7veils

Star Fairy Princess

2006-06-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Pentagon & Pentagram

2006-06-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

Pentagon & Pentagram
Slide 5-26: Pentagram from grave marker
Calter photoThe Pentagram was used as used as a sign of salutaton by the Pythagoreans, its construction supposed to have been a jealously guarded secret. Hippocrates of Chios is reported to have been kicked out of the group for having divulged the construction of the pentagram.The pentagram is also called the Pentalpha, for it can be thought of as constructed of five A's.Euclid's Constructions of the PentagonEuclid gives two constructions in Book IV, as Propositions 11 & 12. According to the translator T.L. Heath, these methods were probably developed by the Pythagoreans.Medieval Method of ConstructionSupposedly this construction was one of the secrets of Medieval Mason's guilds. It can be found in Bouleau p. 64.Durer's Construction of the PentagonAnother method of construction is given in Duret's "Instruction in the Measurement with the Compass and Ruler of Lines, Surfaces and Solids," 1525.Its the same construction as given in Geometria Deutsch, a German book of applied geometry for stonemasons andGolden Ratios in the Pentagram and Pentagon
The pentagon and pentagram are also interesting because they are loaded with Golden ratios...

source: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit5/unit5.html#PentagonPentagram

The Emperor's New Robe

2005-08-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

You may order these creations through
http://www.omniparticle.com/store/shopping.html
or http://danceofthe7veils.com
or email me at magicwand@omniparticle.com
or omniparticle@yahoo.com
Each piece is One Of A Kind, made with conscious intent by
a pair of happy hands.

Love and Joy ,
Star Light *_*

The Spirit of Ears

2005-05-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Gypsy Elf

2005-05-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

One of the thousnd faces

2005-04-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Goddess has acquired a thousand names and ...

2005-04-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

... Goddess worship dates back to Paleolithic times. Many anthropologists speculate the first "God " or gods of the peoples were feminine. This coincides with ancient creation myths and beliefs that creation was achieved through self-fertilization. Within the concept of creation the participation of the male principle was not known or recognized yet. The Goddess was believed to have created the universe by herself alone.
From this belief came the agricultural religions. It was thought that the gods only prospered by the beneficence and wisdom which the Goddess showered on them. Evidence appears to indicate most ancient tribes and cultures were matriarchal.
Although this maybe true, there seems to be little evidence that the feminine portions of these societies held themselves superior over their male counterparts. Generally Goddess worship had been balanced by the honoring of both the male and female Deities. This is illustrated by the belief in and the observance of the sacred marriage of the Sky God and Earth Mother in many global societies.
Among the first human images discovered are the "Venus figures," nude female figures having exaggerated sexual parts that date back to the Cro-Magnons of the Upper Paleolithic period between 35,000 and 10,000 BC.
In southern France is the Venus of Laussel which is carved in basrelief in a rock shelter. This appears once to have been a hunting shrine which dates to around 19,000 BC. In this carving the woman is painted red, perhaps to suggest blood, and holds a bison horn in one hand.
Also in Cro-Magnon cave paintings women are depicted giving birth. "A naked Goddess appears to have been the patroness of the hunt to mammoth hunters in the Pyrenees and was also protectress of the hearth and lady of the wild things."
Other female figurines were discovered dating back to the proto-Neolithic period of ca, 9000 - 7000 BC, the Middle Neolithic period of ca. 6000 - 5000 BC, and the Higher Neolithic period of ca. 4500 - 3500 BC. Some of these figurines were decorated as if they had been objects of worship. In black Africa were discovered cave images of the Horned Goddess (later Isis, ca. 7000 - 6000 BC). The Black Goddess images appeared to represent a bisexual, self-fertilizing woman.
During the predynastic Egyptian period, prior to 3110 BC, the Goddess was known as Ta-Urt (Great One) and was portrayed as a pregnant hippopotamus stand on her hind legs.
The Halaf culture around the Tigris River, ca. 5000 - 4000 BC, had Goddess figurines associated with the cow, serpent, humped ox, sheep, goat, pig, bull, dove and double ax. These things were known to the people and became symbols representing the Goddess.
In the Sumerian civilization, ca. 4000 BC, the princesses or queens of cities were associated with the Goddess. A king was associated with God.
Throughout the eons of history the Goddess assumed many aspects. She was seen as the creatress, virgin, mother, destroyer, warrior, huntress, homemaker, wife, artist, jurist, healer and sorcerer. Her roles or abilities increased with the advancement of the cultures which worshipped her.
She could represent a queen with a consort, or lover. She might bear a son who died young or was sacrificed only to rise again representing the annual birth-death-rebirth cycle of the seasons.
Throughout the centuries the Goddess has acquired a thousand names and a thousand faces but most always she has represented nature, she is associated with both the sun and moon, the earth and the shy. The Goddess religion, usually in all forms, is a nature religion. Those worshipping the Goddess worship or care for nature too.

My brothers love my magic hats : )

2005-03-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

this is what they wrote:
Flashes of color in snowy New York:
Two of Yienan's masterful hats on Justin Jackson and Robert Boyd
in front of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "
The Gates" in New York's Central Park, Winter 2005

Brotherhood

2005-03-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

The meaning of Occult

2005-02-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the 'knowledge of the secret' or 'knowledge of the hidden' and often meaning 'knowledge of the supernatural', as opposed to 'knowledge of the visible' or 'knowledge of the measurable', usually referred to as science. The modern term's meaning is often imprecisely translated and used as a term for 'secret knowledge' or 'hidden knowledge', in the sense of meaning 'knowledge meant only for certain people' or 'knowledge that must be kept hidden'. Therefore in the context of this terms contemporary meaning in western societies anything referred to with the term occult is often regarded as superstitious.
The ancient Greek term for occult is esoteric.
Many people, especially Conservative Christians, use the term to refer to a number of practices which they disapprove of on religious grounds but which those who participate in for the most part do not consider occult. These include the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, heavy metal music, and sometimes even Catholicism.

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occult

Walpurgisnacht

2005-02-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

One of a kind

2005-02-12T22:31:00.000-08:00

"Even the smallest person can change course of the future." Galadriel

"Many who live deserve death, but some who die deserve life." Gandalf

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, steping out your door you step onto the road and if you don't keep your feet there's no knowing where you will be swept off to." Bilbo Baggins

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." Albus Dumbledore
Those who cannot remember the past are destined to relive it.

Kind words are easy to speak and short to say, but their echoes are endless.

The world will not end if you don't get an education; it will simply pass you by.

If you think education is expensive - - try ignorance.

~A friend is the one who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the word.

This is kind a convesation.

"You have some skill with a blade." Aragorn

"The woman of this country learned long ago. Those without swords can still die apon them. I fear niether death nor pain" Eowyn

"What do you fear, my lady?" Aragorn

"A cage. To stay behind bars, until use and old age excpt them, and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire." Eowyn

"You are a daugther of kings. A shield madian of Rohan. I do not think that will be your fate." Aragorn

It is not our abilities that show who we truely are, but our choices.

Sons of Gondor of Rohan. My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men come crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand Men of the West!" -Aragorn

source http://groups.msn.com/HarryPottersFanSite/headmistressbrittnispage.msnw

Snow Elfin's Magic

2005-02-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

Matrix of the mind

2005-02-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

Weavers of destiny

2005-02-12T22:03:00.000-08:00

It was night in the court, the Nourns came,

They created the fate of the treasure-bestower:

Noblest of rulers, most glorious of warriors

Was he to be
Firmly they fastened the threads of fate

For the breacher of fortresses in Bralund's castle;

They spun out golden thread,

Fastening it in the middle beneath the hall of the moon.
They secured the ends in the East and West,

The princes land lay in between;

To Northward Neri's daughter cast One of the bands, unbreakable."

source http://www.capcollege.bc.ca/dept/textile/fates.html

Weaver

2005-02-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

Woodland Fairies (Samodivi)

2005-02-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

In folk beliefs the SAMODIVI or SAMOVILI are fascinatingly ethereal maidens with long loose hair, sometimes also with wings. They are dressed in a shirt and a gown, and have a green belt and a sleeveless jacket on. Their garments are decorated with feathers by means of which they can fly like birds.
These mysterious creatures are mistresses of the waters and can bring about drought. Supported by the imperial eagles, they are able to command the elements of winds and, therefore, their appearance is often accompanied by a whirlwind. Some of them (perhaps by no chance) look like the ancient Amazons - armed with bows and arrows, they ride gracefully gray deer using reins of intertwisted snakes.
The wood-nymphs dwell in the dark forests and wild mountain recesses. They live under huge old trees, in deserted huts, or in caves dark as hell. One can see them mainly in spring or summer. They go out only in the night and with the cockcrowing they hide themselves again. At twilight woodland fairies go near to the waters - lakes, pools, springs, wells - strip naked, bathe, wash their shadows (or clothes) and then hang them out to dry in the moon, keeping a vigilant eye on them, so as not to get stolen ...

The inner landscape of Fairy Tales

2005-02-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

"The fairy tale journey may look like an outward trek across plains and mountains, through castles and forests, but the actual movement is inward, into the lands of the soul. The dark path of the fairy tale forest lies in the shadows of our imagination, the depths of our unconscious. To travel to the wood, to face its dangers, is to emerged transformed by this experience. Particularly for children whose world does not resemble the simplified world of television sit-coms ... this ability to travel inward, to face fear and transform it, is a skill they will use all their lives...."

source http://www.leaf-international.org/Leaf/myths.html#bulgaria

Tree Elf's Secret

2005-02-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

Pacha MaMa's Blue Flower

2005-02-02T01:23:00.000-08:00

Pacha_mama jpg

LEGEND OF THE CACTUS

2005-02-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

by: José Colombo and Francisco Buchanan North Hills School, Pilar, (Buenos Aires), Argentina

It was said that Quehualliu was the most handsome Indian of the tribe. He was always picking up flowers for Pasancana, the beautiful daughter of the chief. Together they learned how to walk and to play. They played in the most beautiful places of the mountain.

One day when they were older, they fell in love. But Pasancana's father wanted his daughter to marry another boy in the tribe. This other boy was an excellent hunter. When Pasancana and Quehualliu heard about that, they started to cry, and one day the two decided to escape together.

The next day they were walking in the hills and they made a plan: on the following day when the first star came out they would run away to the mountains. They ran away the following day.

When the chief found out that his daughter wasn’t there, he got mad! He called together a group of men and started looking for the couple.

Pasancana and Quehualliu were tired, so they sat down for a few minutes. They were just going to sleep when a few men came.

Thanks to the light of the full moon they saw the men coming after them and asked the Pachamama, the goddess of the land, to hide them. She took pity on the young lovers and opened a hole in the mountain and hid them there. The chief shouted! "They can’t hide forever!" So he and his men stayed there all that night.

The next day the lovers had changed into a cactus, Quehualliu, protected by Pasancan.

source http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/fall98/legend2.htm

Me In My Studio

2005-01-30T02:57:00.000-08:00

The Spirit of Wearable Arts

2005-01-30T02:53:00.000-08:00

Wearable arts come from a different inner plane than fashions. Fashions are actually uniforms. The mentality behind all fashions are almost the same, it is about trying to fit into a style of clothing, or trying to fit into a style of mind-sets. One is about the expression of one's essence ... the other is about the submitting to someone else's form.

Star Light

More about Athena

2005-01-30T02:51:00.000-08:00

Zeus came to lust after Metis, and chased her in his direct way. Metis tried to escape, going so far as to change her form many times. Turning into various creatures such as hawks, fish, and serpents. However, Zeus was both determined and equally proficient at changing form. He continued his pursuit until she relented.
An Oracle of Gaea then prophesied that Metis first child would be a girl but, her second child would be a boy that would overthrow Zeus as had happened to his father and grandfather. Zeus took this warning to heart. When he next saw Metis he flattered her and put her at her ease. Then with Metis off guard Zeus suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed her. This was the end of Metis but, possibly the beginning of Zeus's wisdom.
After a time Zeus developed the mother of all headaches. He howled so loudly it could be heard throughout the earth. The other gods came to see what the problem was. Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus to take a wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, full grown and in a full set of armor. Due to her manor of birth she has dominion over all things of the intellect.

source http://www.members.tripod.com/~greekmyth/athenaBirth.html

Sunrise Maiden

2005-01-30T02:45:00.000-08:00

Butterfly Dream

2005-01-30T02:33:00.000-08:00

^_^

My high school frined wears my work : )

2005-01-30T02:28:00.000-08:00

I Dreamed I Was A Butterfly

2005-01-30T02:20:00.000-08:00

Now that I am awake I wonder, am I a man who dreamed he was a butterfly or am I butterfly dreaming that I am a man?
- Chung Tsu / Chung Chou

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

2005-01-30T02:13:00.000-08:00

Snow Flower

2005-01-30T01:58:00.000-08:00

Aurora Storms

2005-01-30T01:54:00.000-08:00

Me in My Fairy Land

2005-01-30T01:43:00.000-08:00

Color Purple and Color Green

2005-01-30T01:20:00.000-08:00

The Ugly Duckling --1

2005-01-30T01:12:00.000-08:00

... “I will fly to those royal birds,” he exclaimed, “and they will kill me, because I am so ugly, and dare to approach them; but it does not matter: better be killed by them than pecked by the ducks, beaten by the hens, pushed about by the maiden who feeds the poultry, or starved with hunger in the winter.”
Then he flew to the water, and swam towards the beautiful swans. The moment they espied the stranger, they rushed to meet him with outstretched wings.
“Kill me,” said the poor bird; and he bent his head down to the surface of the water, and awaited death.
But what did he see in the clear stream below? His own image; no longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan. To be born in a duck’s nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan’s egg. He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him; for the great swans swam round the new-comer, and stroked his neck with their beaks, as a welcome. Into the garden presently came some little children, and threw bread and cake into the water.
“See,” cried the youngest, “there is a new one;” and the rest were delighted, and ran to their father and mother, dancing and clapping their hands, and shouting joyously, “There is another swan come; a new one has arrived.”
Then they threw more bread and cake into the water, and said, “The new one is the most beautiful of all; he is so young and pretty.” And the old swans bowed their heads before him.
Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wing; for he did not know what to do, he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He had been persecuted and despised for his ugliness, and now he heard them say he was the most beautiful of all the birds. Even the elder-tree bent down its bows into the water before him, and the sun shone warm and bright. Then he rustled his feathers, curved his slender neck, and cried joyfully, from the depths of his heart, “I never dreamed of such happiness as this, while I was an ugly duckling.”

source http://hca.gilead.org.il/ugly_duc.html

The Ugly Duckling - 2

2005-01-30T01:07:00.000-08:00

Peter, Paul and Mary

2005-01-29T23:57:00.000-08:00

Peter, Paul and Mary (often PP&M) was one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s. The trio comprised Peter Yarrow, Noel "Paul" Stookey, and Mary Travers.
The group was created by producer Albert Goldman, who sought to create a folk "supergroup" by bringing together "a tall blonde (Travers), a funny guy (Stookey), and a good looking guy (Yarrow)". He launched the group in 1961, booking them into the Bitter End, a coffee shop in New York City's Greenwich Village that was a favorite place to hear folk artists. The group recorded their first album, Peter, Paul and Mary, the following year. The album was listed on Billboard Magazine Top Ten list for ten months and in the top one hundred for over three years.
By 1963, they had recorded three albums, released the now-famous song "Puff the Magic Dragon," which Yarrow originally wrote in 1958, and performed another major hit, their cover of "If I Had a Hammer" at the March on Washington, best remembered for Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. For many years after, the group was at the forefront of the civil rights movement and other causes promoting social justice. The later hit "Leaving on a Jet Plane" was actually written by the then unknown John Denver.
The trio broke up in 1970, following Yarrow's conviction for taking "improper liberties" with a 14 year old child. (He was pardoned by then-president Jimmy Carter after serving three months of a one to three year sentence).
The members pursued separate solo careers, but none had a fraction of the success they did as a group, although Stookey's "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" (written for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of senator Eugene McCarthy) has become a wedding standard since its 1971 release. They have periodically performed together on an irregular basis since 1978 and have issued several new albums.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter,_Paul,_&_Mary

I Have A Dream

2005-01-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

Hans Christian Andersen

2005-01-29T23:43:00.000-08:00

Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, on April 2, 1805. He was the son of a sickly young shoemaker of twenty-two and his several years older wife. The whole family lived and slept in one little room.
Hans Christian showed imagination early, which was fostered by the indulgence of his parents and by his mother's superstition. In 1816, the shoemaker died and the child was left entirely to his own devices. Hans Christian ceased to go to school. He built himself a little toy-theatre and sat at home making clothes for his puppets, and reading all the plays that he could borrow; among them were those of Ludvig Holberg and William Shakespeare. Andersen, throughout his childhood, had a passionate love for literature. He was known to memorize entire Shakespeare plays and recite them using his wooden dolls as the characters.
King Frederick VI was interested in the strange boy and sent him for some years, free of charge, to the grammar-school at Slagelse. Before he started for school, Andersen published his first volume, The Ghost at Palnatoke's Grave (1822). Andersen, a very backward and unwilling pupil, actually remained at Slagelse and at another school in Elsinore until 1827. These years, he says, were the darkest and bitterest in his life.
Some hold that his works express the sorrow of being different. One of the most telling stories in that respect is the tale of the Little Mermaid, who takes her own life since she cannot be loved by her beautiful prince. It is thought to exemplify his love for the young Edward Collin, to whom he writes: I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench . . . my sentiments for you are those of a woman. The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery. Collin, who was not erotically attracted to men, writes in his own Memoirs: I found myself unable to respond to this love, and this caused the author much suffering. Likewise, the infatuations of the author for the Danish dancer Harlod Scharf and the young duke of Weimar likely remained on a Platonic level. Andersen's private journal records his refusal to have sexual relations with either men or women and his release through masturbation.
In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell out of bed and severely hurt himself. He was never again quite well, but he lived until the 4th of August 1875, when he died very peacefully in the house called Rolighed, near Copenhagen. He is interred in the Assistens Cemetery, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
[edit]

Life as an author
In 1829, Andersen had considerable success with a fantastic volume entitled A Journey on Foot from Holmen's Canal to the East Point of Amager, and he published in the same season a farce and a book of poems. Thus, he suddenly came into request at the moment when his friends had decided that no good thing would ever come out of his early eccentricity and vivacity. He made little further progress, however, until 1833, when he received a small traveling stipend from the king, and made the first of his long European journeys. At Le Locle, in the Jura, he wrote Agnete and the Merman; and in October 1834 he arrived in Rome.
Early in 1835, Andersen's first novel, The Improvisatore, appeared, and achieved real success. The poet's troubles were at an end at last. In the same year, Andersen published the earliest installment of his immortal Fairy Tales (Danish: Eventyr). Other parts, completing the first volume, appeared in 1836 and 1837. The value of these stories was not at first perceived, and they sold slowly. Andersen was more successful for the time being with a novel, O.T. (1836), and a volume of sketches, In Sweden. In 1837, he produced the best of his novels, Only a Fiddler.
Andersen now turned his attention, with but ephemeral success, to the theatre, but was recalled to his true genius in the charming miscellany of 1840, the Picture-Book without Pictures.
the fame of his Fairy Tales had been steadily rising; a second series began in 1838; a third in 1845.
Andersen was now celebrated throughout Europe, although in Denmark itself there was still some resistance to his pretensions. In June 1847, he paid his first visit to England and enjoyed a triumphal social success. When he left, Charles Dickens saw him off from Ramsgate pier (Shortly thereafter Dickens published David Copperfield, in which the character Uriah Heep is said to have been modeled on Andersen—a left-handed compliment, to say the least).
After this, Andersen continued to publish much as he still desired to excel as a novelist and a dramatist, which he could not do. He disdained the enchanting Fairy Tales, in the composition of which his unique genius lay. Nevertheless, he continued to write them, and in 1847 and 1848 two fresh volumes appeared. After a long silence, Andersen published another novel in 1857, To be or not to be. In 1863, after a very interesting journey, he issued another of his travel-books, In Spain. His Fairy Tales continued to appear, in installments, until 1872, when, at Christmas, the last stories were published.
In the English-speaking world, the stories of The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Princess and the Pea, are cultural universals; everyone knows them, though few could tell you their author. They have become part of the common heritage, and, like the tales of Charles Perrault, are not distinguished from actual folk-tales such as those of the Brothers Grimm. Andersen himself was highly inspired by Arabian Nights.
[edit]

Fairy tales
His best-known fairy tales include:
The Emperor's New Clothes
The Ugly Duckling
The Swineherd
The Real Princess
The Shoes of Fortune
The Fir Tree
The Snow Queen
The Leap-Frog
The Elderbush
The Bell
The Old House
The Happy Family
The Story of a Mother
The False Collar
The Shadow
The Little Match Girl
The Dream of Little Tuk
The Naughty Boy
The Red Shoes, Fairytale
The Little Mermaid
Thumbelina

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen

The Princess And The Pea

2005-01-29T23:39:00.000-08:00

LotR?!

2005-01-29T23:26:00.000-08:00

The History of The Lord of the Rings

2005-01-29T23:15:00.000-08:00

is a 4-volume work by Christopher Tolkien that documents the process of J. R. R. Tolkien's writing of his masterwork The Lord of the Rings (LotR). The History is also numbered as volumes 6 to 9 of The History of Middle-earth. Some information can also be found in volume 12, The Peoples of Middle-earth (concerning the appendices and a soon-abandoned sequel to the novel).
Although at first blush this might seem like four volumes of stupefying dullness, it has some saving graces. First, despite its limitations as literature, LotR has been enormously popular since its publication, some sales numbers showing it outdone only by the Bible, and any aspiring fantasy writer should like to know how he did it. Second, Tolkien began writing his sequel to The Hobbit without any idea of where he was going with the story, and in the 15-year genesis there were many twists and turns before the story took on its published form. Third, the gigantic backstory of the legends of Middle-earth that became The Silmarillion were mostly written before LotR was penned, and one can see how the tale of here-and-now adventure is stitched into the memories of ages long past. Finally, there is an intimate note, in that the young Christopher participated in the writing of LotR, giving feedback, helping draft maps, etc, and this history includes his personal recollections of the process.
The Return of the Shadow(1988) begins with the initial composition, and goes through to the episode in the Mines of Moria.
The Treason of Isengard (1989) continues to the meeting with Théoden king of Rohan.
The War of the Ring (1990) continues to the opening of the Black Gate.
Sauron Defeated (1992) finishes the story, which only takes about 1/3 of the volume. The remainder consists of the rather odd "The Notion Club Papers", and another draft of the Drowning of Anadune.
In general, the books are organized as chapters corresponding to the chapters in the final LotR, with additional chapters describing the "First Map", the "Second Map", and other matters. Each chapter begins with some context, then the text of a first or second draft, possibly some alternate drafts if there were especially large changes, and interspersed with extended discussion of confusing or contradictory situations. The end of each chapter includes a set of notes about points of interest, such as words that were used originally and then partially erased or struck out.
The drafts can be somewhat jarring to read; while much of the plot will be familiar, the characters are often quite different. For instance, Aragorn in his "Strider" guise is called "Trotter" instead - and he's a hobbit instead of a man - and he has wooden feet - because he had once been to Mordor and been tortured there. We find out that the hobbits travel east initially because that was the part of the world that had been mapped out, because of The Hobbit, and that the areas to the south were literally being mapped out only a few miles ahead of the fellowship.
Still, even though publication of the drafts exposes some of the improvised carpentry behind the stage sets, for the Tolkien enthusiast they offer a fuller understanding of the story, and a renewed appreciation for Tolkien's creativity.
Of particular interest to fans is the dropped Epilogue to LotR, in which a middle-aged Samwise Gamgee is reading the story to his children.

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Ring

Map of the Vision Land

2005-01-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

From the beginning

2005-01-29T23:07:00.000-08:00

of time humanity has returned to nature to connect with spirit and to seek answers to problems of the third dimension. There is something about being alone in the wilderness that brings us closer - makes us more aware - of the 4 elements - and our connection to a creational source. We go to seek truths - divine realization - just as many of the ancient prophets did in their time.
In its own way - the vision quest is an Initiation not unlike the days of the ancient mystery school teachings where one learns about themselves and the mysteries of the universe are often revealed to them. It is a time of internal transformation and renewal. Who am I? Why am I here?
In a vision quest conditions are set up that allow the soul to move beyond the illusions of the little self and enter the unity of the inner whole. It is a time of fasting - praying - and being in nature.
It is a period of solitude in which we seek an inner revelation - a vision -which grants profound meaning and direction to our life. This initiation leads to maturity and an understanding of our responsibility to ourselves, our society, our natural environment, and our soul.
Though the Vision Quest is associated with Native Americans traditions - it is practiced all over the world.
As an expression of the archetypal "Heroic Journey," the vision quest has been enacted in religious pilgrimages, mythological tales (including the story of the search for the Holy Grail), and our own daily pursuit of truth and purpose.
Today, there are companies which sponsor vision quests; they provide a wilderness area in which it is to occur, and they give instructions and guidance before and after the event.
In Native American traditions these times of inner trial are marked liked passages. Time is set aside to honor them.
It might be a day, a week, a month, whatever is necessary to complete the transformation and get the answer one seeks.

source http://www.crystalinks.com/visionquest.html

Vision Quest

2005-01-29T23:03:00.000-08:00

Shangri-La

2005-01-29T22:58:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from Shangri-la)
For other uses, see Shangri-La (disambiguation).
Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. In it, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Himalaya. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia - a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. The story of Shangri-La is based on the concept of Shambhala, a mystical city in the Buddhist religion.
There are a number of European legends similar to the legend of Shangri-La. The Odyssey reports the land of the Lotus-Eaters, and the palace of Alcinous. See also Atlantis, Lyonesse, and El Dorado.
Several possible places in the Buddhist Himalaya between north India and Western China have been suggested as the actual basis for Hilton's legend. In China, Tao Qian of the Jin Dynasty described a Shangri-La in his Story of the Peach Blossom Valley, for example. The legendary Kun Lun Mountains offer other possible Shangri-La valleys. There are also a number of modern Shangri-La pseudo-legends that have developed since 1933 in the wake of the novel and the film made from it.
Today, various places claim the title, such as parts of northwestern Yunnan province, including the tourist destination of Lijiang. Places like Sichuan and Tibet also claim the real Shangri-la was in its territory. In 2001, Tibet Autonomous Region put forward a proposal that the three regions optimise all Shangri-la tourism resources and promote them as one. After failed attempts to establish a China Shangri-la Ecological Tourism Zone in 2002 and 2003, government representatives of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and Tibet Autonomous Region signed a declaration of cooperation in 2004.
In Chinese, Shangri-La is translated as 世外桃源 (pinyin shìwaìtáoyuán; WG shih-wai-t'ao-yüan; literally 'the peach river-source away from the world'), from Tao Qian's work. In Hong Kong, it is translated as 香格里拉.
In the beginning of World War II against Japan, the United States flew most of its bombers from mainland China. In propaganda, they claimed that they started them from Shangri-La. Later, one of the aircraft carriers used in the Pacific ocean was named Shangri-La.
[edit]

See also
Shambhala

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangri-la

Hymalaya Dreams

2005-01-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

Elf

2005-01-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other meanings, see Elf (disambiguation)

Elves are mythical creatures of Germanic mythology that have survived in northern European folklore. Originally a race of minor gods of nature and fertility, they are often pictured as small, youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and other natural places, underground, or in wells and springs. They have been imagined to be long-lived or immortal and magical powers have been attributed to them. Something associated with elves or the qualities of elves is described by the adjectives elfin, elven, elfish, or elvish. Elves are staple characters in modern fantasy. They are also called:
Great Britain: addler
Iceland: Álfar and Álfa-fólk
Scandinavia: Elle

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf

Elfin Spring

2005-01-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

The journey of the Eldar

2005-01-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

The journey of the Eldar from Cuiviénen across Middle-earth and the Great Sea to Aman, there to dwell with the Valar in Valinor. Many of the Teleri turned aside during the journey, but the Three Kindreds of the Vanyar, the Noldor and the remaining Teleri came at last to the Undying Lands.
Notes
1
The Annals of Aman in volume 10 of The History of Middle-earth give us some definite dates for the Journey. The Vanyar and the Noldor took nearly two centuries to travel from Cuiviénen to Beleriand, while the Teleri took about thirty years longer. The Journey was completed more than 3,500 years before the beginning of the First Age. (This was in fact long before the making of the Sun, so the values shown here are converted to solar years from the much longer 'Valian Years' used in the Annals.)

source http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm?http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/e/elves.html

Ageless Elfin Point

2005-01-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

Aloha

2005-01-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

Elves

2005-01-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

The Nature of the ElvesBoth Elves and Men are the Children of Ilúvatar, and so have much in common, but there are also great differences between the two peoples. Of these, the most significant is that Elves are 'immortal', at least while the World lasts; they do not suffer ageing1 or disease, and if they are slain or wither with grief, they are reincarnated in the Halls of Mandos in Valinor.
Although, unlike Men, the Elves must remain in the world until its ending, they are not bound to Middle-earth. They may if they wish take the straight road, and sail into the Uttermost West, a road that is barred to mortals.
Elves also have far clearer sight and perception than Men; they are naturally aware of many things that are hidden from the Younger Children, but these gifts are not without limit.
ReligionThe Elves never had any distinct 'religion' in the sense that Men would understand the word; indeed, the High Elves had travelled to Valinor and lived with the Valar (or 'gods') themselves for many ages before Men came into the world.
Of all the Valar, they most revered Varda Elentári, the spouse of Manwë; and Lady of the Stars. In Middle-earth, they called her Elbereth, Star-Queen, and sang to her across the wide ocean Belegaer. Great respect was also given to Ulmo, especially during the First Age when he aided the Elves against Morgoth.
Notes
1
More correctly, Elves don't suffer ageing in the same way as Men. In fact they do age, as Tolkien makes clear in his Letters. There, he says, 'The Elves were sufficiently longeval to be called by Man 'immortal'. But they were not unageing or unwearying' (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien No 245, dated 1963).
2
This is the point where the term Eldar acquires its special meaning. Before the beginning of the Great Journey, it was applied to all Elves. After the Three Kindreds set out, it came to be used only for Elves belonging to these three peoples.
3
These Elves who turned aside from the Journey founded peoples and lands of their own. The Wood-elves of Mirkwood and the Galadhrim of Lórien were descended from them, for example.
About this Entry
Indexes:
Alphabetical: E Elves
Last major update:
15 July 1999
Completion:
Approximately 69 further updates are planned
The Encyclopedia of Arda is sponsored by Discus Online, the professional online DISC profiler. Please help to support the Encyclopedia by visiting our sponsors.

source http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm?http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/e/elves.html

Blue Elf

2005-01-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

Ancient Dreams

2005-01-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from the Scarlet Letter

2005-01-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it,—or whether, as there is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson, as she entered the prison-door,—we shall not take upon us to determine. Finding it so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers and present it to the reader. It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.

source http://www.bartleby.com/83/1.html

Some Writer Wears Blue

2005-01-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

The scarlet letter

2005-01-29T18:49:00.000-08:00

The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not to tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers—stern and wild ones—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.

NathanielHawthorne

from http://www.bartleby.com/83/

The Scarlet Feather

2005-01-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

Hymalaya

2005-01-29T07:50:00.000-08:00

Golden Bliss

2005-01-29T07:34:00.001-08:00

Like a diamond, like a tree

2005-01-29T07:34:00.000-08:00

A great way to take care of ourselves is to understand our thousand faces:

May we be brilliant like a diamond to allow each facet shine and wise like a tree to allow each branch grow.

Trying to fit into a small box is to deny our depth.

Trying to be politically correct in a quick-sand-like social norm is not being faithful to oneself.

Excalibur

2005-01-29T07:22:00.000-08:00

In surviving accounts of Arthur, two originally separate legends of his sword's origin have been retained. The sword that Arthur alone was able to draw from the stone, (The Sword in the Stone), thus denoting his kingship, was later broken. The true sword "Excalibur" with its scabbard, was given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake. On his death, it was eventually returned to the Lady of the Lake by Sir Bedivere.
"The sword was called 'Excalibur', which means, 'cut steel'. Early tradition (by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace and Layamon), called the sword 'Caliburn'; a magical sword from Avalon. The tale of Arthur drawing the sword out of the rock first appeared in Robert de Boron's French verse tale, called Merlin. But the English author, named Sir Thomas Malory (and in the French Suite du Merlin ('Prose Merlin'), c. 1240), wrote that the sword that Arthur had pulled out of stone was not Excalibur; in fact, Arthur broke his first sword in the fight against King Pellinor. Shortly after, Arthur then received a new sword from the Lady of the Lake, which was explicitly called Excalibur. Malory distinguished the sword Arthur pulled out of a rock from the sword he received from the Lady of the Lake, and it was the second sword that was the true Excalibur." (Timeless Myths, "Legend of Excalibur" see link)
Thus, in Welsh legend, Arthur's sword is known as "Caliburn", which is thought by some to be a corruption of the name "Caledvwlch" or in Irish "Caladbolg" which means "hard lightning", a magic sword in the Mabinogion. Geoffrey of Monmouth also calls Arthur's sword "Caliburn" in his "History of the Kings of Britain", and it is thought that the name Excalibur is a corruption of this usage. The legend of Excalibur was expanded upon in the "Vulgate (i.e. vernacular, in this case Old French) Cycle," an Arthurian cycle written ca.1230 - 1250, that was very influential in the development of the Arthurian romances. The Vulgate Prose Merlin and the later continuation called Suite du Merlin provide fresh details of the early life of Arthur. There the sword is called "Escalibor." The Lady of the Lake in Sir Thomas Malory's Book of Balin calls the sword "Excalibur, that is as to say, as Cut-steel."
Excalibur's scabbard has the magical power to protect its bearer from harm (and to prevent the bearer from suffering further harm from wounds he might already have received). It is the theft of the scabbard by Morgan Le Fay that leads to Arthur's eventual death.
read more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur

Excalibur!

2005-01-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

Excerpt of A Midsummer Night's Dream

2005-01-29T06:33:00.000-08:00

PUCK

How now, spirit! whither wander you?

FAIRY

Over hill, over dale,Thorough bush, thorough brier,Over park, over pale,Thorough flood, thorough fire,I do wander everywhere,Swifter than the moon's sphere;And I serve the fairy queen,To dew her orbs upon the green.The cowslips tall her pensioners be:In their gold coats spots you see;Those be rubies, fairy favours,In those freckles live their savours;I must go seek some dew-drops here,And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.Farewell, thou lob of spirits; I'll be gone:Our queen and all her elves come here anon.

PUCK

The king doth keep his revels here to-night;Take heed the Queen come not within his sight.For Oberon is passing fell and wrath,Because that she, as her attendant, hathA lovely boy, stol'n from an Indian king;She never had so sweet a changeling:And jealous Oberon would have the childKnight of his train, to trace the forests wild:But she perforce withholds the loved boy,Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all her joy:And now they never meet in grove or green,By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen,But they do square; that all their elves for fearCreep into acorn cups, and hide them there.

FAIRY

Either I mistake your shape and making quite,Or else you are that shrewd and knavish spriteCall'd Robin Goodfellow: are not you heThat frights the maidens of the villagery;Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern,And bootless make the breathless housewife churn;And sometime make the drink to bear no barm;Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck,You do their work, and they shall have good luck:Are not you he?

PUCK

Thou speak'st aright;I am that merry wanderer of the night.I jest to Oberon, and make him smile,When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,Neighing in likeness of a filly foal;And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl,In very likeness of a roasted crab;And, when she drinks, against her lips I bob,And on her withered dewlap pour the ale.The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;And then the whole quire hold their hips and loffe,And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swearA merrier hour was never wasted there.--But room, fairy, here comes Oberon.

... source http://www.allshakespeare.com/midsummer/3401

A Midwinter Night's Dream

2005-01-29T06:06:00.000-08:00