Nicolas Flamel, a French alchemist, was said to have found the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, gaining both immortality and wealth. Born in the year 1330 and (some say) died in 1418, others claim to have met him long after; and for all we know Flamel may be sitting in some Starbucks reading this description of himself today.
Flamel worked as a scribe, one day while shopping in a bookstall, an unusual volume caught his eye and he purchased it for two florins. The gilded manuscript had 21 pages made from bark, not paper or parchment as was customary. It had a copper cover. Every seventh page lacked writing but was inscribed with, repsectively:
*A serpent swallowing rods
*A serpent crucified on a cross
*A vast arid desert
Written on the first leaf in gilded letters was a warning from Abraham, Astrologer and Philosopher. This was followed by curses against all who unauthorized, attempted to use this book. Many believe this manuscript to be an early reference to the system of Abramelin magic found in the grimoire Abramelin and so influenced the work of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley.
Flamel believed the book to have been confiscated magical text that ended up on the book stall. The book seller was able to offer no explanation. According to the text, a full study of the Kabalah was required for comprehension.
He recognized the work as an encoded alchemical text but was unable to decipher it. Flamel fell under the book's spell and was obsessed with it, spending 21 years trying to crack it's code to no avail.
Finally his wife Perenelle suggested he go to Toledo. To consult with experts on the Kabalah. When he returned he was able to transmute mercury into silver and gold.
There are at least two versions of his life:
* Flamel did not create the Elixir of Life but lived to be 116 years old, dying in 1417 and distributing his considerable wealth to various churches and hospitals. His will provided for the construction of 14 hospitals, 7 churches, and 3 chapels. His wealth was extreme and longevity led to rumors of his alchemical career.
* Flamel discovered the Philospher's Stone and, together with his wife Perenelle, still walks the Earth.
Brightest of Blessings,
Lory
Asatru is a modern spiritual path based on ancient Nordic traditions. The term has been used since the late nineteenth century to describe adherence to and the preservation of pre-Christian Nordic religion. The meaning of Asatru is "Trust in the Aesir."
In Scandinavia this tradition is also known as Forn Sior (Ancient Way) or Hedensksed (Heathen custom). Asatru was granted status as an official religion in Iceland in 1972.
Heathen is an Anglo-Saxon word that literally means "dweller on the heath." The heath is the area outside the settlement. In post-Christianity days, those wishing to maintain old traditions retired to the heath, hence the name.
Heathen came to be synonymous with the word "Pagan," sometimes with the added implication of rude, ignorant barbarian. The word has been reclaimed by Neo-Pagans subscribing to Asatru and it's Northern European traditions. It is used today with pride.
Brightest of Blessings,
Lory
After an absence from my blog, on the eve of my birthday, I feel compelled to share a discovery with you. Nancy Collins, famous author of dark vampire fantasies put it better than I ever could. "My after forty face felt far more comfortable than any thing I lived with previously. Self-Confidence was a powerful beauty-potion: I looked better because I felt better. Failure and grief as well as success and love had served me well. Finally, I was tapping into that most hard-won of youth dews: wisdom.
Many people confuse self-esteem with self-confidence. For me self-esteem is how we really feel about ourselves in the secret sanctuary of our soul. Do we love, accept and approve of ourselves unconditionally? Do we believe that we are worthy of the love others and the best of life has to offer?
The quality of our self-esteem is very connected to the relationship with our first and most important critics: our parents. If they unconditionally loved, accepted, and approved of us, then we probably do, too.
But self-confidence is a special magical elixir that Spirit has prepared to help each of us face and surmount the challenges of life. It is an aromatic blending of invigorating essences: attitude, experience, knowledge, wisdom, optimism and faith.
If you were fortunate enough to grow up in a loving supportive home and your self-esteem is strong, you learn your own homeopathic formula early. If we did not, then we need to learn how to mix our own custom blend. But what's important to realize is that self-confidence is available to all of us.
An optimistic attitude is essential to self-confidence. So is learning from our mistakes and recognizing that everything in life can be used as a lesson once we are willing to be taught. If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you can't.
Today, tell yourself you can do any thing you want to do. Because you can.
Brightest of Blessings!
Lory
In 1939, the Russian engineer Semypnov Davidovich Kirlian from Krasnodar on the Kuban noticed that discharges appeared between the body of a patient and the electrodes in the high-frequency range of an apparatus for electro-therapeutic treatment. Kirlian was eager to know whether this state which was visible to the eye could also be photographed. He and his wife, Valentina, undertook the difficult job of developing these photographs.
Kirlian photograph, which is used everywhere today, exhibits the so-called Kirlian effect. In high-frequency alternating current fields which are harmless to people, animals, and plants, bodies acquire a luminescence that can be photographed but is not caused by high temperature. It is also known as "cold luminescence."
As a passing example of the phenomenon which Kirlian photography can make visible, it should be mentioned that a fresh flower with many blossoms and the same flower with some blossoms cut off. In the place where the blossoms had been their outline still showed up in a photograph taken seconds after the cut was made and they were no longer there.
Countless exposures have been taken all over the world using the Kirlian effect. They show radiation around men's bodies that are not visible to the naked eye.
For example, there was a photo taken after a hand was amputated. The outlines of the amputated hand appear on the photographic plate.
And, most remarkable of all, a man lay down on a sofa, then stood up and went away. A photo taken just afterward showed the outlines of the man lying on the sofa. Here an unknown force obviously causes a physical phenomenon.
When the technique is developed further, mankind will have a brand new principle, for at the moment the photographed aura- or whatever it is- varies considerably in quality and clarity.
I am always amazed to observe how formerly unintelligible passages from myths turn out to be realities. People used to just talk about the aura that surrounds certain people - and it exists! It can be photographed.
The way that the Kirlian effect works has been explained in principle. It is not denied by physicists that the body "radiates" to a greater or lesser degree. Kirlian discovered how to photograph these radiations.
But how do we answer the phenomenal question of how a no longer present object (cut blossoms, amputated hand, man who has left the room) continues to radiate for a brief period. ie., can still be "active" in it's former position?
When all is said and done, scholars claim that bodies are the cause of the radiations. Could it be the other way around?
Brightest of Blessings,
Lory
