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News Briefs 18-06-2004

I’m having a water well drilled on an ancient fault line. Price is based on depth. Does anybody know any water witches?

  • The skull of Tyrannosaurus rex acted like a giant shock absorber to support his flesh-ripping lifestyle.
  • Brazilian scientists have discovered a ratfish, a species of fish that has been swimming the seas since dinosaurs walked the Earth.
  • The mystery of the longest surviving mammoths.
  • Scientists have discovered skeletons in southern Mexico that could be more than 3,000 years old. Olmecs? Video and pics.
  • The huge mound on the Rum River couldn’t be a burial site because, ‘It’s beyond human comprehension, building something like that’.
  • Ancient maps and corn help track the migrations of indigenous people.
  • Prehistoric rock faces in Northumberland baffle the experts. For more baffling, visit the University of Newcastle upon Tyne Northumberland Website and see the rock art photo gallery.
  • Egyptian tombs older than the great pyramids of Giza reveal a complex society.
  • Federal police have seized dinosaur eggs and fossils worth millions of dollars during raids south of Perth.
  • U.S. Customs officials have returned to Guatemala 26 pieces of Mayan artifacts that survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
  • Ding! Your mail has been intercepted. Five mummified skulls from a pre-Inca culture were discovered in the Peru mail.
  • If research released by the Vatican is right, the Inquisition was not as bad as one might think.
  • A guy in Tanzania laced his wife’s half-eaten body with poison to kill rogue lions that are terrorizing villages. It worked.
  • Donkeys once heehawed out of Africa.
  • Science and native Indian spirituality clash over a lost and lonely killer whale (who may be a reincarnated chief) on Canada’s Pacific Coast.
  • Chinese panda porn results in a pregnant female. Kinky.
  • It’s not exactly the Star Trek transporter, but scientists have performed a successful teleportation on atoms for the first time.
  • Pollution controls are going very well in California. The woman who helped design Southern California’s pollution-credit anti-smog program was arrested for allegedly defrauding companies.
  • Scientists say they have found how to change promiscuous wayward males into attentive home-loving husbands. Make them into steers?
  • Researchers are developing devices aimed at protecting pilots and soldiers from blinding lasers.
  • NASA data shows that hurricanes help plants bloom in ‘ocean deserts’.
  • A German zoologist says bees aren’t as busy as people are led to believe.
  • The high priest of British white witches plans to contact Nessie’s ghost in a séance.
  • There’s nothing natural about this alien invasion.
  • The secret Cold War program Skyhook was the likely progenitor of many key aspects of UFO mythology.
  • The surface of this comet surprised NASA.
  • Researchers show how Jupiter’s moon Io vaporize rock gases into atmosphere.
  • Did comets flood Earth’s oceans?
  • How would aliens from Mars view us?

Quote of the Day:

New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not belittled, the humiliating question arises, ‘Why then are you not taking part in them?’

H. G. Wells

  1. Carlyon is not High Priest of
    Carlyon is not High Priest of all British witches. He makes these claims to get media attention and is generally reviled by the rest of the British Wiccan and Pagan movements as a meglomaniac media-hog and charlatan. For more on the British pagan movement try http://www.paganfed.demon.co.uk/

    To sit in silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men

    1. British white witches
      Hi Cernig,

      I don’t know anything about the hierarchy of British white witches, I’m just going by what the article says. I don’t see anything in the article that you linked about a hierarchy, a CEO, a chief, or a president. If you say he’s not, I’ll take your word for it. Maybe he anticipates a promotion after he contacts Nessie’s ghost.

      I’ve got a spooky, deja’vu feeling that I linked this story a couple of years ago on TDG.

      Bill

        1. High priest of witches
          A lot of people make claims of the sort in the occult. Some for publicity and other because they seem to have “chosen one” syndrome, a psychological disease rampant amongst occultists, magicians, witches etc.

          More seriously though the idea that Nessie might be spirit of some sort has been dealt with before. Ted Hallidays book “The Goblin universe” talks about ity in detail. He even claimed to have attended an exorcism as loch Ness.

          He does stretch it a bit when he claims that all anomalous sightings (such as say big cats) are energy beings, but arguing this for Nessie is perhaps fair enough

          However, one thought I have is although there aer claims for creatures in loch Ness going back milennia, they all stirred up around the time Aleister Crowley was raising goetic and Abramelin spirits in Boleskeine house, just on the shore of the Loch. Perhaps he stirred something up as a joke. It would be the sort of thing he would find hillarious. He used to have a sign on his entrance “Beware of the Icthysaur”.

          It reminds me of his Haggis jape 🙂

        2. Kevin Carlyon
          Dear Bill,
          Kevin Carlyon is generally understood, this side of the Atlantic, to be something of a self publicist. I agree with Cerrig’s comments. He does have followers, mainly in Sussex, but nobody else regards him as anyone’s “King of the Witches”, a title he tried to claim following his association with Alex Sanders.
          Bill, you have posted a few articles over the years regarding Kevin Carlyon. I appreciate your concern to raise the profile of those interested in the old ways, but please exercise some discernment. KC is *not* the best advert.
          The Pagan Federation is, perhaps, the best representative movement for UK pagans, as Cerrig’s link shows.
          Paul Newman

          1. Kevin Carlyon
            Hi Paul,

            Nah. I don’t think twice in two years is pushing an agenda. I really don’t have a favorite in who might be the high priest of British white witches. I just repeated what the article stated. I really don’t think you want me to start selecting only the stuff that I believe, do you? I’ll let you be your own censor.

            Articles are chosen that will be of interest to those that follow TDG. We don’t write the articles in the daily update. I don’t select articles about witches because they mention Kevin Carlyon; they are chosen because witches are interesting. If a news article is is found about witches that doesn’t mention Kevin Carlyon, and if it is interesting, the article will be linked. It’s not Kevin Carlyon that is interesting, it is the subject in general.

            If you find an article in the news that you find interesting that was missed send it to me an I’ll read it. If I think it will be interesting I’ll link it in the update.

            I can be reached at billb followed by @dailygrail.com. (Trying to fool the spambots here).

            Bill

      1. Three is a Coven, Four is an Argument
        Hi Bill,

        Heirachy? What Heirachy? The basic organisation of Wicca is based on the idea that it is an “immanent” religion where each and every witch has his or her own converse with the divine. Each group tends to have its own High Priest or High Priestess but each group numbers less than 20. Some groups even rotate these titular and administrative positions amongst senior members. Thats why it’s a Pagan “Federation”, you see…no CEO or overall Ruler. Wiccans are notoriously anarchic and schismatic and the notion of one overall High Priest is ludicrous. As the author Terry Pratchett once wrote, three is a coven, four is an argument.

        P.S. What are you willing to pay the water dowser? I live in Texas…

        To sit in silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men

        1. Water witch
          Hi Cernig,

          The article didn’t state how many witches the guy claimed to be the high priest of. I suppose if he has a coven then, according to your rules, he can claim to be the high priest. The implication was that he was the overall head cheese, but his actual claim may be valid. It’s a matter of interpretation.

          My water witch search is terminated for the present. It seems that a water line from an aquifer miles from me runs to a small community that is also miles from me. The line cuts across part of my property. Apparently I gave permission for this years ago, but I had forgotten it.

          I might want a witch later. Do you have credentials? What’s the going rate?

          Bill

          1. Re: Water witch
            It comes to something when your property is so big that you can’t remember that there’s a great big water line running across it. That said however, you probably live in Australia and own one of those big ranches that they have down there.

          2. Water witch
            Hi Adam,

            Greg is in Australia; I’m in Texas. The place I’m talking about is not all that big. But it is big enough and far enough away from everything to do whatever I wish without interference from anything or anyone. I’m planning to punch-out of the rat race in a couple of years so I’m planning on building a house there. I’ve got a few ideas on alternate energy that I want to try.

            Bill

  2. Paganism and Witchcraft
    At what point did people forget that Paganism was a religion that was stolen, and then destroyed by the Christian movement? In its original form, prior to the Catholic and Christian rampage to take over religions across the world, Paganism had absolutely nothing to do with what some silly people refer to today as Witchcraft. The Pagans were known as earth worshippers. They believed the World and all life in it were sacred. Pagans believed that the Earth was a living entity. And they respected it as such. Their doctrine referred to a Savior. A “man-god”, that died and promised to return to rule again one day. The Christians and Catholics used (stole) the Pagan religious doctrine to create a new religion to control and subjugate the people. The Pagan religion unfortunately was not designed to control the people, or more importantly their purses. So, it had to go.
    The uneducated references to Pagans being Witches were introduced by the Catholic and Christian Churches. This gave them free reign to kill and murder any Pagan that did not renounce their religion and join their church and make the required donations to them.
    It is still embedded in modern society today, unwittingly.
    If you’re grouping Pagans as witches, then you’re ignorant with history.
    Dancing around ancient megaliths in the moonlight naked is not what Paganism was about. They did not sacrifice anything. They loved life.
    But from what I have seen posted here, you wouldn’t know anything about the history of Paganism. You’re just interested in wanting someone to think you have some magical power affiliated with a forgotten belief which was destroyed by hateful greedy churches long ago.

    -dd

      1. Be sure
        No. I have been a registered member on Greg’s BBS’s for many years now. I have never traveled to Australia.
        Greg most likely will take offense at this unjust accusation! 🙂

        -dd

    1. Polytheism vs Monotheism
      I thought long and hard about responding to this post, especially the personal attack on my beliefs as a Alexandrian Wiccan of over 20 years. Ive decided to respond as follows:

      1) DD, you show an ignorance of the subject. I did not say pagans are witches, although certainly witches are pagans. There was never a single pantheon which could be called “paganism”, although often the Hellenist pantheon is the one meant. The Celts were pagans, as were the Norse, the Hindus still are, as are the Shintoists. Paganism is defineable as polytheism. May I recommend the excellent work “God against the gods”? You can read an interview with the author at http://www.beliefnet.com/story/146/story_14661_1.html

      2) Bill, I am sure you understood the original offer as a light-hearted one, but how about if you need some dowsing done I give it a try and if it is helpful then you what you think it is worth? I would hate to demand monies for some magickal powers I may not have.

      To sit in silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men

      1. Witches and water witches
        Cernig,

        I believe we may have confused Digital Dragon in our conversations in this thread. We were discussing Witches of the Wiccans, Paganism, and I also used the term water witch. We both understood the discussion and the overlap, but DD may have been confused. We will keep the water search on-hold for a while if you don’t mind.

        Digital Dragon,

        Cernig is correct when he states that witches are Pagans, but not all Pagans are witches.

        A water witch is a common term for a diviner, someone who uses a divining rod to find underground water. They are also known as dowsers and rhabdomancers. Water witching, despite the name, is not related to Wicca or Paganism.

        The ability to find water with the forked branch of a fruit tree, usually peach, or a willow may be an inherited ability. Some people have the ability; most don’t. Many people can dowse but they are unaware of the talent. I suspect that more Wiccans know they have talent than the general population because of their association with the environment.

        I don’t see any evidence of anyone mentioning “Dancing around ancient megaliths in the moonlight naked” except you.

        I think Cernig and I confused you.

        Bill

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