art – Witch's Well

NA CHA (here is a loud cry)

ORIGIN Taoist (Chinese). Guardian god.

KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa AD 300 until present.

SYNONYMS Li No Cha.

CENTER(S) OF CULT throughout Chinese culture.

ART REFERENCES paintings and sculptures.

LITERARY SOURCES various philosophical and religious texts, mostly inadequately researched and untranslated.

Magick & Divination in Arabia by Eris

Magick in Arabic is “sihr” and means “to produce illusion on the eyes”. The origin of magick in Arabia is believed to be in Babel. It, supposedly, was revealed there by two angels, “Harut” and “Marut”, who instructed mankind in the art.

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GAIA (earth)

ORIGIN Greek. Archetypal earth mother.

KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 1500 BC until Christianization (circa AD 400).

SYNONYMS Gaea; Ge; Terra.

CENTER(S) OF CULT oracle at Delphi.

ART REFERENCES sculptures and reliefs.

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History of Egyptian Medicine and Philosophy

by Lynn Bellair

When medical knowledge past is considered, lack of aseptic technique, pain-killing drugs and antibiotics are an accepted part of our modern legend of these ancient healing practices. You will find that none of this is true when it comes to Ancient Egypt. These erroneous ideas were partially propagated through an over reliance on carved inscriptions and tomb art. Then as now, the majority of the literature, medical knowledge and science of a civilization is never inscribed on indestructible materials. Another factor has been the academic and cultural prejudice that treats the past’s achievements as the product of near savages with nothing of importance to teach us know-it-all moderns. It is only in the last few years the discovery and translation of a few papyri has broadened our understanding of the skill and ability these ancient healers developed over the millennia.

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Druidry and Shamanism

Working with animal powers is a central feature of shamanism, and we can find many shamanic elements woven into the philosophy and practice of Druidry. Michael Harner, a world authority on shamanism, speaks of the shamanic way as one which is best defined as a method to open a door and enter a different reality. Much Druid ceremony and meditation has as its goal journeying into other realities, and the word ‘Druid’ is related to words meaning both ‘oak’ and ‘door’ – with the symbol of the door or gateway being central in Druidic teaching. Joseph Campbell, the great mythographer, has shown that there are a number of key features which distinguish a shaman’s art. These include: ritual dance, the possession of a wand or staff, ecstatic trance, the wearing of animal costume, identification with a bird, stag, or bull, becoming master of game animals and initiations, and the control of a magical animal or familiar. Traces of possible ritual dances exist in the old folk dances, and there are numerous references to Druid wands and staffs and ecstatic or altered states in the literature of Druidry.

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