thearea include a DC-3 carrying 27 passengers in1948 and a C-124 Globemaster with 53 pas-

sengers in 1951. Among the ships often listedamong the mysteriously disappeared are theMary Celeste (1872), the Marine tankershipSulphur Queen with 39 men aboard (1963),and the nuclear-powered submarine Scorpionwith a crew of 99 (1968). The Mary Celesteentered the list of supposed Bermuda Trianglemysteries many decades after its odd tragedy.The ship set sail from New York to Genoa,Italy, but was found sailing unmanned some400 miles off course, off the coast of Africa.Personal articles of the crew were found andfood storage areas showed no sign of upheaval.A tattered sail and a missing lifeboat suggestedthe boat had encountered a storm, but theship’s log, in which information was recordedas late as nine days before the ship was found,made no mention of any kind of catastrophe.

There is no evidence, however, that theMary Celeste ever entered the area of theBermuda Triangle. Still, the eerie, unansweredquestions concerning its fate are often cited bythose who attribute a malevolent force asbeing responsible for odd and tragic events ofthe triangle.

Nevertheless, there are many documenteddisappearances that occurred within the trian-gle. They include a four-engine Tudor IV air-plane lost in 1948, with 31 aboard; an Ameri-can freighter, the SS Sandra (1952), whichsunk without a trace; a British York transportplane, disappeared in 1952, with 33 aboard; aU.S. Navy Lockheed Constellation airplane,vanished in 1954 with 42 aboard; a U.S. Navyseaplane, 1956, with a crew of 10; a Frenchfreighter in 1970; and a German freighter,Anita, lost in 1972 with a crew of 32.

Theories about why so many air and waterships disappeared in the Bermuda Triangleinvolve strange magnetic fields, time warps,the lost continent of Atlantis, and alienabduction. Other proposed explanationsinclude physical forces unknown to science, a“hole in the sky,” and an unusual chemicalcomponent in the region’s seawater. Severalbooks have suggested that an intelligent, tech-nologically advanced race living in space orunder the sea has been responsible for jam-ming equipment and leading ships and planesto disaster.



THE Bermuda Triangle has claimed over 1,000lives during the twentieth century.

Many books and articles play up mysteryangles concerning vanished ships by depictingthe disappearances as having occurred in calmweather and daylight. Such particulars ofFlight 19 as an inexperienced crew, a faultycompass, a squadron leader who failed to fol-low instructions, and conditions of deteriorat-ing weather and visibility are often not men-tioned. Larry Kusche, a librarian at ArizonaState University, examined claims of mysteri-ous disappearances and recorded evidencefrom each example. The results, published inThe Bermuda Triangle—Mystery Solved,showed that many of the accidents happenedduring raging storms, or were later explained.

The area known as the Bermuda Triangleis one of the two places on Earth where a mag-netic compass does point towards true north, aphenomenon called compass variation. Navi-gators must compensate the amount of varia-tion or the craft they are on will go off course.A region commonly called the “Devil’s Sea”in the Pacific Ocean is the other area of com-pass variation.

The Gulf Stream that runs through theBermuda Triangle area is swift and turbulent,and can quickly erase evidence of a disaster.The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weath-er can suddenly change into thunderstorms orcreate waterspouts. Many short and intensestorms build up quickly and dissipate quickly,undetected by satellite surveillance. The oceanfloor has shoals around islands as well as someof the deepest marine trenches in the world.The interaction of the strong currents overreefs promotes a constant flux and the develop-ment of new, uncharted navigational hazards.

These factors can confuse even experi-enced sailors. A large number of pleasure boatstravel the waters between Florida’s coast andthe Bahamas. The U.S. Coast Guard receivesmore than 8,000 distress calls per year, averag-ing more than 20 per day from that area, oftenfrom sailors who have run out of gas.

The Bermuda Triangle claimed more than1,000 lives during the twentieth century. Thataverages to about 10 per year, a figure similarto other areas of high water traffic or volatile



Bermuda Triangle.

(DEZSO STERNOCZKY/SUFOI)

natural conditions. Scientific evaluations ofthe Bermuda Triangle have concluded thatthe number of disappearances in the region isnot abnormal and that most of the disappear-ances have logical explanations. Paranormalassociations with the Bermuda Triangle per-sist, however, in the popular imagination.

M Delving Deeper

Berlitz, Charles. The Bermuda Triangle. New York:Doubleday and Co., 1974.

Gaddis, Vincent H. Invisible Horizons: True Mysteriesof the Sea. Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965.


Kusche, Lawrence D. The Bermuda Triangle Mystery—Solved. New York: Harper and Row, 1975.

Spencer, John Wallace. Limbo of the Lost. New York:Bantam Books, 1973.

Chartres

The gothic cathedral that stands in theFrench town of Chartres is the sixthchurch or cathedral constructed on that

site over 1,500 years. Although the presentcathedral is recognized as a place for Christianpilgrimages, it is considered mysterious.

Before the Gauls inhabited this region onthe River Eure about 60 miles southwest ofParis, some ancient priests of an unknownreligion constructed a dolmen (two or morelarge upright stones with a space in betweenand covered by a large horizontal rock) and awell within a mound. The Druids, Celticpriests of Gaul and Britain, made the moundand dolmen a center for the study of their reli-gion. Here a Druid priest had a vision of a vir-gin who would bear a child. To honor the



Selection of books on the

Bermuda Triangle.




Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site in Illi-nois is the site of the largest prehistoricNative American city north of Mexico.The city covered six square miles of set-

tlement and may have been inhabited by as many as20,000 people sometime between 800 and 1400. Thesite includes Monks Mound, the largest earthwork inNorth America, rising 100 feet and consisting of fourterraces that covered 14 acres and contained an esti-mated 22 million cubic feet of earth. Atop the greatmound stood a ceremonial building 100 feet long and50 feet high. Named for the Trappist monks who grewvegetables on the site circa 1809, it was later discov-ered that the mound served a forgotten people as botha temple and a palace.

It has been determined that the city was the prin-cipal ceremonial center of a vanished culture knownas the Mississippian who occupied the area fromaround 1050 to 1250. At its peak around 1150, the citysupported a population of as many as 20,000 people.

Many scholars believe that the customs of theNatchez people who inhabited the lower MississippiValley when French explorers encountered the tribe inthe latter part of the seventeenth century may offersome insight into their ancestors. Unlike the otherNative American tribes, the Natchez had distinctsocial classes who were governed by a ruler-priestknown as the Great Sun, who was regarded as therepresentative of the Sun on Earth and was treatedwith godlike reverence by the members of his tribe.The Great Sun wore a headdress-crown of white swanfeathers and was born aloft on a litter by devotees sohis feet would not be defiled by contact with the earth.The Natchez, and it is supposed their vanished Missis-sippian predecessors, had elaborate funeral cere-monies which involved certain sacrifices. WhenMound 72 was excavated, the burial pits of nearly 300people were discovered, including what may havebeen as many as 53 young women who were sacri-ficed to honor the death of a great ruler-priest.

In 1961, Dr. Warren Wittry unearthed the remainsof a circle of red cedar posts that may have been usedas a solar calendar to note coming seasons and to

help determine when to plant and when to harvestcrops. The discovery was dubbed “Woodhenge,” inrecognition to its similarity to the circular arrange-ment known as Stonehenge in Great Britain.

Sources:

Harpur, James. The Atlas of Sacred Places. Old Saybrook, Conn.:

Konecky & Konecky, 1994.

Thomas, David Hurst. Exploring Ancient Native America. New

York: Macmillan, 1994.

Cahokia and

Its Woodhenge

vision, an image of the virgin with the baberesting on her knee was carved from a peachtree and placed next to the well and the powerpoint within the dolmen.

When the first Christians appropriated thearea in the third century, they built the firstchurch dedicated to Our Lady on the site ofthe dolmen, mound, and well and placed theimage of the Black Virgin in the church’scrypt. The Duke of Aquitania burned the firstchurch in 743; Vikings destroyed the secondin 858. The third and fourth churches wereburned in 962 and 1020, and the first of thecathedrals was destroyed by fire in 1194. Eachtime the place of worship was burned or crum-bled, faithful Christian townspeople, builders,and architects appeared to rebuild the struc-ture. But the identity of the master builderswho constructed the majestic Chartres Cathe-dral that stands there today remains unknown.

M Delving Deeper

Images of Chartres Cathedral. [Online]http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/chartreswest/centralportal.html.

Westwood, Jennifer, ed. Mysterious Places. New York:Galahad Books, 1987.

Cursuses and Leys

There exists substantial evidence thatsome ancient societies wanted theirlandscapes to reflect the interconnect-

edness of life—imitating patterns they noticed

in constellations, in changing seasons, or in rit-uals they performed. Ritual paths are foundnear some of Great Britain’s ancient megalithicsites and are called cursuses. Unlike geoglyphs,which are marked clearly on the land, patternsformed by structures are detected by plottingthem on the map of an area and looking forconnections—literally, connecting the dots todetermine whether or not a pattern emerges.

Ley lines is a term coined by Alfred Watkins(1855–1935), an Englishman who noticed in1921 that several hilltops with ancient ruins onthem in Herefordshire formed a straight align-ment. He found several other instances wherestanding stones, burial mounds, and otherancient sites were aligned, criss-crossing thecountryside. He called the straight alignments“leys” and published his findings in a book, TheOld Straight Track, in 1925. The theory of leylines promotes the belief that ancient structuresin Great Britain were built on specific sites toform patterns and were so well aligned that ifone continued in a straight line after walkingfrom one structure to another one would soonfind a third site.

Watkins believed that such alignmentswere intended as trade routes: the quickestway to get from one point to another is by astraight line. By the mid-twentieth century,however, leys became associated with cosmiclines of force—the belief that unknown formsof energy run in channels through the terrain.The practice of “ley hunting,” plottingancient sites and looking for patterns—straight lines, in particular—became popularin Great Britain during the twentieth century.

Reports of a curious feature found nearmegalithic sites in Great Britain date back to the1720s, when William Stukeley (1687–1765), aBritish antiquarian, noticed parallel lines ofbanks and ditches at Stonehenge. He called thephenomenon a cursus, a Latin word for race-track, since the lines were thought to run paral-lel and were joined at the ends to form an oval.The straight tracks he found were later dated ashaving been built in the same neolithic period asStonehenge. Cursuses became a subject of studyin the twentieth century when many more ofthem were discovered through aerial photogra-phy, and curiosity was piqued as to what theirpurpose might be.



Chartres Cathedral,

France. (F. C. TAYLOR/

FORTEAN PICTURE LIBRARY)

The cursus at Stonehenge had chambergraves at both ends. So, too, did a cursus foundat Dorset, England. The Dorset Cursuses fol-low a crescent pattern, each passing by cham-ber graves dated earlier than the ones at eitherend of the cursus. Other cursuses waver evenfurther off the straight track, but all of themhave burial graves at either end or point tograves or standing stones.

The Dorset Cursuses were called an“Avenue of the Dead” by archaeologistRichard Bradley, who suggested that ancientsbelieved spirits of the dead passed along thoselines, which he called avenues. Those wishingto communicate with the dead could meetthem on the avenue. It is likely that the cur-suses were used in ancient processional ritualsin ceremonies honoring the dead.

In Britain, many of the ancient sites on leylines were erected by Celts, a people who hadrituals involving nature. Since the Celts weremore attuned to the natural world than mod-ern humans, according to those who believein cosmic lines of force, their structures werepurposefully erected on sites of pulsating ener-gy. Some UFO proponents believe that leylines were energy forces on which ships fromouter space were able to harness energy andmove quickly around Earth.

Ley hunting, the act of researchingancient sites to discover straight alignments,has also inspired detractors. Many supposedleys had sites built at various times and by var-ious societies: a Celtic hill-fort from 200 B.C.E.might be followed on a ley by a Christianchurch erected in medieval times. Watkinscountered by noting that Christian sites wereoften built on places of pagan worship. He alsotook a practical approach, believing the leylines indicated trade routes, rather than cos-mic lines of force. Interested in establishingsound criteria for leys, Watkins argued thatleys involving three sites might just as likelybe a chance occurrence as a planned pattern.Five aligned sites, he determined, were neces-sary to consider a purposeful pattern.

Many claims of ley lines were proven inac-curate: they were not quite straight, or theylumped together many different kinds ofthings from many different time periods. Even

though quite a few intriguing leys were discov-ered, the theory began losing support becauseof extravagant claims.

Ley hunting enjoyed a revival beginningin the 1970s. By then, much more informa-tion was known about prehistoric civilizationsand their capacity for great engineering featsand mastering of sophisticated astronomicaland mathematical techniques. The enthusi-asm for the pastime was channeled through amagazine, The Ley Hunter, which Paul Dev-ereux took over as editor in 1976. Devereuxset up a system where all prospective leyscould be catalogued and researched. Hundredsof claims were submitted and checked, andthe results were published in The Ley Hunter’sCompanion (1979). Forty-one leys, eachincluding at least four sites, were presented inthat book as being worthy of further research.Virtually all of them failed the test of beingstraight alignments.

Meanwhile, statisticians showed that thepossibility of chance alignments was greaterthan expected. Random patterns were just aslikely to be straight as planned sites because ofthe large number of items available to be con-sidered. The question concerning leys iswhether the sites arise from random connec-tion or whether they were planned to form apattern. Even if they were not planned, a sim-ple combination involving many sites willform patterns and several straight alignments.

Statistical methods based on rigorous stan-dards for alignment and ensuring that sites onleys were from a certain time period allworked to compromise the theory of leys. Tak-ing the practical and scientific approaches tothe ley theory proved to be its undoing.Although the belief that many megalithserected by neolithic peoples were placed alongenergy lines persists among a number of leyhunting enthusiasts, except for a few isolatedcases, most claims do not match the criteria of



LEY lines were previously believed to be trade routes.

straight alignment, and they often incorporatestructures from vastly different eras.

M Delving Deeper

Michel, Aime. Flying Saucers and the Straight LineMystery. New York: Criterion Books, 1958.

Watkins, Alfred. The Old Straight Track. New York:Ballantine Books, 1973.

El Dorado

Europeans of the sixteenth century pre-sumed that somewhere deep in SouthAmerica was a vast city called El Dorado

that contained unimaginable mineral riches.Several Spanish conquistadors made perilous,often deadly journeys to find it. Sir WalterRaleigh (1554–1618), the English raconteur,explorer, and visionary, claimed in a book hepublished in 1596 that he knew the where-abouts of El Dorado. But in spite of such valiantefforts, El Dorado seems to persist only as asymbol of the rapacious greed with which theEnglish and Spanish beheld the New World.

Europeans first learned of El Doradothrough word-of-mouth tales that circulatedamong South America’s indigenous peoples.There was a small grain of truth to the story:high in the eastern range of the Andes, inwhat is now Colombia, lived the Chibchapeople. Geographically isolated, they minedgold and emeralds freely, and built a highlystratified and developed society. When theyanointed a new priest-chief, they covered theman in balsam gum, and then blew gold dustall over his body through cane straws until heresembled a statue of pure gold. The newpriest-chief then ceremonially bathed in LakeGuatavita, a sacred place to the Chibcha.This practice ended around 1480 when they

were subdued by another tribe. But the storyof the “gilded one” became part of the oralfolklore traditions in South America, and inits retellings, the tale took on added dimen-sions: the gilded one supposedly ruled over avast kingdom where nearly everything wasmade from gold, silver, or precious stone.

Spanish colonization of Latin Americabegan not long after the end of this practice.Francisco Pizzaro (c. 1475–1541), who con-quered the powerful Inca civilization in the1530s in what is today Peru, saw the technicallyadvanced and lavishly prosperous city of Cuzcothat the tightly organized indigenous culturecreated. He believed that the continent heldenormous mineral wealth, and he took bags ofgold and stacks of silver bars back to Spain fromhis plunder of the Inca. Not long after the con-quest, a messenger from an unknown Indiantribe appeared in Peru with a message for theInca emperor, unaware the empire had beendefeated. Interrogated by the Spanish, he toldthem he came from the Zipa people in theBogota region, but knew of another kingdom,high in the mountains to the east, a tribe so richthat they covered their chief in gold.

The Spanish, who had already heard aboutthe Chibcha, became increasingly certain thatEl Dorado, their translation of “the gildedone,” really existed. Adding to the mysterywas a rumor that a renegade Inca faction hadmanaged to escape the violent Spanish con-quest and had fled to the mountains. Suppos-edly they had migrated into the AmazonRiver jungle. There, according to folklore, wasan empire richer than that of the Inca. TheSpanish assumed that the rebels took largeamounts of mineral wealth with them, andthat this fugitive empire was flourishing some-where in what is today Venezuela.

Between 1536 and 1541, the Spanish sentout five major expeditions in search of ElDorado. After the journeys proved fruitless,the Spanish became certain that El Doradomust lie in the northern part of the continentinto which they had not yet ventured—thejungle basin between the Orinoco and Ama-zon rivers.

Meanwhile, another mysterious appear-ance of a man who spoke of a city of gold he



THE Chibcha people blew gold dust all over the new priest chief’s body until he resembled a statue

of pure gold.

called “Manoa” only fueled their desire. Hisname was Juan Martinez, and he had been amunitions master on board a Spanish shipexploring the Caroni River that branched offfrom the Orinoco at San Thome. His groupheaded deeper into the jungle, but the journeywas aborted when its gunpowder storesexploded. Martinez was left behind in an opencanoe as punishment for the accident.

He claimed to have met friendly Indians,who blindfolded him for days and led him totheir kingdom, called Manoa, where every-thing in the royal palace was made of gold.Martinez said that riches had been given tohim as a departing gift, but they had beenstolen by Indians on his way back.

This story was told to Sir Walter Raleighin England around 1586. Raleigh had estab-lished an ill-fated colony in North Americaon Roanoke Island and had fallen out of favorwith Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603). Wish-ing to restore his reputation and status atcourt, he set sail for South America. Afterarriving in March of 1595, Raleigh and hisparty spent weeks sailing along the OrinocoRiver, but found nothing but a massive Span-ish anchor, which had been lost when Mar-tinez’s ship had exploded.

Raleigh brought back to England exoticflora and fauna and some blue-tinged rocksthat hinted at great ore deposits. But whenRaleigh told his extraordinary tales of the jun-gle, his enemies ridiculed him, claiming thathe had been hiding in Cornwall the entiretime. In response, he wrote a book, The Dis-covery of the Large, Rich and Beautiful Empire ofGuyana with a Relation to the Great and GoldenCity of Manoa.

The book was absorbing, but the Englishexpedition had not ventured into any parts ofthe Orinoco that the Spanish had not alreadyexplored. Raleigh claimed that the city ofManoa was on Lake ParÌma, behind a moun-tain range. He provided a map so remarkablyaccurate that most atlases of South Americashowed the mythical lake for the next 150years. Raleigh also wrote of a tribe of headless,club-wielding warriors with eyes and mouthson their torsos. That brought further discreditto his book, but it sold well, even in translation.

Raleigh’s claims failed to interest QueenElizabeth I or potential investors who mightfinance a further search for El Dorado. Afterthe monarch died in 1603, Raleigh was impris-oned in the Tower of London by her successor,King James I (1566–1625), on charges of trea-son. Convinced in the very least that vast goldmines existed close to the Orinoco River,Raleigh continually petitioned for release; onlywhen dire financial straits fell on Great Britaindid the king allow Raleigh a second chance.Raleigh’s 1618 expedition battled the Spanish,and Raleigh’s son died in battle. When Raleighreturned to England empty-handed, he wasjailed again, tried in secret, and executed onthe 1603 treason charge.

The term “El Dorado” became part ofRenaissance-era English culture; John Milton(1608–1674) wrote of it in Paradise Lost, andWilliam Shakespeare (1564–1616) mentionedthe headless warriors in Othello. El Dorado hasbecome synonymous with a place of fabulouswealth or inordinately great opportunity.Accepted theory holds that El Dorado existedonly in the minds of the Europeans who wereeager to discover the quickest path to riches.

M Delving Deeper



Easter Island

In one of the most remote spots on Earth,separated by more than two thousandmiles of ocean from the nearest centers of

civilization, is a lone, triangular-shaped islandthat occupies about 64 square miles of thePacific Ocean, which spans 70 million squaremiles. On the island’s southeast coast standnearly a hundred huge, megalithic monu-ments carved in a stylized manner to resemblemale human heads with elongated facial fea-tures. Some 800 additional statues remain in aquarry or scattered about the island.

The statues average about 13 feet inheight, 5 feet in width, and weigh an averageof 14 tons; they stand on stone platforms aver-



aging 4 feet in height. Islanders call the statues“moai,” and the platforms are called “ahus,”but the megaliths abound in mystery: whocarved them and what is their significance?

Inhabitants call the island Rapa Nui.Europeans have known it as Easter Islandsince the first recorded contact in 1722 by theDutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen (1659–1729). The island is also known as Isla de Pas-cua in Spanish, the language of Chile, theSouth American country that annexed theisland in 1888. But Chile, on the closest con-tinent to Easter Island, lies 2,300 miles to theeast. Tahiti, the nearest large island to thewest, is 2,500 miles away from Easter Island. Itis 1,500 miles to the nearest area of humanhabitation, Pitcairn Island. Another mystery,

then, is how the island came to be populated,and how the isolated island people managedto make and move the immense moai.

The island inhabitants could tell littleabout the moai to European visitors. Evidenceof a once-thriving culture existed on theisland, but when Roggeveen named the islandon Easter Sunday, 1722 the several thousandPolynesian inhabitants were struggling for sur-vival. At the time of this first contact withEuropeans, islanders called their home Te PitoO Te Henua, which has been variously trans-lated as “naval of the world,” “end of theworld,” and “lands’ end.” The population andland were even more impoverished 50 yearslater when British explorer James Cook(1728–1779) arrived there. Islanders werereadily willing to trade old, elaborate woodcarvings for food and cloth. Noting that thestatues were not part of the inhabitants’ sacredrituals, Cook called them “monuments ofantiquity” in his notes.

The engineering feat of moving moai fromthe quarry to their sites remains unexplained,



Face carvings on Easter

Island. (SUSAN D. ROCK)

EASTER Island was reached by Dutch explorerJacob Roggeveen in 1722.

particularly since there is no evidence ofwheels or a pully system through which suchmassive blocks could be transported. No evi-dence of advanced engineering skills exists onthe island. Islanders told Captain Cook andmore modern visitors that the moai walkedfrom the quarry to their sites on the ahus.

Some theorists have speculated that themonuments are remnants of the lost continentof Mu. According to that account, Lemurians,an intellectually advanced race of people, wereresponsible for crafting, moving, and erectingthe monuments. The stones were moved fromquarry to ahu using ancient secrets known tothe Lemurians, perhaps involving levitation orthe secret for liquifying stone.

The two most prominent theories withsome scientific evidence have the islandbecoming inhabited by seafarers, moving eastto west from South America or west to eastfrom Polynesia, who settled on the island,established a thriving community, and erectedthe monuments. The east to west theory waspopularized in the late 1940s by anthropolo-gist Thor Heyerdahl (1911–2002) who made adaring journey across the Pacific in a primitivebalsa wood craft called the Kon Tiki. By doingso, Heyerdahl successfully overturned thenotion that prehistoric South Americanscould not have made the ocean journey toPolynesian islands in the eastern-centralPacific Ocean. Heyerdahl’s voyage with a crewof five took 101 days and covered 4,300 milesand proved that such a journey could be made.Favorable winds blow east to west across thesouth Pacific Ocean. Those winds cross EasterIsland and keep it warm year round.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, anthropolo-gist Jo Ann Von Tilburg made importantcontributions to the study of the EasterIsland megaliths. Her research has been fea-tured in documentaries on Easter Islandbroadcast on the Public Broadcasting Sys-tem’s Nova series, as well as The LearningChannel, Discovery Channel, The HistoryChannel (appearing with Thor Heyerdahl),and the syndicated Arthur C. Clarke’s Myste-rious World. In 1998 she completed an exper-imental archaeology project using a comput-er to simulate the crafting and transporting

of an average-sized moai. Her project showedthat an average moia could be moved aboutsix miles in under five days by a team of 70people. In the simulation, the statues werelaid on two long poles that form a track andwere rolled forward over smaller logs withinthe track. Polynesians had long been adeptwith hinges and levers to help lift and proplarge objects through their construction oflarge canoes. Such devices could be used toplace the moai on the ahus.

The megaliths on Easter Island stand withtheir backs to the sea. Many archaeologistsbelieve that signifies the edge of the Polyne-sian’s world. The statues are believed to be thespirits of ancestors and high-ranking chiefs.That the faces are standardized perhaps indi-cates an archetype of a powerful individual.Van Tilburg suggests that the moai are posi-tioned on platforms to indicate they are linksbetween heavenly gods and the materialearth. Polynesians erect such statues as “skyprops” that help hold up the heavens, andtheir leaders are considered the props thathold up the community.

The monuments on Easter Island werebelieved to have been erected between 1400and 1550, until radiocarbon dating in the1990s pushed that date back some 700 years.A history can be sketched beginning around400, with the arrival of Polynesians. The com-munity on Easter Island fell into decline after1550, and resources were nearly exhausted atthe time of first contact with Europeans in theeighteenth century.

Geology professor Charlie Love, of West-ern Wyoming Community College, with acrew of 17 students, archaeologists, andislanders, spent much of the summer of 2000attempting to solve the mystery of how thegreat stone heads, some weighing as much as90 tons, had been moved from the quarry tothe ceremonial centers on the coast of EasterIsland. Although the roadways have notbeen firmly dated, Love agreed with previousestimates that the statue-moving activityended about 1500. After several months ofon-site investigation, Love readily concededthat the mysteries of Easter Island had notbeen solved.



M Delving Deeper

Deuel, Leo. Conquistadors without Swords: Archaeolo-gists in the Americas. New York: St. Martin’s Press,1967.

“The Easter Island Mystery.” [Online] http://www.discoveringarchaeology.com/ articles/122900-easter.shtml.

Heyerdhal, Thor. Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft.35th anniversary ed. Chicago: Rand McNally,1984.

Ingpen, Robert, and Philip Wilkinson. Encyclopedia ofMysterious Places. New York: Barnes & Noble,1999.

Van Tilburg, Jo Anne. Easter Island Archaeology, Ecol-ogy, Culture. Washington, D.C.: SmithsonianInstitution Press, 1994.

Glastonbury

Glastonbury, in the Somerset region ofEngland, seems always to have been aspiritual center, from Celtic May Day

festivities, to Christian worship, to present-day New Age festivals. Human habitationdates back many centuries before the contem-porary era, based on findings of flints, theremains of two lake villages that rose abovethe marshes on artificial islands, and hundredsof planks that formed walkways held by pegsdriven into the soil. Those remnants dateback to at least 2500 B.C.E., the same period inwhich many other sites, such as Stonehengeand Silbury Hill, the tallest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe, were being erected.

Romans conquered Great Britain duringthe first century B.C.E. and establishedwharves on nearby Bristol Bay, thus enablingGlastonbury to become a shipping area. A leg-end has it that Joseph of Arimathea, who ismentioned in the Bible as the person who pre-

pared Jesus Christ (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.) forburial after his crucifixion, landed in BristolBay and established the first Christian churchat Glastonbury. Later, according to someaccounts, he traveled by sea and landed inGreat Britain, bringing with him the HolyGrail. Several centuries later, according tolegends, King Arthur’s knights undertookquests to find the lost Holy Grail.

When Joseph arrived in Glastonbury,according to tradition, he pushed his staff intothe soil on a ridge called Wirral. That staffmiraculously became a tree, the famous Glas-tonbury Thorn. It flowers around the begin-ning of winter, usually around Christmas time.It is not known when the original Glaston-bury Thorn first appeared, but it was alreadycenturies old and revered in the sixteenthcentury, when a Puritan cut it down because itrepresented a prideful icon of veneration. TheGlastonbury Thorn is unlike any nativespecies of tree in Great Britain and is reputedto be related to a thorn tree of the easternMediterranean area.

The most distinctive and highest of thehills in the area is the Glastonbury Tor (“tor”is an old word for “hill”). An imposing hill,the tor can be seen from as far as 25 milesaway. A ruined tower of a Christian chapel isperched on the top of the tor. Nearby are theruins of Glastonbury Abbey and, reportedly,the oldest Christian church in England.

Glastonbury Abbey, a Christian monas-tery, was long established at the site when itbecame a focal point for Arthurian legends in1190. King Henry II (1133–1189) hadclaimed that a bard told him that KingArthur’s bones were buried deep at Glaston-bury. In 1190, two monks at the monasteryhad a vision about a site where Arthur wasburied in Glastonbury. After digging a holesixteen feet deep, they claimed that theyuncovered two stone markers and a giant cof-fin. Inside the coffin were the bones of a manand a woman together with a tablet identify-ing the remains as those of King Arthur andhis wife, Guinevere.

The find was widely heralded, but was alsoquickly regarded as a hoax and the authentici-ty of the grave strongly debated. Nevertheless,



GLASTONBURY Abbey was longestablished when it became a focal point for Arthurian

legends in 1190.

the Norman kings, whose invading armies hadconquered Britain a century earlier and werestill attempting to solidify their power,embraced the find. By the sixteenth century,when King Henry VIII (1491–1547) dissolvedall Christian monasteries in Great Britain, thebones and artifacts alleged to be Arthur’s werelooted and the authenticity of the burial findwas generally disproved. In the popular mind,however, the claim continued to be taken seri-ously because of the area’s associations withArthurian legends. Even to this day, the Pom-parles Bridge that spans the River Brue thatruns through Glastonbury is reputed to be thesite where Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, wasreturned to the Lady of the Lake.

During the twentieth and into the twenty-first century, Glastonbury remains the site ofofficial festivals and unofficial gatherings thatcelebrate its Celtic roots. Beltane Day, as theCelts called May Day, is celebrated with a fes-tival for the rebirth of the sun.

M Delving Deeper



Maltwood, Katherine E. A Guide to Glastonbury’sTemple of the Stars. London: Clarke, 1929.

Hollow Earth

Edmund Halley (1656–1742) is bestknown for having calculated the orbit ofa comet that passes by Earth every 76

years. The comet known as Halley’s made itsfirst appearance under that name in 1682. Dur-ing the next decade, Halley turned his atten-tion away from the celestial in favor of the sub-terranean. He claimed that the Earth was hol-low and populated by humans and beasts.

Halley’s Hollow Earth idea was developedfurther during the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies, and sometimes backed by sound sci-entific reasoning. None of the claims of Hol-low Earth proponents have been substantiat-ed, however. Those still holding to the beliefin the twenty-first century are part of a long



Glastonbury Abbey.

(JANET AND COLIN

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PICTURE LIBRARY)

history of people who believe human lifeexists beneath the surface of the Earth.

Halley’s theory was based on the fact thatthe earth’s magnetic field varies over time.Halley suggested that there were several mag-netic fields, one of which emanated from asphere within the earth. Halley eventuallydeveloped the idea that there were four con-centric hollow spheres within the earth. Hebelieved the inner earth was populated withlife and had a luminous atmosphere. Theaurora borealis, he concluded, was actually anemanation of radiant gases from within theearth that escaped through thin layers of crustat the poles.

During the eighteenth century, Halley’sHollow Earth theory was adapted by two otherfamed mathematicians, Leonhard Euler(1707–1783), a Swiss, and John Leslie (1766–1832), a Scotsman. Euler abandoned Halley’sconcentric spheres idea. He postulated that aglowing core some six hundred miles widewarmed and illuminated the inner earth,where an advanced population thrived. Leslie,on the other hand, believed there were twoconcentric spheres within the earth each withtheir own sun, which he named Pluto andProserpine after the Greek god of the under-world and his mate.

Perhaps the most enthusiastic proponentof the Hollow Earth idea was John ClevesSymmes, who was born in 1780 in New Jersey.He was named after an uncle who fought inthe American Revolutionary War. Symmesfought in the War of 1812, after which hemoved to St. Louis, Missouri, and establisheda trading post. He immersed himself in read-ing books in the natural sciences. By 1818 hewas publicizing his version of the HollowEarth, which had concentric spheres andreceived light and warmth from the sunthrough large holes in the planet open at eachof the poles.

Symmes proved relentless in publicizinghis views: he was a prolific lecturer and writerof letters and articles; wrote fictional accountsof the Hollow Earth, including Symzonia: Voy-age of Discovery (1820), which he publishedunder the pseudonym Adam Seaborn; andadvocated expeditions to the poles. His Hol-low Earth illuminated by openings at the polesbecame the most popularly known version,and one that would be tested as humans beganstruggling to reach the poles.

Symmes was able to impress two influen-tial men who would take his cause further.James McBride, a wealthy Ohio man, wrotearticles supporting the concentric spheres ver-sion of the Hollow Earth. He lobbied a U.S.senator from Kentucky to support a bill fund-ing a proposed expedition to explore traderoutes in the southern hemisphere (whereMcBride hoped the expedition would contin-ue on to the open pole). The senator he hadlobbied, Richard M. Johnson (1790–1850),later became vice president of the UnitedStates under Martin Van Buren (1782–1862).In 1828, President John Quincy Adams(1767–1848) indicated that he would approvefunding for the expedition. However, whenAdams left office in 1829, his successor,Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), stifled a billfunding the proposed expedition.

Symmes died in 1829, but his cause wascontinued by Jeremiah Reynolds, an Ohionewspaper editor. After the failure to get gov-ernment funding for the expedition in 1829,Reynolds joined a crew sailing to the southseas to hunts seals, but seven years later in1836, he helped renew efforts for funding of aSouthern Hemisphere expedition. Reynoldsspoke before Congress, emphasizing thenational glory that would accompany scientif-ic discoveries and expanded foreign relations,but he became so impatient with the methodi-cal planning and a series of delays that he wasfired from the crew.

What became known as the Wilkes expe-dition, named after its commander, CharlesWilkes (1798–1877), launched in 1838.When the expedition was completed in 1842,they had effectively mapped a landmass whereSymmes had envisioned a large hole in the



EDMUND Halley claimed the Earth washollow and populated by humans and beasts.

earth. The world’s seventh continent, Antarc-tica, was officially recognized for the first time.

The open poles theory promoted bySymmes had been effectively undermined, butthe belief in the Hollow Earth would onlygrow more popular. In 1846, the remains of awoolly mammoth, a creature long extinct,were discovered perfectly preserved in ice inSiberia. So suddenly had it been frozen, thatthe mammoth had not yet digested pine conesit had recently eaten. It was theorized that theanimal had been caught by a climate change,but many questioned that such a change couldhave happened so quickly and thoroughly.Some people believed the animal had wan-dered out from the Hollow Earth through ahole at the North Pole.

As late as 1913, even after the North Polehad been reached, Marshall Gardner pub-lished A Journey to the Earth’s Interior, or Havethe Poles Really Been Discovered? which

claimed that many creatures thought to beextinct were still thriving within the earth.Gardner theorized that the interior earth waswarmed by materials still spinning sinceearth’s creation. Based on the law of centrifu-gal force, Gardner argued that earth was origi-nally a spinning mass of matter. An outer layerof matter had hardened and continued torevolve around a central axis, while an innerlayer also hardened and was warmed by heatcontinually generated by the earth’s spinning.

That same year, William Reed publishedThe Phantom of the Poles (1906), in which hepromoted the idea that a ship can pass fromouter Earth to inner Earth. The effect of gravi-ty pulls a ship against the interior in the samemanner as it works on the exterior. Heclaimed that some sailors had already passedinto inner Earth without knowing it. Gravityhad pulled them to the interior side, where a600 mile-long sun continued to keep themwarm, as the outer sun had done.



Books on the hollow

earth concept. (FORTEAN

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In between the woolly mammoth find andthose publications of 1913, fascination in theHollow Earth was exhibited by scientists andscience fiction writers. Jules Verne (1828–1905) published Journey to the Center of theEarth (1864), in which characters enter theEarth’s interior through the chimney of aninactive volcano in Iceland. In 1873, TheComing Race, a novel by the occultist EdwardBulwer-Lytton (1831–1891), was set in theEarth’s interior, where an advanced civilizationof giants thrived. In this story, the giants hadbuilt a paradise and discovered a form of ener-gy so powerful that they outlawed its use as apotential weapon. The paradise is threatened,nevertheless; not by weapons, but by a lack ofconflict that has resulted in general boredom.

One of the more interesting variations onthe Hollow Earth theory during the late nine-teenth century was expounded by Cyrus ReadTeed (1830–1908). In The Cellular Cos-mogony, or The Earth, A Concave Sphere, Teedclaimed a civilization inhabited the concaveinner surface of Earth. Dense atmosphere pre-vents viewing across the surface. The Moon,according to Teed, reflects the larger, unin-habitable surface of Earth.

Teed made a religion of his discoveries andchanged his name to Koresh, the Hebrew equiv-alent of his given name, Cyrus. As the messiahof Koreshanity, he formed a church, started amagazine, The Flaming Cross, which continuedto be published regularly into the 1940s, andfounded a community on a 300-acre tract inFlorida in 1894. He lived there with about 250followers until 1908. Upon his death, his fol-lowers waited for him to rise again, as he hadprophesied. After four days, health officialsappeared on the scene and ordered his burial.

Hollow Earth theories continued to bepromoted by enthusiasts even as explorersreached the North and South Poles during thefirst decade of the twentieth century. Theopen poles theory was further underminedwhen aviator Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957)became the first to fly over the North Pole(1926) and the South Pole (1929) and report-ed nothing but unending whiteness. In 1959,a U.S. submarine journeyed beneath the polarice cap and actually surfaced at the North

Pole, based on precise calculations. Sincethen, year-round research stations have beenbuilt on several sites at both poles. No largeholes have been found.

Hollow Earth enthusiasts continue tobelieve. Teed’s Concave Earth theory, forexample, was tested during World War II(1939–1945) by a Nazi scientist. He aimed acamera at a 45-degree angle into the sky froman island in the Baltic Sea, hoping to catchan image of a British fleet on the other side ofthe concave Earth. The experiment wasunsuccessful.

M Delving Deeper

Beckley, Timothy Green, ed. The Smoky God andOther Inner Earth Mysteries. New Brunwick, N.J.:Inner Light Publications, 1993.

Bernard, Raymond. The Hollow Earth. MokelumneHill, Calif.: Health Research, 1963.


Michell, John. Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions. SanDiego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem stands in the middle of thenation of Israel, a holy city to three of theworld’s great religions—Judaism, Chris-

tianity, and Islam. Before Muslims underwentpilgrimages to Mecca, the most venerated holyplace in all of Islam was the Dome of the Rock,a magnificent mosque built over the sacredrock where Abraham prepared to sacrifice hisson Isaac to the Lord and where the ProphetMuhammad (c. 570–632) is believed to haveascended to Paradise. For the Jews, Jerusalem isthe site of King David’s (d. 932 B.C.E.) ancientcapital of Judea and a massive wall, called the“Wailing Wall,” which is all that remains ofthe great Temple that was destroyed by theRomans in 70 C.E.. Christian pilgrims reverethe city as the place where Jesus (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.) was crucified and is believed to haverisen from the dead, and for more than 1,600years they have visited the most revered of allChristian holy places, the Church of the HolySepulchre, which was built over what wasbelieved to be Christ’s tomb.





Listings of the greatest architectural achieve-ments of the world date at least as far backas the time of Herodotus (484–425 B.C.E.),who mentions such an inventory. Later

Greek historians wrote about the great monuments oftheir time, and the list of seven ancient wonders of theworld was finalized from among those opinions duringthe Middle Ages. The Seven Wonders include:

• The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). The old-est of the Seven Wonders and the only survivingone, constructed about 2630 B.C.E.

• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Part of thepalace of King Nebuchadnezzar II and built about600 B.C.E., it featured a series of terraces withstone arches. The terraces were filled withplants, and an elaborate tunnel and pulley systembrought water from the nearby Euphrates River.

• The Statue of Zeus. Dated to the mid-fifth centu-ry B.C.E. and credited to the Greek sculptorPhidias, it was located at the Temple of Zeus atOlympia, Greece.

• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Greece.Erected in 356 B.C.E. in a marshy area where sev-eral earlier temples had stood, it was destroyedby the Goths in 262.

• The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Built around353 B.C.E., it was a marble tomb for King Mauso-lus of Caria in Asia Minor. It was damaged by anearthquake, and during medieval times its mar-ble was used to fortify a castle.

• The Colossus of Rhodes. A 100-foot-high bronzestatue of the Greek Sun god Helios, it was erect-ed about 280 B.C.E. to guard the entrance to theharbor at Rhodes, a Mediterranean island, but itwas destroyed about 55 years later.

• The Pharos of Alexandria. A lighthouse erectedaround 280 B.C.E., it fell into ruins by the mid-1300s because of a series of earthquakes.Located on an island in the harbor of Alexandria,Egypt, and rising 440 feet, it was the tallestbuilding of the ancient world.

Sources:

“Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” [Online] http://ce.eng.

usf.edu/pharos/wonders.

“Seven Wonders of the World.” [Online] http://library.advanced.

org/23378.

The Seven

Wonders of the

Ancient World

According to Hebrew tradition, Jerusalemwas chosen to be the earthly headquarters forthe Lord’s work among humankind in veryancient times, for Melchizedek, a priest, a sur-vivor of the pre-flood world, the oldest livinghuman at that time, was living there as Kingof Salem even before Father Abraham set outon his quest for the Promised Land. Obeying acommandment of the Lord, Melchizedek hadcome out of Babylonia to south centralCanaan to build a city on the summit of thewatershed between the Jordan River and theMediterranean. Salem was constructed on thesoutheast hill of a mountain ridge with deepvalleys on its east, south, and west sides. Withthe spring of Gihon at its feet to provide freshwater easily available for its inhabitants evenduring times of siege, the location of Salemmade it a naturally impregnable fortress.

As the city of Jerusalem grew, it sprawledout over the two larger and three smaller hillsof the ridge. With Egypt about 300 miles south-west; Assyria, 700 miles northeast; Babylon,700 miles east; Persia, 1,000 miles east; Greece,800 miles northwest; and Rome, 1,500 milesnorthwest, Jerusalem became a very cosmopoli-tan city with a steady flow of merchants andtraders arriving from nations throughout theknown world. David established Jerusalem asIsrael’s national capital in about 1000 B.C.E.,and in about 950 B.C.E., his son Solomon builtthe magnificent temple that housed the Ark ofthe Covenant. The city and the temple weredestroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E., butby the time that Jesus walked its streets inabout 29 C.E., Jerusalem had been restored to itsformer glory. In 70, a series of Jewish revoltsagainst Rome brought the imperial army to thewalls of Jerusalem on the day of Passover. Aftera five-month siege, the city walls were broughtdown, the Temple of Herod destroyed, andJerusalem was left in ruins and desolate.

In 135, Barcocheba, a self-proclaimedmessiah of the Jews, led another revoltagainst the Romans. He managed to gaincontrol of the city and set about rebuildingthe Temple, but his ambitious project wasshort-lived when the Roman army arrived inforce and squelched the rebellion with greatloss of life for the Jews. The conquerorsdecreed that no Jews could enter Jerusalemon pain of death, and a temple to Jupiter,father of the Roman gods, was built where theTemple had stood.

In 326, after the Roman emperor Con-stantine (d. 337) converted to Christianity,he traveled to the Holy Land to view thesacred sites for himself. Helena, his mother,received a vision that showed her the exactspot where Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthyfollower of Jesus, had buried him after his cru-cifixion. The site lay beneath a temple toVenus that had been erected by a Romanarmy of occupation, but Constantine per-ceived the edifice as only a minor impedi-ment. He ordered the temple of the goddesstorn down and replaced by the Basilica ofConstantine, the original Church of the HolySepulchre, near the Tomb Rotunda, whichcovered the tomb of Christ. In time, theBasilica, the tomb, and Calvary, the site ofthe crucifixion, were all brought under theroof of a vast Romanesque cathedral. For thenext three centuries, Jerusalem remained aChristian city, and in the fifth century, itdominated Christendom as one of the seats ofthe Five Patriarchs, along with Rome, Con-stantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria.

In 638, a Muslim army under CaliphOmar Ibn al-Khattab (ruled 634–644) con-quered Jerusalem. A devout follower of theProphet Muhammad, the caliph was also tol-erant of other religions. He ordered that theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre be respected asa Christian place of worship and forbade it tobe converted into a mosque. When he wastaken to the Temple Mount, he was shockedto discover that the holy rock where Abra-ham had taken Isaac to be sacrificed, theplace that had held the Ark of the Covenantin Solomon’s Temple, and the spot whereMuhammad had ascended to Paradise, layexposed to the elements. After the area had



JERUSALEM is the holy city to three of the world’s great religions—Judaism, Christianity,

and Islam.

been purified by prayers and a rainfall, thecaliph ordered the Dome of the Rock to bebuilt to shelter the sacred rock. The shrinewith its massive dome gilded with goldmosaics was completed in 691.

The golden dome collapsed in 1016, butit was soon rebuilt. In 1099, Christian cru-saders massacred the Muslim inhabitants ofJerusalem and converted the Dome of theRock to a Christian shrine, replacing thecrescent on the top of the dome with a crossand constructing an altar on the rock. Theshrine returned to Muslim possession in 1187when the great Muslim military genius Salahal-Din, known to the crusaders as Saladin,captured Jerusalem. In 1537, the OttomanTurks replaced the gold mosaics on the out-side of the dome with 45,000 Persian tiles.Today’s visitor to the shrine will see the sun-light reflecting from sheets of gold-platedaluminum, imprinted with selected versesfrom the Koran, which were placed thereduring a complete restoration of the Dome ofthe Rock in 1956-1962. In 1967, the OldCity of Jerusalem, including the TempleMount, was seized by Israeli soldiers, but theDome of the Rock remains available for wor-ship by Muslims and visitation by others atscheduled times.

Interestingly, the Dome of the Rock playsa significant role in the end-time beliefs ofChristian, Jewish, and Muslim Fundamental-ists. Jews and Christians envision the site asone of the places in which Armageddon, thelast great struggle between the forces of goodand evil, will begin before the Messiahappears—or for the Christians, returns in aSecond Coming. For the Muslims, it is herethat Jesus will conquer the Antichrist and thechief eschatological figure, the Mahdi (Guid-ed One) will appear to help destroy the forcesof evil and to bring about the conversions ofall Jews and Christians to Islam.

When the Muslims assumed control of thesacred rock of Abraham and the site ofSolomon’s Temple in the seventh century, theJews began to focus their devotion on thehuge blocks of stone along the western edge ofthe Old City, all that remained of the retain-ing wall of the temple built by King Herod

(73–4 B.C.E.). Herod had begun the construc-tion of the Temple in 19 B.C.E. and the mainbuilding was completed about 18 monthslater. However, Herod’s intentions to buildthe most magnificent of all temples in the his-tory of the Jewish people did not cease at thattime. Construction continued until about 64C.E. For centuries, the wall has been a placewhere Jews might gather to mourn thedestruction of the Temple and the onset of thegreat Jewish Exile. Because it is a place of tearsand sorrow, the name “Wailing Wall” wasattached to the ruins, and it has become a sitefor Jewish pilgrimages, especially duringPassover, Sukkot, and Shavuot.

Since 1968, Jerusalem has been a citydivided by uneasy truces and sporadic fighting.Perhaps as the twenty-first century progresses,a lasting peace can be achieved and Jerusalemmay truly become the City of God.

M Delving Deeper

Halley, H. H. Halley’s Bible Handbook: An AbbreviatedBible Commentary. 24th ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.Zondervan Publishing House, 1965.

Harpur, James. The Atlas of Sacred Places. Old Say-brook, Conn.: Konecky & Konecky, 1994.

Kunstel, Marcia, and Joseph Albright. Their PromisedLand: Arab and Jew in History’s Cauldron—OneValley in the Jerusalem Hills. New York: CrownPublishers, 1990.

Shanks, Hershel. The City of David: A Guide to Bibli-cal Jerusalem. Washington, D.C.: Biblical Archae-ological Society, 1975.

Starr, Chester G. A History of the Ancient World. NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Westwood, Jennifer. Mysterious Places. New York:Galahad Books, 1996.

Karnak

On the banks of the Nile, between theancient cities of Luxor and Thebes,lie the remains of Karnak, one of the

most magnificent temple complexes ever con-structed. In ancient Egyptian, Karnak means“the most select of places,” and it became areligious center during the period known asthe New Kingdom (founded c. 1550 B.C.E.).Dedicated to the sun deity Amon-Ra (also



Amun-Re) and built around 1500 B.C.E., Kar-nak consists of massive pillars, toweringcolumns, avenues of sphinxes, and a remark-able obelisk that stands 97 feet tall and weighs323 tons. The Great Hypostyle Hall, one ofthe largest single chambers ever built, coversan area of nearly 54,000 square feet. Theentire Cathedral of Notre Dame could fitcomfortably within its walls.

Nearby ruins suggest that Karnak was con-sidered a sacred site much earlier than thetime during the New Kingdom when itbecame the center of worship for Amon-Ra.The remains of temples dated c. 1971 B.C.E.prove that predecessors of the devotees of theram-headed Amon-Ra also found the area tobe a special place to honor their gods.

The worship of Amon-Ra and the influ-ence of Karnak remained strong until Akhen-aton’s reign in 1379–1362 B.C.E., when thepharoah decreed all Egyptian gods banishedbut one supreme being—Aten, the god of thefully risen sun. Throughout all of Egypt theimages of all the gods were defaced and thetemples of Amon-Ra were desecrated ordestroyed. In addition to denigrating the

ancient gods of Egypt, Akhenaton moved hiscapital city to Tel el Amarna, thus denyingthe region of Thebes and Karnak their pres-tige as sacred ground. Akhenaton’s crusadeagainst the plurality of Egyptian religion wasshort-lived, however, and when he died, theboy-king Tutankhamen (c. 1370–1352 B.C.E.)spent his brief reign restoring the hierarchy ofthe old gods, including Amon-Ra.

Construction on the Great Hypostyle Hallwas begun during the reign of Ramses I(reigned 1320–1318 B.C.E.), continued by hisson Seti I (reigned 1318–1304 B.C.E.), andcompleted by Ramses II, one of the longest-reigning of Egyptian pharaohs (1304–1237B.C.E.) and a devotee of Amon-Ra. Ramses IIalso extended the temple of Amon by addinga series of courtyards and ceremonial halls.

At the time of Ramses III (reigned 1198–1166 B.C.E.), the size of the temple estates cov-ered almost 700,000 acres of land, from theNile Delta in the north to Nubia in the south.Eighty thousand servants and slaves were des-ignated to serve Amon-Ra in Karnak, andmore than 5,000 statues reflected his glorythroughout the vast temple complex. Largenumbers of animals considered sacred toAmon were kept on the site at Karnak,including thousands of geese and rams andover 421,000 head of cattle.

From about 1080 B.C.E. onward, Egypt suf-fered a number of invasions from the Nubians,Libyans, Kushites, and Assyrians. Many of theconquerors respected the sacred site at Karnakand some, such as the Kushites, even addedsome buildings of their own. However, eventhose invaders who sought to carry away someof the stone to implement building projects oftheir own or even to deface some of the statu-ary had not removed or destroyed enough ofKarnak to spoil the magic of the place for thegenerations yet unborn. The whole of theancient site remains in good condition today,and each year convinces thousands of touristsfrom all over the world that Karnak is indeed“the most select of places.”

M Delving Deeper

Harpur, James, The Atlas of Sacred Places. Old Say-brook, Conn.: Konecky & Konecky, 1994.



Entrance to the Temple of

Karnak. (DR. G. T.

MEADEN/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)



Michalowski, Kazimierz. Karnak. New York: PraegerPublishers, 1970.


Lemuria and Mu

Lemuria and Mu are sometimes distinctand sometimes interchangeable namesfor a legendary lost continent, which,

according to its proponents, existed in theCaribbean Ocean and had many of the attrib-utes associated with Atlantis. The mysteriouslost lands of Lemuria and Mu were conceivedof during the nineteenth century, when thetheory of evolution was introduced and wasamong the advances in the sciences that chal-lenged conventional ways of understandinglife. Archaeological discoveries among theruins of the Egyptians, Mayans, and othersocieties were forcing new interpretations ofhistory, and radical forms of mysticism, such asTheosophy, were becoming popular.

References to the lost continent of Mu canbe traced back to 1864 and a French archaeol-ogist named Charles-Etienne Brasseur deBourbourg. He had become fascinated byhieroglyphics found on Mayan ruins thatdated back several centuries. By the timeSpanish explorers had reached the NewWorld areas of Mexico and Central Americain the 1500s, the great centers of Mayan civi-lization had long been abandoned and werebeing reclaimed by the rainforest.

Brasseur traveled to Spain to look at arti-facts of Mayan civilization. In a library inMadrid he discovered a purported guide toMayan hieroglyphics. Using the guide to deci-pher a rare Mayan manuscript, he learnedabout an ancient land that had sunk into theocean after a volcanic eruption. Figures corre-sponding to letters “M” and “U” were connect-ed with the lost land, and Brasseur determinedthat the lost continent was named Mu. Using

that same guide, however, later scholars wereunable to decipher such a story, or to evenmake sustained and meaningful text from thehieroglyphics. It was not until the mid-twenti-eth century that a thorough guide to interpret-ing Mayan hieroglyphics was established.

Nevertheless, Brasseur’s version of a lostcontinent won some favorable attention. Anarchaeologist named Augustus Plongeon(1825–1908) used a similar key to decipherhieroglyphics at one of the first excavations ofMayan sites. He allegedly uncovered a storyabout two brothers who vied for a queennamed Moo (which he connected with Mu).One of the brothers was killed, and the othertook power just before a catastrophe struckMu. Queen Moo fled before the catastrophe.Speculations quickly added that she hadreached Egypt, became revered as the goddessIsis, founded Egyptian civilization, and direct-ed the building of the Sphinx.

In the mid-nineteenth century, CharlesDarwin’s (1809–1882) theory of evolution,Origin of the Species, was published. Althoughthe theory became widely accepted among sci-entists, it was also extremely controversial.One point of contention concerned an animaland layers of sediment found in South Africa,the island of Madagascar, and India—all ofwhich are in the same region but separated byexpanses of water. The lemur, a predecessor ofmonkeys, had the same traits in each locale.According to Darwin’s theory, the animalshould have developed some unique traitsrespective to the different environments. Sim-ilarities in sediments in each of the areas alsoraised questions. Scientists began to speculatethat a land bridge once existed in the IndianOcean that connected the three areas.

English zoologist Phillip L. Schlater pro-posed the name Lemuria after the lemur for



BY the 1500s, the great centers of Mayancivilization were abandoned and were reclaimed bythe rainforest.

this former land now sunk in the IndianOcean. The land bridge idea was supported bynoted scientists, including German naturalistHeinrich Haeckel (1834–1919) and AlfredRussell Wallace (1823–1913), who had devel-oped a theory of evolution similar to Darwin’s.Seas and continents were thought to beimmobile in those days before the theory ofcontinental drift, and no fossils of earlyhumans had yet been found. Haeckel usedLemuria, which had sunk into the sea, toexplain the absence of early human fossils.Lemuria became a respected term among edu-cated people in Europe and America.

Thus, the lost continent of Lemuria beganwith science, but its renown spread and hasbeen sustained through mysticism. Sciencehas since discounted the land bridge and lostcontinent theories, and evidence of earlyhumans was found during the twentieth cen-tury in Africa.

James Churchward (1832–1936) wasamong the first mystics to promote Lemuria asthe lost continent of an advanced humanrace. Beginning in the 1870s, Churchwardsaid Lemuria was a paradise of 64 million peo-ple, and that it was destroyed around 10,000B.C.E. According to Churchward, Lemuriansdeveloped homes with transparent roofs, livedto be hundreds of years old, and were capableof telepathy, astral travel, and teleportation.Lemuria, according to Churchward, was about5,000 miles long and 3,000 miles wide andstretched to the Pacific Ocean, where islandsof the present day are former mountain peaksof the lost continent.

In the 1880s, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky(1831–1891) formed the Theosophical Soci-ety with psychic investigator Henry SteelOlcott. In her book The Secret Doctrine (1888),she claimed to have learned of Lemuria in TheBook of Dzyan, which she said was composedin Atlantis and shown to her by survivors ofthat lost continent. Her source may have beenSanskrit legends that tell of the former conti-nent of Rutas that sank beneath the sea.

Lemurians, according to Blavatsky, werethe third of seven root races of humankind.They were hermaphrodites with psychic abili-ties and a third eye. Atlanteans, she stated,

were the fourth root race. They evolved fromLemurians after much of Lemuria sank, andthey lived on the edge of the continent in thenorthern Atlantic. Atlantis sank around8,000 B.C.E., according to Blavatsky, and itsinhabitants fled to central Asia.

Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), who found-ed Anthroposophy, was another proponent ofLemuria. Other mystics have envisioned theElders of Lemuria, known as the ThirteenthSchool, who moved to an uninhabitedplateau of Central Asia now called Tibetbefore the catastrophe that wiped out theirland. They established a library and a schoolof spiritual adepts known as the Great WhiteBrotherhood.

Certain land masses on the planet are sup-posedly the last remains of Lemuria, fromPacific islands (Fiji, Hawaii, and Easter Island)to the west coast of the United States. Accord-ing to some Lemurian enthusiasts, in 1972 theruins of a submerged Lemurian city was foundbetween Maui and Oahu in the Hawaiianisland chain and was covered up in a top-secretproject by U.S. Naval Intelligence.

M Delving Deeper

Churchward, James. The Cosmic Forces of Mu. NewYork: Paperback Library, 1968.

———. The Lost Continent of Mu. New York: Paper-back Library, 1969.

———. The Sacred Symbols of Mu. New York: Paper-back Library, 1968.

Lourdes

The healing Grotto of Bernadette atLourdes, France, was constructed onthe site where 14-year-old Bernadette

Soubrious (1844–1879) claimed to have con-versed with Mother Mary in 1858. Since thetime that the miracle occurred to the youngmiller’s daughter, pilgrims have journeyed toLourdes to seek healing from the waters of thenatural spring that appeared in the grotto nextto the Gave de Pau River. Consistently, fordecades, an average of 200,000 people visitedthe shrine each year. The celebration of the100th anniversary of Lourdes in 1958 broughtmore than two million persons into the small



community in southern France. In the 1990s,annual attendance rose to more than five mil-lion per year.

On February 11, 1858, Bernadette Soubri-ous and her two sisters were gathering fire-wood outside Lourdes when she fell behindthe younger girls. That was the first time thatBernadette saw the apparition of a ladydressed in white with a blue sash and a yellowrose on each foot standing in a grotto next tothe river. The lady did not speak, but madethe sign of the cross before she disappeared.

Bernadette returned to the grotto a secondtime, but it was not until the lady’s third appear-ance that she spoke and asked Bernadette if shewould like to meet her every day for two weeks.Bernadette enthusiastically agreed, and word ofher visitations soon spread throughout theentire village. Crowds gathered to observe thegirl and hear what messages she would relayfrom the lady. The apparition insisted again andagain that priests must build a chapel in thegrotto and that Bernadette was to drink fromthe spring there. Since there was no spring insight, Bernadette began to scrape at the muddyground until a spring bubbled forth with watersthat were immediately believed to contain cura-tive powers. Water from that same spring is stillpiped to a bathing house where pilgrims gatherto receive its healing blessings.

Upset by the disturbances that she wascausing in the town, the local police and civilauthorities interrogated Bernadette, but theycould not dissuade her from continuing hermeetings by the grotto. The local parish priest,Father Peyramale, also did his best to convinceBernadette that she was only imagining thevisions. Then, on March 25, after her sixteenthvisit, the lady revealed her name to Bernadette,who, when questioned by the skeptical priest,relayed the lady’s identity as “The ImmaculateConception.” Because that title had beenapplied to Mother Mary by Catholic theolo-gians only four years before and was onlyknown to the clergy, Father Peyramale thoughtit highly unlikely that a teenaged girl whocould not read or write and spoke only a crude,provincial form of French would know thephrase used to define the doctrine that declaredMary free from the taint of original sin.

With the official endorsement of the cler-gy, the grotto at the edge of the river wouldsoon support a healing chapel and begin toattract pilgrims from great distances. After1866, when a railway line was completed toLourdes, many thousands of those afflictedwith various illnesses began to arrive in thelittle French town. In that same year, 22-year-old Bernadette Soubrious left for a convent inNevers, hundreds of miles to the north. Shedied there in 1879.

Since the 1860s, thousands of pilgrimshave left their crutches and canes at theshrine. Thousands more claim to have beencured of advanced cancers. On May 3, 1948,the Bishop of Nice acted at the request ofthe Lourdes Medical Commission anddeclared Rose Martin’s healing to be amiraculous cure. When Rose Martin arrivedat Lourdes in 1947, her total weight was ascant 70 pounds. She had undergone surgeryfor cancer of the uterus in February 1947,and the cancer had continued to spreaddespite several subsequent operations. Doc-tors could prescribe only morphine to enablethe suffering woman to endure the pain ofher affliction.



Exterior view of a chapel

in Lourdes, France.


AFTER Bernadette’s sixteenth visit, the ladyrevealed her name as “The Immaculate Conception.”

On July 3, 1947, after three baths in thewaters of the shrine, Rose Martin returned toher hotel. Her appetite had suddenly returned.The awful pain had disappeared. Several ofher medical complications had vanished. In1948, Madame Martin was examined by themedical bureau at Lourdes and declared to betotally free of cancer. In the interim she hadgained 34 pounds. She had become the pic-ture of health and vitality. More than 20 lead-ing French doctors and surgeons confirmedthe unusual healing. Annual checkups andsubsequent physical examinations revealedthat she remained free of the disease.

Dr. Alexis Carrel (1873–1944), an Ameri-can surgeon who won the Nobel Prize in 1912in physiology and medicine for his extensivework in suturing blood vessels, transplantingorgans, and inventing the mechanical heart,witnessed a miracle healing firsthand when hevisited Lourdes in the 1940s. Only an hourbefore a young woman named Marie Bailly

had been carried to the waters of Lourdes,Carrel had examined her and saw that she wasdying of tuberculosis, a disease that had afflict-ed her for years. As he observed her, Carrelsaw her pain-wracked body suddenly surge for-ward as if filled with a powerful force. Herpaleness was replaced with a rosy hue, and asthe surgeon and his colleagues watched inastonishment, they saw her swollen abdomentransformed from a misshapen lump and flat-tened to a smooth stomach. Her pulse calmed,her respiration returned to normal, and sheasked for the first food she had been able toconsume in almost a week. Marie Bailly wasfound to be cured of her terminal illness.

Although there are thousands of cures andhealings claimed by men and women whohave immersed themselves in the cold springwaters of the shrine, the Lourdes MedicalBureau has established certain criteria thatmust be met before they will certify a cure asmiraculous:



Worshippers at the

Lourdes grotto.


• The affliction must be a serious disease. If itis not classified as incurable, it must be diag-nosed as extremely difficult to cure.

• There must be no improvement in thepatient’s condition prior to the visit to theLourdes shrine.

• Medication that may have been used musthave been judged ineffective.

• The cure must be totally complete.

• The cure must be unquestionably definitiveand free of all doubt.

Such stringent requirements set by mem-bers of the medical profession in order to qual-ify as a miraculous healing do little to deterthe five million visitors each year who travelto the small town in the foothills of the Pyre-nees in search of their own miracle.

M Delving Deeper

Carrel, Alexis. Voyage to Lourdes. New York: Harper& Brothers, 1950.

Cranston, Ruth. The Miracle of Lourdes. New York:McGraw-Hill, 1955.


Lourdes, France. [Online] http://www.lourdes-france.com/bonjour.htm. 2 May 2002.

Our Lady of Lourdes. [Online] http://www.catholic.org/mary/lourdes1.html. 2 May 2002.

Machu Picchu

At its height during the 1400s, the Incanempire was the largest in the world,stretching 2,500 miles north to south and

supporting a population of more than ten mil-lion people. The temples, extensive roads, elabo-rate masonry, and treasures of gold and silverassociated with the Incas date from around 1200through the 1400s. The city of Cuzco becamethe powerful center of an empire that spread toencompass more than 100 small nations.

Roads were built to criss-cross the entireempire, running through valleys and along thesides of mountains. The Incas never devel-oped the wheel, but the roads provided themeans to move large amounts of stone andgoods used to build and sustain great cities.Trained runners were used to communicate

messages throughout the empire. The Incacultivated maize and potatoes, domesticatedthe llama as a beast of burden, crafted boats ofbalsa wood to travel on rivers and streams, andbuilt suspension bridges of rope, among theirmany accomplishments.

The empire was primarily expanded bythree emperors, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui andhis descendants Topa Inca Yapanqui (ruled1438–1471) and Huayna Capac (ruled1493–1525). The latter’s sudden death in 1525came before he named a successor, and thenation became bitterly divided, a situationthat still raged when the Spanish conquistadorFrancisco Pizarro (c. 1475–1541) and his armyof about 400 men arrived in 1532. Lured byvast amounts of gold they found in Inca cities,the conquistadors kidnapped an Inca leaderand held him for ransom. The ransom, esti-mated at about $50 million in gold and silver,was paid, but the leader was executed anyway.

Diseases such as smallpox, previouslyunknown in the New World, had begunspreading as early as the 1520s. The combina-tion of disease, estimated to have killed two-thirds of the Incan population, and militaryreinforcements from Spain after Pizarroshowed off the great treasures he had found,allowed the Spaniards to subdue the Incanempire, systematically sweeping through andplundering all the great Incan centers. Theymissed one, however, and it would remain lostto the world until 1912. The majestic site iscalled Machu Picchu, a city in the clouds thatrests at 8,000 feet in altitude between twomountains, Huayana Picchu (“young moun-tain”) and Machu Picchu (“ancient moun-tain”), and overlooks a sacred river and valleycalled Urubamba.

In 1911, Hiram Bingham (1875–1956), ahistorian from Yale University who was per-



DURING the 1400s, the Inca empire waslargest in the world, stretching 2,500 miles andsupporting a population of over ten million people.

forming research in Peru, was alerted by alocal farmer, Melchior Artega, about ancientruins high up in the mountains. Bingham fol-lowed the lead and rediscovered the site ofMachu Picchu. He publicized his findings in1912, and in April of 1913 National Geograph-ic magazine devoted an entire issue to the site.

Even though many mysteries abound aboutMachu Picchu, what has been discovered aboutthe site since 1911 has led some to call it “theeighth wonder of the ancient world.” MachuPicchu features religious shrines and temples,baths and water systems, plazas, fountains, andelaborate masonry work. Stones are fitted sotightly in structures that they have withstoodalmost five hundred years of weathering and

the lush growth of vegetation. Machu Picchu,situated on a long, narrow strip between moun-tains and above a valley, has a series of openplazas, and was divided into three sections—agricultural, urban, and religious.

The agricultural section comprises a seriesof terraces bordered with irrigation channels.Crops were cultivated on levels above thechannels to avoid erosion. The farm area isdotted with small buildings believed to belookout huts. The urban area is on the part ofthe ridge that descends abruptly into the val-ley. A 67-step staircase rises up from the valleyto the largest urban sector. Most of the struc-tures have one room with solid walls of intri-cately fitted stones. The finest structures arebelieved to have housed high-ranking teach-ers. Many of the walls have niches the size ofadult humans sculpted into them; the purposeof the niches is unknown.

A plaza with a large rock in the center sep-arates the urban and religious areas. Amongthe structures in the religious center is the



An aerial view of the

ancient Incan city

Machu Picchu.

(JOHN M. BARTH)

THE Temple of the Sun is believed to have anastronomical significance.

Intihuantana Shrine, a temple carved fromgranite. The temple is considered a shrine tosun and stone, both of which were worshippedby Incas, and is also believed to have served asan astronomical observatory. Some of thebuildings in the religious center are three-walled structures, including what is called theGreat Central Temple and the Temple of theThree Windows. The latter building isbelieved to be associated with an Incan legendthat their original ancestors emerged from acave that had three windows. Also located inthe religious center is the Temple of the Sun, acircular tower believed to have an astronomi-cal orientation.

The most accepted view of Machu Picchuportrays it as a religious sanctuary serving highpriests and “virgins of the sun.” More than 80percent of the graves found on the site con-tain the bones of females, considered to havebeen “chosen women.” Machu Picchu wasthought to have been visited by selectedmembers of Incan royalty who were transport-ed along special roads that could only be usedwith their permission. Since the roads wereseldom used, few Inca knew about them. Theconquistadors never found the way, nor didthey find Incas who could lead them to thesite. The reason why Machu Picchu was aban-doned remains a secret lost to time.

M Delving Deeper


———. Flights into Yesterday: The Story of Aerial Pho-tography. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1969.


Hodges, Henry. Technology in the Ancient World. NewYork: Alfred A. Knopf, 1970.

Irwin, Constance. Fair Gods and Stone Faces. NewYork: St. Martin’s Press, 1963.

Mayan Temples

When the Spanish conquistadorsclaimed areas of Central Americaand Mexico in the sixteenth centu-

ry, they discovered the ruins of a great civiliza-

tion, that of the Mayans, who had vanishedand left evidence of their lost grandeur inmassive structures that had been over-whelmed by the surrounding rain forest. Thenative people could not explain the signifi-cance of the sprawling, vacant cities to theconquistadors. Unlike the great Incan cities,the Mayan centers had long been abandoned.

The ruins of the Mayans did not begin toreveal their secrets for 300 years. Since thenineteenth century, enough information hasbeen gathered about the Mayan structures tosketch a history of their development, but thereasons why the great structures were suddenlyabandoned, and the exact purposes of themassive and elaborate buildings, continue toremain trapped in the past.

The Mayan empire stretched south fromthe present-day Mexican states of Veracruz,Yucatán, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas toalmost all of Guatemala and parts of Belizeand Honduras. Ruins in the Guatemalanhighlands include Copán, a typical Mayancenter with plazas, pyramids, a court for ballgames, and blocks of stone inscribed withhieroglyphics. Tikal, another Mayan center inGuatemala, had more than 3,000 structures ina six-square-mile area. Vast palaces with hun-dreds of rooms, rows and rows of wooden huts,and increasingly larger buildings approachingthe center of Tikal accommodated a surround-ing community that may have numbered asmany as 90,000 people.

Palenque is among the centers in themiddle area of the Mayan region, where therain forest is thickest. Among the finds thereis the Temple of Inscriptions, a 65-foot-highpyramid. A secret passageway was found byarchaeologists in 1952 that led to an elabo-rate tomb. Riches of jade, finely carved, lifesized statues, and an elaborately sculpted sar-cophagus were discovered. When modernarchaeologists finally mastered Mayan hiero-glyphics in the 1970s, inscriptions on thewall of the temple were deciphered. Theyidentified the corpse as Sun Lord Pacal anddescribed his life. Tracing references of dateswith the Mayan calendar, another exampleof Mayan achievement, archaeologists wereable to determine that Sun Lord Pacal was



born in 603, ascended to the throne in 614,and died in 683. The 69 steps that run up thefront of the temple each represent a year ofhis reign.

The Yucatan peninsula along the Gulf ofMexico forms the northernmost region ofMayan settlement. Among the ruins there areChichen Itza, which feature a collection ofpyramids, temples, and other common Mayanstructures as well as an observatory where themovements of the Sun and Moon and theplanets Mars, Venus, and Jupiter were charted.Further inland lies Uxmal, site of two templepyramids, a complex of four buildings around acourtyard, and the Palace of Governors withmagnificent terraces and a stone mosaic friezemore than 300 feet long (a mosaic consists ofsmall, inlaid materials of various colors thatform a pattern or a picture, and a frieze is arichly ornamented band or line on a building).

The various ruins were not excavated andexamined until the latter half of the nine-teenth century. They show that Mayansdeveloped systems of mathematics, writing,and astronomy and erected monumentalforms of architecture. Subsequent discoveriesshowed their calendar recorded dates as farback as 600 B.C.E. By the first century B.C.E.,they specifically used a calendar that had 1820-day months—matching the Mayan base-20 mathematical system (the contemporarymathematical system used in the West isbase-10).

Because of the state of decline in which theconquistadors found Native Americans of theregion, and fueled by cultural bias that madeEuropeans skeptical that less-advanced peoplecould create such monumental structures,many early explorers believed that the engi-neering feats of the Mayans had been directedby peoples from the eastern Mediterraneanregion. Phoenicians and Egyptians had beenseafaring people in ancient times. Perhaps they

had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. Thosewho believed such theories speculated that theMediterranean seafarers had directed theMayans to build pyramids, taught them hiero-glyphics, and brought them social order.

Variations on the theme of an externalinfluence on the ancient Mayans continued todevelop. Instead of Egyptians or Phoenicians,however, it was advanced Asians who firstreached the Mayans and taught them secretsof architecture and mathematics, written lan-guage and astronomy. Or perhaps inhabitantsof the legendary continent of Atlantis spreadtheir knowledge to various peoples of theworld, including the Mayans.

Excavations helped clarify some of themysteries involving the Mayans. They had dis-tinctive cultural traits evident in similarities ofarchitecture—including pyramids, terraces,and ball courts—and artistic styles of paintingsand pottery spread throughout their empire.When modern archaeologists learned how toread Mayan hieroglyphics by establishingmeanings and patterns in the images, a historyemerged that showed the Mayan centers werenot occupied by peaceful astronomers and thelarge structures did not serve specifically as cer-emonial sites. Instead, the hieroglyphics boast-ed of the accomplishments of a war-like elite.Many of the great Mayan buildings were mon-uments to great military leaders. Settlementswith large structures served as centers for trade,but primarily for the accumulation of riches forthe elite of Mayan society. Those who con-tributed to culture, artisans and astronomersamong them, were highly esteemed, but a rul-ing elite held the riches and the power.

The Mayans learned to grow maize, beans,squash, and cacao. They raised cotton anddeveloped a textile industry for spinning, dye-ing, and weaving cloth, but they did notdevelop metal tools, domesticate large beastsof burden, and, in spite of building an elabo-rate system of roads, did not develop thewheel. Over the centuries, the Mayans domes-ticated the dog and the turkey, and they dis-covered how to mine copper, gold, silver, andjade, creating valuable and prized items.

From 800 to 500 B.C.E., the Mayans beganerecting modest burial monuments, which by



FROM 800 to 500 B.C.E., the Mayans beganerecting modest burial monuments.

circa 400 B.C.E. to 250 C.E. had evolved intoterraced, pyramidal shapes. The Mayan pyra-mids differ from those in Egypt, where thesides of the structures converge to form apointed top. The pyramidal structures of theMayans reach a certain height, then level offto form a flat platform on which templeswere built.

Mayan civilization thrived until around800 when a decline began. Tikal was aban-doned, and the process of recording eventsstopped there by 900. Building began inanother center, Seibal, in the southern low-lands in 830 but ended abruptly around 900.Uxmal showed more development around850, but it was abandoned around 925.Chichen Itza was abandoned around 987. Itwas subsequently occupied, like some of theother centers, but new massive structures werenot built and the old temples did not serve thesame functions as they had in the past.

In 2000, near the present-day village ofCancuen, Guatemala, a Mayan palace was dis-covered in a long-abandoned city named thePlace of Serpents that is estimated to cover an

area as large as two football fields. With 170high-ceiling rooms and 11 courtyards, thepalace was revealed to have been a prosperouscenter of commerce and crafts. Inscriptions onthe palace walls showed that it was completedby a leader named Tah ak Chaan, who ruledover Cancuen from 740 to around 790. Unlikeother Mayan centers, there are as yet no indi-cations that the rulers of the area engaged inwarfare. There are no pyramids in the area, oroutdoor plazas, and there appears to be a com-plete absence of religious symbols or any indi-cations of the ceremonies evident in otherMayan centers. Rulers of the city appeared tospecialize in commerce, not warfare, and alarger working-class group of people seemed tolive in the Place of Serpents than at otherMayan centers. Hundreds of workshops whereartisans plied their crafts were found.

What factors caused the demise of theMayan empire remains a mystery. Destructionfrom earthquakes is evident in some Mayancenters, but not all, and earthquakes are notbelieved to have leveled any of the major cen-ters. There is no evidence of mass burials that



Mayan temple in Tikel,

Guatemala. (THE LIBRARY

OF CONGRESS)

would indicate an epidemic, such as plague,small pox, or other infectious diseases thatswept through Europe during the same time asthe Mayan’s golden era and downfall. An iso-lated disruption caused by conquerors fromthe north, a natural catastrophe, or waramong leaders of Mayan centers would haveaffected trade routes that ran through theinterior. Tikal, a major inland center depen-dent on trade, would certainly have beenaffected by such a disruption. Twice, in thesixth and ninth centuries, Tikal seems to haveundergone some form of chaos.

The great success of the Mayan culturemay be a plausible reason for their downfall.As the population grew, the stress on agricul-ture became greater, for an expanding popula-tion requires consistently more food produc-tion. Soil erosion or drought would havegreatly affected the large settlements. Adecrease in production would have led to mal-nutrition, increasing the likeliness of disease.Some human skeletal remains from the periodshow signs of malnutrition, but no conclusiveevidence has been found to determine a sud-den, widespread catastrophe.

Strange as it may seem, the Mayan calen-dar may have played an influential role in theculture’s decline. The calendar was used forprophecy, as well as marking the date. TheMayan calendar begins with a date relative to3114 B.C.E., when, according to the Mayans,the world began and the first Great Cycle gotunderway. Thirteen future cycles were recog-nized, and bad things often happened at theend of such cycles. For example, one cycleended during the 500s, at about the same timethat the city of Tikal went into decline.Another decline occurred in Tikal 256 yearslater, also at the end of a Great Cycle, and thecity was all but abandoned.

Whatever happened to the Mayans wasan event of such magnitude that it caused afracture in the long-standing practices andsocial order of the entire culture. The greatcities continued to be occupied for decadesafter the hieroglyphics stopped reporting tri-umphs, and then the majestic temples, statelypyramids, and massive edifices were aban-doned completely to the surrounding jungle.

Whether or not the unknown dire eventswere prophesied or became self-fulfillingprophecies by the belief of a superstitious peo-ple accepting their fate is not known.According to Mayan prophecy, the end of themost current Great Cycle —2012— will endwith a cataclysmic flood.

M Delving Deeper





Mecca

Mecca, known to the Muslim faithfulas Umm al-Qura, the Mother ofCities, is the holiest place in the

Islamic world. It was here that Muhammadthe Prophet (c. 570–632), the Messenger ofGod, the founder of the Muslim faith, wasborn in 570, and it is here within the GreatMosque that the Ka’aba, the most sacredshrine of Islam, awaits the Muslim pilgrim.Throughout the world, wherever they may be,all devout Muslims pray five times per day,each time bowing down to face Mecca. Allable-bodied Muslims who have sufficientfinancial means and whose absence from theirfamilies would not create a hardship mustundertake a pilgrimage, a hajj, to Mecca oncein their lifetime during the Muslim month ofDhu-al-Hijah (the twelfth lunar month).

Physically, Mecca is located about 45 mileseast of the Red Sea port of Jedda, a city sur-rounded by the Sirat Mountains. Born into awell-to-do family, Muhammad married Khadi-ja, a woman of means, and became the manag-er of her caravans. It was when he was about40 years old and was meditating in a cave onMount Hira that he had the first of a series ofvisions of the angel Gabriel who instructedhim concerning the oneness of God. Later,Muhammad’s many revelations and visions



would be collected into the sacred book ofMuslims, the Qur’an (or Koran), but when hefirst began sharing the essence of his revela-tions with his fellow Meccans, they rejectedthe teachings and reacted with great hostilitywhen he began to lecture them concerningtheir vices and pagan practices.

In 622, Muhammad left Mecca for Yathrib,which was later renamed Medina, City of theProphet, where he began to amass many fol-lowers. After eight years of strife between thepeople of Mecca and Muhammad, he returnedto the city of his birth with an army and metwith little resistance when he proceeded tocleanse the Ka’aba of pagan idols and dedicatethe shrine to Allah, the One God.

On the plains of Arafat in 632, Muham-mad preached to an assembled crowd that tra-dition numbers as some 30,000 of his follow-

ers. After he had completed his message, hedeclared that he had now fulfilled his missionon Earth. Two months later, he died at Medi-na. Within 100 years, the Muslim faith hadspread from Spain to India. In the twenty-firstcentury, Islam is one of the world’s largestreligions with an estimated membership of1.2 billion.

The pilgrimage (hajj) to the sacred city ofMecca and experience of worshipping at themosque containing the Ka’aba is strictly limit-



About the same time ley lines were firstintroduced by Alfred Watkins (1855–1935)in the 1920s, a German evangelical parsonnamed Wilhelm Teudt proposed a similar

theory he called heilige linien (holy lines) that linked anumber of standing stones, churches, crosses, andother objects of spiritual significance in Germany.Teudt’s holy line theory met the same fate as Watkins’sley lines. There were so many possibilities for connect-ing a variety of objects on a landscape that the oddswere better of finding alignments than not finding them.

Teudt made another observation that had morelasting significance. He noted that an ancient chamberconstructed in the naturally formed megaliths calledthe Extersteine had a circular window that formed apoint where rays of light at the midsummer solsticeshone through, and where the moon was visible whenit reached its northernmost position. He believed theNeolithic peoples (before 2000 B.C.E.) had used the siteas an astronomical observatory and a calendar.

The Extersteine, which lies at the approximatelatitude as Stonehenge in Great Britain, is a naturalsite of five sandstone pillars rising 120 feet above anarea filled with caves and grottoes. It served as a ritu-

al center for nomadic reindeer hunters, and later wasthe site of pagan rituals until the eighth century, whensuch rituals were forbidden by law. Christian monkstook over the site and set up crosses and reliefsdepicting biblical scenes. They abandoned it afterabout 1600. Many people continued to visit the Exter-steine, claiming they were aware of its energy andthat their physical ailments had been cured by walk-ing among or rubbing against the stones.

Sources:

“Earth Mysteries.” [Online] http://www.religionandnature.com/

encyclopedia/samples/Earth_mysteries.htm.

Magin, Ulrich. “Wilhelm Teudt and His Holy Lines.” The Ley

Hunter. No. 133. [Online] http://www.leyhunter.com/new/

win.htm.

The Energies of

Holy Lines

ALL Muslims who are able to do so are requiredto make at least one pilgrimage (hajj) to Meccaduring their lifetime.

ed to those who follow the Islamic faith.There is an area of several miles aroundMecca that is considered to be haram (restrict-ed), and non-Muslims are forbidden to enterthis sacred zone. Those Muslims who travelinto this area as they progress toward theMother of Cities must profess their havingundergone a state of ritual purity and conse-cration. It is at this point that they set asidethe clothes in which they have traveled anddon a special article of clothing consisting oftwo seamless white sheets.

The hajj begins with a procession calledthe tawaf, which takes the pilgrim around theKa’aba seven times. The Ka’aba is a cube-shaped structure that stands about 43 feethigh, with regular sides from 36 to 43 feet.The building is draped in a black cloth(kiswah) that bears a band of sacred versesembroidered in gold and silver thread. In thesoutheastern corner of the Ka’aba is the sacredBlack Stone, an ancient holy relic about 11inches wide and 15 inches high that has been

mounted in silver. Muslims believe that Allahsent the Black Stone from heaven. It is thefortunate pilgrim who manages to break freefrom the press of the crowd and kiss the BlackStone. Because of the great mass of humanitycrowding into the Ka’aba at any givenmoment, it had been decreed centuries agothat the gesture of a kiss toward the stone willsuffice and merit a great blessing.

The second element of the hajj is the runseven times between two small hills, al-Safwaand al-Marwa, which are enclosed and con-nected with a walkway immediately adjoiningthe mosque courtyard. The third aspect of thepilgrimage involves walking about five milesto the town of Mina, then onward to the plainof Arafat, 10 miles farther to the east. Thetime of the journey is spent in prayer andmeditation. As the pilgrims walk back towardMina, they stop to throw small stones at threepillars, an act which symbolically recalls thethree occasions when Abraham threw stonesat Satan, who was tempting him to disobey



Large crowd of Muslims

making their pilgrimage

to Mecca. (THE LIBRARY

OF CONGRESS)



Above the timberline in the Big Horn Moun-tains of northern Wyoming exists a mas-sive Medicine Wheel whose pattern ofstones etches an imperfect circle with a

diameter of about 25 meters. A group of stones aboutfour meters in diameter establishes the hub of thewheel. Twenty-eight “spokes” angle out from the huband connect with the outer rim. The Big Horn Moun-tains was significant to the Crow, the Sioux, the Ara-paho, the Shoshone, and the Cheyenne Indians—butnone of these tribes were known for building stonemonuments. Bits of wood found in one of the sixsmaller groups situated unevenly about the rim indi-cates that the Medicine Wheel has been there sinceat least 1760 and was likely constructed around 1700.The monument has been known to non-natives forover a hundred years, but speculation about its truepurposes has only inspired mysteries and tales.

John A. Eddy, a solar physicist and astronomer onthe staff of the High Altitude Observatory, National Cen-ter for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colorado,became interested in the site, especially after he dis-covered a large, crude pile of stones oriented to thesummer solstice sunrise at over 11,000 feet on the Con-tinental Divide. Interested by this discovery, he wantedto investigate just how much the pre-contact nativepeople might have known of astronomy, and it occurredto him that the wheel might have been an observatory.Research over two summers on the site convinced himthat the Big Horn monument may have been a primitiveastronomical observatory that served its creators atleast as well as Stonehenge served its primitiveastronomers. The high altitude (9,640 feet) and the clearhorizons of the monument make visible the marking ofsunrise and sunset at the summer solstice. The accu-rate knowledge of the first day of summer would havebeen an important for a nomadic people whose livesdepended on awareness of seasonal changes.

Sources:

Giese, Paula. “Stone Wheels and Dawn Stars Rising.” [Online]

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/starskno7.html.

Thomas, David Hurst. Exploring Ancient Native America. New

York: Macmillan, 1994.

Medicine Wheel

of the Big

Horn Mountains

God’s command to sacrifice his son. Afterthey walk the five miles back to Mecca, thefinal stage of the hajj is achieved with a festi-val in which a sheep, goat, cow, or camel issacrificed to commemorate the moment whenGod rescinded the command to Abraham tosacrifice his son and permitted him to slay aram and offer its blood in Isaac’s stead. Thehajj concludes with a final procession aroundthe Ka’aba. The hajj generally lasts about 13days, but when as many as two million pil-grims crowd into Mecca to observe the annualevent, it may last a day or two longer toaccommodate the vast numbers of the faithful.

M Delving Deeper

Crim, Keith, general ed. The Perennial Dictionary ofWorld Religions. San Francisco: HarperSanFran-cisco, 1989.

Eerdmans’ Handbook to the World’s Religions. GrandRapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans’ PublishingCompany, 1994.


Hixon, Lex. Heart of the Koran. Wheaton, Ill.: Theo-sophical Publishing Co., 1988.


The Nazca Lines

On the western side of the Andesmountain range are a modern townand a river named Nazca, as well as

the mysterious remains of an ancient civiliza-tion also identified as the Nazca (sometimesspelled Nasca). Remnants of the Nazca civi-lization include a strip of impressive buildings,but they are more famous for leaving theirmark on the earth in a different way—withgeoglyphs, which literally means markings onthe earth (“geo” for earth; “glyph” for a sym-bolic figure or character). Throughout a 150-square-mile area in the foothills of the Andes,the Nazca made long, straight, single lines thateventually cross other straight lines to formgeometrical figures, such as trapezoids, trian-gles, and rectangles. Other lines lead to imagesof a bird, a whale, assorted human figures, andeven such everyday objects as an ancient loom.

The Nazca Lines are located in anextremely arid area in Peru between theAndes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean.The territory lies between two rivers, theNazca and the Grande, that border two valleysand an alluvial plain (a dry area composed ofsilt, sand, and gravel). Underground channelsof water that surfaced to forms wells (puquios)were tapped by an ancient people long van-ished by the time the lines were rediscoveredin the 1920s.

The extent of the Nazca Lines was notappreciated until the 1930s, when pilots ofthe first airplane flights in Peru reported amore extensive and varied collection ofgeogylphs than had previously been known.The geoglyphs were originally thought tomark channels for water, but the reports frompilots indicated the lines were much morecomplex. Torriba Mejìa, a Peruvian archaeol-ogist, introduced results of the first modernscientific examination of the area to an inter-national conference of archaeologists inLima, Peru, in 1939.

The layout of lines shows a sophisticationwith such geometrical figures as trapezoids—arectangle where one end is larger than theother—triangles, and rectangles. Additional-ly, they lead to the more than 40 animal fig-ures (including a monkey, a spider, a dog, allama, and a bird with a tail 160 feet long) andsome spiral patterns. The three most promi-nent explanations of the lines connect themeither with the acquisition of water, withastronomical purposes, or with sacred ritualsof the Nazca people.

The connections between the Nazca Linesand the acquisition of water dates to the redis-covery of the lines in the 1920s, when scien-tists were studying ancient irrigation tech-niques. A local myth about a huge sand dunecalled Cerro Blanco, which supposedly con-ceals a vast lake that feeds underground waterchannels, or that once erupted and wateredthe region, reflects the local preoccupationwith water.

The “radiating centers” where many linesmeet are located at bases of hills and at theelevated rim of a valley, where seasonal riversrun. Many lines parallel watercourses and



often end abruptly, close to a river. A trape-zoid appears at the edge of a river valley; thelarger end of the trapezoid is located right nearthe edge where a seasonal river flows, perhapsserving as a marker.

This connection between the lines andsources of water has been interpreted in termsof religion, when ancient ritual processionswere made to places where water can beexpected to accumulate. The Nazca people,according to the theory, walked along thelines leading to areas from which water came,where they may have paid tribute to theirgods or chanted prayers to them to bringthem water.

The ancient Nazca people formed the linesby raking away the topsoil to uncover alighter-colored clay, and they piled the topsoilalong the sides of the yellow-white grooves.The results were grooves etched into theground that remained lighter in color than thesurrounding area. The densest concentrationof Nazca Lines occurs in a place called IngenioValley, where seasonal rivers run from accu-mulated moisture in the Andes. The IngenioValley site became the focus for study byarchaeologists, primarily to help trace irriga-tion routes to seasonal rivers.

Remains were found of two primary settle-ments, Cahauchi and La Estaqueria. Cahauchihad a complex of buildings two miles long andabout two-thirds of a mile wide that includedpyramids reaching 70 feet high, villagesquares, and cemeteries. Based on carbon dat-ing of pottery found at the site, the communitythrived from about 100 to 600. Similar potteryfound along lines leading to Cahauchi date aslate as 800, suggesting the center may havebeen abandoned by 600 but still remained animportant ceremonial site for a couple of cen-turies afterward. Radiocarbon dating showsthat La Estaqueria was begun after Cahauchiwas deserted.

Historian Paul Kosok of Long Island Uni-versity, New York, came to Nazca in 1941 toresearch the topic of irrigation among ancientcivilizations. As he paused to rest on a hilltop,he noticed a line running directly to the set-ting Sun. The date was June 21, the day of thewinter solstice in the southern hemisphere.

The line marked the point on the horizonwhere the Sun set and the line leading in theopposite direction corresponded with the sun-rise on that day.

Archaeologists began to link the geoglyphswith constellations: the figure of a large mon-key was believed to correspond to the Big Dip-per (or the Great Bear in northern climes),and other figures were believed to correspondto Pleiades and Orion. Maria Reiche, a trans-lator and mathematician living in Lima, was



Ley Lines and

Energy Alignments

In 1921, Alfred Watkins (1855–1935) coined theterm “ley lines” when explaining his theory thatsuch ancient sites around Britain as variousstone circles, stone groupings, burial mounds,

and places of worship had been deliberately construct-ed to form certain alignments between and across thelandscape. Except for a few isolated cases, most leyclaims did not match the criteria of straight alignment,and often incorporated structures from different eras.

Neverthless, the belief that many megalithserected by neolithic peoples were placed along ener-gy lines persists. Others take a more practical view:such alignments could have served as signalingdevices where watchers could provide advance alertmiles away about approaching armies.

Sources:

“Ley Lines.” [Online] http://www.mystical-www.co.uk/leylines.htm.

Hitching, Francis. Earth Energy. New York: William Morrow, 1984.

THE Nazca Lines are located in Peru betweenthe Andes mountain range and the Pacific ocean.

brought to the site by Kosok. She remainedthere for the next 50 years and made the studyof the Nazca Lines her life work, representedin Contributions of Ancient Peru to the Historyof Geometry and Astronomy (1993).

The theory that the Nazca Lines haveastronomical purposes has been effectivelychallenged. In 1967, for example, GeraldHawkins, an astronomer based at Boston Uni-versity, used a computer to create a map of thesky over Nazca covering a 7,000-year period.The figures and lines on the ground werematched against actual settings of the solarsystem and constellations. Only 20 percent ofthe lines aligned with the rising and setting ofthe Sun and Moon for practical purposes, and

there was no consistency between figures andconstellations.

Nevertheless, the lines that do match therising and setting of the Sun suggest the linescould have served as a calendar. Being alertedabout an upcoming season when the riverswere going to run, and when they would bedry, helped the community organize—know-ing when to clear irrigation ditches, and whento plant seeds, for example.

During the 1970s, archaeologist HelaineSilverman of the University of Texas theo-rized that the lines were marked out only aftera period of drought. The gods had failed, orperhaps, as she contended, priests living at theceremonial center in Cahauchi lost the vener-ation of the people when prolonged droughtset in. If indeed the lines were formed afterCahauchi fell into decline, she argued, thelines represent the practical purpose of a com-munity struggling to tap a basic necessity.

The idea that the Nazca Lines served aspiritual function can encompass the water



Aerial view of a Nazca

line depicting a

hummingbird.


THERE are over 800 Nazca lines made by anunknown culture.

and astronomy-related theories. Similarancient lines found in present-day Bolivia,which borders Peru, were to be used in ritualprocessions. That rituals related to water tookon spiritual dimensions in Nazca would hardlybe surprising, for the area averages one-halfinch of rainfall every two years.

In addition to geoglyphs that seem to cor-respond to constellations, a number of the fig-ures resemble water animals (a frog, a duck, awhale, for example), all of which are replicat-ed on Nazca pottery. In addition to raindances and rituals, the Nazca, like many otherancient societies, had a priestly caste thatincluded shamans. Entering trances or per-forming rituals to get in touch with animalspirits is a common practice among shamans,and the bestiary images of the Nazca couldreflect the animals they respected and the ani-mal spirits a shaman would want to tap.

In October 2001, Colgate University pro-fessor Anthony Aveni said that his 30-yearaerial and ground survey of the more than 800Nazca Lines had led him to conclude that theunknown culture that made the strange mark-ings had been practicing water magic. Accord-ing to the results of his research, the approxi-mately 62 points where the lines convergeoccur at bends and kinks in rivers or highplaces in the Andes from which water wouldflow. The lines were intended to be walked on,by the people while they prayed to the gods tomake the land fertile.

M Delving Deeper





Monkey figure among

the Nazca desert figures

in Peru. (FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

Faber, Lindsay. “The Nazca Lines—Professor OffersTheory on the Origins of Mysterious Mosaic.”Greenwich Time, October 23, 2001. [Online]http://www. greenwichtime.com/news/greenwich/2001-10-23/article 1.shtml.



The Great Pyramid

(of Khufu), at Giza

When the Greek historian Herodotus(c. 484–between 430 and 420 B.C.E.)reported on the Great Pyramid of

Khufu (Cheops, in Greek) during the fifthcentury B.C.E., his inquiry was impeded becausethe door leading into the pyramid was con-cealed. That door has since been found, butthe results of passing through it and exploringthe pyramid have opened up as many mysteriesas those that have been explained.

Rising up on a plateau called Giza, 10miles west of present-day Cairo, Egypt, theGreat Pyramid, its two companion pyramids,and the Sphinx are probably the world’s old-est and best-known enigmas. Among thequestions swirling about the pyramids includethe location of the sites from which theimmense amount of rock forming them (11million cubic yards of stone for the GreatPyramid alone) was quarried, and how it wasmoved and then erected into an astonishinglyprecise structure. What kind of surveyingmethods and equipment did the ancientEgyptians use to ensure that the landscapewas level and their measurements were accu-rate? And how could the vast number ofworkers required for such an undertaking bemobilized, housed, and fed?

Other mysteries abound: the pyramids aresituated at cardinal points on the compass,and numerous astronomical uses show knowl-edge of mathematics in advance of other civi-lizations. In addition, the body of thePharaoh Khufu (Cheops) (twenty-sixth cen-tury B.C.E.) for whom the tomb was built, andprecious objects that usually surround the

bodies of royalty in Egyptian tombs, havenever been found.

In fact, all three of the pyramids at Gizawere erected as tombs, yet not a single bodyhas been found in any of them. A bafflingseries of chambers, tunnels, and shafts,blocked passageways, corridors leading toempty spaces, and false leads confront pyramidexplorers. The bodies of the pharaohs andtheir queens might still be buried somewherein the pyramids—or, perhaps their remains fellvictim to tomb robbing, a crime so old it ismentioned in Egyptian texts and on papyrusdating back centuries before Herodotusreported on the pyramids.

The Pyramid of Khufu, largest of ancientEgypt’s 70 pyramids, stands 481 feet high,measures roughly 756 feet on each side, andcovers 13 acres of land. If the blocks that formthe pyramid were reduced to foot-sized squarecubes and lined up, the cubes would stretchfor 16,600 miles. It is generally agreed that allthree pyramids at Giza, including those of thePharaohs Khafre (Chephren, in Greek) andMenaure (Mycernius, in Greek) were builtduring the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, whichspanned from 2613 to 2494 B.C.E. It was a cus-tom then that as soon as a new pharaohascended to the throne he began building apyramid as a final resting place. The pyramidof Khufu is the grandest of them all and is thesole survivor among the Seven Wonders ofthe Ancient World.

Having been built within seven hundredyears after Egyptian civilization became stabi-lized, the vast structure has inspired many the-ories. Egyptian records, in the form of hiero-glyphics, provided some information aboutthe pyramids (for whom they were built, forexample), but much information was lost dur-ing subsequent periods of decline. So muchwas forgotten that Egyptians themselves werespeculating about some of the purposes of thepyramids by the time Greek civilization beganthriving, some fifteen hundred years after theperiod in which the Great Pyramid is believedto have been erected.

Speculation then and now casts the pyra-mid as a gigantic sundial and astronomicalobservatory, as a symbolic stairway to heaven,



its shape simulating the way rays of sun spreadfrom a cloud. Other scholars see the pyramidas a secret temple where rituals were per-formed that transformed new leaders intogod-kings.

An astonishing employment of mathemat-ics agreements bolster the mystery of theGreat Pyramid. The distance of Earth to theSun, for example, was believed to match theheight in “pyramid inches” (slightly less thanthe common inch) of the pyramid multipliedby 10 to the 9th power (10 to 9 is also the pro-portion of height to width of the pyramid).The latitude and longitude lines that intersectat the pyramid run across more land than anyothers, leading some to believe that Giza andthe monuments there represent the center ofthe inhabitable world. Ancient Egyptianswould have had to determine the world wasround in order to reach such a conclusion, apossibility accepted by some scholars. Linesextending northwest and northeast from theGreat Pyramid neatly encompass the NileDelta, the naturally formed area of depositswhere the Nile River branches to flow intothe Mediterranean. Deltas are formed bystreams and become triangular-shaped, thesame shape as the pyramids themselves.

The perfect pyramidal shape has beencited as the purpose of the Great Pyramid inthat it embodies and represents a universalsystem of measurement in material form. Onesuch set of calculations suggests the Egyptianswere aware of the constant pi, the figure usedto determine the circumference of a circle,some two thousand years before it was formu-lated by the Greek mathematician Pythagoras(c. 580–c. 500 B.C.E.).

Englishman John Taylor (1808–1887), awell educated editor who had read voraciouslyabout Egyptian culture and the measurementsof the pyramids, discovered a formula wherebydividing the length of the perimeter of a pyra-mid by twice its height produces 3.14159+, thenumerical equivalent of pi (a constant figureused to determine the circumference of a cir-cle: pi times a circle’s diameter produces its cir-cumference). Taylor believed that the Egyp-tians not only knew the formula for pi thou-sands of years before the Greeks, but he con-

tended further that they knew the circumfer-ence of Earth and derived standard units ofmeasure from Earth’s circumference.

The ratio of the pyramid’s height to itsperimeter, argued Taylor, is the same as the polarradius to Earth’s circumference, 2π. He viewedthat equation, embodied in the pyramid, as anexpression of the wisdom of ancients. It was thebiblical God, concluded Taylor, who hadinstructed the pyramid builders, just as God hadinstructed Noah to build the ark.

Astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth con-ducted studies at the pyramid and came upwith another startling conclusion, expressedin his book Our Inheritance in the Great Pyra-mid (1980). He claimed the pyramid was alsoan expression of time. Through his studies,Smyth devised a measurement called the pyra-mid inch—an ancient measurement withinone-thousandth of a British inch. The perime-ter of the structure in pyramid inches equals365,200, or 1000 x 365.2. The latter figure isthe number of days in a year. Smyth conclud-ed that the pyramids were an expression oftime spanning one thousand years.

In 1894, J. Norman Lockyer (1836–1920),director of the Solar Physics Observatory inLondon and founder of the journal Nature,published The Dawn of Astronomy. The bookargued, based on his investigations, thatancient temples and monuments in Egyptwere oriented for stellar observations andserved as calendars—to determine the sum-mer solstice, for instance.

Many centuries ago, ancient Roman andArabian historians noted the interest of Egyp-tians in studying the heavens and the possibleuses of the pyramids as astronomical tools.Egyptian hieroglyphics make numerous refer-ences to the stars. A constellation called Sahu(corresponding to Orion) was called the homefor the dead, and two pharaohs who built



THE Great Pyramid alone contains 11 millioncubic yards of stone.

pyramids outside of Giza have stellar associa-tions in hieroglyphics (Nebka is “a star,” andDjedefra is “a Sehetu star,” or a star of Sahu).

During the ninth century, a caliph namedAbdullah Al Mamun became convinced theGreat Pyramid held astronomical charts,maps, and mathematical tables, as well astreasures. In 820, he gained entrance into thepyramid by breaking through the outer stone.After heating limestone bricks, workersdoused them with cold vinegar, creatingcracks in the pyramid that allowed thecaliph’s men to break through a wall and dis-cover a passageway that led upward to theoriginal entrance of the pyramid. Turningaround, they descended until they locatedrooms identified as the King’s chamber andanother as the Queen’s chamber. In the King’schamber they found an elaborate sarcopha-gus, but nothing was inside, as if it had neverbeen used. The tombs had been looted, orthey served as a purposeful deception, withthe bodies and treasures located somewhereelse in the pyramid. The mystery of the miss-ing bodies and treasures continues to perplexto this day.

Subsequent findings and theories duringthe twentieth century tend to confirm astro-nomical and calendrical orientations of theGreat Pyramid. The passageway discoveredin the ninth century by Abdullah AlMamun may have had an astronomical ori-entation as a kind of stationary telescope.The passage runs at an angle downward fromthe opening. From that corridor an ancientastronomer could watch and chart the pass-ing night sky.

Two narrow shafts that were originallybelieved to provide ventilation in the pyramidmay have had a similar astronomical purposeas the passage. It has been determined throughcalculations by astronomer Virginia Trimble,based on the angle of the shaft and the posi-

tions of stars from 3000 to 2400 B.C.E., thatone of the shafts pointed to the Pole Star,which could have been used by Egyptians todetermine the true north. Another shaftwould have provided a view of theOrion/Sehu constellation every 24 hours dur-ing that same period in time.

Such findings and references contributedto a theory proposed by Robert Bauval andAdrian Gilbert in The Orion Mystery (1994).Noting that the third and smallest pyramid atGiza is somewhat out of line with the othertwo, they compared the alignment with thatof three stars in the Orion constellation, andfound a match. Bauval and Gilbert arguedthat two other pyramids also from the FourthDynasty—the Pyramid of Nebka (north ofGiza) and the Pyramid of Djedefra (south ofGiza)—together with the pyramids at Giza,form a pattern of five pyramids that align withfive of the seven stars of Orion. However, thealignment does not fit quite precisely, and twocorresponding pyramids are missing.

According to Herodotus, 100,000 menwere needed to build the Great Pyramid.They were organized in groups that workedon the project for three-month stints. Formany centuries it has been commonlybelieved that the workers were slaves forcedto perform hard labor.

Modern scientific studies tend to supportan ancient Egyptian civilization capable ofacquiring the knowledge and the extendedsocial system required for the building of suchmassive and sophisticated structures as thepyramids. Recent discoveries support a viewthat skilled engineers and masses of peasantswere fed, housed, and clothed while perform-ing work for a leader they revered as a god-king. Evidence that some of the laborers tookgreat pride in their work is reflected in ancientgraffiti. An inscription on one block of thepyramid has been translated as a signature for“The Craftsman Gang.”

Egyptian civilization of the period had nobeasts of burden and no wheel to assist inmoving and erecting the 11 million cubicyards of stone used in the Great Pyramid. Thetransporting of the stone may not have beenoverwhelming, however. Limestone used for



THE largest pyramid of ancient Egypt is thePyramid of Khufu.

the pyramids distinctly matches a largebedrock on which the nearby Sphinx wassculpted. The limestone may have been quar-ried, moved, and then chiseled into blocks forthe pyramid. A 50-foot drop-off, now filled inby sand, occurs just beyond the temples infront of the Sphinx, perhaps a result of quar-ried stone. Additional stone may have arrivedthrough shallow boats. Dry canals have beendiscovered that lead from Giza to the nearbyNile River, where a harbor may have beenlocated that was subsequently obscured by thesteadily encroaching desert sands.

Contemporary experiments have demon-strated that the copper chisels and stone ham-mers used by workers were sufficient to chipaway at limestone. Tests have determined that2.5-ton limestone blocks can be transported afair distance in a fair amount of time to matchthe estimated construction time of the GreatPyramid. In the experiments, quarried rockwas fashioned into blocks and transported byrope pulled by 20 to 50 men.

Taking the view that the pyramids werebuilt from the ground up, engineers have the-orized that ramps were built as the level ofbuilding rose. Using water as a lubricant,workers pushed blocks up ramps and movedthe stones into place. The ramp theory is pop-ular, considering that 96 percent of the totalmass of the Great Pyramid occurs in the bot-tom two-thirds of the structure. With the useof ramps, work actually became easier as thepyramid rose higher.

During the 1990s, archaeologists MarkLehner and Zahi Hawass (1947– ) developedtheories for the pyramid building that reducedthe workforce from the 100,000 laborers citedby Herodotus to a much smaller skilled crewof laborers that worked on the Great Pyramidyear-round, but were joined by thousands ofother workers only during the late summerand autumn months when the Nile Riveroverflowed and drenched agricultural fields.When the annual flooding occurred, farmersand villagers left the fields to work on theGreat Pyramid for their god-king.

Teams led by Lehner and Hawass foundfurther remains of bakeries and buildingswhere fish may have been processed to help

feed the workforce. They also discoveredbones of young male cattle and evidence thatgrains were delivered to the site, rather thanprocessed there. Beef from young male cattlewas thought to be food only for the wealthy.The permanent crew of workers may haveenjoyed the finest food and grains as rewardfor the skills they were employing to erect thepyramids.

In 1997, a grid of rooms was excavated. Inaddition to discovering more bakeries, andmany molds used for bread, the crew foundshops where artisans worked. One mudbrickwall led to another complex where a seal on awall is believed to represent the PharaohKhafre (2558–2532 B.C.E.). Lehner believesan entire additional complex might beunearthed, which will provide more answers,and probably more questions, about the pyra-mids of Giza.

In July of 2000, two mini-replicas of thepyramids were unearthed at Giza in a spotbetween the Sphinx and the pyramids. Theycontained bodies of supervisors and laborers.“Ordinary people were also allowed to use thepyramid design to construct their own tombs,”concluded Hawass, director of the Gizaplateau. Inscriptions in the mini-pyramidsidentified one corpse as a building inspector.The upper level of the tombs were reserved fortechnicians and craftsmen, and the lowertombs housed bodies of workmen. Some of thebodies of workmen bore splints to repair bro-ken bones. Among inscriptions were curses,and some frescoes showed laborers at work.“This care would not have been given toslaves,” noted Hawass.

Lehner, an archaeologist associated withthe Oriental Institute of the University ofChicago and the Harvard Semitic Museum,first traveled to Egypt during the 1970s. He



ACCORDING to Greek mythology, thesphinx was a half-woman, half-lion creature thatguarded the gates of Thebes.

was inspired then by the theories of EdgarCayce (1877–1945), who believed that thepyramids were actually thousands of yearsolder than they were credited. Cayce wasamong those mystics who believed that peoplefrom the legendary, advanced civilization ofAtlantis built the pyramids not long after10,500 B.C.E., just prior to the time when theirown homeland was destroyed by a natural orhuman catastrophe. Lerner, while searchingfor evidence of Cayce’s prophecies, discov-ered, as have so many researchers before him,that there exist many intriguing possibilitiesto further broaden the mystery, and theachievement, of the pyramid builders.

M Delving Deeper

De Camp, L. Sprague. The Ancient Engineers. NewYork: Barnes & Noble, 1993.


Hays, H. R. In the Beginnings. New York: G. P. Put-nam’s Sons, 1963.


The Sphinx

The Sphinx at Giza faces due east and isreferred to in some Egyptian hiero-glyphics as Hamachis, the god of the

rising Sun. Later, Hamachis evolved into thename Hor-em-Akhet. The akhet is an Egypt-ian hieroglyph in the image of two triangles,both open at the base, connected by a line,which represents where the sun rises andsets—an image that comes to life when look-ing out from the Sphinx to the pyramids ofCheops and Cephren at sunset on the sum-mer solstice. As the Sun sets between thepyramids, it highlights the image of two trian-gles (the pyramids) connected by a line (theearth).

The Sphinx has the head of a man inEgyptian headdress sporting a spiraling beard,a feature found on many likenesses ofpharaohs. It has the body of a lion, with twopaws resting beneath the head and chest, andit rises 66 feet high; the leonine body at restbehind stretches for 240 feet. The Sphinx, thelargest surviving statue from the ancientworld, was sculpted out of a large limestonebedrock, a stone soft enough to yield to copperchisels and stone hammers, common Egyptiantools. The distinctive limestone bedrock hasbands of yellowish clay—the same kind of dis-tinctive stone that appears in many of theblocks used to form the nearby pyramids. It isgenerally believed that after the limestonebedrock was quarried for stone used for thepyramids, the remaining block was sculptedinto the Sphinx. A sudden, 50-foot drop notfar from the Sphinx might indicate an areathat was quarried for the pyramids.

It is commonly believed that the Sphinxwas sculpted during the same era as the pyra-mids were built (about 2650 to 2550 B.C.E.).According to a traditional historical view, theSphinx has been most often associated withthe Pharaoh Khafre (2558–2532 B.C.E.), whois represented by—and is presumably buriedin—the second largest of the three pyramidsat Giza. At least two statues of Khafre havebeen found that bear a striking resemblance tothe face of the Sphinx. Egyptian religion hadtaken on Sun worship shortly before Khafre’s



Pyramids and the Sphinx

in Cairo, Egypt. (THE


reign, and since pharaohs were viewed as god-kings, the association of Khafre and Hamachisis plausible. Tools and pottery discoveredaround the Sphinx are associated with theFourth Dynasty, when each of the pyramidbuilders of Giza ruled. Nevertheless, the dat-ing of the Sphinx remains a source of contro-versy, and even in ancient times, some sourcesdated it as preceding the pyramids.

In Greek mythology developed over twothousand years after the Egyptian use of hiero-glyphics, a sphinx was a half-woman, half-lioncreature that guarded the gates of Thebes, anancient Egyptian city. A scourge fell upon theland that could only be lifted by solving a rid-dle posed by the sphinx: What begins life onfour legs, lives most of its life on two legs, andends life on three legs? In Oedipus the King, aplay by the Greek dramatist Sophocles (c.

496–406 B.C.E.), the title character solves theriddle with the answer “a human,” for aninfant crawls on four legs before it begins towalk on two legs, then as an aged person, he orshe walks with the use of a cane, or a third leg.

In 1967, Herbert Ricke of the SwissArchaeological Institute uncovered a templeat the foot of the Sphinx. Niches in the tem-ple form sanctuaries dedicated to the risingand setting of the Sun, and a colonnade courtin the temple features 24 pillars, which Rickesuggested represents the 24 hours in a day.



In 1587, a colony of 113 men, women, and chil-dren vanished from Roanoke Island. The Eng-lish colonists who disappeared had remainedon the island, situated off the coast of what is

today North Carolina, while their governor, JohnWhite, sailed back to England to procure more sup-plies. When White returned in 1590, he found the set-tlement abandoned and overgrown.

Coming upon the deserted settlement, they foundthe letters “CRO” carved on a tree. In a wooden postthat was new since White’s departure, they found theword “CROATOAN” carved. The governor hadallegedly told the settlers to leave that word if theyrelocated during his absence, and instructed them tocarve a Maltese cross should the move have beenmade under threat.

One theory speculates they decided to settleinland along the Chowan River after navigating Albe-marle Sound, located north and west of Roanoke. Stillothers assert that the colony headed to Croatoan,then intermarried with the tribespeople and eventual-ly moved inland to become the Lumbee tribe. The

Lumbee, centered far inland near the border betweenthe Carolinas, is one of the largest Native Americangroups east of the Mississippi.

Sources:

Lane, Ralph. “The Colony at Roanoke.” [Online] http://www.

nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html.

Miller, Lee. Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony.

New York: Arcade Publishing, 2001.

The Desertion

of Roanoke

LIMESTONE cannot be dated by moderntechniques such as radiocarbon dating.

The Sphinx, in Ricke’s opinion, representsthe Sun god that peers into the sanctuaries ofthe temple.

The temple is situated on an east-west axisthat points to the spring and autumn equinox-es. A second temple, constructed more than athousand years later, is oriented toward thewinter solstice. At the time the later templewas built, the Sphinx was buried up to its neckin sand and was called Hor-em-Akhet. TheSphinx itself forms an image of the akhethieroglyphic when approached directly fromMemphis, capital city during the FourthDynasty, when the pyramids and the Sphinxare believed to have been built. On the pathfrom Memphis, the Sphinx appeared silhouet-ted between two pyramids.

The question of the age of the Sphinx wasrenewed during the end of the twentieth cen-tury. An article in Omni magazine (August1992) detailed the work of Robert M. Schoch,a geologist whose research demonstrated thatthe limestone core of the Sphinx dates from5000 B.C.E. and indicated that granite facingwas added at the conventional time when theSphinx is dated, around 2500 B.C.E. Schochattributes the extremely weathered look of the

Sphinx to erosion that began with heavy rainsfrom the period between 5000 B.C.E. to 3000B.C.E. Schoch’s dating is based solely on geo-logical evidence, rather than informationfrom hieroglyphics or other histories. E. A.Wallis Budge, R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, andJohn Anthony West all wrote extensively onthe monuments at Giza, and all date theSphinx before the pyramids.

West promotes a theory that an advanced,pre-Egyptian civilization was responsible forthe Sphinx. He believes that much of theweathering took place because of rains andflood. West points to the period around 9000B.C.E., when the end of the Ice Age may wellhave affected weather patterns. A great flood,perhaps the one recounted in the biblical storyof Noah, affected the Sphinx, and afterward allthe structures at Giza show erosion by wind andthe slow but steady encroachment of desert.

Schoch, a science professor specializing ingeology at Boston University, was hired byWest to explore the erosion of the Sphinxfrom a geological standpoint. During his firsttrip to Giza, Schoch noticed extreme erosionin two temples located in front of the Sphinx.Where the granite covering of the temples hadslipped off, the exposed limestone beneath wasextremely weathered. The granite facing sug-gested to Schoch that the Sphinx was restored,not constructed, during the reign of Khafre.

Subsequent studies led Schoch to con-clude that the Sphinx was constructed instages and that the structure has undergoneseveral restorations. The head and part of thebody were originally carved as far back as 5000B.C.E. The body was completed and the facerestored by chiseling away weathered lime-stone during Khafre’s reign. However, pushingthe original date of the Sphinx to 5000 B.C.E.and attributing its erosion primarily to watercreates problems, for that time period predatesthe development of mastabas, tombs that werebuilt before the pyramids during the periodbetween 5000 B.C.E. and 3000 B.C.E. and thatshow no signs of weathering because of water.

Schoch’s findings have been widely disput-ed by other geologists. Since the limestonecannot be dated by modern techniques (radio-carbon dating can only be used to determine



In Sedona, Arizona,

crystal and coins are

offered to spirits. (KLAUS

AARSLEFF/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

the age of things that were once animated),the age of the Sphinx continues to be consid-ered in the context of other monuments, andthe date of 2500 B.C.E. still holds weightamong Egyptologists. Reconstruction is appar-ent, but evidence shows that a renovationoccurred around 1500 B.C.E. as ordered byThutmose IV, who had the Sphinx rescuedfrom being buried by desert sand.

John Anthony West argues that theSphinx was created by refugees from Atlantis,the legendary continent that was supposedlydestroyed around 9500 B.C.E. Graham Han-cock and Robert Bauval, coauthors of TheOrion Mystery (1994), credit wanderers froman advanced civilization that once thrived onthe continent of Antarctica before it wasfrozen over during a global catastrophe at theend of the last Ice Age. Cataclysmic floods,

they say, wiped out the connection of theSphinx with an ancient, advanced civilization.

Psychic Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) proph-esied that answers to the mysteries of theSphinx and ancient civilizations would some-day be yielded by the Sphinx. According toCayce, a secret passageway leads from one ofthe Sphinx’s paws to its right shoulder wherethere exists a Hall of Records that containsthe wisdom of a lost civilization and the histo-ry of the world.

M Delving Deeper


Darwish, Adel. “Sphinx May Disintegrate within 25Years by Bungled Restoration.” Independent News,March 18, 2001. [Online] http://www.indepen-dent.co.uk/news/World/Africa/2001-03/sphinx18031.shtml.



Sedona, Arizona, located about 120 milesnorth of Phoenix, is hailed as being one of themost mystical places; in recent years it hasbecome a New Age center. Many metaphysi-

cians have maintained that there is a spiritual city thatexists in another dimension directly above Sedona.According to these seers, the ethereal city focusesenergy down on the area.

Sedona has become a region of spiritual pilgrim-age since 1983 when metaphysical leader RichardSutphen began holding seminars near the vortexes,those mysterious areas of electromagnetic anom-alous energy. Many New Age teachers believe thatthe Sedona area retains powerful energies from theancient Native Americans or even from pre-Amerindi-an civilizations and that these forces exert an influ-ence on contemporary psychic-sensitives.

The various vortexes that many sensitive individ-uals believe to exist in Sedona appear to be areas ofsome kind of unidentified electromagnetic phenome-non that certain people insist aids them in meditation,

inspiration, and revelation. UFOs, ancient Atlanteansuper science, Indian spirits, and ethereal inhabitantsof other dimensions have also been suggested as theorigin of the vortexes.

Sources:

Sedona Online. [Online] http://www.sedona.net.

Sutphen, Richard. Sedona: Psychic Energy Vortexes. Updated

ed. Malibu, Calif.: Valley of the Sun Publishing, 1996.

Sedona’s

Second City



Ludvigsen, Freja. “Osiris’ Grave Said Detected Nearthe Sphinx by Hawass Team.” Translated by StigAgermose. EkstraBladet, January 24, 1999.

Stonehenge

“The more we dig, the more the mys-tery seems to deepen,” said WilliamHawley (1851–1941), the official

archaeologist of Stonehenge following WorldWar I (1914–18). He was reporting to the pressabout his underfunded historical project thatseemed to be languishing. Hawley wasn’t ableto make much progress in understandingStonehenge by the time he wearily gave up thetask around 1925. Since then, many othershave tried, and much information has beengained. Still, old legends and theories aboutStonehenge seem to carry as much validity asinformation based on careful tests performedwith the best in modern equipment. As Hawleyobserved, each new discovery seems to broadenthe sublime aura of Stonehenge.

Located on Salisbury Plain in England,Stonehenge is a site of concentric rings ofstone, an avenue, and paths leading to nearbyburial sites. The stone circles are situated on ahenge, an area enclosed by a bank and ditch;the surrounding circular ditch is 340 feet indiameter and five feet deep. There are fourstone alignments—two are circles and twoothers are horseshoe-shaped patterns. Theouter circle is about 100 feet in diameter andoriginally consisted of 30 upright stones (17still stand), weighing an average of 25 tonsand linked on top by a ring of stones. Thestones, composed of Sarsen, a kind of sand-stone, average about 26 feet in height. Pairs ofstanding stones are topped by a series of lin-tels—a term that describes an object that restsacross two pillars, similar to the top part of adoorway. Such pairs of standing stones with athird horizontal lintel joining them at the topare called trilithons. All the stones weresmoothed and shaped. The lintels are locked

in place by sculpted, dovetail joints, and theedges were smoothed to maintain a gentlecurving appearance.

A second ring consists of bluestones, asmaller-sized stone. Within that circle are fivelinteled pairs of Sarsen stones in a horseshoeshape. Another horseshoe, consisting of blue-stones, is at the center. An avenue outlinedwith parallel banks and ditches 40 feet apartleads into the henge. A single standing stone,called the Heel Stone, is positioned in thecenter of the avenue just outside the outer cir-cular ditch.

Several of the upright stones were toppledduring the Roman occupation of Britainbetween 55 B.C.E. and 410 C.E. Two uprightstones and a lintel fell in 1797, and two morein 1900. The five stones that fell since 1797were put back in place in 1958 to restore thelook Stonehenge had between 400 and 1797.

Several theories have emerged about whenStonehenge was erected and the purposes itserved. Stonehenge begins being mentionedin recorded history during the twelfth century,most notably by Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100–1154) in his History of the Kings ofBritain. Geoffrey’s history freely mixes docu-mented events with folklore and containsmany chronological inaccuracies. Still, hisfanciful story of how Stonehenge was erectedon Salisbury Plain remained popular for cen-turies. Geoffrey credited Stonehenge to Mer-lin, a wizard most often associated with thelegendary King Arthur. In Geoffrey’s account,Merlin was asked by Ambrosius Aurelianus,brother of Uther Pendragon and uncle of KingArthur, to erect a monument to commemo-rate the site where several hundred Britishnobles were murdered by Saxons. Merlin usedmagic to transport the stones from Ireland,where they had been erected in the form ofStonehenge after having been brought fromAfrica by giants. The formation of stones wascalled the Giants Dance.

Later theories emerged to overshadowGeoffrey’s tale. Stonehenge was credited asthe work of the Mycenae, a civilization thatthrived in the Aegean Sea area of the easternMediterranean region before the rise ofGreece in the first millennium B.C.E. The



Mycenae connection fit together with a theo-ry that prevailed into the twentieth centurythat ancient megaliths throughout westernEurope were designed and erected by membersof eastern Mediterranean cultures, from whichmodern languages, histories, and other formsof culture emerged. In the second half of thetwentieth century, however, advanced tech-niques for dating ancient objects showed thatStonehenge actually preceded the rise ofMycenean cuture.

The most popular modern theory connectsStonehenge with Celtic culture that thrivedin Britain before the Romans came. A priestlycaste among the Celts called the Druids werebelieved to have supervised construction ofStonehenge and other stone circles in theregion. Druids were keepers of lore and leadersof ceremonial rites among Celts. They havebeen associated with magic powers, humansacrifice, and various mystical rites, but manyof those attributes were bestowed on them bynon-Celtic historians and are, therefore, sus-pect. As Christianity spread through GreatBritain by the fourth century, Celtic cultureand the Druids were eventually overwhelmed.

Under the supervision of Druids, the theo-ry goes, Stonehenge was a sacred ceremonialsite. The famous Slaughter Stone at Stone-henge, which shows traces of red after a rain,was believed to have been an altar whereDruids performed human sacrifices. It was sub-sequently discovered that the redness derivesfrom iron minerals in the Slaughter Stone.

William Stukeley (1687–1765) perpetuat-ed the Druid link to Stonehenge in the 1740swith his book, Stonehenge: A Temple Restor’d tothe British Druids (1740). Stukeley identifiedthe avenue leading into Stonehenge as a pro-cession route. Back during the 1720s, he haddiscovered parallel lines of banks and ditchesnear Stonehenge. He called the phenomenona cursus, a Latin word for racetrack, since hethought the lines were joined at the ends toform an oval.

Stukeley contributed to a growing trend inGreat Britain to recognize ancient Britons,especially Druids, as “bards” (poets) living incommunion with nature. Stukeley himself“went Druid” and joined an order that prac-

ticed secret Druidic rites, and he assumed thename of Chyndonax after a fabled FrenchDruid priest.

Sir J. Norman Lockyer (1836–1920), whowas once director of the Solar Physics Obser-vatory in London and the founder of the jour-nal Nature, published The Dawn of Astronomyin 1894. The book argued that ancient tem-ples in Egypt were aligned for stellar observa-tions and as calendars—to determine the sum-mer solstice, for instance. His findings werecontroversial, but they helped spur furtherstudies of the astronomical interests of ancientsocieties. Lockyer came to the same conclu-sion about ancient Britons as he had of Egyp-tians after studying Stonehenge and nearbypre-historic, megalithic structures. Lockyerbelieved that Stonehenge served as a calendar.It was known that Celts had divided their yearinto eight parts. According to Lockyer, Stone-henge and other megalithic sites were used todetermine key points of the year, such as thecoming of warm weather for planting. Lockyerviewed Druids, the keepers of Celtic lore andknowledge, as astronomer priests responsiblefor devising the megalithic calendars.

The astronomical orientation of Stone-henge, meanwhile, was largely ignored byarchaeologists. However, it received a tremen-dous boost during the 1960s and 1970s whenBoston University astronomer GeraldHawkins studied the site and used a computerto compare historical solar and lunar align-ments with vantage points in Stonehenge. Hepublished his findings in 1963 in Nature, thenin an expanded version in a book, StonehengeDecoded (1965), which offered the most con-vincing scientific evidence yet that Stone-henge served as an astronomical observatory,specifically as a calendar.

When one stands in the middle of Stone-henge and looks through the entrance of theavenue on the morning of the summer sol-



STONEHENGE is located on SalisburyPlain in England.

stice, for example, the Sun will rise above theHeel Stone, which is set on the avenue. If onestands in the entrance and looks into the cir-cle at dusk of that day, the Sun will setbetween a trilithon. According to Hawkins,the use of Stonehenge as a calendar probablyevolved from painstaking trial and errorexperiments with wooden poles to a perma-nent form with the standing stones. Hawkins’swork was greeted with great interest and muchskepticism. Nevertheless, along with otherstudies around the same time, it helped spur atrend for greater scientific research intoStonehenge and confirmed a new discipline,archaeoastronomy, the study of the use ofastronomy among ancient societies.

Credit for Stonehenge to the Celts contin-ued until the 1950s, when radiocarbon testingdetermined that Stonehenge dated from about3000 B.C.E. and that work was begun on the

site even before the Celts migrated intoBritain from the European continent. Subse-quent studies have revealed that Stonehengewas built in waves of construction spanningseveral centuries. Smaller stones were broughtto the site around 2600 B.C.E. and the largeststones arrived around 2100 B.C.E. The lastwork on the site dates from around 1800 B.C.E.

Though information has come forth aboutwhen Stonehenge was erected, the identity ofits builders remains unknown—and where thestones came from and how they were movedinto place, are yet other matters to be investi-gated. The Sarcens likely came from Marlbor-ough Downs, a quarry site about 18 milesnortheast of Stonehenge. How the stonescould be moved from by a prehistoric peoplewithout the aid of the wheel or a pulley systemis not known. The most common theory ofhow prehistoric people moved megaliths has



Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incanempire in what is now Peru, was fortifiedby the massive structure of Sacsahua-man on a hill above the city. This walled

citadel resides on top of a cone-shaped hill 12,000 feetabove sea level. Its vast residential palaces, store-houses, inner forts, paved courtyards, and 50,000-gal-lon reservoir present a persistent puzzle to architectsand engineers. Although the Incas are given credit forhaving built Sacsahuaman from 1438 to 1500, guide-books state that the “basic structure” may have beenlying in ruins, awaiting new inhabitants, when theIncas claimed the fortress.

Some of the boulders that are part of the fortresshave been estimated at more than 20 tons, and thelargest is 12 feet thick and 25 feet tall. The quarriesthat yielded the stone for Sacsahuaman are locatedabout 20 miles from the city. It still puzzles researchersas to how the Incas moved the massive bouldersacross rivers, down deep ravines, then up to themountaintop site of Sacsahuaman.

Some archaeologists have stated that the Incaswere skilled stonecutters. In Sacsahuaman, the mas-sive stones fit together so precisely that a mechanic’sthickness gauge cannot be inserted between therocks in the walls. Some archaeologists have arguedthat stones can be worked to fit closely together; thatis, stones roughly cut can be shaped to fit by beingrubbed together.

Sources:

Deuel, Leo. Conquistadors Without Swords. New York: St.

Martin’s Press, 1967.

“Sacsahuaman.” [Online] http://www.snowcrest.net/goehring/

inca/sacs. html.

Sacsahuaman and

the Skilled

Stonecutters

them creating a track of logs on which thelarge stones were rolled along.

Another megalith transport theory involvesthe use of a type of sleigh running on a trackgreased with animal fat. Such an experimentwith a sleigh carrying a 40-ton slab of stonewas successful near Stonehenge in 1995. Adedicated team of more than 100 workersmanaged to push and pull the slab along the18-mile journey from Marlborough Downs.

To erect the slab, the group dug a hole.The slab was pushed over the hole until it fellin. Then, a team pushed while another pulledby rope to make the slab stand upright. Thehole was filled after the process was repeatedwith a second slab. The lintel stone that formsthe top of the trilithon was pushed up a rampand then maneuvered into place on top of thetwo pillars. Engineers at the test site believedthat levers may have been used to raise thelintel stone, and timber put underneath; theprocess was repeated until the lintel stonerested on timber at the necessary height topush it in place to complete the trilithon.

Whether such methods were actuallyused during the construction is not known.Still, human sweat and ingenuity were shownas a legitimate alternative to Merlin’s magicand other theories about how Stonehengewas erected.

M Delving Deeper

Bahn, Paul G., ed. 100 Great Archaeological Discover-ies. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1995.




Taos Pueblo

In 1992, Taos Pueblo in New Mexico wasadmitted to the World Heritage Society asone of the most significant historical cul-

tural landmarks in the world, thereby joiningsuch sites as the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyra-

mids, and the Grand Canyon. For manyNative Americans and proponents of NewAge mysticism, Taos Pueblo is also one of theprimary spiritual structures on the NorthAmerican continent, and it is a sacred placethat does not yield its secrets to anyone otherthan members of the Pueblo.

The main part of the Pueblo looks much asit did when it was built with sun-dried adobebricks around 900 years ago. The two five-storyhouses, the Hlauuma (North) and the Hlauk-wima (South), are believed to be the oldestcontinuously inhabited communities in theUnited States. Although there are more than1,900 Taos Indians living on the 99,000 acresbelonging to the Pueblo, only about 150 peo-ple live within the Pueblo itself on a full-timebasis. Because the Pueblo traditions forbid theutilities of running water and electricity, manychoose to live in more modern homes outsidethe old walls. Still others prefer to live near thefields that they work on Pueblo land.

The religion of the Taos Pueblo people isextremely complex, yet as many as 90 percentof them also practice Roman Catholicism,finding no conflict between the two forms ofspiritual expression. St. Jerome (Geronimo)has been the patron saint of the Pueblo sincethe church dedicated to him was first builtthere in 1619. The original church wasdestroyed in 1680, rebuilt on the same site,demolished again during the War with Mexi-co in 1847, and restored again in 1850.

Evidence of the seamless fit betweenCatholic and traditional Pueblo ceremonies



Fortress of Sacsayhuman

near Cuzco, Peru. (KLAUS

AARSLEFF/FORTEAN

PICTURE LIBRARY)

can be seen in the calendar of festivals for theyear. For example, dances celebrating the tur-tle, deer, or buffalo are interspersed withdances honoring St. Anthony, St. Jerome, andthe Virgin Mary. All of these events are con-sidered serious religious ceremonies. Camerasare forbidden, and the Tribal Council asksthat visitors render the same respect towardthe dances and rituals as they would during asolemn service in their home churches.

Each year the Tribal Council, a group of50 male elders, appoints a tribal governor anda war chief. The tribal governor and his staffare responsible for the civil and businessinterests of the tribe, and the war chief andhis men see to the security of the mountains,the Pueblo, and the land holdings outside ofthe old city walls.

While some tribal members work in thenearby town of Taos, many of them staff thetraditional craft and art concessions at thePueblo. Pottery, silver jewelry, and paintings bylocal artists have been world famous, and ever

since the beginning of the twentieth century,scores of non-Indian painters, writers, and pho-tographers have visited Taos and made it theirhome. In the 1960s and 1970s, Taos became arevered scene for the counterculture, the so-called “hippies,” and many stayed on to becomecontributive members of the community.

In 1970, the U.S. Government returned48,000 acres of mountain land, including thesacred Blue Lake, to the people of TaosPueblo. The federal government had confis-cated the land in 1906, declaring the area tobe part of the National Forest lands. Such des-ecration of holy land had caused great spiritu-al turmoil among the tribe, for Blue Lake wasperhaps the most important of the ritual sitestheir people visited for ceremonial purposes.When the land was returned to the tribe afteryears of constant lobbying by the Pueblo lead-ers, the tribe felt that a good part of their spiri-tual and cultural well-being had been restoredto them. Today, Blue Lake and the nearbymountains are off-limits to all but members ofthe Taos Pueblo.



Taos Indian Pueblo.


PICTURE LIBRARY)

Taos Pueblo welcomes visitors except dur-ing those times when tribal rituals require pri-vacy; however, there are a number of cere-monies and powwows that are open to thegeneral public.

When visiting the Pueblo, one must keepin mind that the tribal members regard them-selves as a sovereign nation within the UnitedStates and that their primary objective as atribe is to preserve their ancient traditions.The Tribal Council has posted a number ofrules that must be observed at all times andindicated certain areas that are strictly off-limits to all visitors.

M Delving Deeper

Deloria, Vine. God Is Red. New York: Grosset & Dun-lap, 1973.

Fergusson, Erna. Dancing Gods: Indian Ceremonies ofNew Mexico & Arizona. Albuquerque: Universityof New Mexico, 1931, 1957, 1966.

Horka-Follick, Lorayne Ann. Los Hermanos Peni-tentes. Los Angeles: Westernlore Press, 1969.

Steiner, Stan. The New Indians. New York: Dell Pub-lishing, 1968.

“Taos Pueblo: A Thousand Years of Tradition.” TaosVacation Guide. [Online] http://www.taosvaca-tionguide.com/history/pueblo.html. 2 May 2002.

Tiahuanaco

The Inca civilization of South America,unlike the Mayan, was still at its heightwhen conquistadors arrived. One of the

conquistadors, Cieza de Leon (1518–1560),followed trails from the coast of Peru into thefoothills of the Andes and learned fromnatives about the ruins of a once great cityhigh in the mountains. He presumed that itwas an old Inca settlement like those theSpanish found elsewhere in what is now Peru.In 1549, heading inland from Lake Titicaca,which separates Peru from the land-lockednation of Bolivia, de Leon found the remainsof the fabled city of Tiahuanaco, which werefar greater than he had expected.

The site of the ancient city features largeartificial mounds and massive, carved stones,including an enormous entrance called the

Gateway of the Sun. Carved from a single blockof stone weighing 10 tons, the Gateway featuresintricate decorations, including a god-figureoften identified as Viracocha, who figuredprominently in the mythology of the region.

A terraced monument called Akapana,measuring 650 by 600 feet and rising 50 feethigh, has a pyramidal shape that levels off toform a high platform. Within that platform aresunken courtyards. Seen throughout Tiahua-naco are skillful examples of masonry and thebrilliant use of metals, including copper clampsthat hold massive blocks of stones together.

The Gateway of the Sun stands on thenorthwest corner of a platform temple calledKalasasaya, which is adjacent to a semi-under-ground temple; the temples form part of anastronomical observatory. Some standingstones placed on the site weigh up to 100 tons.Among other remarkable feats, the residentsof Tiahuanaco devised a drainage and sewersystem. At 12,500 feet of elevation, Tiahuana-co was the highest city of the ancient world.

As soon as Cieza de Leon reported theremarkable discovery, Tiahuanaco became oneof the world’s great mysteries, for the localAymara Indians insisted that the ruins werethere long before the great Inca civilizationcame to the area and conquered it around1450. Christian missionaries followed Ciezade Leon to the ruins, and these men of learn-ing soon doubted whether the Aymara peoplecould ever have been capable of the crafts-manship and engineering such massive struc-tures required. Legends began to be spread bythe missionaries that the structures had beenerected in the distant past by giants.

Scientists date the civilization that occu-pied Tiahuanaco to 300—when a communityfirst began to settle in the area—to 900, whensome kind of disruption occurred and Tiahua-naco was abandoned. Those dates match theclaim of the Aymara Indians that Tiahuanaco



THE entrance called the Gateway of the Sunweighs 10 tons.

was built and lay in ruins before the Incascame. Other theorists blend scientific findsand local myths, perpetuating the notion thata white race, perhaps Egyptians or Phoeni-cians, brought civilization to the high plain.

The argument that Tiahuanaco thrived morethan 10 thousand years before the dates estab-lished by scientific testing was fostered by ArthurPosnansky in his book, Tiahuanaco: The Cradle ofAmerican Man (1945). Noting that the platformtemple Kalasasaya was used as an astronomicalobservatory, Posnansky determined that it point-ed precisely to solstice alignments in 15,000B.C.E. Taking into account the very gradual shift-ing of Earth’s axis, Posnansky postulated that aridplain was once below water, part of Lake Titicaca,

and that Tiahuanaco was once a major port city.The ancient citizens of Tiahuanaco were mem-bers of a superior culture who had introduced agolden age to the area. The founders of Tiahua-naco were taller and had distinctive facial char-acteristics quite apart from the high-cheekbonedvisages of today’s dwellers of the high plateau.

In Posnanksy’s view, the most startling taletold by the few artifacts left in the city was of aNew World civilization that was amazinglysimilar to that of ancient Egypt. The Calassas-sayax (house of worship), he believed, was sosimilar to the Egyptian temple of Karnak indesign and layout that its relative dimensionsmade it almost a scale model of the Old Worldstructure. The stones used in the temple atTiahuanaco are fitted and joined with theirjoints and facing parts polished to make a near-ly perfect match. The Incas did not build insuch a manner, but the ancient Egyptians did.

And then there were the buildings con-structed of massive, polished stones, manytons in weight, that had been placed in such amanner that only a people with advancedengineering methods could have designed andtransported them. If this were not enough ofan impossible situation, the particularandesite used in much of the Tiahuanacanconstruction can only be found in a quarrythat lies 50 miles away in the mountains.

The surgeons of Tiahuanaco were skilledin trepanning the brain, as were the Egyptianphysicians. Posnansky uncovered skulls withwell-healed bone grafts, which offered silenttestimony to the skill of the ancient doctorsand their knowledge of anatomy. Somearchaeologists receptive to Posnansky’s theo-ries argue that the credibility of cultural coin-cidence is stretched considerably when relatedto brain operations. It is possible to accept thefact that two widely separated cultures, such asthe Egyptians and the unknown people ofTiahuanaco, may have developed a form ofbrain operation, but that both cultures usedidentical instruments and methods, seemsunusual to say the least. The instruments areof high-grade copper and include drills andchisels. In themselves they indicate anadvanced degree of metallurgy, knowledge ofsimple machinery, and development of surgi-



The Puma Punka temple

at Tiahuanaco, Bolivia.


PICTURE LIBRARY)

cal practices far more detailed than can beexpected in primitive societies.

Posnansky’s theories won a popular reader-ship, but were not widely accepted among sci-entists. At sunrise on dates of the equinox, forexample, the Sun appears on the staircase ofKakassasaya. There is no need to believe thatit was built at a precise time to point to a pre-cise astronomical alignment. The port cityidea was also quickly disputed. Areas thatwould have been submerged included neigh-borhoods of dwellings that share similar dateswith the larger structures, and the surroundingcountryside where farms were located alsowould have been underwater.

Radiocarbon dating suggests instead thatTiahuanaco was founded around 400, andafter three centuries of gradual settlement, thecity was abandoned around 1000. In the inter-im, the settlement had grown from a ceremo-nial center to a major city inhabited by 40,000to 80,000 people.

Regular archaeological excavations havebeen underway in Tiahuanaco since 1877.The semi-subterranean temple next to theAkapana yielded a 24-foot tall monolith in1932. That find and the generally arid climatehelped sustain the idea that Tiahuanacoserved primarily as a ceremonial center. Laterfinds, however, showed that it had been athriving city, and dates for the time settlementand abandonment were established. Why theplace was abandoned, however, remains amystery to conventional archaeologists.

However, according to Posnansky, it wasthe climactic changes at the end of the IceAge that contributed to flooding and thedestruction of Tiahuanaco, wiping out itsinhabitants and leaving the great structures inruins. Posnansky died in 1946, convinced thathe had traced the influence of Tiahuanaco onthe native culture as far north as the coastaldeserts of Peru and as far south as Argentina.

Most other archaeologists take much moreconservative views. As with the Mayans, theyargue, the ancient Indians of Tiahuanacomight have had too much of a good thing.There is evidence that they were victims of anatural catastrophe, but it was a prolongeddrought, rather than Posnansky’s great flood,

that probably overwhelmed them. Droughtconditions set in for an extended period, andthe Aymara could no longer support a massivepopulation and large-scale construction pro-jects. People began abandoning the cityaround 1000. The Incas conquered communi-ties remaining in the area around 1450. Thenthe Spanish came to Tiahuanaco about onehundred years after the Incas had moved in.

Still the questions remain: just who were thenatives that thrived at Tiahuanaco and how didthey construct such elaborate structures?

The Aymara, meanwhile, still live in theregion. They outlasted the early Spanish set-tlers around Tiahuanaco, who never quitemastered the area’s harsh conditions. Theplain became a desert again after the Spanishfarmed it, for they never learned to use atechnique of the ancient dwellers of Tiahua-naco. The mysterious unknown peoplefarmed on raised fields, which were filled andbuilt up with soil from surrounding areas.Canals between the fields kept them watered,and by farming on raised fields the crops werekept safe from the danger of frost and erosionby water.

M Delving Deeper

Bahn, Paul G., ed. 100 Great Archaeological Discover-ies. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1995.

Deuel, Leo. Conquistadors without Swords: Archaeologistsin the Americas. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1967.

———. Flights into Yesterday. New York: St. Martin’sPress, 1969.



archipelago From the Greek arkhi, meaning“chief or main” and pelagos meaning “sea.”Any large body of water that contains alarge number of scattered islands.

bitumen Any of a variety of natural substances,such as tar or asphalt, containing hydrocar-bons derived from petroleum and used as acement or mortar for surfacing roads.

cubit From the Latin cubitum, meaning fore-arm or elbow. An ancient unit of length,



based on the distance from the tip of themiddle finger to the elbow which approxi-mated 17 to 22 inches.

druid Someone who worships the forces ofnature as in the ancient Celtic religion. Canalso refer to a priest in the Celtic religion.

frieze From the Latin phrygium (opus), mean-ing work or craftmanship. A decorativearchitectural band, usually running along awall, just below the ceiling, often sculptedwith figurines or ornaments.

fulcrum From the Latin fulcire, meaning “toprop up or support.” The part of somethingthat acts as its support.

geoglyphics Lines, designs, or symbols left inthe earth, such as those in Egypt, Malta,Chile, Bolivia, and Peru with a mysterious,ancient, and puzzling origin.

hieroglyphics A system of writing that usespictures or symbols such as that in ancientEgypt.

Ice Age Any of the periods of extreme cold orglacial epochs in the history of Earth whentemperatures fell, resulting in large areas ofEarth’s surface covered with glaciers; themost recent one occurring during thePleistocene epoch.

megalith A very large stone that is usually a partof a monument or prehistoric architecture.



Glossary

281

abductee Someone who believes that he orshe has been taken away by deception orforce against his/her will.

aboriginal Refers to a people that has lived orexisted in a particular area or region fromthe earliest known times or from thebeginning.

abyss From late Latin abyssus and Greek abus-sos, which literally means “bottomless,”stemming from bussos, meaning “bottom.”A gorge or chasm that is inconceivablydeep, vast or infinite, such as the bottom-less pit of hell or a dwelling place of evilspirits.

alchemy From Greek, khemeia to Arabic,alkimiya via medieval Latin alchimia andOld French, fourteenth century alquemie,meaning “the chemistry.” A predecessor ofchemistry practiced in the Middle Agesand Renaissance principally concernedwith seeking methods of transforming basemetals into gold and the “elixir of life.”

alien A being or living creature from anotherplanet or world.

amnesia The loss of memory which can betemporary or long term and usuallybrought on by shock, an injury, or psycho-logical disturbance. Originally from theGreek word amnestos, literally meaningnot remembered and from a later alter-ation of the word amnesia forgetfulness.

anomalous Something strange and unusualthat deviates from what is considered nor-mal. From the Greek anomalos, meaninguneven.

anthropology The scientific study of the ori-gins, behavior, physical, social, and cultur-al aspects of humankind.

Antichrist The antagonist or opponent ofJesus Christ (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.), who isanticipated by many early as well as con-temporary Christians to lead the worldinto evil before Christ returns to Earth toredeem and rescue the faithful. Can alsorefer to any person who is in opposition toor an enemy of Jesus Christ or his teach-ings, as well as to those who claim to beChrist, but in fact are false and misleading.

anthroposophy A spiritual or religious philos-ophy that Rudolph Steiner (1861–1925),an Austrian philosopher and scientist,developed, with the core belief centeringaround the human accessibility of the spir-itual world to properly developed humanintellect. Steiner founded the Anthropo-sophical Society in 1912 to promote hisideas that spiritual development should behumanity’s foremost concern.

apocalypse From the Greek apokalupsis,meaning “revelation.” In the Bible, theBook of Revelation is often referred to asthe Apocalypse. Comes from many anony-mous, second-century B.C.E. and later Jew-ish and Christian texts that containprophetic messages pertaining to a greattotal devastation or destruction of theworld and the salvation of the righteous.

apothacary From the Greek apotheke meaning“storehouse.” A pharmacist or druggist whois licensed to prescribe, prepare and selldrugs and other medicines, or a pharma-cy—where drugs and medicines are sold.

apparition The unexpected or sudden appear-ance of something strange, such as a ghost.From the Latin apparitus, past participle ofapparere, meaning to appear.

archaeologist A person who scientificallyexamines old ruins or artifacts such as theremains of buildings, pottery, graves, tools,and all other relevant material in order tostudy ancient cultures.

archipelago From the Greek arkhi, meaning“chief or main” and pelagos meaning “sea.”Any large body of water that contains alarge number of scattered islands.

Armageddon From late Latin Armagedon,Greek and Hebrew, har megiddo, megiddon,which is the mountain region of Megiddo.Megiddo is the site where the great finalbattle between good and evil will befought as prophesied and will be a decisivecatastrophic event that many believe willbe the end of the world.

astral self Theosophical belief that humanspossess a second body that cannot be per-

ceived with normal senses, yet it coexistswith the human body and survives death.

astronomy The scientific study of the of theworkings of the universe—of stars, planets,their positions, sizes, composition, move-ment behavior. Via the Old French andLatin from Greek astronomia, meaning lit-erally star-arranging.

automatic writing Writing that occurs througheither an involuntary, or unconscious,trance-like state with the source being thewriter’s own unconscious self, from a tele-pathic link with another, or from adeceased spirit wishing to communicate amessage.

banal Boring, very ordinary and common-place. From the French word ban, original-ly used in the context of a mandatory mili-tary service for all or common to all.

barter The exchange or the process of negoti-ating certain goods or services for othergoods or services.

Bedouin A nomadic Arabic person from thedesert areas of North Africa and Arabia.Via Old French beduin, ultimately fromArabic badw, or desert, nomadic desertpeople.

betrothal The act of becoming or beingengaged to marry another person.

Bhagavad Gita From Sanskrit Bhagavadgi ta,meaning “song of the blessed one.” AHindu religious text, consisting of 700verses, in which the Hindu god, Krishna,teaches the importance of unattachmentfrom personal aims to the fulfillment ofreligious duties and devotion to God.

bipedal Any animal that has two legs or feet.From the Latin stem biped, meaning two-footed.

birthstone Each month of the year has a par-ticular precious gemstone or a semi-precious stone associated with it. It isbelieved that if a person wears the stoneassigned their birth month, good fortuneor luck will follow.

bitumen Any of a variety of natural substances,such as tar or asphalt, containing hydrocar-


Glossary282

bons derived from petroleum and used as acement or mortar for surfacing roads.

black magick The use of magic for evil pur-poses, calling upon the devil or evil spirits.

blasphemy Something said or done whichshows a disrespect for God or things thatare sacred. An irreverent utterance oraction showing a disrespect for sacredthings or for God.

cadaver A dead body that is usually intendedfor dissection. From the Latin cadere,meaning to fall or to die.

charlatan From the Italian ciarlatano, via sev-enteenth-century French ciarlare, meaning“to babble or patter” or “empty talk.” Some-one who makes elaborate claims or whopretends to have more skill or knowledgethan is factual, such as a fraud or quack.

chieftain The leader of a clan, tribe, or group.

clairvoyance The ability to visualize or sensethings beyond the normal range of the fivehuman senses. From the French word clair-voyant, meaning clear-sighted and voyant,the present participle of voir to see.

conjurations The act of reciting a name,words or particular phrases with the intentof summoning or invoking a supernaturalforce or occurrence.

conquistadores From the Latin conquireremeaning “to conquer.” Spanish soldiers oradventurers, especially of the sixteenthcentury who conquered Peru, Mexico, orCentral America.

consciousness Someone’s mind, thoughts orfeelings, or can be referring to the part ofthe mind which is aware of same. Thestate of being aware of what is going onaround you, either individually or theshared feelings of group awareness, feelingsor thoughts.

conspiracy A plan formulated in secretbetween two or more people to commit asubversive act.

contactee Someone who believes to havebeen or is in contact with an alien fromanother planet.

cosmic consciousness The sense or specialinsight of one’s personal or collectiveawareness in relation to the universe or auniversal scheme.

cosmic sense The awareness of one’s identityand actions in relationship to the universeor universal scheme of things.

cosmology The philosophical study andexplanation of the nature of the universeor the scientific study of the origin andstructure of the universe.

cosmos From the Greek kosmos meaning“order, universe, ornament.” The entireuniverse as regarded in an orderly, harmo-nious and integrated whole.

coven From the Anglo-Norman, mid-seven-teenth century “assembly” and from con-venire meaning convene. An assembly ofor a meeting of a group of witches, often13 in number.

cryptomensia A state of consciousness inwhich the true source or origin of a partic-ular memory is forgotten or is attributed toa wrongful source or origin.

cryptozoology The study of so-called mythicalcreatures such as the Yeti or Bigfoot,whose existence has not yet been scientifi-cally substantiated.

cubit From the Latin cubitum, meaning fore-arm or elbow. An ancient unit of length,based on the distance from the tip of themiddle finger to the elbow which approxi-mated 17 to 22 inches.

deity From late Latin deitas “divine nature,”and deus “god.” A divine being or some-body or something with the essentialnature of a divinity, such as a god, goddess.When the term is capitalized, it refers toGod in monotheistic belief or religions.

demarcation The process of setting borders,limits or marking boundaries. From theSpanish demarcacion, literally meaning,marking off.

demon possession When low-level disincar-nate spirits invade and take over a humanbody.


283Glossary

GL

OS

SA

RY

desecration When something sacred is treatedin a profane or damaging manner.

discarnate The lack of a physical body.Coined from dis- and the Latin stem carn,meaning flesh.

The Dispersion From the Greek diasporameaning to scatter or disperse. Refers to theperiod in history when the Jewish peoplewere forced to scatter in countries outside ofPalestine after the Babylonian captivity.

dogma From Greek stem word dogmat, mean-ing “opinion” or “tenet,” and from dokein,“to seem good.” A belief or set of beliefs,either political, religious, philosophical, ormoral and considered to be absolutely true.

druid Someone who worships the forces ofnature as in the ancient Celtic religion.Can also refer to a priest in the Celtic reli-gion.

ecclesiasticism Principles, practices, activi-ties, or body of thought that is all-encom-passing and adhered to in an organizedchurch or institution.

ecstatic Intense emotion of pleasure, happi-ness, joy or elation.

electrodes Two conductors through whichelectricity flows in batteries or other elec-trical equipment.

electroencephalograph A device or machinethat through the use of electrodes placedon a person’s scalp, monitors the electricalactivity in various parts of the brain. Theseare recorded and used as a diagnostic toolin tracing a variety of anything from braindisorders, tumors or other irregularities todream research.

electroencephalographic dream researchResearching dreams using a electroen-cephalograph to aid the researcher in thebrain activity of the one being studied.

electromagnetic Of or pertaining to the char-acteristics of an electromagnet, which is adevice having a steel or iron core and ismagnetized by an electric current thatflows through a surrounding coil.

elemental spirits A lower order of spiritbeings, said to be usually benevolent and

dwell in the nature kingdom as the lifeforce of all things in nature, such as miner-als, plants, animals, and the four elementsof earth, air, fire and water; the planets,stars, and signs of the zodiac; and hours ofthe day and night. Elves, brownies, gob-lins, gnomes, and fairies are said to beamong these spirits.

elixir Something that is a mysterious, magicalsubstance with curative powers believed toheal all ills or to prolong life and preserveyouthfulness. From the Arabic al-iksir andthe Greek xerion, meaning dry powder fortreating wounds.

enchantments Things or conditions whichpossess a charming or bewitching qualitysuch as a magical spell.

encode To convert a message from plain textinto a code. In computer language, to con-vert from analog to digital form, and ingenetics to convert appropriate geneticdata.

enigma From Greek ainigma “to speak in rid-dles” and ainos, meaning “fables.” Some-body or something that is ambiguous, puz-zling or not easily understood and mighthave a hidden meaning or riddle.

ephemerality Refers to the state of somethingliving or lasting for a markedly short orbrief time. The nature of existing or lastingfor only a day, such as certain plants orinsects.

eschatology Comes from the Greek wordeskhatos meaning “last” and -logy literallymeaning “discourse about the last things.”Refers to the body of religious doctrinesconcerning the human soul in relation todeath, judgment, heaven or hell, or in gen-eral, life after death and of the final stageor end of the world.

evocation The act of calling forth, drawingout or summoning an event or memoryfrom the past, as in recreating.

exorcism The act, religious ceremony, or ritu-al of casting out evil spirits from a personor a place.


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extraterrestrial Something or someone origi-nating or coming from beyond Earth, out-side of Earth’s atmosphere.

false memory Refers to situations where sometherapies and hypnosis may actually beplanting memories through certain sugges-tions or leading questions and comments;thereby creating memories that the patientor client believes to be true, but in realitythey are not.

fanatical Extreme enthusiasm, frenzy, or zealabout a particular belief, as in politics orreligion.

Five Pillars of Islam In Arabic, also called thearkan, and consists of the five sacred ritualduties believed to be central to main-stream Muslims’ faith. The five duties arethe confession of faith, performing the fivedaily prayers, fasting during the month ofRamadan, paying alms tax, and performingat least one sacred pilgrimage to Mecca,the holy land.

foo fighter A term coined by pilots whoreported sightings of unconventional air-craft that appeared as nocturnal lights dur-ing World War II. A popular cartoon char-acter of the time, Smokey Stover, oftensaid “Where there’s foo there’s fire” and itbecame the saying to describe the strangephenomena.

frieze From the Latin phrygium (opus), mean-ing work or craftmanship. A decorativearchitectural band, usually running along awall, just below the ceiling, often sculptedwith figurines or ornaments.

fulcrum From the Latin fulcire, meaning “toprop up or support.” The part of somethingthat acts as its support.

Geiger counter An instrument named after itsinventor, German physicist Hans Geiger(1882–1945), that is used to measure anddetect such things as particles fromradioactive materials.

geoglyphics Lines, designs, or symbols left inthe earth, such as those in Egypt, Malta,Chile, Bolivia, and Peru with a mysterious,ancient, and puzzling origin.

Gestalt therapy A type of psychotherapy thatputs a emphasis on a person’s feelings asrevealing desired or undesired personalitytraits and how they came to be, by exam-ining unresolved issues from the past.

Gnostic From the Greek, gnostikos, meaning“concerning knowledge.” A believer inGnosticism, or relating to or possessing spir-itual or intellectual knowledge or wisdom.

guardian angel A holy, divine being thatwatches over, guides, and protects humans.

hallucinations A false or distorted perceptionof events during which one vividly imag-ines seeing, hearing or sensing objects orother people to be present, when in factthey are not witnessed by others.

haruspicy A method of divining or telling thefuture by examining the entrails of ani-mals.

heresy The willful, persistent act of adheringto an opinion or belief that rejects or con-tradicts established teachings or theoriesthat are traditional in philosophy, religion,science, or politics.

heretic From the Greek hairetikos, meaning“able to choose.” Someone who does notconform or whose opinions, theories, orbeliefs contradict the conventional estab-lished teaching, doctrines, or principles,especially that of religion.

hieroglyphics A writing system of ancient Egyptthat uses symbols or pictures to signifysounds, objects, or concepts. Can also referto any writing or symbols that are difficult todecipher. The word comes from an ancientGreek term meaning “sacred carving.”

hierophant From the Latin hierophanta andGreek hierophantes, meaning literally a“sacred person who reveals something.”An ancient Greek priest who revealed orinterpreted the sacred mysteries, or holydoctrines, at the annual festival of Eleusis.

hoax An act of deception that is intended tomake people think or believe something isreal when it is not.

Homo sapiens Mankind or humankind, thespecies of modern human beings.


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horoscope From Greek horoskopos, literallymeaning “time observer” and from horameaning “time, or hour,” referring to thetime of birth. A diagram or astrologicalforecast based on the relative position inthe heavens of the stars and planets in thesigns of the zodiac, at any given moment,but especially at the moment of one’sbirth.

hypnagogic Relating to or being in the statebetween wakefulness and sleep where oneis drowsy. From the French hypnagogiquemeaning literally leading to sleep.

hypnopompic Typical of or involving the statebetween sleeping and waking. Coinedfrom hypno and Greek pompe, meaning asending away.

hypnosis The process of putting or being in asleeplike state, although the person is notsleeping. It can be induced by suggestionsor methods of a hypnotist.

hypothesis A theory or assumption that needsfurther exploration, but which is used as atentative explanation until further dataconfirms or denies it. From the Greekhupothesis meaning foundation or base.

Ice Age Any of the periods of extreme cold orglacial epochs in the history of Earth whentemperatures fell, resulting in large areas ofEarth’s surface covered with glaciers; themost recent one occurring during thePleistocene epoch.

incantation From fourteenth-century French,cantare, meaning “to sing” via Latin—incantare—“to chant.” The chanting,recitation or uttering of words supposed toproduce a magical effect or power.

incarnation A period of time in which a spiritor soul dwells in a bodily form or condi-tion. One of a series of lives spent in aphysical form.

indigenous From a mid-seventeenth centuryword indigena, literally meaning “born-in,”and from gignere, meaning “to beget.”Inborn, intrinsic, or belonging to a place,such as originating, growing, or living inan area, environment, region, or country.

Inquisition Fourteenth century, from Latininquirere via Old French inquisicion, mean-ing “to inquire.” In the thirteenth century,Roman Catholicism appointed a specialtribunal or committee whose chief func-tion was to combat, suppress and punishheresy against the church. Remainingactive until the modern era, the officialinvestigations were often harsh and unfair.

insurrectionist Someone who is in rebellionor revolt against an established authority,ruler, or government.

intergalactic Something that is located, or ismoving, between two or more galaxies.

Invocation The act of calling upon or appeal-ing to a higher power such as a deity, spirit,or God for assistance. A form of prayer,that invites God’s presence, at the begin-ning of a ceremony or meeting. In blackmagick, can be the casting of a spell or for-mula to invite an evil spirit to appear.

ions An atom or group of atoms that are elec-trically charged through the process ofgaining or losing one or more electrons.From the Greek ion meaning movingthing; and from the present participle ofienai meaning to go —from the movementof any ion toward the electrode of theopposite charge.

jinni In Islamic or Muslim legend, a spirit thatis capable of taking on the shape ofhumans or animals in order to performmischievous acts or to exercise supernatur-al power and influence over humans. Fromthe Arabic jinn, which is the plural of jinni.

Kabbalah body of mystical Jewish teachingsbased on an interpretation of hidden mean-ings contained in the Hebrew scriptures.Kabbalah is Hebrew for “that which isreceived,” and also refers to a secret oral tra-dition handed down from teacher to pupil.The term Kabbalah is generally used now toapply to all Jewish mystical practice.

karmic law Karma is the Sanskrit word for“deed.” In the Eastern religions of Bud-dhism and Hinduism all deeds of a personin this life dictate an equal punishment orreward to be met in the next life or series


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of lives. In this philosophy, it is a naturalmoral law rather than a divine judgmentwhich provides the process of develop-ment, enabling the soul into higher orlower states, according to the laws of causeand effect to be met.

knockings/rappings Tapping sounds said to becoming from deceased spirits in an attemptto communicate with or frighten the living.

left-hand path In occult tradition, a practi-tioner who practices black magic.

leprous From the Greek, lepros, meaning“scale.” Something resembling the symp-toms of or relating to the disease of leprosy,which covers a person’s skin with scales orulcerations.

loa A spirit that is thought to enter the devo-tee of the Haitian voodoo, during a trancestate, and believed to be a protector andguide that could be a local deity, a deifiedancestor or even a saint of the RomanCatholic Church.

lupinomanis Having the excessive character-istics of a wolf, such as being greedy or rav-enously hungry.

lycanthropy The magical ability in legendsand horror stories of a person who is ableto transform into a wolf, and take on all ofits characteristics.

magus A priest, wizard, or someone who isskilled or learned, especially in astrology,magic, sorcery, or the like.

manitou A supernatural force, or spirit thatsuffuses various living things, as well asinanimate objects, according to the Algo-nquian peoples. In the mythology of theOjibwa of the eastern United States, Man-itou is the name of the supreme deity, orGod, and means “Great Spirit.”

manna The food miraculously supplied to theIsraelites by God, according to the Old Tes-tament, as they wandered in the wildernessduring their flight from Egypt. Spiritualnourishment or something of valuereceived of divine origin or unexpectedly.

materialization Something that appears sud-denly, as if out of nowhere. In the paranor-

mal it might be a ghost or spirit that sud-denly appears to take on a physical form.

medium In the paranormal, someone who isable to convey messages between the spiritsof the deceased and the spirits of the living.

megalith A very large stone that is usually apart of a monument or prehistoric archi-tecture.

Mesopotamia Greek word, meaning “betweentwo rivers.” An ancient region that waslocated between the Tigris and Euphratesrivers in what is today, modern Iraq andSyria. Some of the world’s earliest andgreatest ancient civilizations such as Ur,Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia were devel-oped in that region.

messiah A leader who is regarded as a libera-tor or savior. In Christianity, the Messiahis Jesus Christ (c. 6 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.), inJudaism, it is the king who will lead theJews back to the Holy Land of Israel andestablish world peace.

metaphysical Relating to abstract thought orthe philosophical study of the nature ofexistence and truth.

metrology The scientific system or study ofmeasurements. From the Greek metrologie,meaning theory of ratios and metron, ormeasure.

mortician An undertaker or one who preparesdead bodies for burial and funerals.

narcolepsy A condition where a personuncontrollably falls asleep at odd timesduring daily activities and/or for longextended periods of time. Hallucinationsand even paralysis might also accompanythis condition.

near-death experience A mystical-like occur-rence or sensation that individuals on thebrink of death or who were dead, butbrought back to life, have described whichincludes leaving their physical body andhovering over it as though they were abystander.

neo-paganism Someone who believes in acontemporary or modernized version ofthe religions which existed before Chris-


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tianity, especially those with a reverencefor nature over the worship of a divine orsupreme being.

neophyte From the Latin neophytus and Greekneophutos or phuein, “to plant” or “cause togrow”—literally meaning “newly planted.”A beginner or novice at a particular task orendeavor. Somebody who is a recent con-vert to a belief. A newly ordained priest, orsomeone who is new to a religious order,but who has not yet taken their vows, so isnot yet a part of the order.

neuron The basic functional unit of the ner-vous system a cell body that consists of anaxon and dendrites and transmit nerveimpulses. A neuron is also called a nervecell. Via German from Greek neuron,meaning sinew, cord, or nerve.

Novena of Masses In the Roman CatholicChurch, the recitation of prayers or devo-tions for a particular purpose, for nine con-secutive days. From the Latin nus, meaningnine each and from novern, meaning nine.

Old Testament The first of the two main divi-sions of the Christian Bible that corre-sponds to the Hebrew scriptures.

omen A prophetic sign, phenomenon, or hap-pening supposed to foreshadow good orevil or indicate how someone or some-thing will fare in the future—an indicationof the course of future events.

oracle Either someone or something that isthe source of wisdom, knowledge orprophecy. Can also refer to the placewhere the prophetic word would be given.Via French from the Latin oraculum, fromorare to speak.

paleoanthropology The study of humanlikecreatures or early human beings moreprimitive that Homo Sapiens, usually donethrough fossil evidence.

paleontology The study of ancient forms oflife in geologic or prehistoric times, usingsuch evidence as fossils, plants, animals,and other organisms.

Pan In Greek mythology the god of nature orof the woods, fields, pastures, forests, andflocks. Is described as having the torso and

head of a human, but the legs, ears, andhorns of a goat.

paranormal Events or phenomena that arebeyond the range of normal experienceand not understood or explained in termsof current scientific knowledge.

parapsychologist One who studies mentalphenomena, such as telepathy or extrasen-sory perception, the mind/body connec-tion, and other psi or paranormal factorsthat cannot be explained by known scien-tific principles.

parapsychology The study or exploration ofmental phenomena that does not have ascientific explanation in the known psy-chological principles.

Passover The seven or eight days of a Jewishfestival that begins on the fourteenth dayof Nissan and commemorates the exodusof the Hebrews from their captivity inEgypt. From the Hebrew word pesa, mean-ing to pass without affecting.

pharaoh From the Hebrew par’oh, Egyptianpr-’o, and Latin and Greek Pharao, mean-ing literally “great house.” An ancientEgyptian title for the ruler or king ofEgypt, often considered a tyrant and onewho expected unquestioning obedience.

pharmacologist The study of or science ofdrugs in all their aspects, includingsources, chemistry, production, their use intreating ailments and disease, as well asany known side effects.

phenomena Strange, extraordinary, unusual,even miraculous events, or happenings topersons or things. From the Greek phain-omenon, that which appears, from the pastparticiple of phainein, to bring to light.

philanthropist Someone who is benevolent orgenerous in his or her desire or activities toimprove the social, spiritual or materialwelfare of humankind. From the lateLatin, ultimately, Greek philanthropos,humane; philos; loving and anthropos,human being.

philanthropy From the Greek philanthropos,meaning “humane,” and from philos,meaning “loving.” An affection or desire


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to help improve the spiritual, social, ormaterial welfare of humanity through actsof charity or benevolence.

physiognomy From phusis meaning “nature,character” and gnomon, “to judge.” The artof judging a person’s character or tempera-ment by their physical features, especiallyfacial features.

physiology The study of the functioning andinternal workings of living things, such asmetabolism, respiration, reproduction andthe like. From the Latin word physiologiaand the Greek phusiologia, and phusismeaning nature.

precognition The ability to foresee what isgoing to happen in the future, especially ifthis perception is gained through otherthan the normal human senses orextrasensory.

predator Any organism or animal that hunts,kills, and eats other animals. Can refer to aruthless person who is extremely aggressivein harming another. From the Latinpraedator and praedari, meaning to seize asplunder.

psi The factor or factors responsible for para-psychological phenomena. Derived fromthe Greek letter psi which is used to denotethe unknown factor in an equation.

psyche The soul or human spirit or can referto the mental characteristics of a person orgroup or nation. Via Latin from Greekpsukhe meaning breath, soul, mind andfrom psukhein to breathe.

psychiatrist A doctor who is trained to treatpeople with psychiatric disorders.

psychoanalysis The system of analysis regard-ing the relationship of conscious andunconscious psychological aspects and theirtreatment in mental or psycho neurosis.

psychoanalyst One who uses the therapeuticmethods of psychiatric analysis, such asdream analysis and free association, asdeveloped by Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)to treat patients in order to gain awarenessof suppressed subconscious experiences ormemories that might be causing psycho-logical blocks.

psychokinesis The ability to make objectsmove or to in some way affect them with-out using anything but mental powers.

pulsar A star generally believed to be a neu-tron star and that appears to pulse as itbriefly emits bursts of visible radiationsuch as radio waves and x-rays.

putrefy Causing something to decay, usuallyindicating a foul odor. From the Latinstem, putr, meaning rotten, plus facere, tomake.

Qur’an The sacred text, or holy book, of Islam.For Muslims, it is the very word of Allah,the absolute God of the Islamic faith, asrevealed to the prophet Muhammad (c.570 C.E.–632 C.E.) by the archangel Gabriel.

rectory The house or dwelling that a rector(clergyman) lives in.

reincarnation The reappearance or rebirth ofsomething in a new form. Some religionsor belief systems state that the soul returnsto live another life in a new physical formand does so in a cyclical manner.

resurrection The act of rising from the dead orreturning to life. In Christian belief, the Res-urrection was the rising of Jesus Christ fromthe dead after he was crucified andentombed. Resurrection also refers to the ris-ing of the dead on Judgment Day, as antici-pated by Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

retrocognition The mental process or facultyof knowing, seeing, or perceiving things,events, or occurrences of things in thepast, especially through other than thenormal human senses as in extrasensory.

right-hand path In occult tradition, a practi-tioner who practices white magic.

rite Originally from an Indo-European basemeaning “to fit together” and was theancestor of the English words arithmeticand rhyme via, the Latin ritus. A formal actor observance as a community custom,such as the rite of courtship. Often has asolemn, religious or ceremonial meaning,such as the rite of baptism.

Sabbath From the Greek sabbaton, and theHebrew sabba, both meaning “to rest.” A


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day of rest from work and for religious wor-ship. In Christianity, Sunday is theobserved day of worship while Saturday isobserved in Judaism and some Christiandenominations.

Sanskrit Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Euro-pean language and the language of tradi-tional Hinduism in India. Spoken betweenthe fourteenth and fifth centuries B.C.E., ithas been considered and maintained as apriestly and literary language of the sacredVeda scriptures and other classical texts.

Santeria From Spanish santeria meaning “holi-ness.” A religion which originated in Cubaby enslaved West African laborers thatcombines the West African Yoruba religionwith Roman Catholicism and recognizes asupreme God as well as other spirits.

sarcophagus From the Greek sarx meaning“flesh,” and Greek sarkophogos, literallymeaning “flesh-eater.” Originally a kind oflimestone that had properties to aid in therapid decomposition of the deceased bod-ies and was used in the making of coffins.Eventually came to mean any stone coffin,especially one with inscriptions or decorat-ed with sculpture and used as a monument.

sauropod Any of various large semi-aquaticplant-eating dinosaurs that had a longneck and tail and a small head. From thesuborder Sauropoda, a Latin word meaninglizard foot.

schizophrenia A severe psychiatric disorderwhich can include symptoms of withdrawalor detachment from reality, delusions, hallu-cinations, emotional instability, and intel-lectual disturbances or illogical patterns ofthinking to various degrees. The term comesfrom Greek words meaning “split mind.”

seance A meeting or gathering of people inwhich a spiritualist makes attempts tocommunicate with the spirits of deceasedpersons, or a gathering to receive spiritual-istic messages.

semidivine Possessing similar or some of thecharacteristics, abilities, or powers normal-ly attributed to a deity and/or existing on a

higher spiritual level or plane than com-mon mortals yet not completely divine.

shaman A religious or spiritual leader, usuallypossessing special powers, such as that ofprophecy, and healing, and acts as anintermediary between the physical andspiritual realms.

shamanic exorcism When a shaman, or tribalmedicine-holy person, performs a ceremo-nial ritual to expel the disincarnate spiritsfrom a person.

shapeshifter A supposed fictional being, spiritor something that is able to change itsappearance or shape.

shofar A trumpet made of a ram’s horn, blownby the ancient and modern Hebrews dur-ing religious ceremonies and as a signal inbattle.

soothsayer From Middle English, literallymeaning “somebody who speaks thetruth.” Someone who claims to have theability to foretell future events.

soul The animating and vital principal inhuman beings, credited with the facultiesof will, emotion, thought and action andoften conceived as an immaterial entity,separate from the physical body. The spiri-tual nature of human beings, regarded asimmortal, separable from the body atdeath, and susceptible to happiness or mis-ery in a future state. The disembodied spir-it of a dead human being.

spell A formula or word believed to have mag-ical power. A trance or a bewitched state.

spirit control The guide that mediums con-tact to receive messages from deceasedspirits, or another name for spirit guide asused in mediumship.

spirit guide A nonphysical being or entitywhich possibly can be an angel, the higherself, the spirit of a deceased person, a high-er group mind, or a highly evolved beingwhose purpose is to help, guide, direct, andprotect the individual.

spittle Something that looks like or is saliva,which is secreted from the mouth.


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stigmata Marks on a person’s body resemblingthe wounds inflicted on Jesus Christ (c. 6B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.) during his Crucifixion onthe cross.

subversive To cause the ruin or downfall ofsomething or to undermine or overthrowprinciples, an institution, or a govern-ment.

supernatural Relating to or pertaining to Godor the characteristics of God; a deity ormagic of something that is above andbeyond what is normally explained by nat-ural laws.

superstition The belief that certain actionsand rituals have a magical effect resultingin either good or bad. From the Latin stemsuperstition, and superstes, meaning stand-ing over or in awe.

taboo Something that is forbidden. In somecases can refer to something being sacred,therefore forbidden, such as in Polynesiansocieties. From the Tongan tabu, said tohave been introduced into the Englishlanguage by Captain James Cook in thelate eighteenth century.

talisman An object such as a gemstone orstone, believed to have magical powers orproperties. From the Greek telesma, mean-ing something consecrated, telein, to com-plete, and telos, result.

Tanakh From the Hebrew tenak, an acronymformed from torah. It is the sacred book ofJudaism, consisting of the Torah—the fivebooks of Moses, The Nevi’im—the wordsof the prophets, and the Kethuvim—thewritings.

telepathy Communication of thoughts, mentalimages, ideas, feelings, or sensations fromone person’s mind to another’s without theuse of speech, writing, signs, or symbols.

theory of evolution The biological theory ofthe complex process of living organisms,how they change and evolve from onegeneration to another or over many gener-ations.

therianthropic Used to describe a mythologi-cal creature that is half human and halfanimal. Coined from the Greek therion,

meaning small wild animal, and anthropo,meaning human being.

totem An animal, bird, plant, or any othernatural object that is revered as a personalor tribal symbol.

transference The process of change that hap-pens when one person or place is trans-ferred to another.

transience A state of impermanence, or last-ing for only a brief time. Remaining in aplace only for a short time, or the briefappearance of someone or something.

transmutation The act of transforming orchanging from one nature, form, or stateinto another.

tribulation Great affliction, trial, or distress.In Christianity, the tribulation refers tothe prophesied period of time which pre-cedes the return of Jesus Christ to Earth, inwhich there will be tremendous sufferingthat will test humanity’s endurance,patience, or faith.

UFO Literally an unidentified flying object,although the term is often used by some torefer to an alien spacecraft.

UFOlogist Someone who investigates thereports and sightings of unidentified flyingobjects.

Valhalla In Norse mythology, when the soulsof heroes are killed in battle, they spendeternity in a great hall, which is calledValhalla. From the Old Norse valhall, liter-ally meaning hall of the slain.

Valkyrie One of the 12 handmaids of Odin inNorse mythology who ride their horsesover the battlefield as they escort the soulsof slain heroes to Valhalla. From the OldNorse Valkyrja, meaning literally chooserof the slain.

vision From the Latin vis, to see. Faculty ofsight or a mental image produced by imag-ination. Can refer to a mystical experienceof seeing as if with the eyes, only through asupernatural means such as in a dream,trance, or through a supernatural being,and one which often has religious, revela-tory, or prophetic significance.


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voodoo From Louisiana French, voudou orvodu, meaning “fetish.” A religion mainlypracticed in the Caribbean countries,especially Haiti, that is comprised of acombination of Roman Catholic ritualsand animistic beliefs involving fetishes,magic, charms, spells, curses, and commu-nication with ancestral spirits.

white magick The use of magic for supposedgood purposes such as to counteract evil.

Wiccan Someone who is a witch, a believer orfollower of the religion of Wicca.

wizard A variant of the fifteenth century wordwisard, meaning “wise.” Someone professing

to have magical powers as a magician, sor-cerer, or a male witch. In general, someonewho is extremely knowledgeable and clever.

zoology The scientific branch of biology thatstudies animals in all their characteristicsand aspects. From the Greek zoologia, liter-ally the study of life and from zolion, or lifeform.

Zoroaster A Persian prophet (c. 628 B.C.E.–c. 551 B.C.E.) and the founder of an ancientreligion called Zoroastrianism whose prin-cipal belief is in a supreme deity and of theexistence of a dualism between good andevil. Derived from the Greek word Zarat orZarathustra, meaning camel handler.


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Cumulative Index

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The Cumulative Index, found in eachvolume, is an alphabetic arrangement ofall people, places, images, and conceptsfound in the text. Names of publications,movies, ships, television programs, radiobroadcasts, foreign words, and cross-references are indicated by italics.

The page references to the subjects includethe Arabic volume number as well as thepage number. Main entries are designatedby bold page numbers while images aredenoted by italics.

AAbgar (King of Edessa), 1:237“Abominable snowman.” See YetiAbramelin magick, 2:49–51Abyssinia, alleged location of Ark of the

Covenant, 2:203Ace (One). See One, symbolism ofAcrophobia, 3:137–138Actors, in horror films, 3:109–112Adam (Biblical figure), 1:12, 3:76, 79Adamic Theology. See “Star Gospel” (Katter)Adams, John Quincy, 2:240Adamski, George, 1:304–305, 306, 3:271–273,

272Adelson, Joseph, 3:124Adler, Margot, 2:77–78, 97Adultery, 3:202Aegeus of Athens, 2:154Aetherius (alien being), 1:307Aetherius Society, 1:305, 307–309Afghanistan, engagement announcements,

3:208Africa, beliefs and customs

bells, 2:171bride buying, 3:204corpse smoking, 3:223guests, courtesy to, 3:217love knots, 2:180mourning, 3:227See also specific countries

African Theological Archministry, 1:287Afterlife, in ancient Egypt, 1:15–22Afterlife, in major religions, 1:4–15

See also specific religionsAfterlife, in tribal religions, 1:36–41Afterlife, individual human experiences with,

1:22–31

Agate, 2:186Agathon, Dan, 3:80Agoraphobia, 3:136Agri Dagi (Turkey). See Mt. Ararat (Turkey)Agrippa (German philosopher), 2:59, 59–61,

145Ailurophobia, 3:136Air Force Regulation 3:200–2, 254Air Material Command investigations,

3:255–256Aircraft disappearances, Bermuda Triangle,

2:228Aiwass (spirit entity), 2:62Akashic Records, 1:51Akhenaten (Pharaoh of Egypt), 1:259,

259–260Alan (alien being), 3:273, 274Alaska thunderbird sightings, 3:99Albacete, Lorenzo, 1:191, 248Albert le Grand. See Albertus MagnusAlbertus Magnus, 2:43, 47, 47Albigensians. See CatharsAlchemy, 2:41, 42–43

gnomes and, 3:103Rosicrucians and, 2:30, 31Satanism and, 1:298–299See also Philosopher’s stone

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond (TV program),3:51

Aldrete, Sara Maria, 1:286Alexander, Hartley Burr, 1:81Alexander VI, Pope, 2:70Alford, Alan F., 2:222Algonquin people, souls of, 1:40Alien abductions. See UFO contactees and

abducteesAlien autopsies (Roswell, NM), 3:263Alien (film), 3:282Alien footprints, 3:247Alien technology, reverse engineering from,

3:293Alien visitors, in Holy Scripture, 3:249–251Alkahest, 2:48Allahabad (India), 2:217Allen, Carl M. See Allende, Carlos MiguelAllen, John L., Jr., 1:206Allende, Carlos Miguel, 3:299–300Allison, Ralph, 1:223–224Allman, John, 3:193“Almasti.” See YetiAlper, Frank, 2:175

Alper, Matthew, 1:190–191, 247Alpert, Richard, 3:154Altered states of consciousness, 3:140–157

See also TrancesAlthotas (Asian mystic), 2:61“Amazing Randi.” See Randi, JamesAmber, 2:187, 3:195Amenhotep IV. See Akhenaten (Pharaoh of

Egypt)American Society for Psychical Research, Inc.,

1:156, 173Amethysts, 2:186Amon-Ra (Egyptian deity), 2:245–246Amorth, Gabriele, 1:204, 206Amulets, 2:168, 169–190, 194, 3:188, 193–194,

195See also Fetishes; Good luck charms;

TalismansAmun-Ra (Egyptian deity), 1:259The Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous

System in General and the Brain in Particular(Gall), 2:151

Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of theMystic Shrine. See Shriners

Andaman Islands, mourning practices, 3:227Anderson, Gillian, 3:288Anderson, Michael, 3:134Andreae, Valentine, 2:43–44Andresen, Theodore, 3:178Andrews, Dana, 3:109–110Angels

angelic hierarchy, 2:58in dream symbolism, 3:129mating with women, 3:250necromancy and, 2:144Seven Angels, 2:42, 57–58space beings, comparison with, 3:268symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Watchers, 2:52wee folk, relation to, 3:100, 102See also Apparitions, of holy figures;

Guardian angelsAngkor Wat (Cambodia), 2:216, 216Anguttara Nikaya (Buddhist text), 1:42“Animal magnetism” theory, 3:146Animal sacrifice, in voodoo, 2:55Animal spirits, 3:5–8Animal symbolism

astrology, 2:121–123, 124dreams, 3:129, 130fetishes, 2:193


Cumulative Index294

ichthys, 2:170Middle Eastern amulets, 2:169Nazca Lines, 2:263saints, 2:95tea leaf reading, 2:165, 166See also specific animals

Animism, 2:40Annunchiarico, Ciro, 2:6–7Ansel (angel), 2:42Ant symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Anthroposophy, 1:51–53Anti-Mason Party, 2:12The Antichrist, 1:180–182, 183–184, 231, 238Anubis (Egyptian deity), 3:193Apelike monsters, 3:59–68Apocalypse, 1:182–186Apocalyptic cults, 1:256–257, 313

See also specific cultsApollinario (8th c. Spanish hermit), 2:13Apparitions, 1:24–25, 3:3–4, 8–9, 11

See also Ghosts and ghostly beings;Phantoms

Apparitions, of holy figures, 1:186–192, 203Applewhite, Marshall Herff, Jr., 1:309, 309–311“Applied Engineering” government program,

3:293Apports, 1:88Aquarian Anti-Defamation League, 2:78Aquarius, the Water Bearer, 2:123, 186Aquino, Michael, 1:303–304Arachne (mythical figure), 3:138Arachnophobia, 3:138Aradia: The Gospel of Witches (Leland), 2:75Arapaho Ghost Dance (Wright), 1:284Arasteh, Reza, 1:146The Arcane School, 1:281Archaeoastronomy, 2:195Archangels. See Seven Angels“Archetypes” (mental forces), 3:119, 129Area 51 (NV), 3:293

See also Roswell (NM) UFO crash (1947)Argentina, cattle mutilations, 3:295Aries, the Ram, 2:121, 186Aristotle (Greek philosopher), 2:147, 220Ark of the Covenant, 2:200, 201–203, 202Arkadev, V., 3:183Armageddon, 1:192–193

Dome of the Rock, as site of, 2:245Nostradamus’ prophecies of, 2:160Red Heifer legend and, 2:143UFOs and, 3:290

Armstrong, P. A., 3:98–99Arness, James, 3:110Arnold, Kenneth, 3:242, 243, 251–252, 255Arran Island (Scotland), 2:226Arthur (King of Britain). See Arthurian legendsArthurian legends, 2:50, 200, 204–206, 238–239Aryans, cremation by, 3:226Aserinsky, Eugene, 3:120Ashtar (alien being), 1:305, 3:280Assassins (secret society), 2:4–5Association for Research and Enlightenment

(Virginia Beach, VA), 1:53–55, 2:153Assyrians, graves and grave markers, 3:226Astaire, Fred, 3:110Astral body, 3:171–172Astral projection. See Autoscopy; Out-of-body

experiencesAstrology, 2:44, 2:119–127Astronomical events, parallels with Earth

events, 2:124Astronomical tools, ancient

Great Pyramid, 2:264–266Mayan calendar, 2:254, 256Medicine Wheel, 2:259megaliths, 2:195Nazca Lines, 2:261–262Stonehenge, 2:273–274Tiahuanaco temples, 2:277, 278, 279

Aten (Egyptian deity), 1:259Athletes (Garduna), 2:14Atlantic Ocean land bridge, 2:222Atlantis (mythical continent), 2:215, 219–225

Atlanteans, alleged qualities of, 2:220Atlanteans as Sphinx builders, 2:271Atlanteans’ evolution, 1:52, 151Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna, on, 2:248Cayce, Edgar, on, 2:153crystals and destruction of, 2:175floorbed of, 2:222Freemasons’ belief in, 2:919th century map, 2:221nuclear destruction of, 3:273, 274

Atman (self), 1:11Atwater, P. M. H., 1:30Augustine, St., 1:41, 226Australian aboriginals

fear of the dead, 1:37mistletoe custom, 2:183telepathy of, 3:180–181

Austria, mistletoe custom, 2:183Auto-da-fe, 1:218, 2:107


295Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

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I

ND

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Auto-hypnosis, telepathy and, 3:183Automatic writing, 1:86, 118–119, 2:127–128Autoscopy, 3:11–12Autosuggestion, mediums and, 1:92–93Avalon (mythical land), 2:215, 225–226Avebury (England) phantoms, 3:17Aveni, Anthony, 2:263Aviophobia, 3:136The Awakening (film), 3:111Axe symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Ayers Rock (Australia). See Uluru monolith

(Australia)Aymara people, 2:277, 279Aztecs, crystal skulls and, 2:191

BBa and ka, 1:15–16, 20–21Bacon, Francis, 2:31Bacon, Roger, 2:44, 44–45Bahram I (Emperor of Persia), 1:282Bailey, Alice, 1:281

See also New Age MovementBailly, Marie, 2:250Bakongo people, fetishes of, 2:194Ball lightening, 3:54“Bangungot” urban legend, 3:233Banneaux (Belgium) holy apparitions, 1:188Baphomet (pagan deity), 2:51Barbanell, Maurice, 1:84, 88, 89Barkasy, David, 3:66Barker, Gray, 3:277Barker, William, 1:65, 66Barnett, Barney, 3:261Barrett, Deirdre, 3:126Barrett, Sir William, 3:146, 162Barry, Gene, 3:110Barton, Blanche, 1:303Basilosaurus, 3:87, 96Basinger, Kim, 3:136Bast (Egyptian deity), 3:190Bathing. See Hand washing and bathingBathing, dream symbolism, 3:129Bati Yeli, 2:25Batons (tarot), 2:132, 134Batson, Daniel, 1:191, 247Battle of Edge Hill phantoms (Keinton,

England), 3:15Bauval, Robert, 2:266Bayanov, Dmitri, 3:62Bayside (NY) holy apparitions, 1:190

Bear symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Beard, S. H., 3:12–13Beauraling (Belgium) holy apparitions, 1:188Bed-wetting, 3:125Bedouins, food kinship and, 3:216The Beginning of the End (film), 3:110Bekhterev, Vladimir M., 3:182The Believers (film), 1:287Bell, Charles Bailey, 3:29Bell, Drewry, 3:26, 28Bell, Elizabeth “Betsy,” 3:26–29Bell, Joel, 3:26, 29Bell, John, Jr., 3:26, 27, 28, 29Bell, John, Sr., 3:26, 27, 28, 29Bell, Luce, 3:26, 28, 29Bell, Richard, 3:26, 28, 29Bell symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Bell Witch haunting (Clarksville, TN), 3:26–29Bellamy, Arthur, 1:171–172“Bellows” (Garduna), 2:14Bells, 2:170–171Bender, Albert K., 3:276Beneath the Planet of the Apes (film), 3:111Beneficial previsions, 3:176Benio, Mike, 3:39Benson, Herbert, 1:211, 3:151Bequet, Celina. See Japhet, CelinaBereshit, Maaseh, 2:141–142Berkeley Psychic Institute (CA), 1:94Berkner, Lloyd V., 3:297Bermuda Triangle, 2:215, 226–230, 229Bernard, Eugene E., 3:170Bernard of Clairvaux, St., 2:20, 22Bernstein, Morey, 1:62, 64–66Berossus (Babylonian priest-historian), 3:248–249Bertrand, Rev., 3:171Beryl, 2:187Besant, Annie, 1:275Best man, 3:209–210Bethsames, 2:201–202Beware the Cat (anonymous), 3:190Beyond the Ashes: Cases of Reincarnation from the

Holocaust (Gershom), 1:58Beyond with James Van Praagh (TV program),

3:51Bhagavad Gita (Hindu text), 1:46–47Bhakti Hinduism, 1:12Biannual baths, 3:219–220Bible

alleged hidden code, 1:242blood, sacredness of, 3:69


Cumulative Index296

celestial body veneration, 2:119commoners’ use of, 1:45dreams, 3:118exorcism accounts, 1:205–206hospitality, 3:215Noah’s Ark and the deluge, 2:218prayer, 1:225, 227, 228–229space visitor accounts, 3:249–251tribal legends, parallels to, 1:283

The Bible Code (Drosnin), 1:242Big Foot (Sioux chief), 1:285Bigfoot (apelike monster), 3:60–63, 61Bilderbergers, 2:17Bimini Road, 2:223Binder, Bettye B., 1:68–69Bindernagel, John, 3:63Bingham, Hiram, 2:251–252Biochip implant conspiracy theory, 2:8Biodiversity Project Spirituality Working

Group, 2:89Bird, J. Malcolm, 1:102, 103Bird symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Birth stones, 2:185–186, 3:195Bishop, Bridget, 2:106Black cats, 3:190, 190Black (color), symbolism of, 1:40, 3:227Black Death, 2:99Black Elk (Oglala Sioux shaman), 1:77–78, 2:190Black Helicopters, 3:290–291“Black House” (San Francisco, CA), 1:302–303“Black-letter days,” 3:191Black Madonna, 1:272–274, 273Black magick, 2:51–52, 3:188Black Mass, 1:293–296

See also SabbatsBlackmore, Susan, 1:30–31, 214Blair, Linda, 1:207, 208Blanchard, William, 3:264Blankley, Andrew, 1:224Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna, 1:147, 147–149

Besant, Annie, and, 1:275on Lemuria, 2:248on reincarnation, 1:50theosophy and, 1:55–56

Bless the Child (film), 1:239Blessing, before meals, 3:220Block, Carl, 1:107Blombos Cave (Cape Town, South Africa), 3:200Blood

fear of, 3:138liquefied blood of saints, 1:221

sacredness of, 3:69Shroud of Turin stains, 1:236–237from weeping statutes, 1:250

Bloodstone, 2:171, 186, 187See also Carnelian

Bloom, Clair, 3:14“Blue Bell Hill Phantom” urban legend, 3:235Blue Lake (NM), 2:276“Blue Monday,” 3:191Bluff Creek (CA) Bigfoot sightings, 3:60–61, 61“Bo.” See Applewhite, Marshall Herff, Jr.Bodily feelings (nonreflective consciousness),

3:140Bodin, Jean, 1:219, 2:110Body preservation. See EmbalmingBoer, Jelle de, 1:266, 2:155Boguet, Henri, 2:110–111Bohr, Niels, 3:124, 189Boisselier, Brigitte, 1:312Bonaparte, Joseph, 3:190–191Bonaparte, Napoleon, 3:190, 198Bone pendants, 2:198Bonewits, Philip Emmons (Isaac), 2:78–79The Book of Belial. See The Satanic Bible (LaVey)Book of Changes. See I ChingThe Book of Formation (Rokeach), 3:74The Book of Leviathan. See The Satanic Bible

(LaVey)The Book of Lucifer. See The Satanic Bible (LaVey)The Book of Satan. See The Satanic Bible (LaVey)The Book of Shadows (Gardner), 2:90Book of the Dead, Egyptian, 1:16–18Book of the Dead, Tibetan, 1:7The Book of the Law (Crowley), 2:62Borley Rectory (England), 3:29–33, 31Bouker, John, 3:99Boundary Institute (Los Altos, CA), 1:95“Boundary Questionnaire” (Hartmann), 3:125Bouquet tossing, 3:214Bourtsev, Igor, 3:62Bousfield, Edward L., 3:93Bower, David, 3:133Bower, Doug, 3:296Boxer Tong, 2:36–37Bradford, David, 3:42Bradlaugh, Charles, 1:275Bradley, Richard, 2:233Brahe, Tycho, 2:125Brain activity

brain-wave patterns of ESP senders andreceivers, 3:164


297Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

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hydrocephalus and, 3:133during illumination, 1:217during REM sleep, 3:120unused brain capacity, 3:123during visions, 1:247See also Altered states of consciousness;

Memory; TrancesBrain chemistry, paranormal beliefs and, 3:159The Brain Eaters (film), 3:112Brain surgery, Tiahuananco civilization, 2:278Brainerd, C. J., 3:135Branch Davidians, 1:315–316Brandon, Sydney, 3:135Brasseur de Bourbourg, Charles-Etienne, 2:247Brazel, Mac, 3:261, 262, 264Brazil

Chupacabra activity, 3:70–71Macumba activity, 1:285–286witchcraft-related violence (21st c.), 2:101

Brethren of the Rosy Cross. See RosicruciansBridal dress, 3:208–209Bridal garters, 3:214Bridal showers, 3:208Bridal veils, 3:209Bride buying, 3:204–205Bride capture, 3:204Bride knights, 3:210Bride of the Gorilla (film), 3:110Bridegrooms, 3:214Bridesmaids, 3:209, 210British Isles, beliefs and customs

engagement announcements, 3:208fairy tales, 2:176horseshoes, 2:178maypoles, 2:181See also specific countries

British Society for Psychical Research, 1:172Bronk, Detley W., 3:297Broughton, R. J., 3:125Brown, Ron, 3:63Brown, William Moseley, 2:152Brown Mountain (NC) spooklights, 3:22Browne, Sylvia, 1:97–98, 98Brugger, Peter, 3:159Brujeria and brujas, 2:53Brunner, Hans, 3:64Bubastis (Egypt), 3:190Bubonic plague. See Black DeathBucke, Richard Maurice, 1:144, 193–194Buckland, Raymond, 2:77, 79–82, 80, 92,

94–95

Buckland, Stanley Thomas, 2:79–80Buddhism

afterlife, 1:5–8bells, 2:171burials and funerals, 3:223cremation, 3:226demons, 1:197meditation, 3:149–150reincarnation, 1:43soul, 1:4–5wedding ceremonies, 3:212

Bueno, Javier Torroella, 1:245Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 3:112Buhram (Thuggee member), 2:33Bulganin, Nikolai, 2:156–157Bull, Henry, 3:30–31Bulwer-Lytton, Sir Edward, 1:112Burial mounds, 1:38–40Burials and funerals, 1:3, 4, 16, 3:221–228, 225Burr, Raymond, 3:110Burstyn, Ellen, 1:208Burundi, Mambu-mutu activity, 3:107Bush, Vannevar, 3:297Butler, Jon, 1:220Butts, Robert F., 1:126, 127, 128Byrd, Richard E., 2:242Byrne, Gabriel, 1:243Byrne, Peter and Bryan, 3:67Byron, George Gordon, 3:75

CCabala. See KabbalahCadavers, grave robbing for, 3:72“Cadborosaurus,” 3:93Caget, Virginia, 3:52Cagliostro, Count Allesandro, 2:61–62, 72Cahauchi (Peru), 2:261Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site (IL), 2:231Caledonia (IL) monster, 3:97Caleuche (ship), 3:10Calvados Castle (France), 3:33–36Cambyses II (King of Persia), 3:190Campbell, Gary, 3:92Canael (angel), 2:58Cancer, the Crab, 2:121, 186Candles, 2:171–172Candomble. See MacumbaCannon, Alexander, 3:171–172Canon, Walter, 2:56Canon Episcopi (Regino of Prum), 1:217, 2:41


Cumulative Index298

Cape Ann (MA) sea serpent, 3:93–94Capitani, Caterina, 1:220, 222Capricorn, the Goat, 2:123, 186Carafa, Gian Pietro. See Paul IV, PopeCarbon dating. See Radiocarbon datingCarcassonne (France), 1:276Caribbean Sea land bridge, 2:225Carl Theodore (Bavarian monarch), 2:19Carlisle, Al, 1:224Carlyon, Kevin, 2:195Carnac (France) megaliths, 2:195, 196Carnelian, 2:171

See also BloodstoneCarpocrates (Gnostic teacher), 1:278Carrel, Alexis, 2:250Carrington, Hereward, 1:158–161, 159

Crandon, Mina, and, 1:103–104Garrett, Eileen, and, 1:91–92, 109on out-of-body experiences, 3:172Palladino, Eusapia, and, 1:121Piper, Leonora E., and, 1:123on psychical researchers’ qualities, 1:158

Carrington, Patricia, 3:121Cartheuser, William, 1:158–159Cartomancy and tarot, 2:128–136, 130The Case for Psychic Survival (Carrington), 1:159“The Case of the Derailed Engine” (1860),

3:174–175“The Case of the Scratch on the Cheek” (1876),

1:170–171Cassiel (angel), 2:42Castro, Carlos de, 1:118Cathars, 1:218, 274, 276–277, 2:41, 102, 113Catherine of Siena, St., 1:186, 241Catholicism. See Roman CatholicismCatoptomancy, 2:183

See also ScryingCats and cat superstitions, 3:189–190

dream symbolism, 3:129as familiars, 2:95fear of, 3:136tea leaf reading symbolism, 2:165

Cattle mutilations, 3:293–295Cauldrons, 2:172–173, 173Cavalier (tarot). See Knight (tarot)Cayce, Charles Thomas, 2:153Cayce, Edgar, 1:54, 2:152–154

Association for Research andEnlightenment and, 1:53–55

on Atlantis, 2:223on crystals, 2:175

on the Great Pyramid, 2:268on reincarnation, 1:30

Cayce, Hugh Lynn, 1:54–55, 2:152–153Cazzamalli, F., 3:182Ceasg, 3:107Celebrities, phobias of, 3:136, 138The Cellular Cosmogony, or The Earth, A

Concave Sphere (Teed), 2:242Celts

cauldron use, 2:172–173cursuses and ley lines and, 2:233myths as basis for Arthurian legends,

2:205–206, 225–226Stonehenge and, 2:273, 274

Cerminara, Gina, 1:55Chaffin, James, 3:20–22Chaffin, James Pinkney, 3:20, 21, 22Chaffin, John, 3:20Chaffin, Marshall, 3:20, 21Chaldeans, astrology and, 2:118, 119–120Chambers, John, 3:62Chaney, James, 3:166Chaney, Lon, Jr., 3:109Chang Cheuh, 2:36Channelers. See Mediums and channelersChariot (tarot), 2:130Chariots, used to describe UFOs, 3:250Chariots of the Gods? (Daniken), 3:246“Charles B. Rosna” (spirit control). See Fox

sistersCharles I (King of England), 3:15Charon (mythical figure), 3:222Chartres Cathedral (France), 2:232Chartres (France), 2:230, 232Chase, Judith, 1:293Chastity, medieval view of, 1:292Cheiromancy, 2:148Chemical discoveries, from alchemy, 2:43The Chemical Wedding. See The Hermetic

Romance (Andreae)Chepren Pyramid (Giza, Egypt), 1:22Cher (entertainer), 3:136Cheshire, Leonard, 1:234Chevalier, Ulysee, 1:237Chibcha people, 2:234“Chicago Seeress.” See Hughes, IreneChichen Itza (Mexico), 2:254, 255Chickasaw people, mourning custom, 3:227Chile, Chupacabra activity, 3:71China, beliefs and customs

astrology, 2:124


299Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

evil eye, 3:194fairy tales, 2:176kissing, 3:207mourning, 3:227number superstitions, 3:198silver, 2:185

China, UFO research, 3:267“Chinese Mafia.” See Triad TongChippewa people, souls of, 1:40Chippindale, Christopher, 3:58Chiron (mythical figure), 2:123Chirosophy, 2:148Chivalrous Order of the Holy Vehm. See Holy

VehmChloe (18th c. slave), 3:42–43Chorley, Dave, 3:296The Chosen (film), 1:239, 3:110Chretien de Troyes, 2:204“Christ consciousness,” 1:150–152Christianity

afterlife, 1:8–10Apocalypse, 1:182–183bells, 2:171burials and funerals, 3:223–224, 226–227cremation, 3:226–227Dead Sea Scrolls and link with Judaism,

1:46demons, 1:196–197exorcism, 1:206holy days and pagan festivals, coinciding of,

1:270holy objects, 2:150, 152hospitality and charity, 3:215Jerusalem, importance of, 2:242, 244occult arts, early suppression of, 2:40–41,

118–119paganism and Satanism, driving of people

to, 1:289–290, 291–293Pueblo adoption of, 2:275–276The Rapture, 1:231–232reincarnation, 1:43–44, 46Satanists’ view of, 1:301slave adoption of, 1:282–283, 285–286soul, 1:4, 5wedding ceremonies, 3:210–211, 213See also Jesus Christ; Mystery religions and

heresies, Christian; Protestantism;Roman Catholicism; specific Christiansects

A Christmas Carol (film), 3:21Chrysocolla, 2:187

Chupacabra, 3:70–72, 71Church, General, 2:7Church of God, snake handling and, 1:239–240Church of Satan, 1:299–303Church of Scientology. See ScientologyChurch of Seven African Powers, 1:287Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem),

2:242, 244Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, 1:287Church of Wicca (U.S.), 2:82, 84Churches, dream symbolism, 3:129Churchward, James, 2:248Cicero (Roman orator), 1:41Cieza de Leon, Pedro de, 2:277Clairvoyance, 3:158, 164Clairvoyance, researchers of, 3:166–170Clar, Lydia, 1:104Clark, Walter Houston, 1:178, 215–216Claustrophobia, 3:138Clement of Alexandria, St., 1:41Clement V, Pope, 1:218, 2:23–24, 102Cleveland, Grover, 2:125Clift, Montgomery, 3:25Clonaid, 1:312Clones, alleged human, 1:312Close Encounters of the Third Kind (film),

3:282–283, 283, 284Cloud symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Clubs (playing cards), 2:135Cochran, Tara, 2:81Cocke, J. R., 1:122–123Coelacanths, 3:58–59, 87Coffins, 3:224Cohen, Sidney, 3:153Coins (tarot), 2:132, 133Colburn, Nettie, 1:134Cold readings, 1:105Cold War hysteria, 3:242, 287Coleman, Loren, 3:66“College roommate suicide” urban legend,

3:232–233Collier, John, 1:79Collina-Girard, Jacques, 2:222Collins, Joan, 3:110Collins, John, 1:183Colossus of Rhodes, 2:243Columbus, Christopher, 1:313, 2:226Coma, 3:140The Coming Race (Bulwer-Lytton), 2:242Communion (Strieber), 3:270–271, 284Compass variation, 2:229


Cumulative Index300

Concave Earth theory, 2:242Condon, Edward, 3:258Condon/University of Colorado Report (1969),

3:258, 258–259Congregation of the Inquisition. See Holy OfficeConnally, John and Nellie, 2:35Connecticut thunderbird sightings, 3:97Consciousness, altered states of, 3:140–157

See also Memory; TrancesConspiracy theories

Bilderbergers’ New World Order, 2:17biochip implants, 2:8cattle mutilations, 3:294–295Diana (Princess of Wales), death of, 2:3Illuminati, 2:16Kennedy assassination, 2:35Majestic-12, 3:289, 290, 297–298Men in Black, 3:245–246, 276–279NASA cover-up of life on Mars, 2:27secret societies, theorists’ preoccupation

with, 2:2staged alien invasion and Armageddon,

3:290Constant, Alphonse Louis. See Levi, EliphasConstantine I (Roman Emperor), 1:271, 2:40,

244Constantine’s Lance. See Spear of DestinyConstanzo, Adolfo de Jesus, 1:286–287Construction theories

Carnac megaliths, 2:196Easter Island statues, 2:236–237Great Pyramid, 2:266–267, 3:247–248Sacsahuaman, 2:274Sphinx, 2:270, 271Stonehenge, 2:272–273, 274–275

Controlled Substances Act (U.S., 1970), 3:155Conyers (GA) holy apparitions, 1:190Cook, Florence, 1:98–101, 162–163Cooper, L. Gordon, 3:264–265Copernicus, Nicolaus, 2:124Coral, 2:187, 3:195Cords, as amulets, 2:170Corillaut, Etienne, 1:299Corporeal visions, 1:190, 246Corpse smoking, 3:223Corrector (Burchard), 2:41Corregidor (Philippines) phantoms, 3:16Corso, Philip J., 3:293Corwin, Jonathan, 2:105Cory, Giles, 2:105Cory, Martha, 2:105

Cosmic consciousness, 1:193–196Cosmon Research Foundation, 1:306Costa, E., 1:117–118Cottingley (England) fairy photograph hoax,

1:138–139, 3:103Council of Constantinople (625), 2:40Council of Laodicea (364), 2:40Council of Nicaea (325), 1:44Council of Oxia (525), 2:40Council of Tours (613), 2:40Count Dracula theme park plans (Romania),

3:80Coupchiak, Moses, 3:99“Coupling” guests, 3:217Courtship and marriage customs, 3:203–215Covenant of the Goddess, 2:88–89Covens, 1:294Covers (Garduna), 2:14Crabtree, Adam, 1:224Cragg, Rev., 3:45–46Crainoscopy. See PhrenologyCrandon, Le Roi Goddard, 1:101, 102Crandon, Mina Stinson, 1:101, 101–104, 166Crawford, Joan, 3:25, 138Creative and lucid dreaming, 3:122–125Creatures of the night, 3:68–85Cremation, 3:224, 226–227Crenshaw, James, 3:17Crete, as possible site of Atlantis, 2:223–224“Crisis apparitions,” 3:8Critch, Gerard, 1:243Critias (Plato), 2:221Croesus (King of Lydia), 1:266Croiset, Gerard, 3:166Crookall, Robert, 1:27–28, 3:171Crookes, Sir William, 1:156, 161–163, 162

Cooke, Florence, and, 1:98, 99–100, 101Fox sisters and, 1:142Home, Daniel Dunglas, and, 1:113–114

Crop circles, 3:295–297Crosette, Barbara, 3:202Crosses, 2:203–204Crosses, inverted, 1:290, 301Crossing Over with John Edward (TV program),

1:104, 105, 3:51Crowley, Aleister, 1:181, 181, 304, 2:62–64,

63, 76Crowley, Edward Alexander. See Crowley,

AleisterThe Crucible (Miller), 2:104


301Cumulative Index

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The Crucifixion. See Crosses; Jesus Christ,Crucifixion of; Stigmata

Crusades, 2:19, 40–41Cryptozoologists, 3:58Crystal gazing. See ScryingCrystal skulls, 2:191–193Crystalomancy. See ScryingCrystals, 2:169, 173–174, 175, 195

See also ScryingCuauhtlatoatzin. See Juan Diego (16th c. Aztec)Cuba, Santeria in, 1:287Cults, 1:270, 272

See also specific cultsCuneo, Michael W., 1:208–209Cups (tarot), 2:132–133, 133Curandero, 2:91Curie, Pierre, 1:156Curran, Pearl Leonore, 2:127Cursuses and leys, 2:232–234, 261

See also Holy lines; Nazca Lines (Peru)Curtis, Tony, 3:136Customs and taboos, 3:200–228Cyrus the Great (King of Persia), 1:266

DDakota people, souls of, 1:40Dalai Lama, 1:7Daniel (Hebrew prophet), 1:180, 181D’Arcis, Pierre, 1:237Dark, fear of. See ScotophobiaDark Skies (TV program), 3:288–289“Darrell” (drowning victim), 1:68Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Association.

See Branch DavidiansDavies, Joseph, 2:156Davis, Andrew Jackson, 1:135–137Davis, Nancy. See Reagan, NancyDavis, Russell C., 1:69The Dawn of Astronomy (Lockyer), 2:265The Day After Roswell (Corso), 3:293Day of Judgment. See Final JudgmentThe Day the Earth Stood Still (film), 3:281–282,

284–285, 285Daydreaming, 3:141Days of the week superstitions, 3:191, 199De la demonomanie des sorciers (Bodin), 1:219,

2:96, 110De Leon, Moses, 2:142De praestigus daemonum (Weyer), 2:96, 109De Wohl, Louis, 2:125–126

Dead creatures, fear of. See NecrophobiaDead Sea Scrolls, 1:46Death, the Final Stages of Growth (Kubler-Ross),

1:28Death knells, 2:170–171Death (tarot), 2:131Deathbed visions, 1:23–26Decided Ones of Jupiter, 2:5–7Dee, John, 2:64–65, 65Deikman, Arthur J., 1:215Deja vu, 3:177Delphic Oracles, 1:265–266, 2:154, 154–155The Deluge, 2:218, 222Dement, William C., 3:120–121Demeter (Greek deity), 1:268, 269Demonolgie (James VI of Scotland), 2:106Demons, 1:196–199

See also Goblins; Imps; Possession, bydemons

Dennis, Glenn, 3:263Denominations, 1:272Depression, placebos and, 3:139Descartes, René, 2:31–32Deserts, dream symbolism, 3:129Desgrez (17th c. French police official), 1:297Dessoir, Max, 3:162Detrimental previsions, 3:176Devereaux, Paul, 2:233Devil, dream symbolism, 3:129The Devil and Miss Sarah (film), 3:110Devil (tarot), 2:131–132The Devil Within Her (film), 3:110Devil worship. See Satanic cults; SatanismDevil’s Mark, 1:199–200“Devil’s Sea.” See Dragon’s TriangleDevil’s Triangle. See Bermuda TriangleDhammapada (Buddha), 1:6Di Mambro, Joseph, 1:318Diamonds (gems), 2:184, 186, 3:195Diamonds (playing cards), 2:134Diana (Greek deity), 2:123Diana (Princess of Wales), death of, 2:3Dianetics, 1:320Dickason, C. Fred, 1:225Dickinson, G. Lowes, 1:43Dieppe (France) phantoms, 3:16Dingwall, E. J., 1:129Dinner plates, 3:219Dinner tables, 3:217–218Dinsdale, Tim, 3:90Dionysian Mysteries, 1:33, 265, 266–268


Cumulative Index302

Dionysus (Greek deity), 1:33, 266Dionysus Zagreus (mythic figure), 1:267“Direct-voice” communication, 1:89Dirt, fear of. See MysophobiaDiscours des Sorciers (Boguet), 2:110, 111The Discovery of the Large, Rich and Beautiful

Empire of Guyana with a Relation to the Greatand Golden City of Manoa (Raleigh), 2:235

The Discovery of Witchcraft (Scot), 2:106, 109The Discovery of Witches (Hopkins), 2:112Discrimination, against Wiccans, 2:74Divination, 2:118Divinity, horns as symbols of, 2:92, 94Dixon, Jeane, 2:155, 155–157“Do.” See Applewhite, Marshall Herff, Jr.Do Dogs Go to Heaven? (Holmes), 3:7D’Octavio, General, 2:7Doctrine of Correspondence, 1:153Doerr, Vince, 3:65Dog superstitions, 3:191–193Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem), 2:242, 245Donnelly, Ignatius, 2:219Donovan’s Brain (film), 3:110Doomsday clock, 1:185Dopamine, 3:159Dorland, Frank, 2:193Dornheim, Fuchs George II, Johann von, 2:103Dorset Cursuses (England), 2:233Dossey, Larry, 1:229Douglas, Janet, 2:106Douglas, Kirk, 3:110Dowries, 3:206, 213Dowsing, 2:136–137Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, 1:137–139, 165,

3:102–103Doyle, Lady Jean, 1:138, 139, 165Doyle, Kingsley, 1:138Doze, Grace, 1:61–62Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (film), 3:112“The Dragon and the Unicorn” (Cherry), 3:88Dragonheart (film), 3:89Dragons, 3:87–89Dragon’s Triangle, 2:227Dream diaries, 3:132Dream incubation temples, 3:117Dream symbology, 3:128–130Dreamland. See Area 51 (NV)Dreams, 3:117–130Drosnin, Michael, 1:242Drug use

by Assassins, 2:4

sleep interference and, 3:121in voodoo, 2:56See also Psychedelics

Druidsin Chartres (France), 2:230, 232Stonehenge and, 2:273tree superstitions, 2:187–188, 3:196

Drury (English drummer). See TedworthDrummer (Tedworth, England)

D’Souza, Henry, 1:205DuBose, Thomas, 3:261Duchovny, David, 3:288Duke University psychical research lab

(Durham, NC), 3:162, 163Dunne, J. W., 3:176–177

EEa (Babylonian deity), 2:123Earthquakes, dream symbolism, 3:129Easter Island, 2:235–238, 236Easter symbolism, 3:198–199Eastre (Norse deity), 3:199Eastwood, Clint, 3:110Eating utensils, 3:215–216, 218–219Eaton, Sally, 2:79Ebertin, Elsbeth, 2:125Eby, Hester, 3:43The ECK, 1:316Eckankar, 1:316–317Ecstasy, 1:200, 202–204Ectoplasm, 1:88–89, 159, 3:78Eddington, A. S., 3:176Eddy, John A., 2:259Edelman, Gerald M., 3:116Edgar Cayce Foundation (Virginia Beach, VA),

2:153Edison, Thomas Alva, 3:13, 15, 123–124Edward, John, 1:104–105Edward VI (King of England), 2:64Edwards, Frank, 3:278Edwards, Susanna, 2:101Ego, 3:119Egypt, beliefs and customs

adultery, 3:202afterlife, 1:15–22amulets, 2:169cat worship, 3:190dog superstitions, 3:193evil eye, 3:194fetishes, 2:194


303Cumulative Index

CU

MU

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gods and goddesses, 1:257, 3:58graves and grave markers, 3:225–226guests, courtesy to, 3:216hand washing and bathing, 3:219hospitality, 3:215hypnosis, 3:144, 146ladder superstitions, 3:197mourning, 3:227mummies and mummification, 1:18, 20,

3:222–223mystery religions, 1:257–264silver use, 2:185sneezing superstitions, 3:199wedding rings, 3:213

Egyptian Masonic rite, 2:61, 62Egyptian temples, Tiahuananco similarities to,

2:278Ehrenwald, Jan, 3:175–176, 181Eight, symbolism of

numerology, 2:146playing cards, 2:134, 135Pythagoras on, 2:145tarot, 2:131, 133, 134

Eighteen, tarot symbolism of, 2:132Einstein, Albert, 1:195El Cid (Spanish hero), 2:12–13El Dorado (mythical city), 2:215, 234–235Elders of Lemuria. See Thirteenth SchoolElectromagnetivity, telepathy and, 3:182, 183Eleusinian Mysteries, 1:33–34, 268–269Eleven, symbolism of

numerology, 2:147tarot, 2:131

Elfman, Jenna, 1:320Elijah (Hebrew prophet), 3:250Elizabeth I (Queen of England), 2:64, 65, 235Elizabeth (13th c. Cistercian nun), 1:241Elkin, A. P., 3:180–181Elliot, Rusty, 2:78Ellison, Robert, 3:23Elohim, 1:311–312, 313Elopement, 3:206Elves, 3:100–101Embalming, 3:222–223Emerald Tablet, 2:46Emeralds, 2:186Emperor (tarot), 2:130Empire of the Ants (film), 3:110Employers, use of graphology, 2:138Empress (tarot), 2:130Enclosed spaces, fear of. See Claustrophobia

End of Days (film), 1:239End times. See ApocalypseEndogamy, 3:203Energy alignments. See Cursuses and leysEngagement announcements, 3:208England, beliefs and customs

dinner plates, 3:219drinking toasts, 3:220–221eating utensils, 3:218elves, 3:100fairy tales, 2:176rings, 2:184sneezing superstitions, 3:199See also British Isles, beliefs and customs

England, witchcraft trials, 2:100–101English, Philip, 2:105Enochian magick, 2:52Ensley, Eddie, 1:248Environment, affect on dreams, 3:121–122Episodic memory, 3:132Epworth Rectory (England), 3:36–38, 37Ergot, 3:153Erosion, of the Sphinx, 2:270Erotomania, Inquisition and, 3:76, 78Eskimo beliefs and customs

kissing, 3:207marriage, 3:205

ESP. SeeExtrasensory perceptionE.T. (fictional character), 3:281E.T.—The Extraterrestrial (film), 3:283Etheric body, 3:171–172Ethylene, 1:266, 2:155Etiquette. See Hospitality and etiquette; specific

countries and culturesEuler, Leonhard, 2:240Europe, beliefs and customs

bathing, 3:219–220burials and funerals, 3:226cat superstitions, 3:189–190dinner plates, 3:219dinner tables, 3:217engagement announcements, 3:208guests, courtesy to, 3:217hope chests, 3:206–207ladder superstitions, 3:197See also specific countries

Evans, Linda, 1:116Evans, Sir Arthur, 2:223Everest Expedition (1921), 3:66Evil Eye, 3:193–195, 200Exogamy, 3:203


Cumulative Index304

Exon, Arthur, 3:259Exorcism, 1:179, 204–209

at Calvados Castle (France), 3:36John Paul II, Pope, performed by, 1:204of Mother Teresa, 1:205recent demand for, 1:223See also Possession, by demons

The Exorcist (film), 1:207, 208, 208–209Expanded consciousness, 3:141–142Exploring Atlantis (Alper), 2:175Extersteine megaliths (Germany), 2:257Extrasensory perception (ESP), 3:146,

157–160, 179, 266researchers of, 3:161–184

Extraterrestrials. See Alien visitors, in HolyScripture; UFO contactees and abductees;UFOs, in ancient times; UFOs, in film andTV; UFOs, in modern times; UFOs, recentmysteries

FFahler, Jarl, 3:167Fairies, 3:101, 101–103, 102, 296Fairy circles, 2:176–177, 177, 3:295Fairy photograph hoax (England), 1:138–139,

3:103Fairy Tale: A True Story (film), 3:102, 103Faith, afterlife belief and, 1:2Faith healing, 1:209–211“Fall of the Angels” (tarot). See Tower of

Destruction (tarot)Falling, dream symbolism, 3:129False memories, 3:131, 134–135Falun Gong, 1:315, 317–318Familiars, 2:95, 111–112

See also ImpsFang people, souls of, 1:37A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), 1:27Faria, King, 2:137“Fat man suffocator” urban legend, 3:233Fate line, 2:149Fate Magazine, 2:220, 3:145Father of Greatness, 1:280Fatima (Portugal) holy apparitions, 1:188Faust, Dr., 2:65–67, 66Faust, Georg. See Faust, Dr.Favazza, John, 3:94, 95Al Fayed, Dodi, 2:3Feather, Sally, 3:165Fedayeen, 2:4, 5

Fehm. See Holy VehmFeliciani, Lorenza, 2:61, 62Female symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166Fenwick, Peter, 1:31Ferdinand II (King of Aragon), 1:219, 2:13–14Ferdinand V (King of Castile). See Ferdinand II

(King of Aragon)Fetishes, 2:193–195

See also Amulets; TalismansFeudal system, 2:94Field memory, 3:132Fifteen, tarot symbolism of, 2:132Fight the Future (film), 3:288Fiji Islands, beliefs and customs

infant betrothals, 3:205wedding dinners, 3:213

Fillmore, Charles, 1:50Film monster favorites, 3:77

See also specific filmsFinal Judgment, 1:185–186

in Christianity, 1:9–10in Islam, 1:13in Judaism, 1:15

“Fire ship” of New Brunswick (Canada), 3:10First Church of Satan. See Church of SatanFischer, Charles, 3:120Fish, LeRoy, 3:62Fish symbol (Ichthys), 2:170Fisher King (mythical figure), 2:205, 206Five, symbolism of


“Five Companies” (Tong), 2:37Five elements (Chinese astrology), 2:124Flatwoods (WV) UFO sightings (1952), 3:243Fleau des demons et des Sorciers. See De la

demonomanie des sorciers (Bodin)“Fletcher” (spirit guide). See Ford, Arthur

Augustus“Florida Sandman.” See Skunk ApeFlower girls, 3:209Flowers

bouquet tossing, 3:214courtship and, 3:207–208in funerals, 3:226in prehistoric burials, 1:3symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165in weddings, 3:209

Floyran, Esquire de, 2:23


305Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

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ND

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Flying, fear of. See AviophobiaFlying Dutchman (ship), 3:10“Flying ointment,” 2:98, 3:153Flying Saucers and the Three Men (Bender), 3:276Fodor, Nandor, 3:24Food and Drug Administration, LSD and, 3:154,

155Food kinship, 3:216The Fool (tarot), 2:132“Foos” and “foo fighters,” 3:252The Force (tarot), 2:131Ford, Arthur Augustus, 1:105–108, 1:166Ford, Gerald, 2:35Foreigners, fear of. See XenophobiaForrestal, James V., 3:297, 298Fossils, mistaken for dragon remains, 3:88–89Foundation for Research of the Nature of Man

(Durham, NC), 3:164See also Rhine Research Center (Durham,

NC)Four, symbolism of

Chinese and Japanese superstitions, 3:198numerology, 2:146playing cards, 2:134, 135Pythagoras on, 2:145tarot, 2:130, 133, 134

Four elements, 2:119–120Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1:183, 184Four-leaf clovers, 3:195Fourteen, tarot symbolism of, 2:131Fowler, Nancy, 1:190Fox, Catherine “Katie.” See Fox sistersFox, John, 1:133, 140, 141Fox, Margaret, 1:140, 141Fox, Margaretta “Maggie.” See Fox sistersFox sisters, 1:133, 139–143Foyster, Lionel Algernon, 3:31–32Foyster, Marianne, 3:31–32, 33Fragmented consciousness, 3:141France

Knights Templar activity, 2:22–24Satanism popularity (16th–17th c.),

1:295–296werewolf burnings, 3:84

France, beliefs and customsbridal garters, 3:214eating utensils, 3:218kissing, 3:207quartrozieme, 3:198

France, witchcraft trials, 2:101–102“Francine” (spirit guide). See Browne, Sylvia

Francis of Assisi, St., 1:186, 241, 2:95Franco-Cantabrian cave art, 2:199“Frank Withers” (spirit guide). See Roberts, JaneFrankenstein: A Modern Prometheus (Shelley),

3:75Frankenstein (film), 3:74Franklin, Aretha, 3:136Franklin, Benjamin, 1:59, 2:11Frazer, Sir James George, 2:92Frederick the Great (King of Prussia), 2:71, 72,

209Free and Accepted Order of Freemasons. See

FreemasonsFree will, astrology and, 2:127Freeman, George P., 3:278Freemasons, 2:2, 9–12, 10, 11, 18Freud, Sigmund, 3:129

agoraphobia of, 3:136on dreams, 3:118as member of psychical research societies,

1:156on memory repression, 3:132, 134on telepathy, 3:178

Friday superstitions, 3:191Friedman, Michael, 3:126Friedman, Stanton, 3:263–264, 297Frog symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Frost, Gavin and Yvonne, 2:77, 82–85, 83, 84The Fruits of Philosophy (Besant, Bradlaugh),

1:275Fry, Daniel W., 1:305, 3:273–274Fuld, William, 1:85–86Fulton, Harold H., 3:277The Fury (film), 3:110

GGabriel (angel), 2:42, 58Gaddis, Vincent H., 2:227“Galahad and the Holy Grail” (Abbey), 2:205Galahad (mythic figure), 2:205Gall, Franz Joseph, 2:151Gandhi, Indira, 2:126Gandillon family, 2:110, 111Garabandal (Spain) holy apparitions, 1:190Gardner, Gerald Brosseau, 2:85, 85–86

Buckland, Raymond, and, 2:80revival of Wicca and, 2:75, 77Valiente, Doreen, and, 2:90–91

Gardner, Joshua, 3:28Gardner, Marshall, 2:241


Cumulative Index306

Garduna, 2:2, 12–15Garlaschelli, Luigi, 1:221Garlic, 2:177–178, 178Garnets, 2:186Garnier, Gilles, 3:84Garrett, Eileen, 1:91–92, 108–110, 109, 159Gateway Program, 3:13Gauquelin, Michael, 2:125Gavitt, Captain, 3:96Gee, D. J., 3:53Gelanpoulous, Angelo, 2:224Gelb, Lester, 3:118Gem superstitions, 3:195Gemini, the Twins, 2:121, 186General Wayne Inn (Merion, PA), 3:38–40Geoffrey of Monmouth, 2:225–226Geoffrey of Saint-Omer, 2:19–20Geoglyphs, 2:260Germany, beliefs and customs

elves, 3:100fairy tales, 2:176salt, 2:185

Germany, Holy Vehm activity, 2:15–16Germany, Illuminati activity, 2:18–19Germany, witchcraft trials, 2:102–103Germs, fear of. See MysophobiaGershom, Yonassan, 1:48, 58–59Gestalt therapy, dreams and, 3:128Ghose, Sisirkumar, 1:146, 195The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (TV program), 3:51Ghost Ceremony, 1:38Ghost Dance, 1:283–285Ghost (film), 3:50“Ghost junk” (ship), 3:10Ghost land. See Spirit landGhost ships, 3:10Ghost Shirts, 1:285Ghost Story (film), 3:50, 110Ghostbusters (film), 3:9, 50Ghosts, in film and TV, 3:49–52Ghosts and ghostly beings, 3:2, 3–24, 4, 20, 24

See also Apparitions; PhantomsGhosts of the dead, 3:4, 20–22Ghosts of the living, 3:12–14Ghouls, 3:72Giant squids, 3:95Giants’ Dance. See Stonehenge (England)Gibbons, Bill, 3:86Gibbons, Jenny, 2:97Gift exchange, during courtship, 3:207–208Gilbert, Adrian, 2:266

Gilmore, Peter H., 1:302Gimlin, Bob, 3:61Girdle of Venus, 2:149“Giving away” the bride, 3:210, 211Gladstone, William E., 1:156Glanvil, Joseph, 1:46, 3:46, 47Glass writing, 1:86Glastonbury Abbey (England), 2:238–239, 239Glastonbury (England), 2:238–239Glastonbury Thorn (England), 2:238Glastonbury Tor (England), 2:238Glossolalia, 1:226Glossophobia, 3:138Gloucester (MA) sea serpent. See Cape Ann

(MA) sea serpentGloves, for brides, 3:209Gnomes, 3:103–104Gnosticism, 1:277–280

reincarnation and, 1:49Simon Magus and, 2:69–70tarot and, 2:128

“Goats” (Garduna), 2:14Goat’s head, symbol of Satanism, 1:290Goblins, 3:104

See also DemonsGod, belief in, 1:210God of the Hunt. See Horned GodThe“God” Part of the Brain (Alper), 1:247Goddess worship, 1:273–274, 2:93, 94

See also Demeter (Greek deity); Diana(Greek deity)

Godzilla (film), 3:110Goebbels, Joseph, 2:126Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 3:11Goetheanum (Dornach, Switzerland),

1:151–152Gog and Magog, 1:180, 185Goldberg, Bruce, 1:61–62Goldberg, Whoopi, 3:136“The Golden Legend” (Longfellow), 1:213Golem, 3:72–74, 73, 76The Golem of Prague (film), 3:73Golem of Prague (“Yossele”), 3:76Good, Dorcas, 2:105Good, Sarah, 2:105Good luck charms, 2:168, 3:188

See also Amulets; Fetishes; TalismansGoodavage, Joseph, 2:124Goodman, Andrew, 3:166Gore-Booth, Eva, 1:50Gospel of Light (Mani), 1:280, 282


307Cumulative Index

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Gosse, Philip, 3:87Gothic movement, vampire subculture and,

3:81–82Goulding, Chris, 3:75Gramolazzo, Giancarlo, 1:204Grand Master of Knights Templar, 2:21Grangecon (Ireland), weeping statue of, 1:251Grannis, Appleton, 3:6Grant, Joan, 1:58Graphology, 2:137–140Graphotherapeutics, 2:139Grave robbing, 3:72Graves, Peter, 3:110Graves and grave markers, 3:225–226Gray, Gordon, 3:297Gray man of Hinton Ampner (England), 3:40–42Great Flood. See The DelugeGreat Grimoires, 2:51Great Pyramid (Giza, Egypt), 2:214, 243,

264–268, 3:247–248Great Seal of the United States, Masonic

imagery of, 2:9Great Serpent Mound (Adams County, OH),

1:39Great White Brotherhood, 1:308, 2:248Greece, beliefs and customs

adultery, 3:202afterlife, 3:222cremation, 3:226crystals, 2:173days of the week superstitions, 3:191divination, 2:118, 150, 182dog superstitions, 3:193dowries, 3:206drinking toasts, 3:220eating utensils, 3:218, 219engagement announcements, 3:208evil eye, 3:194gem superstitions, 3:195guests, courtesy to, 3:216hand washing and bathing, 3:219horseshoe superstitions, 3:196hospitality, 3:215love and marriage, 3:206mushrooms, sacredness of, 3:152salt, 2:184sneezing superstitions, 3:199spitting superstitions, 3:200state religion, 1:32, 264, 2:40sweetmeats for newlyweds, 3:214white, symbolism of, 3:208–209

Greeley, Andrew, 1:23Green, John, 3:63“Green M&Ms” urban legend, 3:231Greenwell, Chief, 3:244Greenwell, J. Richard, 3:86Gregori, Fabio, 1:250Gregory, Anita, 1:131Gregory IX, Pope, 1:218, 2:95Gregory the Great, Pope, 3:199Gregson, W. H., 3:32Gremlins, 3:104–105, 105Grey, Joel, 3:21Griffiths, Frances, 1:138, 139, 3:103Grillo, Girolamo, 1:250Grimoires, 2:107Gris-gris, 2:198Gross, Maurice, 3:19Grygiel, Monika, 1:248–249Guadalupe (Mexico) holy apparitions, 1:188Guardian angels, 1:211–214

See also Spirit guidesGuests, courtesy to, 3:216–217Guilborg, Abbe, 1:296, 297Gundestrup Cauldron, 2:173Guoxing, Zhou, 3:68Gurney, Edmund, 3:12, 13, 24, 146Gypsies, stereotypes of, 2:128

HHa-Farchi, Estori, 1:192Haeckel, Heinrich, 2:248Hair, dream symbolism, 3:129Hair and wig grooming, 3:220Haiti

slave revolt (1791), 2:54voodoo, 2:52, 54–56

Hajj, 2:257–258, 260Hall, Prince, 2:11Halley, Edmund, 2:239–240Halley’s comet, 2:239Hallucinations, 3:143–144

autoscopy and, 3:11demon possession and, 1:198–199hypnosis and, 3:147LSD and, 3:154

Hallucinogens. See PsychedelicsHamachis. See The Sphinx (Giza, Egypt)Hamilton, George, 3:110–111Hammer for Witches (Malleus Maleficarum)

(Kramer, Sprenger), 1:219, 2:103, 108


Cumulative Index308

Hancock, John, 2:11Hand of Glory, 2:178, 179Hand washing and bathing, 3:219–220Handwriting analysis. See GraphologyHangar 18, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

(Dayton, OH), 3:259–260, 260See also Roswell (NM) UFO crash (1947)

Hanged Man (tarot), 2:131Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 2:243Haniel (angel), 2:58Harder, James, 3:270Hardy, Sir Alister, 1:145, 216Harkins, Roger, 3:259Harner, Michael, 1:76Hart, Hornell, 3:170Hartmann, Ernest, 3:125Hashashin. See Assassins (secret society)Hashish, Assassin use of, 2:4Hasidism, on reincarnation, 1:42–43, 48Hathorne, John, 2:105Haunted hotels, U.S., 3:25, 35Haunted houses and places, 3:24–49Haunted (TV program), 3:51The Haunting (film), 3:14, 49–50Haut, Walter, 3:261, 262, 264Hawass, Zahi, 2:267Hawkins, Gerald, 2:273, 274Hawley, William, 2:272Haynes, John, 3:291, 292Hazel wood, 2:187Head, Richard, 2:162Head line, 2:148Health benefits of meditation, 3:151

See also Prayer, power ofHealy, Henry A., 3:6Heart line, 2:148Heart symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Hearts (playing cards), 2:135Heathcote, Emma, 1:213–214Heaven, 1:14, 38Heaven’s Gate cult, 1:256–257, 309–311Hebrew beliefs and customs

graves and grave markers, 3:225hand washing and bathing, 3:219See also Judaism

Hecate (Greek deity), 3:193Hefner, Philip, 1:222Heights, fear of. See AcrophobiaHeilige linien. See Holy linesHeimliches Gericht, 2:15Hekau, 2:58

Helena, St., 1:272, 2:244Heliotrope. See BloodstoneHell, 1:10, 14Helvetius (Dutch alchemist), 2:45–46Hemaphobia, 3:138Hemingway, Ernest, 1:27Henderson, Oliver “Pappy,” 3:259Hennepin, Louis, 3:98Henry III (King of England), 3:190Hensley, George Went, 1:239–240Herbert, Bennison, 2:86, 87Heresy

Cathars and, 1:218, 274, 276–277in early Christianity, 1:270Gnosticism and, 1:277–280under Innocent III, 2:113Inquisition and, 1:217–219Knights Templar and, 2:22–23See also Mystery religions and heresies,

ChristianHermes (Greek deity), 3:119Hermes-Toth (Greek deity), 1:34, 258, 2:46Hermes Trismegistus (mythical alchemist),

1:258, 2:42, 46–47, 58, 118Hermetic Mysteries, 1:34, 2:42Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, 2:76The Hermetic Romance (Andreae), 2:43Hermit (tarot), 2:131Herodotus (Greek historian), 2:264, 266Heston, Charlton, 3:111Heyerdahl, Thor, 2:237Hierophant (tarot), 2:130Higdon, Carl, 3:269–270High Magick’s Aid (Gardner), 2:85High Priestess (tarot), 2:130Higher Self, 2:175“Highway hypnosis,” 3:143Hilgard, Ernest R., 3:146, 147Hill, Barney and Betty, 3:274–276, 275Hill, Osman, 3:62Hillary, Sir Edmund, 3:59, 67Hillenkoetter, Roscoe H., 3:254, 298HIM. See Human Individual MetamorphosisHimmler, Heinrich, 2:125Hindley, Charles, 2:162Hinduism

adultery, 3:202afterlife, 1:10–12alien visitations, 3:251burials and funerals, 3:224cremation, 3:226


309Cumulative Index

CU

MU

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ND

EX

demons, 1:196, 288dreams, 3:117hospitality and charity, 3:215mourning, 3:227reincarnation, 1:46–47sadhu, 1:12soul, 1:4, 11–12wedding ceremonies, 3:212

Hinton Ampner (England) haunting, 3:40–42Hippocrates (Greek physician), 2:121Hiram Abiff, 2:10The History of Dr. Johann Faust (Speiss), 2:65History of the Kings of Britain (Geoffrey of

Monmouth), 2:204, 225–226, 272Hitler, Adolf

astrology and, 2:125cat phobia of, 3:190Nostradamus’ alleged prophecies of, 2:160Spear of Destiny and, 2:209swastika and, 2:210

HMS Eurydice (ship), 3:10Hoaxes

Borley Rectory (England) haunting,3:32–33

Cottingley (England) fairy photographs,1:138–139, 3:103

crop circles (England), 3:296Houdini’s exposure of, 1:102–103, 163,

165–166resulting from September 11 (2001)

terrorist attacks, 3:228, 229See also Urban legends and beliefs

Hobgoblins, 3:104Hodgson, Richard, 1:123, 149Hofman, Albert, 3:153–154Hohenheim, Theophrastus Bombast von. See

Paracelsus (German physician)Hollow Earth theory, 2:239–242Hollywood (CA) hauntings, 3:25Hollywood (FL) holy apparitions, 1:190Holmes, Irene Hume, 3:7Holmes, M. Jean, 3:7Holy Grail, 1:274, 2:168, 200, 204–206Holy Lance. See Spear of DestinyHoly lines, 2:257

See also Cursuses and leysHoly objects. See Sacred objects, power ofHoly Office, 1:219, 220, 2:62, 96–97Holy Vehm, 2:2, 15–16Holzer, Hans, 2:87Home, Daniel Dunglas, 1:110–115, 161–162

Homo Noeticus, 1:194–195Hongshan Pyramid (Mongolia), 1:21Hongzhi, Li, 1:315, 317Honorius II, Pope, 2:20“Hook on the car door” urban legend,

3:231–232Hoover, Herbert, 3:198Hope chests, 3:206–207Hopkins, Matthew, 2:111–112, 112Hor-em-Akhet. See The Sphinx (Giza, Egypt)Horn, Jenny, 2:106Horned God, 2:92, 94, 98Horns, as symbols of divinity, 2:92, 94Horrocks, Stella, 2:128Horror films and TV programs

actors in, 3:109–112film monster favorites, 3:77ghosts in, 3:49–52parallels to 20th century traumas, 3:77about UFOs and space aliens, 3:281–289See also specific films and TV programs

Horseshoe symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166Horseshoes, 2:178–179, 3:195–196Horus (Egyptian deity), 1:303Hospitality and etiquette, 3:215–221Houdini, Beatrice “Bess,” 1:106–107, 165, 166Houdini, Harry, 1:163–166, 164

claustrophobia of, 3:138Crandon, Mina, and, 1:102–103Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, and, 1:139Ford, Arthur Augustus, and, 1:106–107

Houdini Exposes the Tricks Used by the BostonMedium Margery (Houdini), 1:103

Houngans. See HungansHour glass symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166Houston, Jean, 3:169Houteff, Florence, 1:315Houteff, Victor, 1:315How to Make a Monster (film), 3:111Howard-Bury, C. K., 3:66Howe, Elias, 3:124Howe, Linda Moulton, 3:295Howell, Vernon. See Koresh, DavidHubbard, L. Ron, 1:315, 320, 321Hughes, Howard, 3:136, 138Hughes, Irene, 1:92, 2:157, 157–158“Huldre folk,” 3:101, 108Human Individual Metamorphosis (HIM). See

Heaven’s Gate cultHuman sacrifice and ritual murder

Gundestrup Cauldron and, 2:173


Cumulative Index310

Leopard Men and, 2:2, 24–25lion men and, 2:26Mau-Mau and, 2:27satanic cults and, 1:224, 288–289Thuggee and, 2:2, 32–33

Humility, of Knights Templar, 2:21Humperdinck, Englebert, 3:25“Hunches,” 3:176Hungans, 2:55, 56Hungary, drinking toasts, 3:221Hunsaker, Jerome C., 3:297Hurkos, Peter, 3:166Hurley, James, 3:178Huron people, souls of, 3:221Hussein, Saddam, 1:182Huxley, Aldous, 3:152Huxley, Julian, 1:156Hybrid beings. See TherianthropesHydrocephalus, 3:133Hyksos, 1:260Hynek, J. Allen, 3:257, 257, 259, 266, 282–283Hyperalert consciousness, 3:141Hypnopompic episodes, 3:143Hypnosis, 3:144–149

ESP and, 3:160, 166–168long-distance hypnosis, 3:182–183trances, comparison with, 1:92–93

Hypnotic regression, 1:59–62, 3:270, 271See also Past-life therapy

“A Hypothesis of Extrasensory Perception”(Osis), 3:164

Hyslop, James Hervey, 1:123–124Hysterical consciousness, 3:141

II Ching, 2:140, 140–141I Ho Chuan. See Boxer TongI Was a Teenage Werewolf (film), 3:111Iannusco, Angelo and Antionetta, 1:249Iberians, graves and grave markers, 3:226Iceland, sneezing superstitions, 3:199Ichthys (Fish symbol), 2:170Id, 3:119Ignatius, St., 1:202–203Illuminati, 2:2, 16, 18–19, 3:290Illumination, 1:145, 214–217Imaginative visions, 1:190, 246Imps, 3:76

See also Demons; FamiliarsIn Search Of (TV program), 3:51

Incas, 2:185, 234See also Machu Picchu (Peru)

Incubi, 3:76, 78, 143Independence Day (film), 3:289Indian Ocean land bridge, 2:247–248Individuation, 3:119Indonesia, witch hunts (1990s), 2:101Indra (Hindu being), 3:251Ineffability, in consciousness, 1:144Infant betrothals, 3:205Infants, dreams of, 3:120Ingenio Valley (Peru), 2:261Inherited fears, 3:136–137Innocent II, Pope, 2:21Innocent III, Pope, 1:274, 2:41, 113Innocent IV, Pope, 1:218, 2:102Innocent VIII, Pope, 1:219, 2:70, 109The Innocents (film), 3:49Inquisition, 1:200, 217–220, 2:14, 95–97, 3:76,

78Insects symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:165Insomnia, 3:121Integrative level of expanded consciousness, 3:142“Integratron” (Giant Rock, CA), 3:280Internet myths. See Urban legends and beliefsThe Interpretation of Dreams (Freud), 3:118Intihuantana Shrine (Peru), 2:253Intruders (film), 3:284Invaders from Mars (film), 3:287The Invaders (TV program), 3:287Invasion of the Body Snatchers (film), 3:112, 287Ireland, beliefs and customs

bride capturing, 3:204evil eye, 3:194fairies and fairy tales, 2:176, 3:101hair rings, 2:184horseshoes, 2:178leprechauns, 3:105–106, 106wakes, 3:225

Ireland, witch hunts, 2:100Iroquois people, souls of, 1:40Irvine, Malcolm, 3:89, 91Irwin, James, 2:219Irwin, R. I., 3:181–182Isabella I (Queen of Spain), 1:219, 2:13Isis cult, 1:260–262Isis (Egyptian deity), 1:18, 19, 261Isis Unveiled (Blavatsky), 1:56–57Isla de Pascua. See Easter IslandIslam

afterlife, 1:12–14


311Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

amulets, 2:170Assassins’ view of, 2:4burials and funerals, 3:224–225demons, 1:196–197guardian angels, 1:213hospitality and charity, 3:215Jerusalem, importance of, 2:242, 244–245mourning, 3:228prayer, 1:227, 227–228reincarnation, 1:47–48soul, 1:4, 5wedding ceremonies, 3:212–213See also Middle Eastern and Arab beliefs and

customsIslands, dream symbolism, 3:129It Conquered the World (film), 3:110Italy, beliefs and customs

evil eye, 3:194horseshoes, 2:179

Italy, witchcraft trials, 2:107–108Ito, Kei, 1:83

JJack (playing cards), 2:134, 135“Jacko” (alleged man-beast), 3:61Jackson, Andrew, 2:240, 3:28Jackson, Michael, 3:138Jacob (Hebrew patriarch), 3:199, 204

See also Jacob’s ladderJacobs, Doris Lee, 3:52Jacob’s ladder, 3:118, 197Jacobson, Edward, 3:63Jade, 2:187James, David, 3:90James, William, 1:166–167, 3:162

on consciousness, 1:144–145, 195, 3:142on mystical traditions, 1:49on personal religion, 1:180Piper, Leonora E., and, 1:123

James VI (King of Scotland), 2:106Januarius, St., 1:221Japan, beliefs and customs

bride buying, 3:204fairy tales, 2:176kissing, 3:207mistletoe, 2:183mourning, 3:227number superstitions, 3:198wedding dinners, 3:214wedding gifts, 3:207

Japanese Fugo balloons, 3:264Japhet, Celina, 1:143Jarrold, Edgar R., 3:277Java, food kinship, 3:216Javan rhinoceros, 3:86“Jeane Dixon effect,” 2:157Jeans, Sir James, 1:156Jelly, Frederick, 1:222Jersey Devil, 3:78–79, 79“Jerusalem Fever,” 1:201Jerusalem (Israel), 2:242, 244–245Jervis, John, Earl of St. Vincent. See St. Vincent,

John Jervis, Earl ofJessup, Morris K., 3:299–300Jesus Christ

on the Antichrist, 1:181apparitions of, 1:186, 188Crucifixion of, 1:232, 2:209exorcisms performed, 1:205–206in Gnostic texts, 1:279Manichaean view of, 1:279prayer of, 1:225, 227preexistence of, 1:46The Rapture and, 1:231reincarnation, alleged belief in, 1:49–50Resurrection of, 1:8Second Coming, 1:9–10, 182–183, 184–185UFO cult view of, 1:306–307, 315

“Jesus on the freeway” urban legend, 3:233–234Jet (stone), 2:187Jewish revolts (1st–2nd c.), 2:244Jews, persecution of, 2:13–14, 16, 113–114Jezreel Valley (Israel), 1:192Ji, Yang, 3:267Joan of Arc, St., 1:298John, St., 1:184“John King” (spirit control). See Palladino,

EusapiaJohn of Chrysostom, St., 1:226John Paul II, Pope

Black Madonna, reverence of, 1:272, 273exorcisms performed by, 1:204Shroud of Turin exhibits, authorization of,

1:237–238on Soviet Union’s end of communism, 1:186at the Western Wall (Israel), 1:41

John XXIII, Pope, 1:220, 222, 3:272Johnson, Barton, 3:39Johnson, James, 3:26Johnson, Raynor C., 1:145, 195, 315Johnson, Richard, 3:14


Cumulative Index312

Johnson, Richard M., 2:240Johnston, Roy, 3:91Jones, Ernest, 3:179Jones, Jim, 1:313, 315, 319Jones, Tommy Lee, 3:277Jonsson, Olof, 2:158, 3:178–179Joseph of Arimathea, 2:204, 238Josephson, Brian, 3:162Josselyn, John, 3:93Jourdemaine, Margaret, 2:100Jouret, Luc, 1:318Journey to the Center of the Earth (Verne), 2:242Juan Diego (16th c. Aztec), 1:188, 244Judaism

afterlife, 1:14–15amulets, 2:169–170Apocalypse, 1:182blessing meals, 3:220burials and funerals, 3:224Dead Sea Scrolls and link with Christianity,

1:46demons, 1:196–197divination of Hebrews, 2:150dreams, 3:117exorcism, 1:206hospitality and charity, 3:215Jerusalem, importance of, 2:242, 244, 245mourning, 3:228prayer, 1:228–229reincarnation, 1:48–49soul, 1:4, 5, 14wedding ceremonies, 3:211–212See also Hebrew beliefs and customs;

KabbalahJudas Iscariot, 3:197–198Judges, dream symbolism, 3:129Judgment Day. See Final JudgmentJudgment (tarot), 2:132Juggler (tarot), 2:130Julius II, Pope, 2:125Jung, Carl G., 3:128

astrology and, 2:125on dreams, 3:119, 128–129ghostly encounter of, 3:3on Gnosticism, 1:280Kabbalah and, 2:142near-death experience of, 1:27on reincarnation, 1:59

Juno Lucina (Roman deity), 2:172Justice (tarot), 2:131“JW” (alien being), 1:305–306

KKa. See Ba and kaKa’aba (Mecca, Saudi Arabia), 2:256, 257–258,

260Kabbala Dnudata Seu Dotrina Hebraeorum

Transcendentalis et Metaphysica AtoveTheologica (Rosenroth), 2:142

Kabbalah, 2:141–142, 144Golem and, 3:74magic squares and, 2:198on meditation, 3:150Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, and, 2:70on reincarnation, 1:48tarot and, 2:129

Kaio Maru No. 5 disappearance (1952), 2:227Kali (Hindu deity), 2:32, 33Kamau, Johnstone. See Kenyatta, JomoKampman, Reima, 1:67–68Kane, Margaretta. See Fox sistersKaplan, Aryeh, 3:74Kaplan, Stephen, 3:81“Kaptar.” See YetiKardec, Allen, 1:143–144Karloff, Boris, 3:74, 109, 112Karma, 1:6, 11, 55Karnak (Egypt), 2:245–247“Katie King” (spirit control). See Cook, FlorenceKatter, Reuben Luther, 2:124Keel, John A., 3:264, 277Kelly-Hopkinsville (KY) UFO sightings (1955),

3:243–244Kelsey, Denys, 1:58Kelsey, Morton, 1:197–198, 223Kennedy, John F., assassination of, 2:35, 156Kenya, food kinship, 3:216Kenya, Mau-Mau activity, 2:27–30Kenyatta, Jomo, 2:30Kepler, Johannes, 2:125Key, dream symbolism, 3:129Key of Solomon (ceremonial text), 2:107Keyhoe, Donald E., 3:254, 254–255Khafre (Pharaoh of Egypt), 2:268–269al-Khattab, Omar Ibn, 2:244–245Khomeini, Ayatollah, 1:182Khul, Djwhal, 1:281Kibwetere, Joseph, 1:314Kikuyu Central Association, 2:30Kikuyu people, 2:27, 29Kilnapp, John W., 3:148Kim, Young Sik, 3:52Kimathi, Dedan, 2:29–30


313Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

King, George, 1:305, 307, 308King, Perry, 1:206King of the Holy Cities (Titharaja). See

Allahabad (India)King (playing cards), 2:134, 135King (tarot), 2:133, 134King Tut’s Curse, 3:201Kissing, 2:183, 3:202, 207Kissinger, Henry, 1:182Kjellen, Stig Arne, 3:178–179Klaatu (fictional character), 3:284–285Klagenfurt (Austria) dragon, 3:89Kleitman, Nathaniel, 3:119–120, 132Klemp, Harold, 1:317Knave (tarot), 2:133, 134Knight, J. Z., 1:96, 115–117, 116Knight (tarot), 2:133, 134Knights Hospitallers, 2:19, 20Knights of Malta. See Knights HospitallersKnights of Rhodes. See Knights HospitallersKnights of Saint John of Jerusalem. See Knights

HospitallersKnights of the Red Cross. See Knights TemplarKnights of the Temple of Solomon. See Knights

TemplarKnights Templar, 2:2, 19–24, 21, 102

Ark of the Covenant and, 2:203heresy of, 1:2181930 parade, 2:20Shroud of Turin and, 1:234

Knives, power of, 2:179–180Knives, table use, 3:218Knives, tea leaf reading symbols, 2:166Knock (Ireland) holy apparitions, 1:188, 190“Knock-out perfume” urban legend, 3:228–229Knocking on wood, 3:196Knossos (Crete), 2:223–224Koestler, Arthur, 1:157Koffman, Jeanne-Marie-Therese, 3:60Kolb, Janice Gray, 3:7Komesky, Amos, 1:212Komodo dragons, 3:88Koot, Hoomi, 1:281Koran. See Qur’anKoresh, David (Branch Davidian leader),

1:315–316, 316Koresh (Koreshanity leader). See Teed, Cyrus

ReadKosok, Paul, 2:261Krafft, Karl Ernst, 2:125Kraken, 3:95

Kramer, Heinrich, 1:199–200, 219, 2:108Krantz, Grover, 3:63Kripke, Daniel, 3:121Krippner, Stanley, 3:163

on dreams, 3:118, 120, 121, 128–129, 164on nightmares, 3:125on reality and altered states, 3:174–175

Krishna (Hindu deity), 1:47Krogman, Wilton, 3:54, 55Krohn, Friedrich, 2:210Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth, 1:25, 28Kumsong (Korea) phantom village, 3:16–17Kurtz, Paul, 1:155Kusche, Larry, 2:229

LL-dopa, 3:159La Estaqueria (Peru), 2:261La Salette (France) holy apparitions, 1:188Ladder superstitions, 3:197Ladislaus, St., 1:272Lake Saloe (Turkey), 2:225Lakes, dream symbolism, 3:129LaMarca, Angelo John, 2:139Lamassus, 1:212Lancre, Pierre de, 2:113–114Land, sea, and air monsters, 3:85–99Land bridges

Atlantic Ocean, 2:222Caribbean Sea, 2:225Indian Ocean, 2:247–248

Land of the Grandparents, 1:40–41Landon, Michael, 3:111Lapis lazuli, 2:187Larson, Bob, 1:208Larson, David, 1:211Larsson, Sven Erik, 3:178Laski, Marghanita, 1:203–204Lasswell, Harold D., 3:244Last Judgment. See Final JudgmentLast Supper, 2:185, 204, 3:197Laveau, Marie, 2:67–68LaVey, Anton Szandor, 1:291, 293, 299–304, 300LaVey, Karla, 1:303LaVey, Xerxes, 1:303LaVey, Zeena, 1:303Lavoie, Gilbert R., 1:237Lavoignet, Rafael Torrija, 1:245Law enforcement and psychic crime solving

Browne, Sylvia, and, 1:98


Cumulative Index314

Croiset, Gerard, and, 3:166forensic hypnosis, 3:148graphology, 2:139–140Hughes, Irene, and, 2:158Hurkos, Peter, 3:166psychedelics and, 3:154–156

Lawrence, Amos, 3:93–94Lawrence, T. E., 3:33Laying bodies to rest, 3:223–224“Lazaris” (spirit guide). See Pursel, JachLe Bar, James, 1:204Leary, Timothy, 3:154, 155Leblond, Paul H., 3:93Lee, Gloria, 1:305–306Leek, Sybil, 2:73, 2:86–87“Left Behind” books (LaHaye, Jenkins), 1:232Left-hand path. See Black magickLehner, Mark, 2:267–268Leland, Charles Godfrey, 2:75Lemuria and Mu (mythical continents), 2:237,

247–248, 3:273Leo, the Lion, 2:121–122, 186Leo X, Pope, 2:125Leopard Men, 2:24–27Leprechauns, 3:105–106, 106Lerner, Alan Jay, 1:58Leslie, Desmond, 3:272–273Leslie, John, 2:240Lethargic consciousness, 3:141Levi, Eliphas, 2:57, 68–69Levin, Jeffrey, 1:211Levitation, 1:87, 113Lewis, C. S., 3:100Lewis, Mercy, 2:104, 105The Ley Hunter’s Companion, 2:233Ley hunting, 2:232, 233Liber samekh rite, 2:62Libra, the Scales, 2:122, 186Life After Life (Moody), 1:28Life at Death (Ring), 1:28–29Life line, 2:148Light manifestations

in illumination, 1:215–216Shroud of Turin and, 1:232spooklights, 3:22–24during UFO contact, 3:267

Lighthouse of Alexandria (Egypt). See Pharos ofAlexandria (Egypt)

Lilith (mythical figure), 3:76, 79Limestone, use in Egyptian monuments,

2:266–267, 268

Lincoln, Abraham, 1:134Lind, James, 3:75Line of Intuition, 2:149Line of Mercury, 2:149Line of Saturn. See Fate lineLine of the Sun, 2:149Lines of Marriage, 2:149Lipp, Deborah, 2:79Liquefied blood of saints, 1:221Lissner, Ivar, 1:76, 80, 2:199Living altars, 1:295Le Livre des Esprits (The Spirits’ Book) (Kardec),

1:143Lloyd, Temperance, 2:101Loa, 2:55Loch Ness monster and other lake monsters,

3:89–93, 90Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau,

3:90Lockyer, Sir J. Norman, 2:265, 273Lodge, Lady, 1:168–169Lodge, Sir Oliver, 1:167–169, 168Loewi, Otto, 3:123Loftus, Elizabeth F., 3:134–135Loki (Norse deity), 3:197London Crystal Skull, 2:192Long-term memory, 3:131Lopez, Rosa, 1:190Lorber, John, 3:133Lord’s Prayer, 1:225Lorenzo, St., 1:221Lost City of Willkapanpa the Old. See Machu

Picchu (Peru)Lost Souls (film), 1:239Lost Tribes of Israel, 1:283Louis XIV (King of France), 1:297–298Louise (Duchess of Savoy), 2:60Lourdes (France) holy apparitions and miracles,

1:188, 189, 209–210, 2:248–251, 249, 250Lourdes Medical Commission, 2:249, 250–251L’Ouverture, Toussaint, 2:54Love, Charlie, 2:237Love at First Bite (film), 3:110–111Love knots, 2:180–181Lovers (tarot), 2:130Lowe, George, 3:67LSD, 3:153–155Lucid dreaming. See Creative and lucid

dreamingThe Lucis Trust, 1:281“Ludwig” (spirit entity), 3:39


315Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

Lueken, Veronica, 1:190Lugosi, Bela, 3:109Luke, St., 1:272Lully, Raymond, 2:43Lumbee people, 2:269Lupinomanis. See LycanthropyLuther, Martin, 2:31Luttrell, Captain, 3:41Lycanthropy, 3:58, 85Lydia (ancient country), 2:224Lyons, S. Silas, 1:136Lyserg-Saeure-Diaethylamid. See LSDLysergic acid. See LSD

M

Machu Picchu (Peru), 2:215, 251–253, 252Mackal, Roy P., 3:87, 90MacLaine, Shirley, 1:95, 115, 215Macumba, 1:285–286Madagascar, beliefs and customs

days of the week superstitions, 3:191wedding dinners, 3:213

Maeonia. See Lydia (ancient country)MaGee, John, Jr. See Edward, JohnMagi, 2:57–59“Magic bullet” of Kennedy assassination, 2:35Magic circles, 2:144, 179–180Magic (sleight-of-hand), 2:48Magic squares, 2:50–51, 60, 198Magic triangles, 2:198Magician (tarot). See Juggler (tarot)Magick (sorcery), 2:48–49

See also Black magick; White magickMagnetic healing theory, 3:146Magog and Gog, 1:180, 185Mahoney, Joseph, 1:207Maid of honor, 3:209Maillat, Louise, 2:110Majestic-12, 3:289, 290, 297–298Major Arcana, 2:128–132Malenkov, Georgy, 2:156Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer for Witches)

(Kramer, Sprenger), 1:219, 2:103, 108Mambu-mutu, 3:107Al Mamun, Abdullah, 2:266Mandan people, 1:283Mandragora officinarum. See Mandrake rootMandrake root, 2:181, 181Mani. See Prayer wheels

Mani (Persian religious leader). SeeManichaeism

Manichaeism, 1:280, 282Manitous, 1:37Manoa (mythical city), 2:234–235Mansfield, Jayne, 3:25Maori people, souls of, 1:36–37Marcel, Jesse, 3:259, 260–261, 262Marcion (Gnostic writer), 1:278Marcue, Alfonso, 1:244–245Marfa (TX) spooklights, 3:23Margaret Mary, St., 1:186Margaret of Austria (Duchess of Savoy), 2:59, 60“Margery” (medium). See Crandon, Mina

StinsonMarie Antoinette (Queen of France), 2:72Marinatos, Sypridon, 2:224Mark-Age Metacenter (Miami, FL), 1:306Marquette, Jacques, 3:97–98Marriage. See Courtship and marriage customsMars, NASA cover-up of life on, 2:27Mars Attacks! (film), 3:112Mars Face, 2:27Martin, Dean, 3:138Martin, Malachi, 1:207Martin, Rose, 2:249–250Martin, Susannah, 2:106Martinez, Juan, 2:235Marty, Martin, 1:209Martyr, Debbie, 3:63Mary, Blessed Virgin

apparitions of, 1:186–188, 188, 189, 190,2:13, 248–249

as representation of ancient goddesses,1:274–275, 2:93

weeping statues of, 1:249–252, 251, 252See also Virgin of Guadalupe

Mary Celeste mystery (1872), 2:228Mary Magdalene, St., 1:274Masonic Temple (Alexandria, VA), 2:9Masons. See FreemasonsMass suicides, of cults, 1:315, 318

See also Human sacrifice and ritual murderMasters, R. E. L., 3:78, 169Matamoros (Mexico) massacre (1989), 1:286–287Materialization of objects. See ApportsMaterialization of spirits, 1:88–89Mathematics

Bacon, Roger, on, 2:44Great Pyramid and, 2:265Pythagoras on, 2:71, 145


Cumulative Index316

Mather, Cotton, 2:105Mathers, MacGregor, 2:49, 51Mathew, Roy, 1:217Matron of honor, 3:209Matter, Ann, 1:186, 188Matthews, Louise, 3:54Mau-Mau, 2:27–30, 28Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (Asia Minor),

2:243May, Kathleen, 3:243Mayan temples, 2:253–256, 255Mayans

calendar, 2:254, 256crystal skulls, 2:191, 192Mu and, 2:247mushrooms, sacredness of, 3:152

Mayberg, Helen, 3:139Mayerling, Louis, 3:32–33Maypoles, 2:181–182, 182McBain, Janet, 3:91McBride, James, 2:240McCall, Rob, 3:68McConnell, Robert A., 3:161–162, 164McDougall, William, 3:162, 182McFadden, Johnjoe, 3:116McGarey, Gladys, 1:50McLuckie, John, 2:203McMullen, Clements, 3:264McVeigh, Timothy, 2:8Meade-Waldo, E. G. B., 3:93Meaningful precognition, 3:176Meany, George, 3:278Meath, Petronilla de, 2:100Mecca (Saudi Arabia), 2:256–258, 258, 260Mecca stone. See BloodstoneMedia influence, UFOs and, 3:281–290Medici, Catherine de, 2:159–160Medicine Wheel of the Big Horn Mountains

(WY), 2:259Meditation, 3:149–151Medium trances, 1:92–93Mediums and channelers, 1:93–133, 154, 156

See also Seances; specific mediumsMediumship, researchers of, 1:74, 84, 90, 154–173

See also specific mediumsMedjugorje (Yugoslavia) holy apparitions, 1:190Megaliths, 2:195–197, 214

See also Cursuses and leys; Easter Island;Stonehenge

Meggido (Israel), 1:192“Mehteh kangmi.” See Yeti

Melchizdek (Hebrew priest), 2:244Meldrum, Jeff, 3:62–63Melton, Gordon, 1:307Memory, 3:130–135

autoscopy and, 3:12phobias and, 3:137repression of, 3:132, 134“time compression,” 3:292

Men in Black conspiracy theory, 3:245–246,276–279

Men in Black (film), 3:277, 278, 289Menehune, 3:106–107Mensa Isaica (Pignoria), 1:279Mental illness, sleep and, 3:121Menzel, August, 3:23Menzel, Donald H., 3:255, 297, 298Mephistopheles (literary character), 2:66Merkavah, Maaseh, 2:141–142Merlin (mythical figure), 2:50, 226, 272Mermaids, 3:107“Mesheadam.” See YetiMesmer, Franz Anton, 1:136, 3:146Mesmerism. See HypnosisMessiah, 1:182Mestchegamie people, 3:98Mexico, beliefs and customs

garlic, 2:177horseshoes, 2:179Santeria, 1:286

Mezuzah, 2:170Miami people, 3:98Michael (angel), 2:42, 58Michanowsky, George, 3:248Michigan UFO sightings (1966), 3:255, 257Middle Eastern and Arab beliefs and customs

amulets, 2:169bridal veils, 3:209bride buying, 3:204bride capturing, 3:204evil eye, 3:194–195food kinship, 3:216gem superstitions, 3:195guests, courtesy to, 3:217See also Islam

“Middle folk.” See Wee folkMigraine headaches, 3:143Mikkelson, Barbara, 3:229Miles, Frank, 3:28Militi Templi Scotia, 2:24Millennium (Apocalypse), 1:184–185, 231Mind-altering drugs. See Psychedelics


317Cumulative Index

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Ministry of Universal Wisdom, 1:305, 3:280Minoan culture, 2:223–224Minor Arcana, 2:128–129, 132–134“Minus function,” 3:181Mirabelli, Carlos, 1:117–120, 118Miracles, 1:220–223, 234, 272Mirrors, dream symbolism, 3:130Mirrors, power of, 2:182–183

See also ScryingMissionaries, Christian, 1:283Mississippian culture, 2:231Mistletoe, 2:183, 183–184Mitchell, Edgar, 2:158, 3:265Mitchell-Hedges, Anna, 2:192–193Mitchell-Hedges, F. A., 2:192–193Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull, 2:192–193Mithraism, 1:271Mixtec people, 3:152, 153Mnesarchus (father of Pythagoras), 2:71Moai figures. See Easter IslandMokele-mbembe, 3:86“Mokey.” See Mokele-mbembeMolay, Jacques de, 1:218, 2:23, 24Mompesson, John, 3:44, 45, 46, 47Monks Mound (IL), 2:231Monogamy, 3:203Monoliths, 2:196Monongahela sea serpent, 3:96Monroe, Marilyn, 3:25Monroe, Robert, 3:13Monsieur (dog), 2:60Monsters. See Apelike monsters; Creatures of

the night; Land, sea, and air monsters;Monsters, in film; specific creatures

Monsters, in film, 3:77Montague, Robert M., 3:297Montfort, Simon de, 1:274Montolesi, Giovanni, 2:6Montvoison, Catherine, 1:296–298Montvoison, Marguerite, 1:297Monty Python and the Holy Grail (film), 2:206Moo (mythical queen), 2:247Moody, Raymond, 1:28Moon symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166Moon (tarot), 2:132Moore, William, 3:297Moors, persecution of, 2:13–14Morgan, Augustus de, 3:167Morgan, William, 2:12Morris, Robert, 3:165Morrow, Lance, 1:256

Morrow, Virginia Tighe, 1:63See also Murphy, Bridey

Morse, Melvin, 1:29–30Morte d’Arthur (Malory), 2:205Moses (Hebrew prophet), 3:250Moss, John and Teeta, 3:43Moss, Leonard, 1:272Mother Mary. See Mary, Blessed VirginMother Shipton, 2:161, 161–162Mother Teresa, 1:205Mound builders, 1:38–40Mt. Ararat (Turkey), 2:216–219, 218Mount of Jupiter, 2:148Mount of Mercury, 2:148Mount of the Moon, 2:148Mount of Saturn, 2:148Mount of the Sun, 2:148Mount of Venus, 2:148Mount Rainier (WA) UFO sightings (1947),

3:242, 251–252, 255, 256Mt. Sipylus (Lydia), 2:224–225Mourning and remembrance, 3:227–228Movies. See Horror films and TV programs;

specific films“Mrs. Fields cookie recipe” urban legend, 3:231MS Tricouleur (ship), 3:10Mu (mythical continent). See Lemuria and Mu

(mythical continents)Mugabe, Robert, 2:101Muhammad (Muslim prophet), 1:13, 2:256–257Muldoon, Sylvan J., 3:13, 171, 172Multiple personalities, past-lives therapy and,

1:67–68Mummies and mummification, 1:18, 20,

3:222–223Munsterberg, Hugo, 2:152Murphy, Bridey, 1:62–67Murphy, Chris, 3:62Murphy, Gardner, 1:173, 3:162Murray, Margaret Alice, 2:75, 87–88Mushrooms, sacredness of, 3:152Mutual love, courtship and, 3:205–206Mwerinde, Credonia, 1:314, 315My Favorite Martian (TV program), 3:287Mycenae civilization, 2:272–273Mycerinus Pyramid (Giza, Egypt), 3:247Myers, Fredric W. H., 1:169–172, 171, 202,

3:162, 170Myrrdin (6th c. Seer), 2:50Myrtles Plantation (St. Francisville, LA), 3:42–44Mysophobia, 3:138


Cumulative Index318

Mystery religionsancient, 1:31–36contemporary, 1:49–57Egyptian, 1:257–264Greek, 1:264–269tribal, 1:282–288

Mystery religions and heresies, Christian,1:269–282

Mystical experiences, common denominators of,1:146

Mystical experiences, validity test of, 1:195Mysticism, 1:144Mystics, 1:144–154

See also specific mystics

NNader, Karim, 3:131Nag Hammadi scrolls, 1:46, 278–279Nagas (mythical serpent people), 3:249Nagogo (Nigerian chief), 2:25Nakh, 3:107Napier, John R., 3:61–62Natchez people, 2:231National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA), alleged conspiracytheories, 2:27, 3:71

National Spiritualist Association beliefs, 1:135Native American beliefs and customs

bride buying, 3:204burial mounds, 1:38–40burning possessions of the dead, 3:226cross symbolism, 2:203–204fetishes, 2:193mourning, 3:227“pukwudjinis,” 2:177shamanism, 1:76–79soul, 1:36spirit land, 1:38swastika symbolism, 2:210therianthropes, 3:83totem animals, 1:80–81, 2:198–199tribal mystery religions, 1:282–285vision quests, 1:81–82wedding gifts, 3:207wolves, significance of, 3:193See also Spirit guides; specific native people

Navajo people, beliefs and customsmourning, 3:227wedding dinners, 3:213–214

Navigation, comparison to astrology, 2:136

Nazca Lines (Peru), 2:215, 260–264, 262, 263Nazis

astrology and, 2:125Holy Vehm and, 2:16swastika and, 2:210

Neanderthal man, burial sites, 1:3, 4Near-death experiences, 1:26–31

desire for afterlife and, 1:4living ghosts and, 3:13–14physiological and psychological changes

after, 1:30scientific controversy on, 1:23See also Out-of-body experiences

Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife website, 1:24

Necromancy, 2:144–145Necrophobia, 3:138Needles, dream symbolism, 3:130Nefertiti (Queen of Egypt), 1:260Neihardt, John G., 2:190“Neiman Marcus cookie recipe” urban legend,

3:230–231Neo-druids, 2:79Neocortex, 3:123Nephesh (living soul), 1:14Nephilim, 3:250“Nessie.” See Loch Ness monster and other lake

monstersNetherlands, police use of clairvoyants, 3:166Nettles, Bonnie Lu Trousdale, 1:309–311Neumann, Therese, 1:241New Age Movement

crystal use, 2:175Kabbalah and, 2:142, 143relaxation techniques and, 3:156–157Sedona (AZ) center, 2:271UFO cults and, 1:306, 307

The New Atlantis (Bacon), 2:31New Guinea, courtesy to guests, 3:217New World Order, 2:17, 3:290New York (NY) vampire subculture, 3:82Newberg, Andrew, 1:190, 247Newton, Sir Isaac, 2:125Nicholas II (Tsar of Russia), 2:218Nicholson, Jack, 3:111–112Nicoll, Michael J., 3:93Nigerian Leopard Men, 2:24–26“Night Stalker.” See Ramirez, RichardNight visions. See DreamsNightMare, M. Macha, 2:88–89“The Nightmare” (Fuseli), 3:126


319Cumulative Index

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Nightmares, 3:125–127“Nightwalker of Nago” urban legend, 3:235Nimoy, Leonard, 3:112Nine, symbolism of

numerology, 2:146playing cards, 2:134, 135tarot, 2:131, 133, 134

Nirvana, 1:7Nisse, 3:107–108Nix, 3:107Nkosi, 2:194Noah’s Ark, 2:200, 216–219The Nobility of the Female Sex (Agrippa), 2:59Noble Truth of Suffering (Buddha), 1:6Nocerino, F. R.“Nick,” 2:193Noetic quality, in consciousness, 1:144Noll, Richard, 3:62Non-beneficial previsions, 3:176Non-rapid eye movement sleep. See Non-REM

sleepNon-REM sleep, 3:140Nonreflective consciousness, 3:140–141Nootka people, souls of, 3:221Norbu, Gyaltsen. See Panchen LamaNorman, Sir Montagu, 3:33Nosferatu (film), 3:80–81, 81Nostradamus (French Seer), 2:125–126, 152,

158–161, 160Nostredame, Michel de. See Nostradamus

(French Seer)Number of the Beast (666), 1:181, 183,

238–239, 290, 3:198See also The Antichrist

Number superstitions, 3:197–198Number symbolism

in playing cards, 2:134–135Pythagoras on, 2:145in tarot, 2:130–132, 133–134in tea leaf reading, 2:164See also Numerology; specific numbers

Numerology, 2:145–147Nurse, Rebecca, 2:105

O“O Bicho.” See ChupacabraOannes (mythical fish-man), 3:248–249Oberlin, John Frederick, 3:9, 11OBEs. See Out-of-body experiencesObjects of sacred power, 2:199–210

See also specific objects

O’Brien, Aline. See NightMare, M. MachaObserver memory, 3:132The Occult Philosophy (Agrippa), 2:59, 60Oceans, dream symbolism, 3:130O’Connor, John, 3:52Ogallala Sioux people, afterlife beliefs, 1:37Oh-Mah. See Bigfoot (apelike monster)Ojibway people, souls of, 1:38Olcott, Henry, 1:148“Old Jeffrey” (spirit entity), 3:38“Old Religion.” See Wicca; Witchcraft“Olga” (spirit control). See Schneider, RudiOlivier, Edith, 3:17Omega (Greek letter), 3:196The Omega Man (film), 3:111The Omen (film), 1:238–239On the Vanity of Arts and Sciences (Agrippa),

2:60One, symbolism of

numerology, 2:145, 146playing cards, 2:134, 135Pythagoras on, 2:145tarot, 2:130, 133, 134

O’Neill, John J., 2:125Oneirocritica (Artemidorous of Ephesus), 3:117Opals, 2:186, 3:195Open poles theory, 2:240, 241Open spaces, fear of. See AgoraphobiaOpening of the Mouth ritual, 1:17–18Operation Majestic-12. See Majestic-12Opus Magus (Bacon), 2:45Orang pendek, 3:63–65Order of the Illuminati. See IlluminatiOrder of the Solar Temple, 1:315, 1:318–319Origen (Alexandrian writer), 1:9, 43–44, 46Origin of the Species (Darwin), 2:247Orion constellation, 2:266Orion (mythical figure), 2:123Orisha, 1:287Orpheus (mythic figure), 1:267–268Orphic Mysteries, 1:34–35Orthon (alien being), 3:271Osburne, Sarah, 2:105Osiris cult, 1:262–264Osiris (Egyptian deity), 1:18–19, 1:19,

257–258, 261, 263, 303Osis, Karlis, 1:23–24, 25–26, 3:164Osment, Haley Joel, 3:158Osmond, Humphrey, 3:152Osty, Eugen, 1:130Oswald, Lee Harvey, 2:35


Cumulative Index320

The Others (film), 3:50The Others (TV program), 3:51Ouija boards, 1:85, 1:85–86Our Lady of Czestochowa. See Black MadonnaOur Lady of Jasna Gora. See Black MadonnaOut-of-body experiences, 3:12, 158, 170–171

See also AutoscopyOut-of-body experiences, research in,

3:170–174Out on a Limb (film), 1:96Owen, Robert Dale, 3:11

PPaganism, popularity of, 2:94Page (tarot). See Knave (tarot)Paiens, Hugues des, 2:19–20Pain relief, 3:139, 147–148Paiute Messiah. See Wilson, JackThe Palantine (ship), 3:10Palladino, Eusapia, 1:120–122, 121, 168Palm reading. See PalmistryPalmistry, 2:147–150, 148, 149Pan (Greek deity), 2:123Panatleone, St., 1:221Panchen Lama, 1:44Panic disorders, 3:137Paracelsus (German physician), 2:41, 43,

47–48, 48, 57, 3:146Paranormal photography. See Psychic

photographyThe Parapsychological Association, Inc., 1:145Parapsychologists, 3:157–158

See also Researchers of clairvoyance;Researchers of ESP (Extrasensoryperception); Researchers ofpsychokinesis; Researchers of spiritcontact; Researchers of telepathy

Parini, Giuseppi, 1:118Paris (France) holy apparitions, 1:188Parker, Alice, 2:106Parker, Walter E., Sr., 3:9Parks, Carl, 2:193Parks, Jo Ann, 2:193Parris, Betty, 2:104, 105Parris, Samuel, 2:104Parzeval (Eschenbach), 2:205, 206Pasierb, Janusz, 1:272Passivity, in consciousness, 1:145Past-life therapy, 1:67–69Past lives, 1:57–70

Patience (tarot). See Temperance (tarot)“Patience Worth” (spirit control). See Curran,

Pearl LeonorePatrick, St., 3:225Patterson, Roger, 3:61, 62Paul, St.

on afterlife, 1:8on the Antichrist, 1:180on fight against forces of evil, 1:288on glossolalia, 1:226possible stigmata of, 1:241on The Rapture, 1:231on soul, 1:8–9

Paul III, Pope, 1:219, 2:96–97, 125Paul IV, Pope, 1:219, 2:97Paul VI, Pope, 1:220, 2:97Peace symbols, 1:290Pearls, 3:195“Peep.” See Nettles, Bonnie Lu TrousdalePennsylvania State Police, hoax warnings from,

3:228, 229Pennsylvania thunderbird sightings, 3:97, 99Pentagrams, 1:290Pentecostalism, glossolalia and, 1:226People’s Temple, 1:313, 315, 319–320Peretti, Felice. See Sixtus V, PopePerkins, Thomas H., 3:94Perls, Fritz, 3:128Perntz, Anders, 3:178Persephone (mythic figure), 1:34, 268, 269Persia, dog superstitions, 3:193Persinger, Michael, 1:190, 247Peter, St., 2:69Peter of Abano, 2:144Petroglyphs, 3:97–98, 248Peuckert, Erick-Will, 3:153Peyramale, Father, 2:249Phantasms. See Apparitions“Phantom hitchhiker” urban legend,

3:234–235Phantoms, 3:2, 4, 14–18

See also Apparitions; Ghosts and ghostlybeings

Pharaohs, role in religion, 1:258Pharos of Alexandria (Egypt), 2:243The Phenomena of Astral Projection (Carrington,

Muldoon), 3:172Philadelphia Experiment (1943), 3:298–301Philbin, Regis, 3:48Philip IV (King of France), 2:22–23, 24Philippines, food kinship custom, 3:216


321Cumulative Index

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Philistines, 2:201Phillips, David, 3:198Phillips, Mary, 2:111Philosopher’s stone, 2:206, 208, 208

Albertus Magnus and, 2:47Cagliostro, Allesandro, and, 2:61Helvetius and, 2:45–46Rosencreutz, Christian, and, 2:30

“Phinuit” (spirit guide). See Piper, Leonora E.Phips, William, 2:105Phobias, 3:135–138, 140Photographing Fairies (film), 3:103Phrenology, 2:151Pi (number), Egyptian use of, 2:265Piasa, 3:98–99Pickrell, Jacquie E., 3:134Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, 2:70Piczek, Isabel H., 1:237Piezoelectricity, 2:173Pigs, dream symbolism, 3:130Pike, James A., Jr., 1:107Pike, James A., Sr., 1:107Pillars of Hercules, 2:221, 222Pio, Padre, 1:241, 244Piper, Leonora E., 1:122–124, 167Pisces, the Fish, 2:123, 186Pius XII, Pope, 1:186Piusa. See PiasaPizarro, Francisco, 2:234, 251PK. See PsychokinesisPlace of Serpents (Guatemala), 2:255Placebos, 3:139The Plague. See Black DeathPlanchettes, 1:86Planet of the Apes (film), 3:111Planets, association with palmistry, 2:148Plato (Greek philosopher)

on Atlantis, 2:220–221, 222, 224on dreams, 3:117on reincarnation, 1:41on soul, 1:8

Playing cards, fortune telling with, 2:134–135Pleiosaurs, 3:96Plongeon, Augustus, 2:247Plotinus (Roman philosopher), 1:41Plutarch (Greek historian), 1:265–266Podmore, Frank, 3:146Podolsky, Edward, 3:11Poe, Edgar Allen, 3:138Poitieres, Henri de, 1:237Polidori, John, 3:75

Pollack, Robert, 1:191, 247Polo, Marco, 2:217, 218Poltergeist (film), 3:2, 18, 50Poltergeists, 3:4, 18–20, 52, 158Polyandry, 3:203Polygamy, 3:202, 203Polynesian and Pacific beliefs and customs

flower giving, 3:208food kinship, 3:216infant betrothals, 3:205kissing, 3:207Menehune, 3:106–107

“Poor Soldiers of the Holy City.” See KnightsTemplar

Pope, Alexander, 3:102Pope (tarot). See Hierophant (tarot)Popes, viewed as the Antichrist, 1:181, 238Poppets, 2:190Porphyria, 3:58Poseidon (Greek deity), 2:221, 222Posnansky, Arthur, 2:278, 279Possession, 1:70, 2:55

See also Spirit controls; TrancesPossession, by demons, 1:196, 197, 198–199,

223–225See also Exorcism

The Possession of Joel Delaney (film), 1:206Pottery, 3:219“Poughkeepsie Seer.” See Davis, Andrew

JacksonThe Power (film), 3:110Power of suggestion, 1:83, 90Practica (Gui), 1:219Pragmatic consciousness, 3:141Prairie du Chien mounds (WI), 1:39Prayag (India). See Allahabad (India)Prayer, power of, 1:225, 227–230Prayer wheels, 2:207Precognition, 3:158Precognition, researchers of, 3:174–178Prelati, Antonio Francisco, 1:299Premonition. See Precognition“Present moment,” 3:175Presleep experiences, 3:122Prestidigitation. See Magic (sleight-of-hand)Preston, Kelly, 1:320Price, Harry, 1:130–131, 3:24, 26, 30, 31–32Primordial Man, in Manichaeism, 1:280Prince, Walter Franklin, 1:166Prince of Darkness, in Manichaeism, 1:280


Cumulative Index322

The Principles of Nature: Her Divine Revelationsand a Voice to Mankind (Davis), 1:136

Pringle, Lucy, 3:296Pringsheim, Peter, 2:174Procedural memory, 3:132Proctor, John, 2:105“Proctor & Gamble sponsors Satanism” urban

legend, 3:235–236Project Blue Book, 3:255–258Project Grudge, 3:256Project Mogul, 3:264, 291Project Sign, 3:256The Propheceyes of Mother Shipton…Foretelling

the Death of Cardinall Wolsey, the Lord of Percy,and others, As Also What Should Happen inInsuing Times (Anonymous), 2:161–162

Prophets and diviners, 2:150, 152–162Protestantism

exorcism, 1:179hell, 1:10Holy Office and, 1:219Reformation and witch hunts, 2:99–100,

103See also specific sects

Psamtik III (King of Egypt), 3:190Psychagogues, 2:150Psychedelics, 3:151–156, 169Psychic crime solving. See Law enforcement and

psychic crime solving“Psychic ether” theory, 3:24, 26Psychic photography, 1:88, 3:49Psychical research. See Public opinion and

research statistics; specific institutions; specificphenomena; specific researchers

Psychical Research Bureau (U.K.), 2:125“Psychoanalysis and Telepathy” (Freud), 3:179Psychokinesis, 3:18, 158Psychokinesis, researchers of, 3:178–179Psychology of alleged vampires, 3:82Puberty, poltergeists and, 3:18–19Public opinion and research statistics

angels, belief in, 1:212apparitions of holy figures, 1:190deathbed apparitions, 1:24–25demon possession, belief in, 1:197, 209, 223ESP, belief in, 3:159, 161faith healing or power of prayer, belief in,

1:209, 211, 230film monster favorites, 3:77flying, fear of, 3:136ghosts, belief in, 3:2, 3, 20

God, belief in, 1:210haunted houses, belief in, 3:24insomnia complaints, 3:121life after death, belief in, 1:23memory storage, 3:130miracles, belief in, 1:220near-death experiences, 1:26–27, 28–29past life memories, 1:46pets in heaven, belief in, 3:7phobia sufferers, 3:137prayer, practicing of, 1:225, 228religious phenomena, belief in, 1:178Society for Psychical Research census

(1882), 1:172, 3:5UFO cover-up conspiracies, belief in, 3:281,

290UFOs and alien visitation, belief in, 3:245,

290, 292U.S. government, public trust in, 3:289visions and religious experiences, 1:246–247Wicca practitioners, 2:72–73witch executions, 2:97

Public speaking, fear of. See GlossophobiaPudeator, Ann, 2:105Pueblo people, 2:275–277“Pukwudjinis,” 2:177Puma Punka temple (Tiahuanaco, Bolivia),

2:278Punna (Insight), 3:149–150Purgatory, 1:10Pursel, Jach, 1:125–126Pursel, Peny, 1:125–126Puthoff, Harold, 3:164Putnam, Ann, 2:104–105Pyle, Robert, 3:59Pymander (angelic being), 2:58Pyramid of Khafre (Giza, Egypt), 3:247Pyramid of Khufu. See Great Pyramid (Giza,

Egypt)Pyramid Texts, 1:16, 20–22, 258Pyramids

Chepren Pyramid (Giza, Egypt), 1:22Hongshan Pyramid (Mongolia), 1:21Mayan structures, 2:255Mycerinus Pyramid (Giza, Egypt), 3:247Pyramid of Khafre (Giza, Egypt), 3:247similarities among cultures, 2:220See also Great Pyramid (Giza, Egypt)

Pyroelectricity, 2:173Pythagoras (Greek philosopher), 1:35–36, 258,

2:70–71, 145


323Cumulative Index

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Pythias. See Delphic OraclesPythonesses. See Delphic Oracles

Q

Quaid, Dennis, 3:89Quarter moon and star, as Satanic symbols,

1:290Quartrozieme custom, 3:198Queen (playing cards), 2:134, 135Queen (tarot), 2:133, 134Quetzalcoatl (mythical being), 3:249Quigley, Joan, 2:126Qur’an

blessing meals, 3:220creation of Adam, 1:12miracle accounts, 1:220warning against Satanism, 1:288

R

Rabbit’s foot, 2:169, 3:198–199Radar Magazine, 3:67Radiocarbon dating, 2:270–271

Bimini Road, 2:223Carnac (France) megaliths, 2:196Easter Island statues, 2:237Nazca Lines, 2:261Shroud of Turin, 1:235Stonehenge, 2:274Tiahuanaco, 2:279

Radioesthesia. See Dowsing“Rael.” See Vorilhon, ClaudeRaelians, 1:311–313Raemond, Florin de, 1:295Raiders of the Lost Ark (film), 2:203Rais, Gilles de, 1:298–299Raleigh, Sir Walter, 2:234, 235Ramey, Roger, 3:261, 264Ramirez, Richard, 1:289Ramphorhyneus, 3:99Ramses II (Pharaoh of Egypt), 2:246“Ramtha” (spirit guide). See Knight, J. Z.Randi, James, 1:105Randle, Kevin, 3:259–260, 261–262, 263Randles, Derek, 3:62Rapa Nui. See Easter IslandRaphael (angel), 2:42, 58Rapid eye movement sleep. See REM sleepThe Rapture, 1:231–232

Rapturous consciousness, 3:141The Raven (film), 3:111–112Rawicz, Slavomir, 3:67Raymond, John, 1:293Reading, June, 3:48Reagan, Nancy, 2:126, 3:110Reagan, Ronald, 1:181, 2:126Real Magic (Bonewits), 2:78Reclaiming Collective, 2:88Recollective-analytic level of expanded

consciousness, 3:141–142Red (color), symbolism of, 3:227Red Heifer legend, 2:143Red Planet Mars (film), 3:110Redd, Wilmot, 2:106Reed, William, 2:241Reeser, Mary H., 3:54–55Reeves, George, 3:25Reflective consciousness, 3:141Regardie, Israel, 2:76Regino of Prum, 2:41Regla de Ocha (The Rule of the Orisha). See

SanteriaRegression therapy. See Past-life therapyRegusters, Herman and Kia, 3:86Reiche, Maria, 2:261–262Reincarnation

hypotheses, 1:70Orphic concept of, 1:268tarot and, 2:128–129Wiccan view of, 2:74

Reincarnation, in major religions, 1:41–44,46–49

Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to theEtiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects(Stevenson), 1:69

Relatives, dream symbolism, 3:130Relatives, marriage between, 3:201–202Relaxation, 3:156–157The Relaxation Response (Benson), 3:151Relaxed consciousness, 3:141Religious ecstasy. See EcstasyREM sleep, 3:120, 122

deprivation of, 3:121as nonreflective consciousness, 3:141out-of-body experience and, 3:173sleep paralysis and, 3:127

Remembrance, of the dead. See Mourning andremembrance

Remote viewing. See ClairvoyanceRenier, Noreen, 1:155


Cumulative Index324

“Reptiles in imported carpets” urban legend,3:229–230

Research, out-of-body experiences, 3:170–174Research statistics. See Public opinion and

research statisticsResearchers of clairvoyance, 3:166–170Researchers of ESP (Extrasensory perception),

3:161–184Researchers of precognition, 3:174–178Researchers of psychokinesis, 3:178–179Researchers of spirit contact, 1:74, 84, 90,

154–173Researchers of telepathy, 3:179–184Restoration of the Ten Commandments cult,

1:314The Resurrection. See Jesus Christ, Resurrection

of“Resurrection Mary” urban legend, 3:235Retrocognition, reincarnation and, 1:70Revelation, Book of, 1:183Revenge of the Creature (film), 3:110Revere, Paul, 2:11Reverse engineering at Area 51 (NV), 3:293Rex (dog), 3:6Reyna, V. F., 3:135Reynolds, Jeremiah, 2:240Rhine, J. B., 1:84, 3:161, 162–164, 178, 179Rhine, Louisa, 3:161, 162–163, 164Rhine Research Center (Durham, NC), 3:165Rice, Anne, 3:82Rice throwing, at weddings, 3:214Ricke, Herbert, 2:269–270Rickert, Lewis, 3:261Ricketts, Mary, 3:40–41, 42Ricketts, William Henry, 3:40Rig-Veda (Sanskrit hymn collection), 1:11Right-hand path. See White magickRines, Bob, 3:92Ring, Kenneth, 1:28–29Ring symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166Rings (jewelry), 2:184, 3:213Rips, Eliyahu, 1:242Ritual murder. See Human sacrifice and ritual

murderRivers, Olivia, 3:180Roanoke Island (NC) mystery (1587), 2:269Robert the Bruce (King of Scotland), 2:24Roberts, Jane, 1:94, 126–129Roberts, Kenneth, 2:136Robinson, Edwin, 1:192Robinson, John A. T., 1:237

Robinson, Yankee Jim, 3:48The Rock (film), 3:289Roden, Benjamin, 1:315Roden, Lois, 1:315Rogers, Ray, 1:233Roggeveen, Jacob, 2:236Role-playing, vampire subculture and, 3:82Roll, W. G., 1:215Rolling Thunder (Native American shaman),

1:75Roman Catholicism

Blessed Virgin depictions, 1:273–274exorcism, 1:179, 207Freemasons, condemnation of, 2:11hell, 1:10miracle authentication, 1:222stigmata authentication, 1:241, 243torture sanctioning, 1:218voodoo, condemnation of, 2:54–55See also Inquisition

Roman Empire, beliefs and customsdays of the week superstitions, 3:191dinner tables, 3:217divination, 2:118, 150drinking toasts, 3:220eating utensils, 3:218, 219garlic, 2:177gem superstitions, 3:195guests, courtesy to, 3:217hand washing and bathing, 3:219horseshoe superstitions, 3:196hospitality, 3:215kissing, 3:207mirror superstitions, 2:183mourning, 3:227Roman Army, religion of, 1:271salt, 2:184, 185silver, 2:185sneezing superstitions, 3:199state religion, 2:40sweetmeats for newlyweds, 3:214wedding dinners, 3:213white, symbolism of, 3:208

Roman Inquisition. See Holy OfficeRoman Nose (Native American warrior), 1:77Romania, hope chest custom, 3:206Romania, regulation of witches (21st c.), 2:101Roosevelt, Franklin D., 1:181, 2:155, 3:198Roosevelt Hotel (Hollywood, CA), 3:25Rooty Hill (Australia), weeping statue of, 1:251Rose, Zia, 2:75


325Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

Rosemary’s Baby (film), 1:238Rosenberg, Yoav, 1:242Rosencreutz, Christian, 2:30–31Rosenstock, Harvey, 3:85Roshi, Shodo Harada, 1:214Rosicrucians, 2:2, 4, 30–32, 43Roswell (NM) UFO crash (1947), 3:242, 252,

260–265, 297See also Area 51 (NV); Hangar 18, Wright-

Patterson Air Force Base (Dayton, OH)The Roswell Report—Case Closed (USAF),

3:264, 291–292Roulet, Jacques, 3:84Rowe, Frankie, 3:262–263Rowland, Dan, 3:65–66Royal Air Force gremlin tales, 3:104–105Rubies, 2:186Ruck family, 2:28–29The Rule of the Orisha (Regla de Ocha). See

SanteriaRunes, 2:197Russell, Gerald, 3:67Russell, John, 3:98Russia, beliefs and customs

engagement announcements, 3:208wedding dinners, 3:214

Russia Will be Converted (Haffert), 1:186Ryan, Leo, 1:319Ryerson, Kevin, 1:96, 97Ryzl, Milan, 3:167–168, 169

SSabbah, Hasan ibn, 2:4, 5Sabbat Dance. See Witches’ RoundSabbats, 1:290, 293–294, 2:97–99

See also Black MassSachiel (angel), 2:42Sacred Abbey of Thelema (Sicily), 2:62Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the

Faith (Rome), 1:222Sacred Dying Foundation, 2:89The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, 2:49–50Sacred objects, power of, 2:199–210

See also specific objectsSacsahuaman (Peru), 2:274, 275Saducismus Triumphaus (Glanvil), 3:47Sagan, Carl, 3:246Sagittarius, the Archer, 2:123, 186Saint-Germain, Count, 2:71–72St. Germain de Pres Church (Paris), 1:274

St. Katherine’s Church (Nuremberg, Germany),2:209

St. Mary’s Church holy apparitions (Zeitoun,Egypt), 1:187, 190

St. Vincent, John Jervis, Earl of, 3:40, 41Saints, liquefied blood of, 1:221Saints, symbols of, 2:95Salem (MA) witchcraft trials (1692), 2:100,

103–106Salinas, José Carlos, 1:245Salt, 2:168, 184–185, 185Saltmarsh, H. F., 3:174, 175Samadhi (Concentration), 3:149Samuel (angel), 2:42Samuel (Hebrew prophet), 1:131–132Sanderson, Ivan T., 3:19, 60Sands, George X., 2:227Santa Lucia feast, 2:172Santeria, 1:286–288Sapphires, 2:186, 3:195Saracens, 2:19Sardonyx, 2:186Saskehavis. See Bigfoot (apelike monster)Sasquatch. See Bigfoot (apelike monster)Satan

Apocalypse and, 1:183, 185as black magick deity, 2:51–52Cathars’ view of, 1:277Satanists’ view of, 1:290, 291

Satanas (pagan deity), 2:51–52The Satanic Bible (LaVey), 1:300–301Satanic cults, 1:288–291The Satanic Rituals (LaVey), 1:302Satanism, in the Middle Ages, 1:291–299Satanism, modern

Christianity, view of, 1:301Church of Satan, 1:299–303Proctor & Gamble sponsorship urban

legend, 3:235–236witchcraft, confusion with, 2:74

Satan’s Satellites (film), 3:112Sathan (spirit entity), 1:290Saul (King of Israel), 1:131–133, 2:150Saunders, David, 3:259Saxon witchcraft. See Seax-WicaScandinavia, beliefs and customs

adultery, 3:202elves, 3:100, 101fairy tales, 2:176maypoles, 2:181nisse, 3:107–108


Cumulative Index326

number superstitions, 3:197runes, 2:197trolls, 3:109Viking funerals, 3:226wedding dinners, 3:214

Scarabs, 2:169Schacter, Daniel, 3:130, 131Schismatic Druids of North America, 2:78Schlater, Phillip L., 2:247–248Schliemann, Heinrich, 2:210Schmeidler, Gertrude R., 3:164Schmitt, Don, 3:259, 261–262, 263Schneider, Rudi, 1:129–131, 130Schneider, Willy, 1:129Schoch, Robert M., 2:270School of Wicca (U.S.), 2:82Schopenhauer, Arthur, 1:156Schrek, Max, 3:80–81, 81Schrenck-Notzing, Albert von, 1:89, 129, 130Schwartz, Gary, 1:84, 155Schweitzer, John Frederick. See Helvetius

(Dutch alchemist)Schwerner, Michael, 3:166Science, religious phenomena and, 1:190–191Science, spirituality and, 1:22–23Scientific Advisory Panel on UFOs, 3:256Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects

(Condon). See Condon/University ofColorado Report (1969)

Scientology, 1:315, 320–321The Scoriton Mystery (Buckle), 1:306, 3:272Scorpio, the Scorpion, 2:123, 186Scotland, beliefs and customs

ceasg, 3:107elves, 3:100–101fairies and fairy tales, 2:176–177, 3:101

Scotland, witchcraft trials, 2:106Scotophobia, 3:138, 140Scott, Margaret, 2:106Scott, Sir Walter, 3:102Scottish Knights Templar. See Militi Templi

ScotiaScrying, 2:162, 162–164, 163“Scuba diver in tree” urban legend, 3:236Sea monsters. See Sea serpentsSea serpents, 3:93–97, 3:94Seabury, Captain, 3:96Seances, 1:85, 86–90

See also Mediums and channelersSearch for Grace (film), 1:61Seax-Wica, 2:81

Second Coming, 1:9–10, 182–183, 184–185See also Apocalypse; Armageddon; Final

JudgmentThe Secret Doctrine (Blavatsky), 1:57Secret societies. See Conspiracy theories; specific

societiesSects, 1:270, 272Sedona (AZ), 2:271“Seelie court.” See ElvesSelf, 3:119Self-consciousness. See Reflective consciousnessSeligmann, Kurt, 1:292–293, 2:96Selkies, 3:109Semantic memory, 3:132Semjaza (angel), 2:52Sensory level of expanded consciousness, 3:141“Sensory translation” hypothesis, 1:216September 11 terrorist attacks (2001, U.S.)

hoaxes resulting from, 3:228, 229rise in nightmares since, 3:126

Serbia, wedding dinners, 3:214Serial killers, interest in Satanism, 1:289“Serialism,” 3:176–177Sermo generalis. See Auto-da-feServant (tarot). See Knave (tarot)Set (Egyptian deity), 1:303“Seth” (spirit guide). See Roberts, JaneSeven, symbolism of

luckiness of, 3:198numerology, 2:146playing cards, 2:134, 135tarot, 2:130, 133, 134

Seven Angels, 2:42, 57–58Seven Devas. See Seven Angels“Seven-knot-love-garter,” 2:180–181Seven Seals, 1:183“Seven Secrets for Successful Prayer”

(Sherman), 1:230Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, 2:243Seventeen, tarot symbolism of, 2:132Sexual abuse, memory and, 3:134, 135Sexual intercourse

incubi and, 3:76, 78, 143Inquisition and erotomania, 3:76, 78medieval Church view of, 1:291–292ritual intercourse, Crowley, Aleister, and,

2:62succubi and, 3:76, 79–80, 143witchhunters’ fixation on, 2:110–111

Shadow Ceremony. See Ghost CeremonyShadow of the Vampire (film), 3:81


327Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

Shafe, Glenn, 3:131Shakespeare, William, 3:102Shaking hands, 3:201Shamanism, 1:74, 76–82, 286, 2:190Shandera, Jamie, 3:297Shapeshifting

Nakh, 3:107Nix, 3:107selkies, 3:109werewolves, 3:83

Shapur I (Emperor of Persia), 1:282Shaw, George Bernard, 3:33SHC. See Spontaneous Human CombustionSheldon, Susanna, 2:104, 105Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, 3:75Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 3:75Sheol, 1:14Shepherds Rod, Branch Seventh-Day

Adventist. See Branch DavidiansSherman, Harold, 1:230, 230, 3:162Shermer, Michael, 3:59, 161Shevrin, Howard, 3:124The Shining (film), 3:112Ship disappearances, Bermuda Triangle, 2:228Shipton, Eric E., 3:66, 67Shipton, Mother. See Mother ShiptonShriners, 2:12Shroud of Turin, 1:232–238, 233, 236, 2:200Shroud of Turin Research Project, 1:233–234“Sidhe.” See FairiesSiegel, Alan, 3:126Siegel, Jerome, 3:131Sierra Leone, Leopard Men activity, 2:24–25Signs (film), 3:296Sikhs, cremation, 3:226Sila (Purification), 3:149“Silent contactees,” 3:268Silver, 2:185Silver Cliff (CO) spooklights, 3:22–23Silver cord (Soul Body connection), 1:27–28,

3:13, 171Silverman, Helaine, 2:262Simmons, Ruth. See Murphy, BrideySimon, Benjamin, 3:275Simon, Carly, 3:138Simon Magus (early Gnostic), 1:278, 2:69–70Simony, 2:69Simos, Miriam. See Starhawk (Wiccan leader)Sinclair, Mrs. Upton, 3:181–182Sinetar, Marsha, 1:195Sirens (Garduna), 2:14

Sitting Bull (Sioux holy man), 1:285“Sitting” shiva, 3:228Sitwell, Sacheverell, 3:19Six, symbolism of


The Six Books of the Republic (Bodin), 2:110666 (Number of the Beast), 1:181, 183,

238–239, 290, 3:198See also The Antichrist

Sixteen, tarot symbolism of, 2:132“Sixth Sense.” See Extrasensory perception

(ESP)The Sixth Sense (film), 3:50, 158Sixtus V, Pope, 2:159Skull candles, 2:172Skulls, crystal, 2:191–193Skunk Ape, 3:65–66Slaughter Stone (England), 2:273Slave adoption of Christianity, 1:282–283,

285–286, 2:52, 54Sleeman, William, 2:33Sleep disorders, 3:121Sleep paralysis, 3:127“Sleeping on a problem.” See Creative and lucid

dreaming“The Sleepless Ones.” See Watchers (angels)Sleepwalking, 3:125Slick, Tom, 3:67Smith, Benjamin, 1:59Smith, G. E., 3:29, 30Smith, Huston, 1:178, 248Smith, Marie Sweet, 1:160Smith, Will, 3:277Smyth, Charles Piazzi, 2:265Smythe, Frank, 3:66Snake handling, 1:239–241, 240Snake symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166Snakes, mistaken for dragons, 3:88“Snakes in imported carpets” urban legend,

3:229–230“Snakes in the toilet” urban legend, 3:236–237Sneezing superstitions, 3:199Snowden, Wendy, 1:83Soal, S. G., 3:181Social phobias, 3:137Society for Psychical Research (SPR), 1:157,

172–173Society of Novus Spiritus, 1:97–98


Cumulative Index328

Socorro (NM) UFO sighting (1964),3:265–266

Socrates (Greek philosopher), 1:90Soldaro, Antonio Aldo, 1:29Solomon’s seal, 2:144Solon (Greek politician), 2:221Sontheil, Ursula. See Mother ShiptonSoubrious, Bernadette, 1:188, 189, 209–210,

2:248Souers, Sidney W., 3:297–298Soul Body, 1:27–28, 3:171Soul journeys, 1:76Souls

of animals, 3:7in Buddhism, 1:4–5in Christianity, 1:4, 5in Hinduism, 1:4, 11–12immortality of, in traditional religions, 1:2in Islam, 1:4, 5, 13in Judaism, 1:4, 5, 14, 48Origen on, 1:9Orphic concept, 1:35, 268Paul, St. on, 1:8–9Pythagoras on, 1:35Taoist concept, 1:42tribal concepts, 1:36–37, 40, 3:221–222See also Ba and ka; Reincarnation

Source amnesia, 3:131–132Soviet Union, end of communism, 1:186, 2:153,

160Space visitors, in Holy Scripture, 3:249–251Spades (playing cards), 2:135Spain, Garduna activity, 2:13–15Spain, witchcraft trials, 2:106–108

See also Spanish InquisitionSpanish Inquisition, 1:219, 2:13–14, 106–107Spanos, Nicholas, 3:148Speaking in tongues. See GlossolaliaSpear of Destiny, 2:200, 209, 209–210Spear of Longinus. See Spear of DestinySpecial Report Number 14 (1954), 3:256“Specious present,” 3:175The Sphinx (Giza, Egypt), 2:150, 268, 268–272Sphinx (mythological creature), 2:269Spiders, fear of. See Arachnophobia“Spiders in the hairdo” urban legend,

3:237–238Spielberg, Steven, 3:281, 282–283Spilsbury, Bernard, 3:33The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient

Religion of the Great Goddess (Starhawk), 2:89

Spirit cabinets, 1:88Spirit contact, researchers of, 1:74, 84, 90,

1:154–173Spirit controls, 1:90–92

See also Spirit guides; TotemsSpirit guides, 1:79–80, 90–92, 94

guardian angels as, 1:212as intermediaries, 1:159tribal empowerment and, 2:190See also Spirit controls; Totems

Spirit land, 1:38Spirit mediumship, 1:82–93Spirit photography. See Psychic photographySpiritism, 1:143, 144

See also Macumba; SpiritualismThe Spirits’ Book (Le Livre des Esprits) (Kardec),

1:143Spiritual expression, 20th century, 1:313–321Spiritualism, 1:133–134, 133–144

See also SpiritismSpitting superstitions, 3:199–200Spontaneous human combustion (SHC),

3:52–55, 298, 299Spooklights, 3:22–24“Spooksville,” 3:23Spoons, 3:218SPR. See Society for Psychical ResearchSprenger, Jakob, 1:199–200, 219, 2:108Sprinkle, R. Leo, 3:269, 270Spunkies, 3:104Spying, psychics used in, 1:155Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales,

3:146–147Star and quarter moon, as Satanic symbols,

1:290“Star Gospel” (Katter), 2:124Star of Bethlehem, explanation for, 3:249Star Trek: The Motion Picture (film), 3:253Starhawk (Wiccan leader), 2:89–90Starkey, Marion L., 2:104Stars (tarot), 2:132Stawell, Lord and Lady, 3:42Steiner, Rudolf, 1:149–152, 150

as Anthroposophy founder, 1:51–53on cosmic consciousness, 1:194critics of, 1:148on reincarnation, 1:50

Steller’s sea eagles, 3:99Stepanek, Pavel, 3:167–168Sterne, John, 2:111Stevenson, Ian, 1:69–70


329Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

Steward, Patrick, 3:21Stigmata, 1:241, 243–244Stigmata (film), 1:239Stockholm (Sweden) fire (1759), 1:152–153“Stone-dropping,” 3:19Stonehenge Decoded (Hawkins), 2:273–274Stonehenge (England), 2:79, 232–233,

272–275Stones, 2:185–187

See also Gem superstitions; MegalithsStored memories, 3:140Stregeria, 2:93Strict Observance (Masonic group), 2:18Strieber, Whitley, 3:270–271, 279, 279–280,

283–284Stromberg, Gustaf, 2:125Stuart, John H., 3:277Stubbe, Peter, 3:84Stukeley, William, 2:232, 273Stupor, 3:140Sturridge, Charles, 3:103Subconscience, precognition and, 3:175Succubi, 3:76, 79–80, 143Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death

Syndrome (SUNDS), 3:233Sufism, reincarnation and, 1:42, 47–48Suggestion, power of, 1:83, 90Suitcases, dream symbolism, 3:130Sumatra, food kinship custom, 3:216“Sumatran Yeti.” See Orang pendekSumerians

amulets, 2:169astronomers, accuracy of, 3:249cultural evolution, 3:248

Summers, Montague, 3:78Summis Desiderantes Affectibus (Innocent VIII),

2:103, 108Sun, dream symbolism, 3:130Sun Lord Pacal (Mayan figure), 2:253–254Sun (tarot), 2:132SUNDS. See Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal

Death SyndromeThe Superiority of Women (Agrippa), 2:59Superstitions, 3:189–200Supreme Military Order of Temple of Jerusalem

of England, Wales, and Scotland, 2:24Sutherland, Donald, 3:112Sutphen, Richard, 1:59–61Sutton, Billy Ray, 3:243–244Suzuki, D. T., 1:215Swastikas, 2:210

Swastikas, inverted, 1:290Sweden, mistletoe custom, 2:183Sweden, UFO sightings (1946), 3:252Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1:136, 148, 152–154,

153Swift, Jane, 2:106“Swimming” a witch, 2:112Switzerland, werewolf burnings, 3:83–84Switzerland, witch hunts, 2:99Swords (tarot), 2:133–134Swordsmen (Garduna), 2:14Sykes, Brian, 3:64, 68Sylvester, Pope, 1:186Symbolic level of expanded consciousness,

3:142Symbols and symbolism

astrology, 2:121–123, 124black (color), 1:40dreams, 3:128–130horns (head), 2:92, 94Luther, Martin, 2:31saints, 2:95Satanism, 1:290, 301tea leaf reading, 2:165–166See also Amulets; Animal symbolism;

Number symbolismSymmes, John Cleves, 2:240–241

TTable manners, 3:215–216Taboos. See Customs and taboos; specific

countries and culturesTahiti, food kinship, 3:216Talavera, Jorge Luis, 3:71Talismans, 2:168, 194, 197–198, 3:188

See also Amulets; Fetishes; Good luckcharms

Tamblyn, Russ, 3:14Tanganyika, lion men activity, 2:26Tanner, John, 1:283Tantalis (King of Lydia), 2:224–225Tao Teh Ching (Taoist work), 3:150Taoism

burials and funerals, 3:223hospitality and charity, 3:215meditation, 3:150mourning, 3:228soul, 1:42

Taos Pueblo (NM), 2:275–279, 276Tarantula (film), 3:110


Cumulative Index330

Targ, Russell, 3:164Tarot. See Cartomancy and tarotTart, Charles T., 3:121, 122, 164–165, 172–173Tasseography. See Tea leaf readingTatsl, Igor, 3:67Taurus, the Bull, 2:121, 186Taylor, Dan, 3:90, 92Taylor, G. Rattray, 1:291Taylor, John, 2:265Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich, 3:142Te Pito O Te Henua. See Easter IslandTea leaf reading, 2:164–166, 165Tedworth Drummer (Tedworth, England),

3:44–47, 45Teed, Cyrus Read, 2:242Teenagers’ interest in the occult, 1:289Teeth, dream symbolism, 3:130Telekinesis. See PsychokinesisTelepathy, 3:24, 25, 158, 160Telepathy, researchers of, 3:179–184Teleportation, 1:119

See also Philadelphia Experiment (1943)Television programs. See Horror films and TV

programsTemperament, 2:120–121Temperance (tarot), 2:131Temple of Artemis (Ephesus), 2:243Temple of Inscriptons (Mexico), 2:253Temple of Karnak (Egypt), 2:246Temple of Set, 1:303–304Temple of Solomon (Jerusalem), 2:10, 202–203,

210Ten, symbolism of

playing cards, 2:134, 135tarot, 2:133, 134

Teresa, Mother. See Mother TeresaTeresa of Avila, St., 1:190, 203Terhune, Albert Payson, 3:6The Terror (film), 3:112Teudt, Wilhelm, 2:257Them! (film), 3:110Theosophical Society, 1:52, 55–56, 148, 275Theosophy, 1:55–57, 148Thera volcano, 2:224Therianthropes, 3:58, 69, 83The Thing (film), 3:110The Thing from Another World (film), 3:281Thinnes, Roy, 3:289Thirteen, symbolism of

tarot, 2:131unluckiness of, 3:197–198

Thirteenth School, 2:248Thixotropy, 1:221Thomas, Andy, 3:296Thomas Aquinas, St., 2:47Thornton, Billy Bob, 3:136Thoth-Hermes. See Hermes-Toth (Greek deity)Three, symbolism of

numerology, 2:146playing cards, 2:134–135tarot, 2:130, 133, 134

The Thuggee, 2:2, 32–34Thunderbirds, 3:97–99Thurston, Gavin, 3:53Thurston, Herbert, 1:237“Ti.” See Nettles, Bonnie Lu TrousdaleTiahuanaco (Bolivia), 2:277–279Tibetan prayer wheels. See Prayer wheelsTighe, Virginia. See Morrow, Virginia TigheTikal (Guatemala), 2:253, 255, 256Timaeus (Plato), 2:221“Time compression,” 3:292Timor, flower giving, 3:208Titharaja (King of the Holy Cities). See

Allahabad (India)Tituba (17th c. slave), 2:104, 105“Tkys-katsi.” See YetiToasting with drinks, 3:220–221Tolstoy, Leo, 1:112–113Tongs, 2:2, 34, 36–37Tonsmann, José Aste, 1:245–246Topaz, 2:186Topper (film), 3:49Topper (TV program), 3:51Topsell, Edward, 3:88Torquemada, Tomas de, 1:219, 2:107Torture

in England, 2:100–101of Knights Templar, 2:22sanctioning by Roman Catholic Church,

1:218in Scotland, 2:106of witches, 1:199–200, 2:96

Total Overcomers. See Heaven’s Gate cultTotem animals, 1:80–81Totem poles, 2:199Totems, 1:39, 2:198–199

See also Spirit controls; Spirit guidesTower of Destruction (tarot), 2:132Toyanbee, Arnold, 1:156Trances, 1:92–93

consciousness and, 3:141


331Cumulative Index

CU

MU

LA

TI

VE

I

ND

EX

Extrasensory Perception and, 3:160of Macumba shamen, 1:286during possession, 1:224during UFO contact, 3:268

Transiency, in consciousness, 1:145Transmigration of souls. See Reincarnation, in

major religionsTravolta, John, 1:320Tree coffins, 3:222Trees, 2:187–188, 3:196Trembles, Mary, 2:101Trenchers, 3:219Triad Tong, 2:34, 36, 37Tribal empowerment, 2:190–199Trivial precognition, 3:176Trolls, 3:109True Church of God. See CatharsTrumpet seances, 1:87–88Tsien, Joe, 3:131Tucker, D. Gordon, 3:92Turck, Sven, 3:178Turkey, alleged Noah’s Ark sightings, 2:219Turkey, horseshoe custom, 2:179Turquoise, 2:186–187Twelve, symbolism of

Pythagoras on, 2:145significance of, 3:198tarot, 2:131

Twenty-two, symbolism of, 2:147“Twilight” communication, 1:89Twining, Nathan, 3:253, 256, 297Twins, telepathic ability of, 3:180Twitchell, Paul, 1:51, 316–317, 317Two, symbolism of

numerology, 2:146playing cards, 2:135Pythagoras on, 2:145tarot, 2:130, 133, 134

Tyrrell, G. N. M., 3:160

UUbasti (Egyptian deity). See Bast (Egyptian

deity)UFO contactees and abductees, 3:245,

3:266–280UFO cults, 1:304–313UFO Enigma Museum (Roswell, NM), 3:291UFOs

in ancient times, 3:246–251in film and TV, 3:281–290

in modern times, 3:251–266recent mysteries, 3:290–301

Ullman, Montague, 3:124, 160, 164Uluru monolith (Australia), 2:196Umbanda. See MacumbaUmberto II (King of Portugal), 1:234Umm al-Qura. See Mecca (Saudi Arabia)Underhill, Evelyn, 1:202Underhill, Leah Fox. See Fox sistersUnderstanding Incorporated, 1:305, 3:273Unidentified flying objects. See UFOsThe Uninvited (film), 3:49United States, beliefs and customs

engagement announcements, 3:208horseshoes, 2:178multiculturalism and, 3:202Santeria, 1:287vampire subculture, 3:81–82

United States, Freemason activity, 2:9–12The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin (Houdini),

1:165“Unseelie court.” See ElvesUpanishads (Hindu text), 1:42, 3:150Urban legends and beliefs, 3:228–238

See also HoaxesU.S. Air Force, UFOs and. See UFOs, in

modern timesU.S. Air Force gremlin tales, 3:105U.S. Navy Flight 19 disappearance (1945),

2:228USS Cyclops disappearance (1918), 2:228USS Eldridge. See Philadelphia Experiment

(1943)“Uvani” (spirit control). See Garrett, EileenUxmal (Mexico), 2:254, 255

VValentino, Rudolph, 3:25Valentinus (Gnostic teacher), 1:278Valhalla sea monster, 3:93–94Valiente, Doreen, 2:90–91“Vampire Chronicles” books (Rice), 3:82Vampires, 3:80–83Van Dusen, Wilson, 1:198, 224Van Praagh, James, 1:124–125Van Tassel, George, 1:305, 3:280Vandenberg, Hoyt S., 3:298Vanished civilizations, 2:214–215Varieties of Anomalous Experiences (Cardena, et

al), 1:216–217


Cumulative Index332

Vasiliev, Leonid L., 3:162, 182–183Vegetarianism, Manichaeans and, 1:282Vela X supernova, 3:248Verity, L. S., 3:12–13La Vie Execrable de Guillemette Babin (Carron),

3:192Vigenere, Blaise, 2:43Viking funerals, 3:226Vincent, Kenneth, 3:85Violence, of poltergeists, 3:19Virgin of Guadalupe, 1:244–246, 245Virgins, as brides of Christ, 1:292Virgo, the Virgin, 2:122, 186Vishnu (Hindu deity), 1:11Vision quests, 1:81–82Visions, 1:246–249

See also Deathbed visionsVivien (fairy queen), 2:226Vodun. See VoodooVogel, Marcel, 2:174Vogel Luminescence, 2:174“La Voisin.” See Montvoison, CatherineVolsungr (Norse deities), 2:197Von Fram, M. L., 3:119Von Knigge, Baron Adolf Francis, 2:18Von Nettesheim, Henry Cornelius Agrippa. See

Agrippa (German philosopher)Von Spee, Friedrich, 2:96Von Tilburg, Jo Ann, 2:127Voodoo, 2:52, 54–56

fetishes, 2:194gris-gris, 2:198religious articles, 2:54See also Laveau, Marie

“Voodoo death,” 2:56Voodoo dolls, 2:188, 188–190, 189, 194Vorilhon, Claude, 1:311, 312Vu Quang oxen, 3:86

WWaco (TX) standoff (1993). See Branch

Davidians“Wailing Wall” (Jerusalem), 2:242, 245Wakes, 3:225Walcott, Mary, 2:104, 105Wales, beliefs and customs

bride capturing, 3:204fairy tales, 2:176

Walker, Grace, 3:53–54Wall, Patrick, 3:133

Wallace, Alfred Russell, 1:134“Walter” (spirit control). See Crandon, Mina

StinsonWandervogel, 2:210War of the Worlds (film and radio broadcast),

3:285–287Warren Commission, 2:35Washington, George, 2:11Washington (DC) UFO sightings (1952), 3:253,

292Wasson, Peter, 3:152–153Wasson, R. Gordon and Mrs., 3:152–153Watchers (angels), 2:52“Watching” a witch, 2:112Water, dream symbolism, 3:129, 130Water acquisition, Nazca Lines and, 2:260–261,

262–263Water divining. See DowsingWaterhouse, Agnes, 2:100Watkins, Alfred, 2:232, 233, 261Watson, Gladys, 3:8–9Wauk-Wauk. See Bigfoot (apelike monster)We Faked the Ghosts of Borley Rectory

(Mayerling), 3:32–33Weaver, Sigourney, 3:282Webb, Clifton, 3:25Webb, David, 3:270Webb, Jim, 3:39Webster, Christopher, 1:84Wedding cakes, 3:214Wedding ceremonies, 3:210–213Wedding dinners, 3:213–214Wedding gowns. See Bridal dressWedding processions, western, 3:209–210Wedding rings, 3:213Wednesday superstitions, 3:191Wee folk, 3:99–109Weeping statues and icons, 1:249–252Weil, Andrew, 3:151Weinberger kidnapping (1956), 2:139Weishaupt, Adam, 2:16, 18Weiss, Brian, 1:67Weiss, Erich. See Houdini, HarryWeiss, Frederick, 3:124Weiss, Theodore, 1:163, 165Weitzenhoffer, Andre M., 3:146, 147Welles, Orson, 3:286, 286–287Were-creatures. See Therianthropes;

WerewolvesWerewolves, 3:83–85Wesley, Samuel, 3:36–38


333Cumulative Index

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West, John Anthony, 2:270, 271West, Mae, 3:25Wester, William C., 3:148Weston, Jesie, 2:205–206Wexford (Ireland) leprechauns, 3:105–106Weyer, Johann, 1:219, 2:109, 110Whaley, Thomas and Anna, 3:47, 48–49Whaley House (San Diego, CA), 3:47–49Wheel of Fortune (tarot), 2:131Wheel symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166White, John, 2:269White, John W., 1:26, 194White, Rhea, 3:164White, Richard, 3:92White (color), symbolism of, 3:208–209, 227White magick, 2:51, 56–57, 3:188Whitehead, Alfred North, 1:22, 156Whitford, Dorothy, 2:82, 83Wicca, 1:289–290, 291–293, 2:72–74Wiccan leaders, 2:75, 77–91Wiccan Rede, 2:73Wigs. See Hair and wig groomingWilcox, George, 3:262“Wilhelm” (spirit entity), 3:39Wilkes expedition (1838–42), 2:240–241Williams, Abigail, 2:104, 105Williams, Charles, 2:108Willis, Archie, 3:93Willis, Bruce, 3:158Wilson, Ian, 1:234Wilson, Jack, 1:78–79, 283–285Wilson, Terry, 2:25–26Winchester, Simon, 1:45Winged Pharaoh (Grant), 1:58Wings of Deliverance. See People’s TempleWinter, William, 3:43–44Wiseman, James, 1:220Wiseman, Richard, 1:83Wishbones, 2:169The Witch Cult in Western Europe (Murray),

2:75, 87–88Witch of Endor, 1:131–133Witchcraft, 2:91–99

Inquisition and, 1:199–200, 217–218, 219related violence (20th–21st c.), 2:101Satanism and, 1:289, 2:74Seax-Wica, 2:81See also Wicca

Witchcraft Today (Gardner), 2:77, 85Witchcraft trials, 2:99–108The Witches of Eastwick (film), 3:112

Witches’ Round, 1:294–295, 2:98–99Witches’ salve. See “Flying ointment”Witchhunters, 2:108–114Witzman, Doron, 1:242Wolf (film), 3:112The Wolf Man (film), 3:85Wollam, Josie, 1:234Wolves, Native Americans and, 3:193Woman symbols, in tea leaf reading, 2:166Women, status of

Agrippa on, 2:59bride capturing and bride buying, 3:204–205elopement, 3:206Garduna and, 2:14Gnosticism and, 1:279in Middle Ages, 1:292polygamy and polyandry, 3:203

“Woodhenge” (IL), 2:231Woodruffe, Clark, 3:42–43Woodruffe, Sara Matilda, 3:42–43Wordsworth, William, 3:124The World Goodwill Centers, 1:281World leaders, viewed as the Antichrist,

1:181–182World (tarot), 2:132Worrall, Olga, 1:58Wounded Knee (SD) massacre (1890), 1:285Wovoka (Paiute shaman). See Wilson, JackWreaths, for funerals, 3:226Wright, Elsie, 1:138, 139, 3:103Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Hangar 18

(Dayton, OH), 3:259–260, 260Wulff, David M., 1:217Wulff, Wilhelm, 2:125

X

The X-Files (TV program), 3:51, 3:287–288,288

Xenophobia, 3:140

Y

Yama (Hindu deity), 1:5, 7–8Year of the Dragon (film), 2:34Yeats, William Butler, 3:102Yellow Turbans Tong, 2:36“Yeren.” See YetiYeti, 3:66–68, 67Yoga, 3:157


Cumulative Index334

Yogananda, Paramahansa, 1:47“Yossele” (Golem of Prague), 3:76You Were Born Again to Be Together (Sutphen),

1:59Young, Sherry and Terry, 3:180Yule candle, 2:172

ZZachariah (Hebrew prophet), 3:250Zadikel (angel), 2:58Zamora, Lonnie, 3:265–266Zaphkiel (angel), 2:58Zeitoun (Egypt) holy apparitions, 1:187, 190Zell, Oberon, 2:73, 74Zell, Tim. See Zell, OberonZener cards, 3:163, 169Zeta I and II Reticuli, 3:275–276

Zeuglodon, 3:87, 96Zeus, statue of, 2:243Zeus (Greek deity), 1:267Zhengxin, Yuan, 3:68Zinsstag, Lou, 3:272Zodiac, 2:120, 121–123, 124Zohar, 2:142

See also KabbalahZolar (astrologer), 2:123–124Zombi, 2:55–56Zombies of the Stratosphere (film). See Satan’s

Satellites (film)Zoroaster (Persian religious leader), 1:288, 2:70–71Zosimus of Panapolis, 2:42Zulley, Jurgen, 3:121Zulu people, burial customs, 3:226Zuni people, fetishes, 2:193Zuoguian, Feng, 3:68


335Cumulative Index

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Documents

GEUUhttp - v2 . quark 4/4/03 5:18 PM Page 1 2.pdfGale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Brad E. Steiger and Sherry Hansen Steiger Project Editor Jolen Marya Gedridge Editorial