Tag Archives: spirits

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DISEMBODIED

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NOT BODIES

“The English word spirit (from Latin spiritus “breath“) has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body. The word spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality. The notions of a person’s spirit and soul often also overlap, as both contrast with body and both are understood as surviving the bodily death in religion and occultism, and “spirit” can also have the sense of “ghost“, i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person.

Noun 1. disembodied spirit – any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings

spiritual being, supernatural being – an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events
control – a spiritual agency that is assumed to assist the medium during a seance
evil spirit – a spirit tending to cause harm
banshee, banshie – (Irish folklore) a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
djinn, djinni, djinny, genie, jinnee, jinni – (Islam) an invisible spirit mentioned in the Koran and believed by Muslims to inhabit the earth and influence mankind by appearing in the form of humans or animals
familiar spirit, familiar – a spirit (usually in animal form) that acts as an assistant to a witch or wizard
peri – (Persian folklore) a supernatural being descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until penance is done
apparition, fantasm, phantasm, phantasma, phantom, spectre, specter – a ghostly appearing figure; “we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us”
presence – an invisible spiritual being felt to be nearby
kachina – a deified spirit of the Pueblo people
numen – a spirit believed to inhabit an object or preside over a place (especially in ancient Roman religion)
python – a soothsaying spirit or a person who is possessed by such a spirit
silvan, sylvan – a spirit that lives in or frequents the woods”

Definitions from TheFreeDictionary.com and Wikipedia.org

ART, FREE ADVICE, LOUD ZOO, ORDER OF OMEGA TIME TRAVEL CULT, READING MATTER, THE ORACLE

DRUIDS

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druides-recolte-du-guiI am listening to the audiobooks of a wonderfully insightful and entertaining series of 8 novels by Kevin Hearne about the last surviving Druid in the 21st century.  It’s called “The Iron Druid“.  Although this immortal Druid inhabits a sexy 21 year old male body, he travels between realms of reality with his faithful Irish Wolfhound (Oberon), between whom telepathic communication is their common language.

I have never read anything previously about Druids (‘oak-seer”), or the races of red-haired Celts, or the The Tuath(a) Dé Danann, a supernatural race in Irish mythology who serve a characters in these novels, along with a pantheon of gods from several planes of existence including vampires, witches, demons, fairies, ghouls, werewolves and many more manifestations of spirit in the magical “supernatural world” of wizardry and ancient wisdom.

Here is a short article from http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/

f15e960327d7a198623e731c4bc25222“Most of what is know, about the ancient Celtic people in history, come from observances of classical Greek and Roman writers, as well as from archaeological evidences such as from the possessions of dead in burial sites and from shrines found throughout central and western Europe, as well as from the British Isles.

To Julius Caesar, the druids were secretive but learned group, who enjoyed special privileges among the Celtic population. They did not have to fight in wars and they were exempted from paying taxes. They acted as judges in disputes and they presided over those who commit act of crime, as well as setting penalties. They could travel any where without hindrance from any tribes.

Though, there are many benefits of becoming a druid, it is still not an easy life. It may take over 20 years to learn the philosophy, divination, poetry, healing, religious rites and magic. And all this without committing anything to writing. The druids, or any Gaul for that matter, were fully aware of writing down their knowledge, but chose not to do so, because they preferred to rely on memories. For the druids, their pupils were required to exercise their mind.

The Gauls and the druids were not illiterate. Because of the trades between the Gauls and the Greek city of Massilia (modern Marseille) in southern France, the Gauls had earlier used Greek letters, mainly for trade purposes. The druids had never used the Greek writing to record their knowledge and customs. After Roman conquest of Gaul and Britain, later the Celts had adopted Roman letters for mainly commercial purposes. There are some inscriptions found in sacred sites, such as in shrines and sanctuaries.

Caesar observed that the Gauls were very religious, and they always wait for the druids to perform the necessary rituals or sacrifices. The Celts didn’t build any temples to their gods. The druids practiced their worship in the open air, such as at sacred groves or near sacred lakes.

According to Caesar and other classical writers, the Gauls believed in the souls being immortal, where it passed on to another body after death. In another words, they believed in reincarnation or eschatology.”

INSIDE THE BOOK, PAN-GOD OF THE WOODS, POETIC NONSENSE, THE ORACLE, UNIVERSES

WHERE ARE THE GODS?

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“When Zeus still ruled Olympus, the face of Mother Nature was puerile, the bright blue sea and sky shined brightly in Her eyes.  Life, abundantly renewed, abounded from Her virgin womb. The myriad creatures flourished, safe and suckling on Her verdant breasts while fishes filled the pristine waters of Her world.

In those primal days, gods of ancient Sumeria, Egypt, Greece, China, India, and many other civilizations of Earth, commanded extraordinary power over men.  Spirits were conceived to permeate all matter and space in the ancient world. The gods, however, were not much different than each of us as spiritual beings, except to the degree they were immortal, that is, free from having to inhabit a body. Mortals were condemned to repeat the cycle of birth and death and rebirth into carnal form. Release of the spirits of men from the endless cycle of reincarnation remains the ultimate goal of many world religions to this day.

Gods actively intervened in the affairs of Mankind.  Some made their presence known in the form of an animal, as an aura of light or scent, or as an apparition in nature.  More often, the gods pervaded the body and mind of a man or woman, either in a dream or simply by taking over their thoughts to carry out their plans.

Since the gods were seen to cause events, both natural and supernatural, they were intimately personified, widely idolized, and artfully glorified by men.  Aristocracy, citizens and slaves alike, sought the blessing or advice of the gods regarding marriage, travel, war, purchases, planting, harvesting, building, birth and death.  Every village, district and nation had its own retinue of gods.  A discreet traveler was wise to observe the rites accorded to the local deities and religious tolerance was widespread.

A vast number of myths or stories about the exploits of the gods have passed down to us through the generations of Mankind from nearly every society of antiquity.  Culturally, we have inherited tremendous works of art, poetry, literature, and tradition derived from human interaction with the immortals.  The pagan cultural tradition, religious beliefs, and practices associated with the gods still permeate our language, social and religious customs today.

With the advent of the Christian church 2,000 years ago, communication with the pagan gods was very heavily suppressed in Western civilization.  Priests had a vested interest in eliminating religious competition, by any means required, including, but not limited to lying, stealing, cheating, murder, mayhem, extortion, torture and blackmail. This included outlawing all pagan religions and the destruction of all pagan temples and schools throughout the Roman Empire by the decree of Emperor Justinian in the third century AD. As a result, general public attention to the pagan gods disappeared.

The premise of PAN – God of the Woods, is that the pagan gods, as active, living beings, may only appear to have disappeared! If any of the ancient gods are still around in the 21st century, what are they doing now?  If they are here now — still watching, still powerful, still immortal — where or how might we contact them?

Pan, the Greek god of forests, shepherds and fertility, has long represented the pagan gods in general.  Although the material in this novel is fictional, it is firmly based in a study of the 10,000 year old tradition of mythology, as well as world history, eastern spiritual philosophy, past lives and out-of-body, extrasensory experiences.

The 19th century poet, Oscar Wilde, beseeched the god Pan in his verse:

“O goat-foot God of Arcady!

This modern world is gray and old,

And what remains to us of thee?

Then blow some trumpet loud and free

And give thine oaten pipe away,

Ah, leave the hills of Arcady!

This modern world hath need of thee!”

Which of us mortals could not use the helping hand of a friendly god once in awhile?”

— from the Introduction to the book PAN – GOD OF THE WOODS by Lawrence R. Spencer