The Dyatlov Pass Mystery

During the late evening of 1 February 1959 to the early morning of 2 February, something very strange happened to nine experienced skiers in the Ural Mountains of the Soviet Union. Whatever happened to these 7 men and 2 women, the consequences cost them their lives.

The investigation into their deaths seemed to show that the nine fled the camp they had set up in sudden terror. The group fled towards a thick forest about a kilometer and a half away (about 1 mile). They were in such a rush to flee, they didn't even try to open the tent, which was tied shut against the wind and snow-instead slashing the tent open wih their knives! When they dashed down the snowy slope towards the thick forest, they left behind such essentials as skis, food and warm coats. They didn't have a chance of surviving in the forest where bitterly cold temperatures hovered around -30 C (-22F).

The investigators at the time offered the explanation which didn't really explain anything, that "a compelling unknown force" caused the deaths of the group. The area-now known as "The Dyatlov Pass" in honor of the fallen group and their leader was then shut off to amateur sportsmen for "reasons of safety."

There would have been a tenth member in the group that fateful eve/morn had he not fallen ill and turned back-Yuri Yudin. "If I had a chance to ask God just one question, it would be: "What really happened to my friends that night?" says Yudin.

Yudin and his nine comrades had left on their journey on 23 January 1959. Their destination was Otorten Mountain in the northern Urals. Yudin and eight of the other members of the group were either students or graduates of the Ural Polytechnic Institute of Sverdlovsk (now called Ekaterinberg-the city where the Tsar and his family were executed on the orders of V.I. Lenin in 1918).

The members of the group who perished are as follows: Igor Dyatlov, 23, and leader of the group=well respected for his expertise in cross-country skiing and mountaineering; Georgy Kolvonishenko (24), Yuri Doroshenko (24), Zina Kolmogoreva (22), Rustem Slobodin (23), Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollet (24), Ludmila Dubinina (21), Alexandr Kolevatov (25) and Alexandr Zolotaryov, quite a bit older than the rest at 37.

Some silly rumours concerning Zolotaryov's involvement with the group began (as they will in these unexplained cases) saying he was either a "rather mysterious" or "unexplained" addition to the group. This was simply ridiculous. Zolotaryov had simply requested to go along because of his interest in the sport. Dyatlov had been initially reluctant to take him, but Zolotaryov had proven himself to be a very experienced sportsmen and came with a recommendatation from some of Dyatlov's own friends.

"Sports Tourism" had become very popular in the USSR after the years of austerity and privations caused by WWII and Stalin. Under Nikita Khrushchev's leadership, the USSR moved away from the extreme repression and terror under Stalin starting with Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" to the Twentieth Communist Party Congress of the Soviet Union in 1956. The Soviet Union was also experiencing great economic growth during the Khrushchev years (1955-1964), which allowed Soviet citizens to pursue other interests. Another reason sports tourism flourished was its apolitical nature.

Upon leaving on 23 January, the initial group of ten left for what was supposed to be a three-week journey. They travelled by train to Ivdel, arriving on 25 January. Then they went to Vizhay-the last inhabited settlement before the snow-covered wilderness between them and Otorten. On 28 January 1959, Yuri Yudin became ill and had to turn back, leaving the nine to proceed without him. This was the last time he saw his friends alive.

Events after Yudin's departure can only be reconstructed from the diaries and photographs left by the group, and the investigation into the incident. On 31 January the group reached the river Auspia, where they set up a base at the edge of the highland area, and left food and equipment there for the return journey. From here, they began climbing the pass towards Otorten on 1 February 1959.

For some reason-most likely bad weather conditions causing them to become disoriented-the found themselves on the slopes of the moutain Kholat Syakh, at a height of around 3600 feet (1100 meters). They pitched their tent here around 5 p.m. on 1 February, although if they had travelled just about another mile (1.5 km) down the moutain, they would have had some greater shelter from the bad weather in a forest.

The last diary entry made by the group indicated they were in good -even terrific spirits. The next day they planned to continue on to Otorten, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) to the north, before returning to their base camp.

What happened to the group during that tragic timeframe from the late evening of the first to the early morning of the second is of course, a complete mystery. There have been loads upon loads of unsubstantiated claims and rumours piled upon this case. Everything from alien creatures, secret military testing gone wrong, some members of the groups corpses were said to have a strange orange-tan color, revenge by an indigenous tribe called the Mansi for daring to intrude upon their sacred territory (there was not a shred of evidence to support this theory-absolutely no evidence of anyone besides the original members of the group was found), injuries on some of the corpses were said to be only explained by "high-pressure" concussion type events (simply untrue), high levels of radiation also was said to have been found on some of the bodies-radiation was detected-but it was low-level and explainable by natural forces, the Yeti or Almasty (abominable snowmen), there were even rumours that the party had somehow fallen prey to subterranean Russian gnomes-perhaps similar to Richard Shavers' "Deros"!

Apparently there were reports of mysterious "bright flying spheres" in the area around the general time (February-March 1959) of the tragic deaths. However, even if true, these lights can in no way be linked to this case with what we know about it. Perhaps a bit more should be said about the local indigenous people- the Mansi. When one or more investigators thought of the Mansi as suspects, they may have been thinking of an incident in the 1930s, when Mansi shamans reportedly drowned a female geologist for trespassing on land they considered sacred. However, even though both mountains related to the Dyatlov expedition were known to the Mansi, neither are considered a sacred or taboo site. There is the chilling coincidence that Otorten means "don't go there" in the Mansi language, and Kholat-Syakhl means, even more chillingly "Mountain of the Dead." These Mansi names are probably more related to practical warnings for the nomadic Mansi tan any sort of tribal mythology or curse.

Here are some observations from the Aquiziam site: (a) Ludmila Dubinina's tongue was not ripped out it was degraded through natural processes. (b) The radiation was inconsequential (c) The area was not sealed off to everyone-only amateur sports groups (d) The case was never classified (e) There are currently no records of any experiemental aircraft being tested in the area in 1959. (f) There is no evidence (now or then) that the area was used to test weapons. However, this doesn't rule out secret testing. (g) Photographs thought to be missile parts have turned out to be old radar units. (h) The "mysterious" envelope contained only general correspondence. (i) Photographs show that any discoloration of the bodies was wholly normal. (j) The injuries discovered are explainable and consistent with those that might be expected to occur in a group of desperate and clearly frightened people that had been stumbling around in dangerous conditions in the dark. (k) There is absolutely no evidence for crashed UFOs, Concussion Weapons, Mad Mansi, or Russian Death Squads. (l) All the physical evidence found at the time and subsequent analysis and testing indicates that there was no avalanche. However, at least one person involved with this case still believes that an avalanche was the cause.

And finally, from the Aquiziam site: "However, these now broadly accepted facts do not diminish the mystery-in a strange way they enhance it. As we have repeatedly said throughout these pages...Why did nine, experienced and sensible, ski-hikers abandon their tent in such a hurry and in weather conditions that were hostile and almost certain to lead to their deaths? What really happened that night?"

More here and here Infrasound was put forth as a possible explanation on the Aquiziam site (BTW-I would very much recommend going through all of Aquiziam's pages on this strange incident and the other links to get a "feel" for the case!) and I wonder if this is a good candidate? Infrasound is very-low frequency sound waves that can make the human brain think something supernatural is going on, i.e., produce terrifying and eerie feelings in people. However, I also have to wonder if a group such as these nine people would have been suggestible to this feeling? These were obviously no "Nervous Nellies" (like me- LOL). I will have to research infrasound further to see if this makes sense and will come back with a link for infrasound. All the best to anyone stopping by!

The first image is a picture made showing the original picture of the Dyatlov Party's tent with the area they went to when they fled in terror. The second image is of the Dyatlov group having fun-not at the final campsite. The third image is of the original search team. The last image is of 23-year-old Igor Dyatlov. OK- here is the link to infrasound information-I will try to find more on it!

Ghosts of Regimes Now Past

One of the many features that I have always enjoyed enormously in Fortean Times magazine and the Fortean Times website is "Fortean Traveller." As you might guess, this feature involves the employees and correspondents of the magazine who go to many delightfully unique and bizarre locales around the world, and report back on their findings.

For the January 2009 issue, Mark Fernyhough visited a location not much removed in space from the "sceptre'd isle"- but one with a fascinating and unfortunately very bloody past. Berlin- more specifically the eastern part of the city.

The article, "The Ghosts of East Berlin" doesn't actually go into any "absolute" positives with regard to ghostly phenomena. However, the article is darkly atmospheric, interesting and brings up some wonderful thoughts and comparisons to other cities and their own hauntings. The article is very well worth the short time it will take you to read it!

The author visits the Friedhofspark Pappelallee, a graveyard established in 1847 which evolved to incorporate a children's playground, an intriguing juxtaposition of life and death. This cemetery is located in Prenzlauer Berg, which the author describes as "...a scenic refuge of flourishing bohemia where antiquarian booksellers, galleries and independent record shops quietly thrive in cobbled leafy streets." But for a lack of funds, the communist regime (1949-1989) would have razed and redeveloped the area because it was known to be a "notorious breeding ground of alternative viewpoints."

Mr. Fernyhough visits the "remains" fo the Palast der Republik, which he hilariously describes as havinb looked like "... a horrendously compelling work of 1970s futuristic architecture. Resembling a golden Borg ship straight out of Star Trek..."

Other spine-chilling locales inspected are the grounds of the former Communist state radio station headquarters and Sudwest Kirchof Stahnsdorf, one of Europe's largest graveyards. The author tells us "In the 1930s, during a chapter of typical Nazi distastefulness, 30,000 dead were dug up from the city's more central graveyards to make way for Albert Speer's grand 'North-South axis', part of the plan to transform Berlin into a new capital, Germania."

Mr. Fernyhough is also introduced to a former GDR U-Bahn (underground) driver named Detlef. Detlef reports that despite communist oppression, he has fond memories of the German Democratic Republic, telling his interviewer, "Passengers are less friendly these days and hardly acknowledge us drivers." The driver was almost killed in 1986 when the train in front of his caught fire under Alexanderplatz, saying, "We escaped in the nick of time through an emergency exit hole." This prompts Fernyhough to ask him if he has witnessed any ghosts or experienced any other odd phenomena in the tunnels-"We are greeted with dismissive laughter; he'd rather tell us about a couple on Bulowstrasse who make love with their curtains open."

Fernyhough ends his article with this insightful, and I think, poignant paragraph: "Such paranormal indifference regarding the U-Bahn compares poorly with London's own underground, in which virtually every station has a manifestation or ghostly tale associated with it. But then, in this city, half-remembered ghoulish anecdotes are not recquired. Here, fact is stranger, darker and more potent than any fictionally embellished nightmare. Indeed, the scope of the terror this place has endured in relativly recent history is almost unimaginable. Berlin's tragic past is a living entity, entwined in its conflicted architecture and constantly evolving landscape, and its resonance affects not only the personality of the city itself, but everybody and everything that dwells here."

A Unique Physics Experiment?

Ettore Majorana (b.1906) was an Italian physicist, who was famous in his time. Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi, compared Majorana's genius with Newton and Galileo. Fermi was also Majorana's supervisor at the Institute of Physics in Rome. These days Majorana is credited with predicting that neutrinos have mass, something which has been confirmed only in the past decade. He also had an idea that was developed by the famous physicist Richard Feynman. This was called integral path formulation, which states that the state of a particle at any time is the sum of an infinite number of paths that it could have followed until then.

Majorana had the idea a decade before Feynman developed it in 1948. On 27 March 1938, at the age of 31, Majorana disappeared during a boating trip between Palermo, Sicily and Naples. His body was never found, and people have argued over whether he committed suicide, was kidnapped, or changed his identity and began a new life.

In the summer of 2006, theoretical physicist Oleg Zaslavskii of Karazin University, Ukraine, suggested that the ambiguity about the fate of Ettore Majorana was designed by he himself as a "living" demonstration of quantum superposition. This paradox, in which a particle can simultaneously exist in two mutually exclusive quantum states, is usually demonstrated by Schrodinger's Cat, a thought experiment in which the cat can be both alive and dead at the same time-until it is observed.

The poor feline is usually (in thought only) put in a box where a container of poisonous gas is hooked up to a device with a small hammer that will break the glass container that holds the gas and kill the kitty if it is triggered. This is where the observer paradox comes in. The device is always thought to be triggered by the radioactive decay of an atom that has exactly a 50/50 chance of decaying at any one time.

The physics equations tell us that until someone looks in the box and sees whether the cat is alive or dead that the feline exists in a state of being equally alive and dead at the same time! Majorana is thought to have wanted to mirror this paradox with events in his own life, says Zaslavskii. The argument is based on three messages that Majorana sent to his family and to Antonio Carrelli, the head of the Institute of Physics at the University of Naples.

First, he sent a letter expressing his intention to commit suicide, which he followed with a telegram refuting the idea that he was suicidal. In the third letter, Majorana says he hopes that Carrelli received both the original letter and the telegram at the same time. "A sender should hope that the second message came first, to cancel the earlier one with the more disturbing content," said Zaslavskii. Instead, Majorana wanted two mutually exclusive outcomes-his suicide-or survival-to co-exist, making it, as Zaslavskii said, the "quantum mechanical version of the Hamlet question." It was when Zaslavskii looked into the background of Majorana's disappearance that he became curious-and suspicious.

For instance, Majorana is thought to have hired impostors to pose as himself during the boat trip: "I suddenly realized that all these separate and seemingly extravagant details are united by the same underlying idea. It was very impressive," he said. Some people believe that Majorana survived the boat trip and from 1940 to 1973 lived in Mazara, Sicily, under the name of Tommaso Lipari. There he refused any kind of charity, and carried a wooden stick that had a pin at the end to pick up cigarette butts to smoke.

The life 'Lipari' had in the town caused people to call him the "Dog Man" because he lived like a solitary stray dog searching through trash bins. One man who lived in Mazara said that 'Lipari' had confessed to being Majorana. Another was trying to help his son with a difficult mathematics project and found 'Lipari' was familiar with complicated theories in maths and physics and helped solve his son's project.

If Mr. Majorana did indeed do this to "prove a point" in modern physics-and who is to say-I just chanced on the story glancing through old issues of Fortean Times magazine-here is what I wonder (unless he was completely unhinged-this little "experiment" of his would have been extremely cruel on any family members he had if he came from a loving family). I wonder if he did this because he knew if he planned his disappearance well enough, that a lot of people would be looking at his case-looking at him essentially-and trying to decide the truth.

Maybe Mr. Majorana thought "his" reality would change-in the same way of the "Schrodinger's Cat" experiment because of the interaction of different human consciousnesses trying to decide if he was alive or dead? It was just a thought for why someone would do this, and that is if he did indeed do this for reasons of modern science. Certain things about his case are irrefutable-the boat ride-suicide notes-etcetera. I thought it very interesting to think about whatever the truth to the story might be-and very much like the "observer paradox"-maybe it just depends on who is looking? New Scientist, 5 August 2006; Fortean Times 220:09

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrodinger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettore_Majorana

I hope to be back soon and start again with the mythical (or not so mythical:-) creatures series. Health issues keep on sidetracking me, but hopefully I can get back on course. I do have a lot of information written down already for the next creature-it's just not quite ready to go. Thanks again so much for your kind, thoughtful and intelligent comments!

Gryphons! Creatures From The Imaginal World?

The creation and sustaining of authority was also a great factor of behavior around these ancient bone discoveries. If one possessed a sacred object one also possessed its power. This authority could even be acquired by cities. Because possession of a hero's body conferred a right to the land it came from, cities all over ancient Greece became very focused on acquiring the bones of heroes from rival cities. This could legititimize one city's dominance over another, and led to a frenzy of unnearthing dinosaur's bones all over Greece in the 7th to 5th centuries BC.

Authority is meaningless unless others know that you possess it. It became quite important to display these bones to the public. The collections grew apace with the passion for collecting bones of the "heroes." Not only bones, but such objects as Medusa's hair, pickled mermen, and the egg Leda laid after her encounter with Zeus which occurred after he had been turned into a swan!

Gryphon claws and eggs were in these collections too and some were still on display in the Middle Ages. That these completely misunderstood bones should have held such importance to the ancient Greeks and Romans shouldn't probably be much of a surprise.

In much later years the Habsburg dynasty and their remains were treated rather "specially" too. In 1618 the church of the Capuchins in Vienna, a 'new' order renowned for an asceticism and evangelizing fervor, was selected as the last resting-place for the bodies of the Habsburgs. However, their viscera and hearts were placed in silver caskets, rather like the Canopic jars of the Pharaohs, and presented to the church of the Augustinian order, where they were kept like Phillip II's relics, in rows behind the high altar. The entrails, the seat of the emotions, were the right of the Cathedral of St. Stephen's, where they were received with due reverence in their silver caskets. There is something in human nature which makes people want to venerate the bones (and other body parts) of mythical (or imaginal) creatures, religious saints and royalty.

Not everyone believed in the truth of what these bones were said to represent. The more orthodox scholars, such as Thucydides and Aristotle, seem to have ignored the subject completely. They-like other men of learning were already sure that the myths associated with such difficult to clarify bones (and the supposed creatures who left them) were false. Others were not so sure. We know now, of course, that the bones were not those of actual gryphons. However, could they have existed on another level of reality alongside us? Daimonic creatures seem to exist along some sort of spectrum, some appearing at the personal level; others at the impersonal level.

From Patrick Harpur's Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld: "The most stiking of these apparitions come in animal form, notable bird-like creatures, black dogs and cats, lake monsters, and "big hairy monsters...Already these suggest an affinity with a certain element or type of landscape as the Neoplatonists noticed. Olympiodorus, for example, remarked that daimons can be celestial, ethereal, aerial, or subterranean. (He adds, for the benefit of ufologists, that "irrational daimons originate from the aerial governors...") My emphasis added.

I should have about one or two more articles to go for the "gryphon" part of this series. After that, I would like to keep going with looking at other mythical (or not so mythical) creatures and some other things in between. Thanks for your intelligent and thoughtful comments! All the best to anyone stopping by!

Gryphons! Creatures From The Imaginal World?

Any theory that we can come up with also needs to explain the huge popularity of the gryphons. Many different cultures over thousands of years were fascinated with them. Could the gryphon have been "made" in the minds of those who coneived of them by combining the actual physical artifacts with conceptual patterns? There are some truly fantastical accounts of peoples and beings encountered by ancient travellers. India was said to be home to many bizarre people-the Sciapodes ("Shadow-feet"), a people whose feet were so large that they blocked the sun by raising their legs! The Headless people of Western Libya weren't blind because they had eyes on their breasts-and so on.

Two patterns can be discerned among the amazing variety of these supposed "peoples." 1) They had a trait that was made extreme by either lack or abundance, or 2) They are an "impossible" hybrid, such as the goat-footed men of northern Scythia, or the flying serpents of Arabia. The one-eyed Arimaspeans would belong in the first category and the gryphons in the second.

To the Greeks it was very important to value perfect physical proportion and to keep groups of things, animals and peoples properly divided. In the Greek mind and philosophy these notions were a very big part of "Greekness." The strange peoples and animals they imagined were a reflection of these ideals, but in a negative form. The Greeks had very exacting ideas about what the perfect proportions of the human body should be, so they thought that grotesquely out of proportion features were extremely interesting.

The "hybrid" people and animals imagined by the Greeks were as equally important as the disproportionate features of them. The Greeks thought that many of the hybrids were horrible because they were often unions of qualities that they thought were mutually exclusive. Hermaphrodites were a case in point. The blurred distinction between male and female was considered an extreme aberration in a strict patriarchy. These days we might not even recognize all unions of opposites because they embody dichotomies that aren't recognized as opposites anymore. The gryphon and the winged serpent would have been seen as hybridized opposites, since they mingle animals of the land with those of the sky.

All too often, we lose track of just how important dichotomies can be to a culture. The very fact that most creation myths rest of the establishment and separation of such opposites, shows us how important they are when looking at the way humans perceive reality. Light and dark, wet and dry, fire and ice or men and animals-each so very different, but each impossible to describe its Janus-faced opposite perspective with. Hesiod's account of creation begins with Chaos a word that originally meant "undivided." Those who threaten these distinctions are exiled from the Garden of Eden or are banished from some sort of primordial paradise forever.

Human interest in creatures who straddle dichotomies and situations where original distinctions become fuzzy is a way for people to explore and "feel" these distinctions. The Greeks also felt a sense of superiority and order when looking at non-Greek cultures. In the Greek world a man was a man, a woman a woman, and a dog a dog-there was no mixing between categories. The Greeks not only felt that there was a superiority to their way of life but their bodies also.

The gryphon also served this purpose, but not for the Greeks. Many years after the gryphon had lost its status as a real animal and had passed into the realms of fantasy, it continued to be a popular representation of opposing forces. Good and evil, God and Satan, Heaven and Hell. The gryphon also took on vastly different "personalities." It could be an extremely unthinking attacker or a victim of thieves, a greedy, vigilant hoarder or a selfless and generous protector. The gryphon, in embodying such opposite meanings, became an easy and safe way to talk about the true meaning of good and evil, charity and greed, etcetera. "Safe" in the previous sentence means several things. Uniting forces that are usually seen to be at opposite ends of the spectrum can be a dangerous practice.

The refusal to identify something as obviously either good or evil can be seen by many not as consciousness raising-but threatening. It can be seen as a way fo questioning the established order. Whatever the case may be-things that defy categorization exist. How does a culture deal with these things "safely." Anthropologists have shown several ways cultures do this. The first is to locate the strange creature or behavior as far away in space and time. Marginal things should be in marginal (or maybe imaginal?) places, the wilderness of the Earth, where the rules and laws of civilized life don't apply anyway.Another way to deal with them was by placing them in the securely vague "once upon a time." In this way they could be conveniently put to death by a hero or champion like Heracles-who bludgeoned many strange creatures to death. Or the creatures could simply disappear.

One way a society could deal with the ambiguous was by declaring it sacred. This was a smart way to deal with uncomfortable creatures and things because they could be accepted by the society, but kept apart from normal life. This was a typical destiny for the dinosaur bones that the Greeks and Romans found close to home. They interpreted these as the bones of gigantic (mortal/immortal) hybrids, as ancient heroes and treated as minor deities. A shrine might be set up or even a priesthood to guarantee the hero's worship in perpetuity. A great example of this is the shoulder blade of Pelops. Pelops was a youth who was chopped to pieces by his father and served to the gods to test their all-knowingness. The scheme was detected, but not before the goddess Hera had eaten a portion of the boy's shoulder, which the gods were kind enough to replace with ivory. Miraculously, Pelops's shoulder was found and enshrined in Olympia along with the rest of his body sometime before the Trojan War!

I hope to have the next article in the series here tomorrow, but can't promise anything. Thanks again so very much for your thoughtful and intelligent comments! The sources I have used or will use (so far) for this series are Wikipedia; Bulfinch's Mythology; Andrew Wheatcroft's wonderful book, The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire; Patrick Harpur's Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld; and especially for the last two articles, Dr. Mahalia Way's fantastic article in the June 2003 issue of Fortean Times magazine -"The Terrible Griffin." All the best to anyone stopping by!

Gryphons! Creatures From The Imaginal World?

The gryphon was believed to be a real flesh and blood creature well into the Middle Ages. It made its debut in written texts sometime around 700 BC. The illiterate masses were very familiar with the gryphon also, as it was a popular subject from 3000 BC onwards. Skeptics fall all over themselves trying to explain away the gryphons longevity in the consciousness of ancient and not so ancient mankind.

Amazingly, belief in gryphons flourished without a single reported sighting or mythological story to tell among a tribe, town, village or city. It seems that awareness of the gryphon was passed along in the FOAF (friend of a friend) manner. For anyone travelling in the Caucausus region of the world in ancient times it was often necessary to listen to tales told by local Scythians of a mysterious tribe, the Arimaspeans. The Arimaspeans fought the gryphons for the gold they hoarded. The Scythians were a nomadic people whose burial mounds (kurgans) have been found as far west as Hallstatt, Austria, and northwest as Brandenburg, Germany-all the way to surround the Black Sea area, excepting the southern part where modern Turkey is.

The Arimaspeans were said to be one-eyed cannibals! The fantastic tales about the Arimaspeans were not at all ripped asunder by lack of any evidence or direct testimony of them. We can ask why-but yet again why not? Classicist Adrienne Mayer has an interesting theory that the popular belief in gryphons may have originated with actual fossil finds. The parts of the world that the gryphons were said to inhabit-an enormous area stretching between the Altai and Tien Shan mountian ranges and through the Gobi desert-was a popular nesting ground for a real creature.

The protocerartops was a dinosaur that had a wide bony frill arrayed around its beaked head. The remains of not only protoceratops, but other frilled beasts as well, are numerous around the region. In fact, there are so many that some paleontologists consider them a nuisance! Looking at a protoceratops fossil through ancient eyes, it would be very easy to recontstruct a gryphon from the skeleton. There would have been a prominent beak, large eyes and big claws left behind, and these are archetypal features of the gryphon. The bony ridge, of which usually only fragments are found could account for the high ears and the decorative knobs that can be found on some early sculptures of gryphons.

The body of the protoceratops was about the size of a lion. The gryphon has one feature thhat is much debated-wings. These are not always present, and could have been guessed at from protoceratops' avian-like shoulder blades and collar bone, and the fact that it also laid eggs. An extremely fascinating aspect of this ancient detective story is that gold is also common in this very same area. Over millions of years, rainwater has washed flakes and nuggets down from the mountains. These wind up in any shallow area they flow over. The net effect of this would be to make the nests of protoceratops very good places to find a "hidden hoard" of gold. Skeletons of the hatchlings could have led to the other theory that the gryphons fought to protect their young rather than the gold. Such finds may have been the inspiration for an Olympian bronze relief of a gryphon chick crouching underneath its mother's wing.

The tales of the one-eyed Arimaspeans may have also have had a paleontological origin. This is because this same region of our little planet is also home to dwarf elephants and their skeletons. The skulls of these creatures have a large, round nasal cavity in the middle of the forehead, and unusually low eye sockets. In esscence, the people of Central Asia were doing the same thing as modern paleontologists; trying to reckon the appearance and habits of unknown animals from ancient fossils. These people were not aware of the dinosaurs, of course, and different geologic eras, so they compared what the found to what the knew. The Meditteranean traders who heard their descriptions secondhand (FOAF) did the same. The gryps was already a motif in Near Eastern art. The Greeks just gave the Scythian creature a name, although the natives called it something else (Waltraud Bartscht: The Griffin in Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide, Malcolm South, ed. (NY, 1987), p 88. It is also possible that the near-eastern images were also based upon Cerotopean skeletons).

Perhaps the mystery of the gryphon is solved then? Not necessarily. The gryphon is such a unique creature that you have to wonder why the ancients just didn't identify the bones as something they were much more familiar with-like a reptile or amphibian? The Chinese and Indians identified the same bones as dragons, and this would seem to make more sense instead of combining a bird and a lion-something the ancients knew was physically impossible. The guarding of the gold seems to recquire quite a stretch of imagination, as the bones were only found with gold. If this is really how a "true" history of the gryphons came about, people were assigning a human value system to them. To be continued...

Gryphons! Background Notes

In his 2006 book 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck talks about a subject that might be useful here for this series. At first glance one might think what do the "Grays" of ufology and Gryphons have to do with each other? Hopefully this will illuminate that question. From pages 142-144 of 2012: "The Grays are analagous to bacteria, but operating on the level of the psyche. Earthly bacteria derives energy from breaking down complex organic compounds that they take in from the enviorment. The visitors seem to be entities that sustain themselves from the negative emotions, such as fear and anxiety, emanated by the human nervous system and energy body. Just as earthly bacteria play a crucial role in the global eco-system, we may eventually understand that our infraterrestrial intruders occupy a necessary niche in the ecosystem of consciousness, is it develops or decays."

"Are the visitors "real" or "imaginary"? They are both, and they are neither. Like quantum phenomenon, they do not exist or not exist, they also do not exist and not exist, nor do they both not exist and not exist. According to Dzogchen, a tradition of teachings and practices linked to Tibetan Buddhism, ultimately there are no entities. Any entity only possesses relative reality, including ourselves. Overcoming dualism is essential to Dzogchen, as Chogyal Namkai Norbu writes in Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State: "Duality is the real root of our suffering and all of our conflicts. All our concepts and beliefs, no matter how profound they may seem, are like nets which trap us in dualism. Where we discover our limits we have to try to overcome them, untying ourselves from whatever type of religious, political, or social conviction may condition us. We have to abandon such concepts as "enlightenment," "the nature of the mind," and so on, until we no longer neglect to integrate our knowledge with our actual existence."

"Entities who manifest in other forms of conciousness, such as the Grays, are, at the same time, separate from us and aspects of our psyche. We are the ground for their manifestation, and it is only by attaining a nondual perspective that we can understand them."

"Reality, according to Eastern mysticism, is maya, illusion-a tonal tapestry, or spectrum of vibrations called, in the Mayan tradition, tlalticpac, the dream-world of Earth. There is, according to Dzogchen, neither being nor nonbeing. However, there may be an infinite number of relatively real entities, possessing varying forms of conciousness. Overcoming dualism, we can recognize such beings as fractal shards or autonomous archetypes of our own psyche, as well as self-directed entities undergoing their own forms of evolution."

"From a nondualistic perspective, it makes sense that some encounters with the Grays are neutral or positive. Betty Andreasson, a woman whose accounts of abductions were published in the 1980s, described a classical mystical vision in which they Grays showed her a giant golden phoenix that was consumed by a flame. In her descriptions, and many others, the intruders reveal an ambivalent polarity. Monsters produced by "the sleep of reason," they have a necessary part to play in the evolution of human consciousness-the process of psychic transmutation that alchemists called the "Great Work."

"Connected to our technological development, the Grays embody a malignant, supersensible element lurking beneath our fascination with mechanization, revealing the irrational basis of our constricted rationality. They also have lessons to teach us. As the critic Lewis Mumford noted, "Our capacity to go beyond the machine rests on our power to assimilate the machine. Until we have absorbed the lessons of objectivity, impersonality, neutrality, the lessons of the mechanical realm, we cannot go further in our development toward the more richly organic, the more profoundly human." Like transhumanist zombies, the Grays embody the reductive perspective that sees everything-matter, genes, human souls-as resources to be used for the purposes of control and domination. In this way the visitors serve as a warning, as well as an innoculation against a nightmarish fate we can recognize, and reject, in the time that remains to us."

"...According to occult tradition, humanity has a responsibility to all of the elemental beings, those other forms of consciousness that express themselves through the natural world. We are supposed to learn to work with the elementals and, also, alleviate their suffering-it is clear from the abduction accounts that the visitors are suffering...They are intelligent and sentient, hence aware of their exiled status. Unable to escape their de-souled condition,they desire to draw humans into their lower world, sustaining their half-lives on our subtle energies. They appear to be utilizing their dream-world technologies in a serious and desperate attempt to find a way out of the cul-de-sac."

I wanted to include this bit from Daniel Pinchbeck's book not only because it is one of the best explanations or theories about the "Grays" that I have ever read (I would be very interested to know what you think)-not necessarily all of our "visitors" by a long-shot. But I also thought this part of his book goes a long way towards explaining the thinking about how something (including us) can be real and not real, or have a relative reality.

These paragraphs from 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl explained in a lucid way not only what and why the "Grays" may be doing here when they visit us-but also gave a wonderful overview of how to look at the "imaginal realm" -the "real" and "unreal" at the same time world, where not only the Grays may come from, but perhaps Gryphons, Dragons, Garudas, Elves, Gnomes, Bigfoot, etcetera-and maybe just maybe this is the realm where our so called "myths" spring from and perhaps we humans ourselves! I say our "so called myths" because one thing I am starting to realize is that it seems that so many "myths" are being played out in our so called "real world" {:-)>{ in "real time" right before our "real eyes"! All the best to anyone stopping by and I hope to have the main "Gryphon" article here in a couple of days. Thanks again for your wonderful comments and links!

Gryphons! Background Notes

The next two articles will be some information that should probably have come first for this series. I always do things bass-ackward around here! This information will largely be about thinking and theories on just what the "imaginal realm" is, if indeed there is one-I believe there is. Henry Corbin (14 April 1903-7 October 1978) was a philosopher, theologian, and professor of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. As a boy he had a profound sensitivity to music. Although he was born a Protestant he was educated in the Catholic tradition and at the age of 19, received a certificate in Scholastic Philosophy from the Catholic Institute of Paris. Three years later he received his "licence de philosophie" under the great Thomist (the philosophical school that arose a a legacy to the work and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas) Etienne Gilson.

In 1928 he encountered the formidable Louis Massignon, director of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne, and he introduced Corbin to the writings of Suhrawardi, the 12th century Persian philosopher and mystic whose work was to have a huge impact on Corbin's life. The stage was set for a personal drama that had deep signficance for understanding those cultures whose roots lie in both ancient Greece and the prophetic relgions of the Near East going all the way back to Zoroaster.

Years later Corbin said, "through my meeting with Suhrawardi, my spiritual destiny for the passage through this world was sealed. Platonism, expressed in terms of the Zoroastrian angelology of ancient Persia, illuminated the path that I was seeking."

Corbin is responsible for redirecting the study of Islamic philosophy as a whole. In his Histoire de la philosophie islamique (1964), he disproved the common view that philosophy among the Muslims came to an end after Ibn Rushd, demonstrating rather that a lively philosophical activity persisted in the Muslim World-especially Iran and continues to our own time. The philosophical work or Corbin can be divided into 3 phases. The first is the 1920s and 1930s, when he was involved in learning and teaching western philosophy. The second is the years between 1939 and 1946, in which he studied Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi and the School of Illumination in Istanbul. The last begins at 1946 until his death, in which he studied and reintroduced eastern and Islamic philosophy.

It is the second and last phases of Corbin's life that are most important to us. In 1949, Corbin first attended the annual Eranos Conferences in Ascona, Switzerland, where he was to become a major figure along with Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, Gershom Scholem, Adolf Portmann and many others. In 1954, he succeeded Louis Massignon in the Chair of Islam and the Religions of Arabia. From the 1950s he spent autumn in Tehran, winter in Paris and spring is Ascona.

The 3 major works upon which his reputation is largely based in the English speaking world were first published in French in the 1950s: Avicenna and the Visionary Recital, Creative Imagination in the Sufiism of Ibn 'Arabi' and Spiritual Body & Celestial Earth. His later work on Central Asian and Iranian Sufisim appears in English with an introduction by Zia Inayat Khan as The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism. His magnum opus, as yet untranslated, is the four volume En Islam Iranien: Aspects spirituels philosophiques. His life was spent teaching, working lecturing, and editing critical editions of Persian and Arabic manuscripts. His published work includes over 200 critical editions, translations, books and articles. He presented his last paper in June 1978, entitiled "Eyes of Flesh, Eyes of Fire: the Science of Gnosis." He died later that year.

The term "imaginal realm" is somewhat strange and new to most people. To understand it better we should go to Henry Corbin himself, as he coined the phrase. In his study of Sufi and Persian texts, he discovered that in these literatures there was believed to be a realm that existed above our ordinary three-dimensional reality and consciousness. Some parts of the imagination are clearly unreal. But these same texts also suggest that there is also a place in our minds and imaginations where things are real in a form where they exist independently of the "imaginer"-they have some degree of ontological reality. The imagination would then appear to have two aspects: one is intentionally false; the other comes to us as a "real" place. Corbin used the term mundis imaginalis (imaginary realm) to differentiate between the "imaginary" (i.e. something equated with the unreal or with fantasy) and the "imaginal" (i.e. a world that is ontologically as real as the world we know from our senses and intellect). Something imaginary is "made up" and comes from us, whereas the imaginal comes to us from another realm. The difference would be that of thinking about some fantastic thing like a pink elephant wearing a tutu (imaginary)-and having a dream image of that same elephant (from the imaginal realm).

In Corbin's view and that of Jungian philosophy the motifs, symbols and images that come from the mundus imaginalis are a reality in some dimension other than the sensible and intellectual dimensions that we are more likely to encounter in our workaday world-and that we have been taught (in some societies, like Pavlov's dogs) to value and respect. This concept can be a very difficult one to accept for a person grounded in the materialist and rationalistic perspective. The most unlikely of saviors, however, science is starting to provide a framework for understanding these other realms of being. It can't be stressed enough-and maybe I have gone too far in this blog with these ideas-that science can only take us so far. God, Godhead or Transcendence will never be found in a particle accelerator (although maybe some other things will;-).

These other realms can also be experienced through dreams, prayers, meditation or even when we are moved by some powerful image in our own culture, such as from a film, book, or even the news. I am often very moved by either "real" stories on the news etc-or completely "fictional" stories in books (some books I have read are so good it makes me wonder-only half jokingly here-that the places and characters described in the book might really exist somewhere in some form!). Music also moves my spirit tremendously at times. When an image does make itself known to us, we may be inspired, awestruck, surprised puzzled, or very touched emotionally. Overall these images awaken or stir an emotion or feeling in us.

Looked at from Jungian or archetypal psychology, we are supposed to work with these images not interpret them. Dr. Carl Jung believed that the soul and image/archetype were one and the same. They exist as a mediating factor between body and mind. As a mediating factor, soul/image allows the integration of the body and the mind, which have been so long separated in dualistic consciousness since Descartes, although the split goes back even further in time. Henry Corbin went further in his later work and said that images are the thoughts of the heart and that the heart is the seat of the imagination, which in turn is the true voice of the heart. To speak from the heart is to speak imaginatively. The English poet John Keats said, "I am certain about nothing but the holiness of the hearts affections and the truth of the imagination."

I hope to be back again today with another article -hopefully a bit shorter than this one and to catch up with friends! It is lawyer time now. This is just a strategy meeting and not the actual hearing. All the best to anyone stopping by! I wanted to mention also before I go that there are many fantastic links and comments in the comments section of this blog. Thanks again for all of your intelligent, thoughtful comments and great links and information!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Corbin

Gryphons! Creatures From The Imaginal World?

I wanted to do a bit about these interesting -mythical? creatures because I think they are so cool. I prefer the "gryphon" spelling instead of the way it is usually spelled-"griffin"-I don't know why. I hope to have the main article about this subject here by the 10th or 11th. Please forgive me for not having it all ready to go. I was getting tired of seeing the post below at the top of the page. The guys and girl in it are very good looking, so it's nothing to do with that. I was just ready for a change.

From Bulfinch's Mythology pages 128-129 and the index: "The Griffin or Gryphon is a monster with the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and back covered with feathers. Like birds it builds its nest, and instead of an egg lays an agate therein. It has long claws and talons of such a size that the people of the country make them into drinking cups. India was assigned as the native country of the Griffins. They found gold in the mountains and built their nests of it, for which reason their nests were very tempting to the hunters, and they were forced to keep vigilant guard over them. Their instinct led them to know where buried treasures lay, and they did their best to keep plunderers at a distance. The Arimaspians, among whom the Griffins flourished, were a one-eyed people of Scythia. Milton borrows a simile from the Griffins, "Paradise Lost," Book II:

"As with a Gryphon through the wilderness,

With winged course, o'er hill and moory dale,

Pursues the Arimaspian who by stealth

Hath from his wakeful custody purloined

His guarded gold," etc.

Here is the description of the gryphon from Bulfinch's index, page 909: "A fabulous animal, with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, dwelling in the Rhipaean mountains, between the Hyperboreans and the one-eyed Arimaspians, and guarding the gold of the North."

From Wikipedia: "The griffin (griffon or gryphon) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.

Most contemporary illustrations give the griffin legs like an eagle's legs with talons, although in some older illustrations it has a lion's forelimbs; it generally has a lion's hindquarters. Its eagle's head is conventionally given prominent ears; these are sometimes described as the lion's ears, but are often elongated (more like a horse's), and sometimes feathered.

Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings (or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin); in 15th century and later heraldry such a beast may be called an alce or a keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has forelegs like an eagle's; the beast with forelimbs like a lion's forelegs was distinguished by perhaps only one English herald of later heraldry as the opinicus. The modern generalist calls it the lion-griffin, as for example, Robin Lane Fox, in Alexander the Great, 1973: 31 and notes, p. 506, who remarks a lion-griffin attacking a stag in a pebble mosaic at Pella, perhaps as an emblem of the kingdom of Macedon or a personal one of Alexander's successor Antipater ca. 397BC-319BC). Antipater was a Macedonian general who supported Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became regent of all of Alexander's empire."

The first image is one I stole from somewhere;-). The second image is of a gryphon outside of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. The third image is a very early appearance of gryphons, dating from before 2000 BCE. Two of them are shown with the Sumerian deity, Ningishzida-a Mesopotamian deity of the underworld. Ninghiszida was also a patron of medicine-Ningishzida is the earliest known symbol of snakes twining around an axial rod. It predates the Caduceus of Hermes, the Rod of Asclepius and the staff of Moses by more than a millenium. Here are some links (done the lazy way-sorry!): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ningishzida , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipater

Here is a link to Loren Coleman's Twilight Language blog that Anadae Effro was kind enough to point out about the sad death at the age of 34 of paranormal/Fortean/UFO investigator Mac Tonnies http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/2009/10/tonnies.html Loren Coleman's blog has many other fascinating articles in it also for people interested in all sorts of different subjects.

The Winchester House-A California Must-See!

Three miles from the middle of San Jose, California at 525 Winchester Boulevard is California Historical Landmark Number 868. It is right in the middle of Silicon Valley now, but the scenery was very different when Sarah Winchester first moved here in 1884. The landscape then, was open farmland where a partially built 8-room farmhouse stood. This was exactly what Mrs. Winchester was in the market for. She bought the property and began the project that would keep her busy the rest of her life, building what was to become the Winchester Mystery House. Sarah had been widowed in 1881 and she had lost her 6 month old daughter, Annie, in 1866. Her husband had been William Witt Winchester, second president of the Winchester Rifle Company. William Winchester had died young from tuberculosis. Both Annie and William were buried in a Connecticut graveyard. Mrs. Winchester had journeyed to California because of the advice of a psychic who had told her: "...build a home for yourself and for the spirits who have fallen from this terrible weapon, too. You must never stop building the house. If you continue building, you will live forever. But if you stop, then you will die too."

The Winchester Rifle Company had made a fortune and Sarah inherited 20.5 million on her husband's death and the equivalent of 1,000 dollars a day, which was untaxed until 1913 from company sales. This is about the equivalent of 21,000 dollars a day in 2008 dollars. The firearms were also responsible for the deaths of many native Americans, Civil War soldiers and many other types of people from all walks of life. The psychic said that it was the very numerous spirits of all these dead people that needed to be appeased. She told Sarah that the only way to quiet the spirits of the many dead by Winchester rifles was to move west, find an unfinished house and build 'rooms' for the spirits. Sarah Winchester took this advice to heart and found the house and never stopped building onto it for the rest of her life. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over the next 28 years, the building never stopped. It is estimated the continual building cost 5.5 million dollars in 1922 dollars which would be the equivalent of 70 million in 2008 dollars-in other words-quite a house! Thus stands the 6 acre, 160 room monstrosity today. It has 47 fireplaces, 10,000 windowpanes, 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others), two basements and three elevators.

Spirits-not architects planned the Winchester house. Every midnight Sarah Winchester would go to a small blue room in the center of the building, and using an ouija board she would converse with the "good" spirits. These spirits would advise her about what needed to be done next to keep the evil spirits away. The next morning Mrs. Winchester would tell the foreman about the necessary changes. No plans were ever drawn up-only an explanatory sketch when needed. The spirits had some wild ideas about house building! The Winchester place is a mind-bending maze of almost psychedelic proportions. There are windows in the floor, a set of stairs runs up to a blank ceiling and doors open out into nothing-a sheer drop into empty space. In one room a cupboard opens onto a space about a half-inch deep, and another door opens onto the entire rear of the house. There are windows with walls directly behind them. There are stairs that go up and down all to end up on the floor you started on. There are also dozens of secret passages. All in all these are just a small fraction of the massive house's oddities. The whole building was designed to be a huge ghost trap. Every deceitful nook and cranny was designed to frustrate spirits-even the fact that all the pillars in the house are inverted, something that is supposed to confuse the spirits.

The house was in a constant state of flux over the years. At one point, over 600 rooms were constructed, leaving the 160 that exist today. Some knowledge got lost to the ages over the years. For instance, it is not known which ones, if any of the current rooms were in the original farmhouse. The wine cellar was intentionally forgot about; more or less. Mrs. Winchester kept a superb cellar, but one day she noticed a black handprint on the wall. She thought the handprint the work of evil spirits and ordered the wine cellar to be boarded up, along with its racks upon racks of fine wines, and its location was later forgotten! The house was a massive 7 stories tall at its height, but the tower containing the highest 3 was toppled by the Great 1906 Earthquake. The earthquake itself was an event Mrs. Winchester typically had her own ideas about. Sarah Winchester believed the earthquake was the spirits' retribution because she had gotten too close to completing the front of the house. Sarah immediately decided to have an entire section boarded up-including an enormously expensive ballroom-and moved to the rear of the house for the rest of her life.

No one entered that part of the house until her death in 1922, and the quake damage remains. The Winchester house is full of occult symbolism, as one might expect. The number thirteen plays a large role in the furnishings and architecture of the house. Spider webs are a common decorative theme, and perhaps that should come as no surprise, given the "trapping" nature of the house itself. A crescent hedge had great significance for Mrs. Winchester during her life but she never told anyone why. Interestingly, the hedge points directly to the room she died in and she never slept in the same bedroom twice in a row to confuse the spirits. Even though tourists have to endure the "touristy" stuff-like an acne faced kid droning some tour information he or she learned by rote, the Winchester house is said to have a very strange atmosphere by many who visit. Its atmosphere is said to be strangely oppressive, even on bright, blue-sky days. If you are ever going to visit the northern California area-DO NOT miss visiting this fascinating and very historical place! Winchester House Link

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Final Thoughts

The following warnings came from different sessions in November 1583: "You have run astray, you have entered into the houses of idols. I have brought you from fire, but you are entered into flames. And why? Because you defile yourselves with the wickedness of deceivers: Whose images you saw affirmatively, though not verily." (These warnings were transmitted by a voice). "The spirits of darkness are ready for every plae, and can deceive, saying, This is of God. Unto these you have listened...But I am come from God...That you may become wise...And I will be a wall betwixt you, and your imaginations: and betwixt those that have tempted you, and your weakness." (A" bad preacher-like creature," according to Kelley's judgment.) The Sirens are awake and their song is to destruction. I am sent from God, as a messenger to call thee home; for thou dishonoreth God mightily. Behold thou shalt be made contemptible, and become a laughingstock. They honor shall be defeated, and thy posterity spotted with ignominy. Moreover, such as are thy friends shall shake their heads, saying, "What wise man hath thus been overcome? What is he that is become foolish?"

Rather than lurid, fantastical apocalyptic rantings, these warnings fall too close to the truth. For the general public-both Dee's contemporaries and modern day -his "conversations" with angels and spirits did ruin his reputation. Scholars these days (among many other people) dismiss Dee as a deluded crank or would-be magician -or both. This fascinating man who led a very interesting life during historically interesting times is relagated to a footnote or a few paragraphs by most commentators. I believe that in all of Dr. John Dee's meticulous writings there are valid cases of contact with something or some otherworldly beings. Whether any of them were who they or Kelley said them to be-who knows? The fact that Dee chose to work with the obviously unbalanced Kelley for so long says a lot. In his desire to attain results, Dee probably pushed Kelley even more towards the brink of insanity. Dee's longing desire for these results also led to the "illusions" he was warned about in some sessions. The warnings themselves are very interesting in their own right to me.

In a very great sense, these warnings provide some of the strongest evidence for contact with a higher realm. This could have been from the Oversoul (if there is such a thing), creatures that are on higher planes of existence, beings that share our world but in another dimension -or even the epiphany of angels. In this last case these angelic messengers were sent by Divine Mercy to warn Dee of his hubris and folly. I agree with Cherry Gilchrist that Dee was a great man but not a wise one.

And what of the sinking of the Spanish Armada? Many occultists claim that John Dee raised up spells that caused the storms that sank it. I think he may have had some unique talents-but I don't think he had this kind of power! Dee was out of favor with Queen Elizabeth I by 1588 and apparently wasn't aware of the defeat of the Armada until months afterwards. There is a strange entry in one of his 'spiritual diaries' which has only the most tenuous reference to a threat to England from a foreign fleet in the early 1580s. The rumors that have Dee sinking the Armada with magic seem to date from the 17th century, and they can't be used for anything useful, except that they added to Dee's reputation as a magician! A medallion mentioned by some that say has Dee's magical spells on it to defeat the Spanish Armada (or things of that nature) was actually struck in commemoration of the English victory. Instead of even mentioning Dee, this medallion actually credits God with sinking the Armada.

I may return later to do some more about "the original 007" as I find him a fascinating character. This will be all about Dee for awhile as I am working on other things. Thanks again so much for everyone's thoughtful and intelligent comments! Peace and be well to anyone stopping by! The image is a table of some of the "Enochian" or "angelic" letters that these beings supposedly showed to Kelley.

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 13

Remember also that each "seeing" is colored by our own perceptions. Also keep in mind that no matter how powerful an experience may be, it is never a good idea to believe in it totally. These "seeings" are only a representation of the truth. They are very likely to be culturally conditioned. Just one example is that Dee's archangels all had the conventional Christian names and they spoke remarkably correct English! Was Dee totally deluded during his association with Kelley? The mass of public opinion then and now claim he was. However, no one interested in the esoteric and the occult is likely to say that there is not great value in his work. John Dee did make several serious mistakes. The most outstanding and amazing mistake he made was in asking the angels and the spirits all kinds of mundane and even stupid questions. He did this even though he claimed to be on a great quest for esoteric truth and knowledge! These questions he could not seem to resist asking were often about money, politics, and personal business. One almost wonders that an angel wouldn't be offended by some of these! Here are some examples: "Is the Queen of England alive or dead?" "[Does her majesty...cause my rents to be received...?" "As concerning Adrian Gilbert, what pleaseth you to say of him, and his intended voyage...I beseech you, how shall his provision of money from home serve his turn...?"

"You ask childish questions," replies Madimi peevishly. Of a journey: "Whom shall I have in my company beside John Pontoys?" Then there is this one, "As concerning the bereaving me of my own goods, I would gladly understand who hath my silver double gilt bell-salt, and other things here of late conveyed from me." We have to hope Kelley wasn't joking when he asked: "Will you Madimi: lend me a hundred pounds for a fortnight?" Dee appears to have confused the goals and aims of scrying with those of divination. Divination seeks to gain information with various methods and within certain limits. Scrying is an attempt-again using various methods to achieve access to different worlds or inner planes. Scrying makes no attempt, however, to limit what is found in these explorations-it is much less bounded than Divination. Kelley does seem to have had genuine clairvoyance and very accurately reported what would shortly happen. From a spirit communication: "As for thy books, thou mayst go look at them at leisure. It may be, that thy house may be burnt for a remembrance of thee too." This took place before any news of the buring of Dee's house at Mortlake occurred. However, there are examples of false prophecy and simply examples of exotic imagination. Here is a fascinating prophecy of a turn in history that Britain definitely did not take:

"After the death of our dear Queen, one of the house of Austria made mighty by the King of Spain his death, should invade and conquer the land...He said, one (now abroad) should at Milford Haven enter, and by the help of the Britons subdue the said conqueror. And that one Morgan a Briton should be made King of the Britons, and next him, one Rowland etc." I think much of what has been said here about Dee and his workings with Kelley could also go into the Trickster phenomena more-perhaps a subject for a future article. And with the example just stated about history I think a few things (maybe a future article also) could be said about parallel timelines and the like. For now I will just wonder-and this only as a question-NOT a theory-was Kelley in the British history that didn't happen seeing a turn of history in an alternate universe?-or maybe a mixture of hisories even? Perhaps this one was even an example of the Cosmic Joker showing up with false information? Here is an example of lurid imagination in an unpleasant fantasy about Jane Dee: They take up your wife, her head waggleth this way and that way...Your wife is dead, all her face is battered. The right side of her face, her teeth and all is battered.

Perhaps the most dangerous of Dee's habits was to believe everything that the "good" angels told him. The ultimate outcome of this led to the infamous "wife-swapping" event, where Kelley said that he and Dee were commanded by the angel Uriel to use their wives in common. Symbolically, one could see that this episode resonated with alchemy. The four elements (represented by the four people involved) are to be brought together in order to fertilize and inspire the Great Work. In 'real-life', however, this made Jane Dee and Kelley's wife very depressed. John Dee himself, had a great deal of anguish about this also: Hereupon we were in great amazement and grief of mind, that so hard and...so unpure a doctrine was propounded and enjoined unto us of them, when I always...did judge and esteem undoubtedly, to be good angels: And unto E.K. offered my soul as a pawn. Like Abraham, though, Dee appears to have convinced himself to be ready to obey the Lord's command: I said...'Jane, I see that there is no other remedy, but as hath been said of our cross-matching, so it must needs be done.' Thereupon she fell a weeping and trembling for a quarter of an hour. Jane was much younger than Dee, only 32 at the time, and could easily have fallen prey to Kelley's lust if he had made up the whole affair.

The final twist in this episode was an "edict" from "God" that if any of them spoke out about the matter they would be instantly struck dead! Other questionable events and practices include Dee's compliance in using his young son Arthur as a medium and his willingness to burn his precious writings in a furnace, from whence they would be magically restored to him. Here, unless you believe a miracle to have occurred, it is hard to escape the suspicion that with these events and the wife-swapping Kelley was perpetrating deceit and fraud upon a gullible Dee. It is also quite possible that Kelley himself couldn't tell reality from fantasy any longer and that he could deliberately cause such episodes (others included miraculous appearances of magical paraphernalia) while still believing in their reality himself. Dee had pushed Kelley so hard in his quest for angel magic that it is more than possible a great deal of blame for the further disintegration of Kelley's personality lies with Dee himself. Finally, Dee made the mistake of ignoring the many warnings he was given many times by the angels and spirits. This was very strange, because in warning after warning, they warned Dee that he was falling into a trap and waas prey to illusion. Interestingly, we can wonder: if Kelley was a disreputable, raving con-man and lunatic as so many suggest, then where were these very sensible and timely warnings coming from? Likewise if all the seeings and visions were true, then why did the angels need to warn Dee?

We are getting close to the end here. I don't know for sure-but maybe just one more article. It should be here early in August I hope. I am going to do a poem for tomorrow's post and then look up any other information for Dee I might need. I will probably be offline Sunday but maybe can have final article on Dee here Monday or Tuesday. I have a lot of different things I am working on now as time allows that I hope people will enjoy. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your kind, thoughtful and intelligent comments! The information for the last four articles, including this one, is 99 percent information from an article Cherry Gilchrist did for Gnosis magazine for the summer 1995 issue called Dr. Dee and the Spirits. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by! The images-I forgot! The first one is a painting of Dr. John Dee-I will try to find out the artist. The next is a composite of pics of Danny Nunez from stevo at HMAS (sorry stevo-I stole again!) and the third is Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys who I think is cute. I hope I don't find out he is a jerk haha:)

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 12

What are the qualities of a "true seeing"? This is a hard question to answer because everything we can see and know is channeled through our perceptions. This is one area where Dee went wrong. He tried to discern between the real and false spirits but then expected the "real" spirits to give perfect guidance. We will never be able to talk about completely objective seeing. However, there are some 'landmarks' to help us recognize 'true seeings'. Clarity, power, and the integrity of the image are all important. Integrity used in this way would mean that the image holds together and appears to have a life of its own. "Meaning" is also important, although this can be tricky as it can have more than one interpretation, and also can be hard to describe in words. An event such as the hairs standing up on the back of your neck can be as good an indicator as any that something important is happening! Unfortunately our analysis of Dee will always be specualtive. The written records he left are very detailed and also shed light on the mood and other psychic and physical senses of any particular session. But we were not there experiencing these heavily charged events with the men. When using terms such as "psychical events" "spirits" or "inner planes" it is very useful to have a system to differentiate the different levels of being encountered and the denizens of them.

There are many different systems one encounters when exploring these inner realms of the soul. An unwritten tradition of women's seership gives a five level structure of the inner planes. These levels not only correspond to "seeing" but also to levels of our own psyche. The first level represents the primitive and elemental. This level is connected with the roots of humankind. Animals and birds may appear at this primal level. Such totemic appearances are also reported by shamans, alchemists and people practicing sexual magic. Because this level puts one in touch with primeval energies; manifestations of this level can include anger and sexual arousal, and igniting these energies would be one method of entering this realm. Kelley's frequent anger comes to mind here, and certainly appears to have added fuel to the fire and energized the sessions. However, it seems that Kelley's inability to keep a reign on his feelings meant that he could not interpret or handle material of greater refinement at this level. Dee, of course, wanted to visit the higher and more subtle realms than the first level, and it is a sure bet this likely influenced Kelley during the sessions. There is an example in the records that happened when Dee wasn't present: After dinner, as E.K. was alone, there appeared unto him a little creature of a cubit high and they came to the still where he had the spirit of wine distilling...And one of them showed him how to distill it, and separate it better."

These seem to be a kind of elemental spirit with a special interest in alchemy: one of them kept Kelley talking till two in the morning. An incident that also could have been connected to this level involves two "very great monstrous" bears which emerge in turn from out of a mighty forest; the first eats a black hawk and attacks a white one, while the second devours a moon from a castle sundial and shakes a castle into ruins. Though these images also have an alchemical atmosphere, they also resonate with the mighty power found in natural winds and earthquakes. The second level is the level of education, training and conditioning. It represents the social psyche. This level appears often in Dee's work and in 'modern' forms of visualization. A great many images and events can be witnessed at this level. It has movie-like attributes but is much more than just fantasy. Here people can meet guides and instructors, each being with a distinct personality. This realm also has a playful aspect, and certain Trickster archetypes can appear here. Madimi was one among many spirits who appeared to Kelley frequently on this level going by Dee's records. Madimi: Am I not a fine maiden? Give me leave to play in your house," says this "pretty girl" of 7 or 9 years of age" at Dee and Kelley's first session.

Also there was the ragged actor Il, who had an ironic sense of humor: Room for a player. Jesus, who would have thought I should find you here?" The third level is the level of magical initiation. At this level also, many fascinating things are encountered. Gateways between this world and the next and portents of birth and death are witnessed in this realm. Beings encountered here have both a majestic and mysterious nature. The seer may also witness rites or images of events pertaining to other esoteric traditions when passing through a door in this realm. The following "seeing" can definitely be said to be an alchemical parable: A woman cometh, and with a spade diggeth about (a large mound of earth). Now cometh a child...out of a dark place, with a fire shovel in his hand. The woman hath taken away all the earth, and there appeareth water, where the earth was. The boy casteth out of that water with the fire shovel. The woman laugheth at that. The woman is in green clothes, and the boy in red. Now cometh and old man with a crabtree staff on his back, his clothes of metley color. This old man taketh the glass from the woman by force, with his fist he breaketh the glass, and all the oil runneth about his arm, and out of that oil did seem a book to come, a very little book...?"

Once the book appears in this seeing, Kelley apparently rose to the next and fourth level. This level is dominated by creative, intellectual and abstract powers. Forms and images can appear at this level with crystal clear simplicity. The fourth level is where breakthroughs come in visionary solutions to mathematicians and scientists for example. Kekule with his dream/vision of the Ouroboros and the Benzene ring solution come to mind. The visions at this level can take on a dancing, indefinable quality, or to even appear as forms of light. In the esoteric systems of the major religions, the fourth level is where the realm of the angels would possibly begin. Dr. John Dee's angelic writing and number codes could very well have emerged from this realm: the session just quoted goes on to reveal "holy characters" and various sequences of letters and numbers. The fifth level is the highest that can be perceived through our inner senses and psyche. At this level the beings who are encountered and their activities are far removed from our mundane level of reality. Kelley spoke in awe of one of these visions: He is become a great pillar of Crystal higher than a steeple. He ascendeth upward in clouds, and the little circle remaineth.

Whether it is symbolic or not, it is not unusual for only the feet of such high beings to be perceived in Dee's records: I see two lions..and the lions' feet be waxen greater and greater...I see a great company of feet, and their garments' skirts somewhat above their ankles. The fifth level may give us a sense of 'what is,' a degree and a level of higher ordering in the universe that we can't influence in any normal fashion bu which we may try to embody in our work. An example of this in Dee and Kelley's sessions comes from the unpublished manuscript of one of their early workings. In this "divine necessity" as it was later to be described, becomes manifest: All is suddenly dark, and nothing to be seen, neither chair, nor anything else. A voice...like Michael...saying "It was a bird, and is a bird, absent there is nothing but quantity." A voice "...The world is of Necessity. His necessity is governed by Supernatural Wisdom. Necessity you fall and of Necessity shall rise again. Follow me, love me, embrace me: behold I AM." This was a very brief, simplified overview of the levels. The levels of reality vary greatly from one esoteric system to the next. I do think Professor Huston Smith in his book The Primordial Tradition, was correct in giving four major vastly different levels of reality. If reality is as wondrous as I imagine it to be at times, I could easily see how these four or five major levels could be infinitely subdivided into various hierarchies and gradations.

The image is a representation of the "magic table" Dee and Kelley used in their workings. There is more to come in this series-could just be one more article -not sure yet-and won't try to guess anymore! I so appreciate and enjoy your kind, intelligent and thoughtful comments. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by! Friedrich Kekule and his Benzene "ring" vision HERE I have tried to play with the Kekule link four times now-don't know what is wrong! You can get there by clicking on the first link on page that shows up and then the first link after that if you have any interest-all the best!

John Dee & Edward Kelley & the Spirit World: Pt 11

What can be said of these spiritual conferences with angels and spirits? What tools do could we ever use to assess Dee and Kelley's findings? In any scrying session, a certain amount of imagery that comes from personal fantasy and association is likely to be encountered. Edward Kelley was an ill-tempered man and some of his visions reflect his own anger. One time in Prague, Dee had to call for help when Kelley turned against him with "great threats most terrible and dangerous." Three hours after this event Kelley's seeing begins with the following warlike imagery: Here appeareth Michael on your head...Hear appear 12 with him,4 behind him and 4 on each side of him, and all with swords of fire, and...all in red coats...Now they all kneel down about him. They look pitifully with their faces upward, as though they were praying, they be all in blood red Garments, and Michael his sword is as the sword I once did see him have; whose edge did open." Kelley's personality was unbalanced, and it is probable that the long and intense sessions with Dee troubled him even more. It seems that Kelley also had a strong sense of guilt. During Lent in 1585 Dee reports that Kelley was fasting to "ease his conscience of that burden of his sins, wherewith it was oppressed, and to wash away that filth which was contracted on his soul."

There were also times when Kelley believed he was possessed by evil spirits and desired exorcism from them. In an interesting vision from July 1583 Kelley reports: "Here appear 14 of diverse evil-favored shapes: some like monkeys, some like dogs, some very hairy monstrous men, etc. They seemed to scratch each other by the face. These seem to go about Madimi [one of their regular spirit guides]...[Madimi challenges the monsters and banishes them, saying:] "You came hither without license and seek to overthrow the liberyt of God and his Testament...Depart unto the last Cry: Rest with the Prince of Darkness..."They sunk all...downwards through the floor of the chamber, and there came a thing like a wind and plucked them by the feet away. Methinketh I am lighter than I was; and I seem to be empty, and to be returned from a great amazing; for this fortnight I do not well remember what I have done or said." This report came after a fitful episode when Kelley ran away from the Dee household in a sudden outburst of enmity for his wife and in fear that he would be hanged if he stayed there after being told this by the spirits. Once the exorcism was complete, Madimi tells Kelley calmly: "Thou art eased of a great burden...Love God, love thy friends, love thy wife."

Obviously it would not be wise to take everything that Kelley reported as a message from the angels. John Dee, who so much wanted to believe in Kelley was also cautious with the way he treated Kelley's information. Dee was esepecially untrustful of any workings that took place while he wasn't with Kelley: "I have found so much halting and untruth in EK his reports to me made, of the spiritual creatures, where I have not been present at an action." Dee was definitely not the unquestioning dupe that some commentators would lead us to believe. Some have called attention to the poetic quality of the communications of the angels of spirits. Many who note this seem to be implying that because of this there are divine truths behind the high-flown words of the "angels." Here we need to be careful. Many of the speeches are biblical, Kabbalistic and "stream of consciousness" outpourings. However sweet the words are, there is nothing in them that could not come from a familiarity with the Bible or the Kabbalah-which Dee and Kelley were undoutedly well versed in. In some of the communications Kelley goes from a balanced state to delivering messages that are increasingly apocalyptic as the session continues. Here is an example from 23 May 1587. at which the spirits of Understanding and Wisdom appear, maybe in the Kabbalistic sense as personifications of the sefira Binah and Chokmah: Here cometh another woman. All her attire is like beaten gold; she hath on her forehead a cross crystal, her neck and breast are bare under her dugs: She hath a girdle of beaten gold slackly buckled unto her with a pendant of gold down to the ground. "I am the Daughter of Fortitude, and ravished every hour, from my youth. For behold, I am Understanding and Science dwelleth in me...I am shadowed with the Circle of the Stone, and covered with the morning clouds. My feet are swifter than the winds, and my hands are sweeter than the morning dew...I am deflowered, and yet a virgin...I am a harlot for such as ravish me, and a virgin with such as know me not. For lo, I am loved of many, and I am a lover of many."

There is a pause and then Dee and Kelley receive further communication from a female spirit who proclaims: Wisdom is a piercing beam, which is the center of the spiritual being of the Holy Spirit, touching from all parts from whence the Divinity sendeth it out: and is proper to the soul, or unto substances, that have beginning, but not ending; so that whatsoever shall have an end, can never attain unto that which is called Wisdom." However, these thoughts on mystical philosophy are soon taken over by grim prophecies: Now cometh the time that the Whore shall be called before the Highest...And the hand of God shall run in vengeance, vengeance even though the Kingdom, and through Germany, and unto Italy; and in the twenty-third month in Rome shall be destroyed, so that one stone shall not be left standing upon another, and vengeance shall be on all the earth, and fear upon all the people...Woe be unto them, for they know not the time of their visitation." Pehaps Kelley's own inner demons could have occasionally provided the energy to shift the visualization to a higher realm of consciousness. In 1583 for instance, Kelley's brother had warned him that officers were on their way to arrest him as a counterfeiter. Kelley had already been convicted of forging money before he came into Dee's employ. The knowledge that Kelley's brother had imparted to him that morning put him in "a marvelous great disquietness of mind, fury and rage." When the two men began a spiritual conference that afternoon, Kelley heard "a voice about the show-stone very great, as though men were beating down of mud walls."

Soon there is a breakthrough: the "thumping" is swallowed up into a great silence, out of which a woman dressed in red, white, and green appears, who is said to be a Daughter of Light and who converses about the nature of pride in an enlightening manner. We can wonder what Dee could have achieved working with a wider circle of people. Kelley's volatility was, needless to say, not an ideal frame of mind to take part in these sessions. In more controlled conditions the shifts in consciousness probably would have happened less painfully. Dee also didn't have the advantage of greater objectivity that working with a group would have brought. In the best conditions, the group mind itself helps to empower and balance the work. I had to take a break and saved-or thought I saved a great deal of what was written to drafts. Well for some reason it only saved the material I had typed from the first break-so I could have got further today had that not happened! I still have more than 8 notebook pages of information written on both sides to put here-so it kind of seems-to me anyway that I am not going very fast. I am a terrible typist at the best of times usually and this also slows me down.

The image at the top is of Dee's "007"-this is the way he signed his communications to Queen Elizabeth-the double 0's meaning that he was the queen's "eyes." I am also going to give two links here to my friend Michael Skaggs' blog-The Hidden Agendas about "Enochian" information and provide a link about how this pertains to John Dee. Thanks again for your interest in this series and your wonderful and intelligent comments! I hope to be back soon with the rest-altho it may go to more than one or two more articles! Here are the links HERE and HERE and HERE is the wikipedia entry about Dee that tells a bit about his connection to Enochian magic under the "Later life" section (I might get into this aspect more if I keep going with the series) and if you scroll down to the "Reputation and significance" section in the wikipedia entry-the paragraph before the last in that section-there is a bit about a possible connection of his to the Voynich manuscript. That might be a subject worth a small series of its own-so thank you Xdell for commenting about it! Peace an be well to anyone stopping by!