Of oaks & apples

If we play a little game and I ask you to pick a random number between 1 and say 250 what are the chances that you'll hit on the same number as the next Internet tweaker.

Go on pick a number.

Here is a picture of NZ sky & pohutukawa (one of our most luscious trees) to stop you peaking at the number below.




So who picked 216 - be honest.

The other day our delightful media broadcast this number on the front page of the NZ Herald & it stirred a memory.

This story is not nice.

On 9th January this year a 22 year old woman was stabbed to death - 216 times. Her name was Sophie Elliot.

I did not read the news story at the time, but have fished out a description here - read or leave as you will. I am surprised, but I guess I shouldn't be, at the descriptions that are published, especially her mother's.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4560973a6009.html

The number 216 stirred a memory, but I haven't been quite with it this week & didn't take it further. Two days ago synchronicity & my blessed intuition came calling good & strong.

Google had one of their googly designs on display - a couple of guys in the snow - I know I should have got it, but I had to let my mouse do the walking & of course, of course, May 29, the day Hillary & Tenzing reached the summit of Everest in '53. Seeing how this good man has been such a part of my life this year, I grasped hold of my mouse's paw & we set off to Wikiland.

"May 29 is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 216 days remaining until the end of the year."

Big flashing light now because I know, I know, that I've read about this number earlier this year & I'm sure it was from that wizard weaver Mr Taylor. I went hunting & persistence paid off.

"The number 216 applies to very many serious crimes and prominent events. It certainly begs the questions "Who is using this code in this way? Who for? and What for? It is even likely that near enough is good enough sometimes when we are talking codes. Just a day or so out is still going to signal to those in the know just who is responsible for a certain deed. And this means too, that codes can be wrapped around and harboured within other dates etc."

Full article here; http://www.ellisctaylor.com/twotowers.html
One of the links isn't working but still very informative - Ellis posted a story following a British headline earlier this year stating "A total of 216 police officer jobs will be axed in Greater Manchester."

Checking back onto 29th May, I found that it is/was Oak Apple Day. Now I swear I came across that name for the first time a day or two ago, but I couldn't remember where - it didn't matter, it just meant pay attention, so I paid.

"Oak Apple Day was a holiday celebrated in England on 29 May to commemorate the restoration of the monarchy in Great Britain and Ireland (sorry Gavin) in May 1660."

Now this is interesting if you bear in mind how fortuitous it was considered back in 1953, that Hillary should have conquered Everest on the eve of the QEII coronation. Hillary was promptly knighted - wrapping up the whole event very nicely with royal wrapping paper & a monarchical bow.

I am not sure how it goes in the UK, but in NZ Queen's Birthday commoners, sorry public holiday falls on the 1st June. Bearing in mind the comments of Ellis Taylor, that even a day or two out, is ok when working with codes, the 216 code of May 29, being so close to 1st June becomes even more fortuitous.

Briefly the Oak Apple tale tells of Charles II hiding in an oak tree to escape capture by the Roundhead army. In actual fact May 29 was his birthday, and to make a very tasty little symbolic snack we find that this regal comet made a spectacular re-entry into London on his 30th birthday in 1660 - his second coming you could say (code-name 'The Restoration').

If we briefly prise apart the Oak Apple story we get two distinct symbols.

"The oak is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of England, Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Basque Country, Wales & Serbia."
Strange, it seemed to me, was finding that in 2004 America "announced ... legislation designating the oak tree as the official tree of the United States" - for those of us schooled in the grandiosity of this land, we may have thought their leaders might have opted for something showier - a grand Sequoia perhaps?

http://bennelson.senate.gov/news/details.cfm?id=241807

But then what have we here?

"In Celtic mythology it (the Oak) is the tree of doors, believed to be a gateway between worlds, or a place where portals could be erected" - now why am I not surprised?

The apple is pretty familiar to most of us. As a female I have long had to endure the shame of my greeeaaatttt grand-mama who couldn't leave the goddamn things alone (apparently).
There is a virtual barrel-full of tales of golden apples, poisoned apples & Big Apples - enough for a very large, if somewhat indigestible pie.

All in all 29 May has an interesting bouquet - audacious, some may say a little headstrong, certainly precocious, & leaving just a hint of sacrificial aftertaste:

1660 - English Restoration

1727 - Peter II becomes Tsar of Russia

1790 - Rhode Island becomes the 13th US State

1848 - Wisconsin becomes the 30th US State

1964 - Emperor Maximilian of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time

1886 - Chemist John Pemberton places his first ad for Coca-cola (in Atlanta Journal)

1953 - Hillary & Tenzing, first to reach summit of Everest

1954 - First of the annual Bilderberg conferences

1964 - Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian situation in Israel, leading to the formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation

1985 - Heysel Stadium disaster. At the European Cup final in Brussels, 39 football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses after Liverpool F.C fans breach a fence separating them from Juventus F.C fans

1988 - President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union as he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev

1990 - Boris Yeltsin is elected president of the Russian SFSR by the Russian parliament

1999 - Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule

1999 - Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station

2004 - The World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C (there's more to come on memorials, but that's for another post).

Psychopoo

I stood in a load of psychopoo on the weekend & it knocked me side-ways. It was my own fault. I got up one morning & put my head on back to front & believed that if I stood in enough of the crap I would become enlightened. As a result, I have been suffering from sillybuggeritis for the last few days.


Thanks to some sweet smelling mates, the tide has turned & returned & is washing away a nasty smell.

I got pulled into a website & ignored my intuition which was dancing round madly trying to get my attention, as a result it resorted to a kick in the solar plexus which caused me to unplug quick smart.

I am reminded that I do not like being disconnected from my intuition and that it works moment by moment. No one out there has 'the answers' & a suggested reply to those that say they do is BOLLOCKS (or the word of your choice because I certainly don't have the answers). Actually that brings up the topic of answers, an idea we accept so readily - so trained are we to get the 'right answer' & 'the gold star'.

Some time ago I went through a bit of a rough patch, I knew it was my head that was buggered & I was terrified of following in my parents footsteps of nervous breakdowns (whatever they are) & years of depression & tranquillisers, so I turned to my son for advice. At the time he was probably about 10, the perfect age for giving advice. In order not to lean on him, a terrible thing that parents often do surreptitiously do to their children, we came to an agreement whereby I paid him generously for his opinions. This meant I learned quick smart. I asked him questions about how he saw the world. Many times I posed questions that he did not understand, not because he was too young but because he did not think the way I & the rest of us 'adults' have been trained. He could not grasp the concept of 'mind & body' and repeatedly told me that he was just himself. Another concept he found intolerable was the idea of ' having something to look forward to'. I had been in the habit of drawing things out to make them last longer, believing that good things don't come along very often, so build up the momentum for as long as possible. He explained that if you do that then you stop all the good things that are behind that from coming in - I have never forgotten this & believe it is great wisdom (this particular bad habit I think, applies to women more than men who seem to be able to go after what they want with more ease.)

Over a couple of weeks I came to my senses - it was interesting because I would have been close to the age when my mother first took a very deep nose dive into depression. I wonder how much our links with others in our lives direct our path when we do not pay attention.

My son is not a mercenary & offered to help for free but that did not feel right. I believe it was he who opened this channel for healing a year or two prior to that when he told me about a traumatic problem he was having with someone who I thought was his friend. This child had had a hold over him for a few years & was psychologically torturing him & I hadn't known. When he finally told me, he said he had wanted to tell me for ages but was unable to - it is very easy to forget the intense world that children live in & how they work things out.

I dealt with the issue as best I could talking to the boy's mother & my son's teacher & thought that it was resolved, but it was not. So I left the choice in my boy's hands & told him I would end it if he chose - he was very upset, but I knew that for this to never happen again it had to be his choice. We made up a signal for when I picked the two of them up from school - if my son said this boy should sit in the back seat that meant that I should go ahead & tell this child that he could no longer be friends with my son. I did not think at that time that my son would be able to do this, but he did. In standing up for my child I believe that I healed a number of things from my own childhood & perhaps reached back into my family history & put some things right.

I'm not sure how I got here from psychopoo but it seemed right at the time. I guess I just wanted to say that we don't have to stand in crap or for it. I am immensely grateful to my friends who gave their kindly advice & took the piss out of me to get my feet back onto the ground again - always reach for friends when you need them, do everything you can to take care of yourself, say bollocks often & have a bloody good laugh whenever you can.

In de headlines again

I see NZ has hit the headlines again, this time with a kiwi winning the Indianapolis 500.

Just a few days after noting the NZ - India / Indiana combination we can now add to the that - India / Indiana / Indianapolis - what it means I don't know but at least your ability to spell & pronounce longer words must be improving.

I wonder what my friends who like to look closer at sports will make of this.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4560780a13298.html

Edmundia

The news on the radio at 12pm to day announced that Sir Edmund Hillary is to receive an award today - the auspicious May 22.

Again & again this year, this man who has not been left to rest in peace, is trotted out in one form or another.
It seems 2008, which was his 88th year is of major importance. Today his wife will receive the Padma Vibhushan in his name. The Padma Vibhushan is India's second highest civilian honour, it consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of that country. Apparently it was awarded two weeks after his death. India's minister of commerce and industry is in New Zealand no, so it's happening to day.
I gues he can join that other famous adventurer & explorer - oh bloody hell I nearly missed it - I was just going to say Indiana Jones but of course it should read - Indiana Jones.

Just what are they going to call on him for next.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1791734

The thief, the minstrel & the trickster

NCE upon a time
there was a thief who
escaped from paradise
by tying sheets together and
climbing down from the
walls of Eden.

For three days he remained a free man and the sheriff knew not where to look.

The sheriff posted wanted pictures and the people were amazed to see how much he resembled a famous knight, but the cunning thief disguised himself by cutting off his golden locks.

During this time, there came to the 'Town below Paradise' a famous minstrel who had played at royal courts & sung songs for princesses. On a starry, starry night the minstrel poured forth his songs upon the townspeople and they said that it was good, though rather pricy.

The day after this wondrous event, the thief was spotted by two rebels in a market on the outskirts of the town. They called for the sheriff and he & his men arrived & gave chase.
Through the streets of the 'Town below Paradise' their chariots raced, but lo, upon reaching a rich & foreign land where the hunters gather on corners, the thief's silver chariot crashed into the wagons of two townspeople & he was recaptured & returned to paradise.
THE END
(well not quite)

Last Monday (12th May), a very strange event occured.

A prisoner who was on remand for robbery escaped from Mt Eden Prison in Auckland. In a style that brings to mind comics & old movies, the prisoner made a rope from knotted sheets & scaled the castle-like walls to freedom.

At the time I wondered & went to check out his name, usually a good place to start on synchs, and always interesting when you get the full three names - Aaron Stephen Forden - yes I thought, there's possibilities there.

But then the mercurial visit by Elton John captured my attention. But still wonder I did, about this highly publicised escape prior to the concert.

So I've come back for a second look & I believe we can weave enough pretty synchs together to come up with a splendid little cape for he who is fleet of feet but short of wardrobe.

I must add here that this little chap may have taken offence to my comments about his lack of raiment because I have once again been set back a day in posting this second article about him. Yesterday while I sat at my computer a couple of cars managed to take out a local transformer (no one was hurt, but two cars totaled) - it was a long candle lit night & I issue a public health notice to avoid toasting hamburger buns over smoky fires.

To return to the scene of the crime we find that, as a thief, Aaron Stephen Forden was under the patronage of Mercury. At the time of the escape it seems there was much head shaking as to just how this breakout was possible, but it's been put down to staff shortages - 3 guards instead of the usual 4 (remember this is NZ).

Tremendous media attention was placed on this event, & there was a certain amount of sniggering by the public. We even had a linen supplier using the picture of the escape rope as part of an advertising campaign & offering a 30% discount on sheets. It was quite the topic of the moment.

At the time I couldn't help thinking that his wanted poster reminded me of someone, well actually one person, in particular - how about you.

Now there seems to have been some confusion over the photos of Forden that were issued & I myself am not sure what he looked like when he escaped. I don't think clarity of the thief was of prime importance, instead I feel that the first image did a very good job of bringing Heath Ledger to mind. Looking at subsequent photo's of Forden we still see a remarkable similarity to the late actor.


Atlantean Times said this of 14th May; "Today there are two planetary events taking place and one of them is identical to the event that happened during Heath Ledgers death on the 22nd Jan."

To return to our story.

For three days, a ward of Mercury flits around a town where a Mercury concert is taking place, looking a great deal like a man was almost certainly sacrificed during a Mercury alignment.

"Stay, see! our Mercury is coming forth; art and all the elements assist. Call forth our philosophers. He will be gone, he will evaporate. Dear Mercury ! Help ! He flies. He is 'scaped. Precious golden Mercury, be fixed; be not so volatile. Will none of the sons of art appear ?" from Ben Jonson's 'Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists at Court'.

Forden was recaptured the day after the concert in again rather strange circumstances. He was apparently recognised in a sports store & then again by a member of the public as he was driving down an Auckland street - beware the eagle eye of the kiwi.

From the NZ Herald; "Police praised eagle-eyed members of the public who recognised 'Aaron Stephen Forden' - "who looked considerably different (my emphasis) from his released mugshot... Rebel Sport manager said two staff members recognised the fugitive as he wandered around the store." & "He was looking suspicious - just because of his sheer look and demeanor - but they [the staff members] had both been watching the news and thought he looked like the guy on TV, even though he had changed his appearance." Senior Sergeant John Yearbury said "It was good spotting...because he's changed his appearance somewhat". Bloody amazing might be closer to the mark!

Forden, highly sought after prison escapee, had succumbed to dreaded weakness of the female of the species & gone 'clothes shopping'. "He bought a pair of track suit pants from the store then went out to his car to get changed and then..... returned to the shop to buy a T shir"t -you may be wondering how he managed to stay 'at large' for three minutes let alone three days. I could get myself in trouble again by wondering if the clothes shopping isn't a subconscious effort to help 'he who is sartorially challenged.'

Did you spot the interesting choice of venue to announce his 'first (& second) coming' - Rebel Sport. Perhaps Mercury, as he has been with me, was having a bit of sport with Forden. Mind you, we can have have our own little bit of sport with this & say that 'Ford'en created Mercury' (cars that is).

Rather snug fittingly for this tale, our lightly clad friend has another title - the Trickster, & Hermes upon whom Mercury is modelled, invented not only the lyre, but also - the liar. You owe your ability to tell porkies to Hermes (however I can't answer for your dress sense).

Perhaps the transformer episode did me a favour, or I mightn't have cottoned on to a pretty obvious thread that's been lying in the middle of the road all this time. Maybe you beat me to it. If not I'll give you a clue, try thinking of Forden as an outlaw, one made famous by the boy Ledger.
Forden is 26 years old, Ned Kelly died aged approx 26. His death in 1880 brings back those mercurial numbers of 80 & 88 again. His remains were believed to have been located earlier this year - 2008. Heath Ledger's untimely death certainly echoes that of Kelly. If I was fishing for fishies instead of clues my basket would be getting very full.

After leaving the Rebel Sports store (sport being an aussie term similar to, but less friendly than 'mate'), Forden was somehow spotted by an observant citizen while driving down Redoubt St - a redoubt being a type of fort that brings to mind Mt Eden prison and perhaps Ned Kelly's last seige. Synching in from a previous post we also find Redoubt Cemetery in Gallipoli which holds the bones of a number of ANZAC soldiers.

Getting back to The Great Escape we find that Forden was driving a silver Nissan Silvia, which does rather beg us to pay attention. Mercury is also known as quicksilver, it's symbol is Hg - hydrargyrum, meaning watery or liquid silver. I should think the silver Nissan racing through the streets at up to 150km must have looked rather like a silver stream.

At Hunter's Corner, the car clipped a sedan & smashed into two parked cars outside Lotus Foreign Exchange. A fitting place for a ledger?

Forden was recaptured on foot shortly thereafter. A picture was issued of him today at his court appearance, now looking remarkably unlike Heath Ledger. I'll post it if I can find it, but for now I'd better get on before Mercury rises. (Here it is)

To finish, I thought I should check out the headlines of the NZ Herald on the day they reported his capture (the NZ Herald is 'it' in NZ as far as national newspapers go).

Anyway atop the Herald / Messenger/ Mercury I found this:

It is advertising a feature on bringing better broadband to NZ - plugging us in. I did not feel at all comfortable with the image. Thinking I might find a Mercury connection I had a look & sure enough it is to do with a deal between Vodafone & Vector, who you may remember from my previous article used to go by the name of Mercury Energy. There is still an electricity company here that goes by that name - why waste a good name eh?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10509732

curiouser and mercurius(er)

I am sitting at my desk spitting tacks.

Now that's not how I intended to start this article but I put a lot of time & energy last night into writing this article & this morning I find it has all disappeared, so I need a quick scream aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh & bollocks, bollocks, bollocks.

OK deep breath.

A short while ago, Gavin from Atlantean Times posted a comment on an article I wrote saying that there was a Mercury alignment coming up on the 14th May & that he had a bad feeling about it. A couple of days ago that date clicked & I recalled that Elton John is doing a 'one only' concert in NZ, right here in Auckland on 14th May. Depending on your feelings about the man you may or may not think that Gavin was right.

Seriously though Gavin's feeling was enough to make me take a little look. In wiki I found this;
"On November 24, 1991 Queen singer Freddie Mercury, a close friend of John's, died of AIDS. [Elton] John was one of the few invited to attend the singer's private funeral services."

OK you may say, you know that, & surely I can't really call that much of a coincidence, but I suggest on this little (second) trek it is a marker.

Elton is playing at the Vector Arena, near the waterfront in Auckland City. The Vector Arena is apparently named for one of it's sponsors - Vector Limited (I'm not up on the corporate world but I would have thought that other sponsors wouldn't be too happy about that).

"Vector Limited is a multi-network infrastructure company in New Zealand. It is the number one provider of electricity distribution." Vector used to be known as Mercury Energy.

So we have a big show in a Mercury Arena on the night before Mercuralia - what's that you say (well had you read my previous almost finished article you would have known - bollocks, sorry).

The Mercuralia is the festival of the Roman god Mercury & takes place on the 15th May. Seeing as how the concert goes on into the night I think it's fair to say that the energy of the concert will certainly spill over into Mercuralia. Why not have had the concert on the 15th you say if something is afoot?
Well one reason could be that Wednesday is named for Mercury, you can tell by the similarity in spelling. Check out the first couple of paragraphs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wednesday

Now I should give you a quick run down on Mercury (again).

In Roman mythology, Mercury is the messenger of the gods, as well as being the god of the 'business world' & thieves, I jest you not. In fact if there was a god for Freemasons I would pick this chap.
He also guides the newly-dead to the Underworld & carries the dreams of Morpheus to sleeping humans. He does other things as well to but for now we'll stick with what we've got.
Mercury is virtually a carbon copy of the Greek god Hermes.
In art he's portrayed as a shapely lad who looks as though he may have been an early inspiration for the first 'flashers'. I could get carried away here & mention that Freddie Mercury & Queen supplied the soundtrack to the movie Flash Gordon.

For this concert to matter I have to tie it in with the location. In this case Auckland, NZ.

I remind you that NZ seems to have some importance in 2008. A couple of months ago a bunch of very famous heavy metal bands swooped onto NZ, took part in what I believe was a dark ritual & then fluttered their bat wings & vamoosed. Really, it was bizarre, why on earth would you ferry the dark cream of the heavy metal world to the edge of the world. It wasn't so long ago that people thought NZ was connected to Australia by a bridge. Do you need a moment to check your atlas?

Elton is playing his one off concert in Auckland. Although he has played in other venues in NZ over the years, he has not played here, the largest city in the country, for 10 years.

A few more subtle connections to NZ. Elton John did a recent charity gig for the 'Hillary Clinton campaign'. You will remember that Sir Edmund Hillary died in January this year. Ellis Taylor made a comment that there was only room for one Hillary & in the research I've done regarding him this year I feel inclined to agree. Certainly both characters are known by the name Hillary.
So I'm a wondering if tonight's concert might not also be in a similar vein to the Clinton fundraiser but this time raising energy - an energy scoop.
"Hillary Clinton’s got a very close Mercury-Saturn square". I recommend a wee read of her astrological profile - it's not long.
http://astrofuturetrends.blogspot.com/2007/05/hillary-clinton-and-2008-election.html

So Hillary Clinton dances to a mercurial beat. I wonder if Elton is playing Her Song tonight.

Continuing... Edmund Hillary died aged 88. The number 8 certainly seems to have some significance.

The planet Mercury flits around the sun on it's little winged heels once every 88 days.

88 also features as a design on the NZ$5 note - the note on which Edmund Hillary appears (and did so even before his death).
See here for more in depth write up of Sir Ed.

The atomic number for the element Mercury is 80.

Returning again to Elton we find his records on the Mercury label.
Now that I am a little more educated than I was a few days ago, I find that the song Rocket Man tends to make me think of Project Mercury. This was the program that ran from 1959 to 1963, and whose goal was to put a man into space. The newly created NASA was it's daddy.
Seven astronauts were chosen. If you grew up in the 70's then you are intimately connected with their namesakes - the five Tracy boys from Thunderbirds were named after five of the astronauts.
http://www.american.edu/IRVINE/sarahg/astronauts.htm

I found Gordon Cooper, one of the astronauts rather interesting. He was launched into space in the Mercury-Atlas 9 on May 15 (have you been paying attention? - that's Mercuralia) 1963.
He orbited the Earth 22 times (not 21 or 23, but 22 times).
At first I found the following little tidbit completely unnecessary. If you took a mercurial glance you might miss it;
"He also gained the distinction of becoming the first American astronaut to sleep not only in orbit but on the launch pad during a countdown.”
However remembering that Mercury is the god who brings us dreams from Morpheus, it seems to me yet another reference to our swift friend.
"He retired from NASA having flown 222 hours in space... During the 1970s, he worked for The Walt Disney Company as a vice-president of research and development for Epcot."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epcot
Surprise, surprise he was a Master Mason (member of Carbondale Lodge 82 in Carbondale, Colorado) and a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite. He died on a date I'm becoming extremely familiar with - October 4 - which means??? come on every one together now 88 days till the end of the year & among other things the day that in 1957, Sputnik 1 was launched. He was 77. I'm a bit bemused at the number of famous people I come across who die with their age as a master number (two numbers the same). If you'd like Gordon Tracy oops I mean Gordon Cooper's full story go for your life here

We can't leave space without a quick trip to the planet Mercury. Mariner 10 did it, the magically requisite three times during 1974 - 1975.

This year on January 14, three days after the death of Sir Edmund Hillary, MESSENGER succeeded in it's first drive-by of Mercury. Now you may think I'm a bit thick but I didn't get that at first. You see NASA told me that MESSENGER stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging and while I thought it sounded bloody weird I didn't think any more about it until discussing yesterday's finds with my very obliging son and there it was. You can choose to believe what you like, but our boy Mercury is the 'messenger of the gods', and by being so, I have to wonder what message he is conveying or collecting on his drive-bys. He's going to get up close & personal two more times - there's that magical formula of 3 again.

The earliest known records of the planet Mercury are from the MUL.APIN tablets about 14th century BC. Babylonian records date back to the 7th century BC, they called it Nabu.
"The Babylonians called the planet Nabu after the Messenger to the Gods in their mythology" (Wiki). Here again is the term Messenger. I also found this about Nabu
"His power over human existence is immense, because Nabu engraves the destiny of each person, as the Gods have decided, on the tablets of sacred record. Thus, He has the power to increase or diminish, at will, the length of human life."

Returning to Elton again I am reminded that his middle name by deed pole is Hercules - the Roman version of Heracles, and I have to say, to my mind, a bit of a bastard.

There have been a few personal syncs to drive my curiosity on this little tale. I found that Elton's first number one hit on his own, in the UK was "Sacrifice" - this being the subject of two recent articles of mine, (there's another in the offing). Then I also found that Reg Dwight officially changed his name on May 7th - what's the chances of that. (Come on I can't do it all for you).

In numerology the number 88 is a master number. The infinity sign twice. Here's a nifty little look at the number 8

I wonder if I've covered everything. But it's getting on & I've got dinner to make - scones with cream & jam tonight - well why not, it's been a long day.

I'll leave you with an archaeological mystery.
"How is it that an ancient tele of Mercury should be seen holding Elton John's glasses?"

Additional:

Apologies, I meant to include this musing. A few years ago I read a book by by a psychiatrist named Shakuntala Modi called Remarkable Healings. In it she claimed to have found possession by disincarnate entities in many of her clients. I knew about stories of possession from the bible, but in this modern world we all know better! She made a very convincing case & I have never forgotten that book. Some instances in particular were most intriguing - stories of the recently dead trying to reach out to their living friends to comfort them & being pulled inside their friends bodies & unable to escape.

When I read Elton John being at Freddie Mercury's funeral, I wondered just a little. As I progressed with this tale, my thoughts turned to Edmund Hillary. In particular the little 'ceremony' held for him in St George's Chapel at Windsor. If you believe in the afterlife, then it's pretty likely that you believe in the tunnel of white light that opens up after death - the story is repeated often enough. But what if that is far from the only scenario & that spirits can be bound here by accident or on purpose. Matthew Delooze makes, to my mind, a very good point when he suggests that the word 'amen' stands for Amen-Ra & that by repeating it at baptisms, weddings & funerals you are making a kind of contract with that energy & not the guy with the big fluffy beard who sits on a cloud.

Edmund Hillary's funeral took place in Auckland & his ashes were spread in the waters near here. Elton played his concert last night in Auckland & at the waterfront - my feelings remain that some type of Mercury energy harnessing of & for Hillary took place at that time.

Here are some interesting ideas for your own mind to play with. Scroll down for Shakuntala Modi. I've not read all of this yet, just think of it as some little 'idea snacks'.

http://www.soul-guidance.com/houseofthesun/spirits.htm

Put out the Light (the sacrifice - part 2)

Today is the 7th May.

If you could step inside a convenient phone booth & time travel back in time to 1915, then by just 12 days you would have missed the start of the bloody sacrifice known as Gallipoli (or the re-enactment of the seige of Troy).

Never mind, for today the 7th May, if you land your sturdy chariot at the Old Head of Kinsale at the southern end of the Emerald Isles, you will witness yet another sacrifice. You will need to arrive around 2pm. In the distance a liner with four funnels will appear, very shortly thereafter she will list heavily and start to sink. In eighteen minutes she will be gone.

You will have witnessed the sacrifice of the Lusitania...

I was startled to realise just after completing The Sacrifice, just how quickly on the achilles heels of Gallipoli came the horrific sinking of this ship.

I owe her a debt of gratitude. Last year I happened upon a book about her at the library, then shortly afterwards, I was amazed to come upon a blog article about her. Greatly touched by this I wanted to leave a comment, and thus my blog account was born.

It was the closeness in timing to Gallipoli that made me curious. I'd forgotten the date, although I recalled that at the time I was suspicious because of her departure date - May 1st - Beltane.

"Bealtaine is a cross-quater day, marking the midpoint in the sun's progress between the spring equinox & summer solstice. Since the Celtic year was based on both lunar and solar cycles, it is possible that the holiday was celebrated on the full moon nearest the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. The astronomical date for this midpoint is closer to May 5 or May 7, but this can vary from year to year." & "Beltane comes from the Old Irish Beltene ('bright fire'). Wikipedia

I have to say this has been a tricky article it goes round and round in ever tightening circles. There is a lot of contradictory information.

What is said to be fact is that a German submarine U20 fired a torpedo that struck the Lusitania at 2.10pm on 7th May. Two explosions have always been reported but the times in between vary - though it seems they were fairly close together. The second was very large and was the cause of the rapid sinking. She was within sight of land, picnicers on Old Head of Kinsale watched in horror. The sinking was so fast that many people never stood a chance. 1198 civilians lost their lives and a further 3 in the days that followed. Many of the dead were women & children. There were many Americans on board, I have found varying numbers in the death toll but around 128.

The sinking caused great outrage.

In a world accustomed to perpetual slaughter it may be hard for us to comprehend it's effect. Perhaps if 9/11 had not been so dramatic there could have been a similarity. It could perhaps be viewed as one of the first media covered terrorist attacks. Nearly 100 children drowned, including over 30 babies. There were stories of drowned mothers found clutching their dead babies.

So where to begin...

This is a subjective article. I feel a need to write it, but I'm not going to present a lot of proof. There's plenty of that on the Internet & in books, and believe me it's full of contradictions.

We're going to sail down the 'synchromystic trail', because it flows cleanly and this is a dirty business.

So we have a great loss of life around the time of celtic festival of Beltane, just off the celtic coast of Ireland. Beltane is a fire festival, and it was a torpedo 'fired' at the Lusitania that was believed to have caused both explosions. Whether or not this is the case there was one small & one great explosion. At Beltane fires are lit on hilltops, at Old Head of Kinsale a lighthouse plays the part.

"Beltane was also a time when the Otherworld was seen as particularly close at hand" If as I think Lusitania was a sacrifice them this description gives me the creeps. The liner was actually only about 8 miles from the Old Head of Kinsale, so on that day the otherworld was very close indeed.

The name Lusitania is said to come from an ancient Roman Province that included much of modern day Portugal. I have often felt that it was a strange name and can't help but get a certain luciferic conotation from it. She had a sister ship the Mauretania, another Roman province so it all looks kosher, but I kept finding Roman mythology as I dug deeper & was very interested to find that Maurs is a very early form of Mars. Tania is said to mean 'a region of land,' but it is also a girls name and means fairy queen. Titania perhaps being the most well known.

"Whereas Samhain revelers must look out for wandering souls of the dead, Beltane merrymakers must watch for Fairies. Beltane is the night when the queen of the fairies will ride out on her white steed to entice humans away to Faeryland. If you hear the bells of the Fairy Queen's horse, you are advised to look away, so she will pass you by; look at the Queen and your sense alone will not hold you back!"

It is believed that Beltane is a Celtic reinvention of an even older Roman festival, Floralia, which celebrated the goddess Flora and the flowering of spring. It was held on April 27 to May 3 and symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life, marked with dancing, drinking, and flowers.

So what's in a name. "In Latin, the word "Lucifer", means "Light-Bringer" (from lux, lucis, "light", and ferre, "to bear, bring"), is a name for the "Morning Star" (the planet Venus in its dawn appearances)."

Is there any reason that we should see the light when we look at the Lusitania?

"100,000 CHEER AS LUSITANIA SAILS; Giant Cunarder Leaves Liverpool on Her Maiden Voyage to New York. AN HOUR LATE IN STARTING It Is Believed the New Liner Will Beat the Lucania to This Port by at Least Twenty Hours" (8 Sept 1907 ). Lucania it seems is an ancient district of Italy, and it is probably completely coincidental that her name seems to resemble the latin word for light. When the Lusitania was launched in 1907 she was the largest vessel the world had ever seen. Her light certainly exceeded the Luciana whose last voyage was on July 7th 1909. Her light was put out on August 14th, 1909, when she was badly damaged by a fire, and partially sank at her berth.

At her berth in Liverpool, the Lusitania was known affectionately as The Lucy. 'Lucy' is of Latin origin, and means"light". It is the feminine form of Lucius.

St Lucy or Santa Lucia was a fourth century martyr mainly known for her praiseworthy virginity and having her eyes gouged out. She has maintained a following in a number of countries including Sweden where, on her feast day, 13 December girls dress in white and wear a crown of candles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lucia_Day

Did you click on the link, no I didn't think so. Well the last part is rather interesting.

'December 13 is also associated with a being called Lussi. She "is conceived of as a woman, usually with evil traits, like a feminine demon. Such a spirit is also found in mid- and southern European mythologies (citation needed) and given the name of darkness, like Lucia die dunkle (the dark Lucia). Her contrast is Lucia die helle (the fair Lucia), a Christian take-over which is associated with Saint Lucia."

&

"Yet another name is relevant here, namely Lucifer. His name has the same etymological background (the name literally means "light-bringer"). Once he was an angel of light, then he was dethroned and became the Prince of Darkness. Lussi was also conceived of as Adam’s first wife, and the ancestor of all fairies, goblins, little people."

The light saber of the seas made 201 transatlantic crossings. A 'Liner' is a ship that makes regular scheduled voyages on a set route. The Lusitania's set route was from Liverpool to New York & back. I have become interested in ships, their names & routes. It started when I researched a previous post on 'knickers'. I was playing around with ideas and typed in 'daffodil' & 'lodge' looking for a masonic link. I came up with the link below, & I suggest you come back to it and have a bit of a read. The descriptions seemed to me to suggest a deeper meaning, and I've since wondered about the use of ship's routes & their names.

http://www.iris444.co.uk/Pages/Lodge%20Name.html

The Lusitania weaved her way back & forth across the Atlantic 201 times. We would look at the sea and see no trail but that does that mean it is not there. If she was an animal we could say she left her scent at the places she docked. A trail of light perhaps. Indeed at night she must have been ablaze with light.

On 5th May, two days before her light went out, the Earl of Lathom was sunk by the the same submrine U20 off the Old Head of Kinsale.

Her escort was to have been HMS Juno. Now I've gotten totally frustrated trying to get to the truth of what happened here so many conflicting stories, always a good sign that there's probably something to be seen.

Basically it seems that HMS Juno was to have escorted the Lusitania but was recalled. She could have helped with survivors but as she might have been a submarine target she was ordered to stay away. Let's not get too tied down with facts. Look at the name - Juno. The patron goddess of Rome & the Roman Empire. She was the daughter of Saturn & the mother of Mars (Maurs). She was called 'Regina' - Queen of the gods. (remember that for later).

For now we look at her in one of her aspects as Juno Lucina. It's amazing how info just turns up, I just found this - look familiar?

"Juno Lucina, Mother of Lights, was a goddess of childbirth whose festival was celebrated with torchlights and bonfires in Rome in early December. As midwife of the miraculous Sun Child born at Winter Solstice, it was said she brought children to light. Later converted to Christianity as St. Lucy, she found a home in Sweden, where Yuletide celebrations today still include the procession of the Lussibruden (Lucy Bride), led by a young girl wearing a crown of candles"

As Juno Lucina she was the goddess of childbirth, "for the newborn baby is brought into the light".

Juno Lucina is represented carrying a child in her arms, with two or more at her feet. It has often been remarked just how many women & children died on the Lusitania. Whatever the facts on the day the story remains the same - Juno turned away from her charges.

Perhaps this sacrifice was to balance & equal that of the heroic deaths of the men in the Dardanelles. It most assuredly was a female sacrifice.

Conflicting stories abound but one that interested me was that Admiral Coke in charge of naval security in the area "had sent a message to the tug HELLESPONT to return to Queenstown, because her escort, the yacht SCADAUN, was to search for U-boats. Because of a callsign mix-up, LUSITANIA believed the message was for her, telling her to enter Queenstown. Captain Turner "to the end of his life...was adamant that it instructed him to divert into Queenstown."

Of interest here is meeting with Hellespont again so soon after the Gallipoli camapaign - Hellespont, now known as The Dardanelles, was named after Helle, sister of Phrixus, who fell off the golden ram & drowned. My personal opinion is that Captain Turner was made a scapegoat - he protested his innocence for the rest of his life.

His name should ring a bell or eight - Capt. William Turner or should I say Will Turner.

To finish the feminine theme of this article we come to Queenstown, County Cork.

You won't find it any more as it returned to it's original name of Cobh in 1922. It seems that on her first visit to Ireland in 1849, Queen Victoria agreed to have it's name changed to commemorate her visit (no comment). Queenstown had been a regular port of call for the Lusitania prior to the outbreak of war. In fact Queenstown had a strong link with New York, as more than 1.5 million Irish emigrants were ferried from there to America. The first person to be 'processed' at Ellis Island, (& highly symbolic it seems too) was Annie Moore who arrived in New York on 1st January 1892 which just happened to be her 15th birthday. It seems she died in 1923 and is buried in Queens - a home away from home it would seem. Today she symbolically links Cobh (Queenstown) & New York through two statues, one in each port. I remind you here that Juno is known as the queen of the gods & it was to Queenstown that she was recalled.

Lusitania's 1198 dead were transported to Queenstown which became a huge morgue & then a cemetery.

I cannot help but wonder if the emotions & energy of those days are held in that town. It just flickered through my mind that if Lusitania was the original 9/11 then how very interesting that it should be so emotionally linked to New York. Queenstown was also the last port of call for the Titanic. There are memorials to both ships there.

There is much talk of how the sinking of the Lusitania could not have been planned. I will look at it from a different view, but not now because it's already morning & I've got to go to work in a while.

One last thing though because I think this stinks. It seems the Old Head of Kinsale has been taken over by 'little green men' - golfers. I'm not a fan of golf, what a waste of perfectly good space that could be turned into shopping centres (ok just kidding), but it seems very wrong to me to take this area, surely a memorial to a very great tragedy. Just eight miles off shore the Lusitania still lies on the seabed. I know if I get to Ireland I would like to go to this spot & pay my respects. But it seems there is now a very elite golf course there and they don't like to share.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/48902

So one last piece of wondering. Gavin from Atlantean Times has been noting some excellent sporting points, and got me thinking. I've just been wondering whether there is more to golf than meets the eye. I've been a-wondering if golf might not be, or involve some sort of darker ritual, certainly, of all sports it seems to attract the very elite. I don't know enough about it's workings to make any valid comments, but I can wonder.

Fan-(ta)-see a good tail

I love books.

The library is one of the few places I feel at home in. I seldom feel richer than when leaving the library weighed down with new treasures.

The other day I was drawn to book newly delivered by the stork called Mind Fields. It's filled with fantasy images by Jacek Yerka combined with the stories they birthed in the mind of Harlan Ellison.

Twice now I've dipped into this book and come up with a synchronistic match in my life.

Firstly while working on a recent post Do you see what eye see I found the Serpentine Sea just when I needed it, in a tremendous little tale called Eruption.

Yesterday as I sat frustrated trying to get my Internet connection to work I found Ellison Wonderland, one of those delightful, unforgettable tales that knocks loudly on the edge of your mind (you'll just have to read it to understand the synch - it will work just as good with your life as it does with mine).
For me it echoed the wonderful movies Dark City & Cypher.

For what it's worth if you're in the vicinity of a library on a rainy day you might like to see if it's in stock & open to a page, any page and see what it has to offer your hungry mind.

As I write a little fantail has been darting about in the trees outside - they have got to be one of the dearest little birds in the world & I couldn't resist incorporating him in the title.

Cheers

M'aidez

I was in two minds about posting this but a couple of synchs on Aferrismoon's blog re zoo's & goats decided me.

Yesterday in the early hours of 1st May, a boat was hit & sunk in Sydney harbour. The boat was overloaded with a group of partygoers who'd been celebrating in the wee small hours.
This craft was hit by a lobster boat near Bradley Head which is home to Taronga Zoo. The boat was taken from an area called Balmain and belonged to a company called Sydney Ship Repair and Engineering, which operates from Goat Island.

It seems the celebration was a farewell party.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/01/asia/AS-GEN-Australia-Boats-Collide.php

The night-time cruise sank close to the scene of another cruise - Tom Cruise.

The headland at Bradley Head was used for shooting scenes from Mission Impossible II. The house seen in the film was built on that location, and removed after shooting was completed. The plot in MI2 revolves around a deadly virus called Chimera; "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire"

The paper goes on to state that the harbour has claimed 11 lives in just over a year & later states that 22 people have died on the harbour in the past 7 years.

I've started taking little peeks at the front pages of newspapers, something I have previously avoided. I can't help but notice the phrasing used, how very leading and sometimes sinister.

How about this from NZ Herald regarding one of the injured (check out the name);

Head of intensive care Dr Ray Raper said he might not survive. "Miracles can happen, and that's the sort of realm we're talking about."

Also interesting is how often people are called on to be looked as heroes. Since writing about Edmund Hillary and the ANZACS & seeing the directions given by people of note to view them as Titans / heroes, I've been a bit curious as to why.

When I looked at the three prior boating fatalities in Sydney Harbour I found a strange sporting link.

On 9th March, 2008 Peter Eagle, a 51 year old speed boat racer, is killed in a crash on his way to the Superboats Grand Prix. Eagle was the coach & father of national water-skiing champion Lauryn Eagle.

On 28th March, 2007 a ferry collides with a private vessel killing four & seriously injuring three. All four who died were members of the ice-skating community, including 14year old champion skater Morgan Innes.

On 5th January, 2007 the RiverCat Dawn Fraser crashes into a small fishing boat. A man dies a few days later from injuries. Dawn Fraser is an Australian Olympic gold medal winner.

When I heard of the sinking I immediately wondered if it was near Luna Park. In fact it was not too far away. The incident with the Dawn Fraser was however very close to Milson's Point - home of Luna Park - the creepiest damn place I've ever been to. I'm biased, so I've chosen the worst damn image I can find.

http://images.google.as/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Luna_Park_entrance_Sydney.jpg/800px-Luna_Park_entrance_Sydney.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Luna_Park_entrance_Sydney.jpg&h=533&w=800&sz=71&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=L-SqElQJbSu91M:&tbnh=95&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dluna%2Bpark%2B%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2005-12,GGLD:en

I went to Luna Park last year & I still feel uncomfortable thinking of it. I couldn't get out of there soon enough. My two companions did not like the place either. On the day we were there was what seemed to be a conference going on, and very strange it seemed to have men in business suits walking through a children's theme park and being let into a building by two 'bouncers' with walkie talkies. (In the picture above Luna Park is diagonally across from the Sydney Opera House under the far side of the Harbour Bridge. Bradley Head is also across from the Opera House and just beyond the right frame of the picture))

I have since found that Luna Park has a nasty ghost in it's past - a fire on a ride which killed 7 people in 1979.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Train_%28Luna_Park_Sydney%29

What all this means I don't know. My visit to Sydney last year drew my attention to many things and it seems that I should make them known when I can.

You have no idea how impossible it was that I should have gone to Sydney last year. That event & the timing of it just blows me away.

Anyone who is looking for truth has a job to do. If the desire to do something is with you the opportunities will come.

The bubble is burst

Totally surreal.

The front page of the NZ Herald covers a story about 3 men who sabotaged one of two 'satellite coverings' at a spy base in Blenheim (top of the South Island.) There's a lot of info on the activists and bugger all on the base I notice. There also seemed to be some query as to whether these balloons are simply coverings.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10507033&ref=rss