‘Easter’: Patti Smith’s ode to her ultimate literary idol

‘Easter’: Patti Smith’s ode to her ultimate literary idol

Lucy Harbron

@lucyharbron

Sun 19 January 2025 13:00, UK

In the world of Patti Smith, punk and poetry don’t just go hand in hand; they’re one and the same. There is no one form without the other. Her love for literature is utterly inseparable and intrinsically intertwined with her love for listening to and making music. In her eyes, rockstars and poets are akin to gods, and on ‘Easter’, she praises the most mighty of them all.

It’s 1969. A fresh runaway from a boring life in her small hometown, Patti Smith landed in New York and, on her first day there, met Robert Mapplethorpe. The pair were creative soulmates as they not only learnt how to survive in the Beatnik city together but wholeheartedly encouraged their creative endeavours. Smith encouraged Mapplethorpe’s art and photography. Mapplethorpe encouraged Smith’s writing, supporting her all the way to Paris as she briefly left the city for a trip with her sister, seeing the journey as a pilgrimage and the place as a Mecca.

Paris is heavy with literary ghosts as each street feels imbued with the legacy of great writers and thinkers that came before it. Smith wanted to be amongst them but out of all the icons leaving their influence there, she was tuned into one in particular; Arthur Rimbaud.

If there could only be one singular influence picked out as the most important inspiration to Patti Smith’s creative world, it would be Rimbaud. While the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Verlaine, Mapplethorpe and countless other peers and idols are essential, it’s Rimbaud who powers her. Writing and working in the late 1800s, the two are separated by centuries, but as Rimbaud left behind a legacy of abstract and surrealist works that pioneered a style way ahead of his time, it feels like the two are directly connected.

By the time she landed in Paris, Smith had read all his works. When she ran away to New York, a book of his poems was one of the only essentials she took with her. Inspired not just by the literal way that he pieced words together, his abstract approach to fragmented storytelling or how he formed emotions through complex metaphors, Smith was inspired by his rebellion. Back in his own era, Rimbaud was so ahead of his times that he was a true Libertine, working against the pack until he found his own group of peers who would together mark a moment in literary history as they shared artistic thought and work in Paris.

With little to no money, Smith funded her trip by stopping on the streets of the city to recite his poems, performing them to a gathering crowd. It was then and there that she realised how close to being a rockstar and a performing poet were, moving her to return to New York and find a stage there. In homage, she titled her first-ever performance ‘Rock and Rimbaud’.

By 1978, just under a decade later, she’d positioned herself as the Rimbaud of the New York punk scene, finding her own group of inspiring peers but also standing out as something different and more abstract. As she put her poetry to music, it was as if the French writer gathered a rock band around him. Always carrying his legacy with her, on her third album, she decided to put that onto tape with an ode to his memory.

‘Easter’ is that ode. Suitably abstract for the subject matter, the verses flit around contemplations on childhood and religion. But amongst the images, she calls out the names of “Isabelle” and “Vitalie”, his sisters, and “Frederick”, his father. She honours him in the artwork for the album, and this song gives its name as the insert to the LP reproduces a First Communion portrait of Rimbaud and his father.

Finishing the song with a holy sermon-like reading, she spends the whole track conflating Rimbaud with images of God as a nod to the fact that, to her, they’re one and the same as she pays homage to her ultimate icon and biggest influence.

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/easter-patti-smiths-ode-to-her-ultimate-literary-idol/

Easter in 2030

Date: April 21, 2030

Day: Sunday

Dates of Moon Phases in 2030 Year

New Moon 

Apr. 2, Tue 03:04 PM 

https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_phases/2030

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (or simply New Moon) is a 2009 American romantic fantasy film directed by Chris Weitz from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the 2006 novel New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.[2] It is the sequel to Twilight (2008) and the second installment in The Twilight Saga film series. The film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Saga:_New_Moon

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They were created with the aim of "peace and prosperity for people and the planet..."[1][2][3] – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs.[4][5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals

The Arab Spring (Arabic: الربيع العربي, romanized: ar-rabīʻ al-ʻarabī) or the First Arab Spring (to distinguish from the Second Arab Spring) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and economic stagnation.[1][2] From Tunisia, the protests then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. Rulers were deposed (Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia in 2011, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya in 2011, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in 2011, and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen in 2012) or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies. Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.[3] A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām! (Arabic: الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام, lit. 'the people want to bring down the regime').[4]

The wave of initial revolutions and protests faded by mid-2012, as many Arab Spring demonstrations were met with violent responses from authorities,[5][6][7] pro-government militias, counterdemonstrators, and militaries. These attacks were answered with violence from protesters in some cases.[8][9][10] Multiple large-scale conflicts followed: the Syrian civil war;[11][12] the rise of ISIL,[13] insurgency in Iraq and the following civil war;[14] the Egyptian Crisis, election and removal from office of Mohamed Morsi, and subsequent unrest and insurgency;[15] the Libyan Crisis; and the Yemeni crisis and subsequent civil war.[16] Regimes that lacked major oil wealth and hereditary succession arrangements were more likely to undergo regime change.[17]

A power struggle continued after the immediate response to the Arab Spring. While leadership changed and regimes were held accountable, power vacuums opened across the Arab world. Ultimately, it resulted in a contentious battle between a consolidation of power by religious elites and the growing support for democracy in many Muslim-majority states.[18] The early hopes that these popular movements would end corruption, increase political participation, and bring about greater economic equity quickly collapsed in the wake of the counter-revolutionary moves by foreign state actors in Yemen,[19] the regional and international military interventions in Bahrain and Yemen, and the destructive civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen.[20]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring  

2030-2031 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS

Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2031 Mars apparition is considered Transitional (between Aphelic and Perihelic) because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 68.4° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls and 111.6° Ls from perihelion (250° Ls).

NOTE: Ls is the planetocentric longitude of the Sun along the ecliptic of Mars’ sky. 0° Ls is defined as that point where the Sun crosses the Martian celestial equator from south to north, that is the planet’s northern hemisphere vernal equinox. The other Ls values that define the beginnings of Martian northern hemisphere seasons are: summer, 90° Ls; autumn, 180° Ls; and winter, 270° Ls. For Mars’ southern hemisphere these values represent the opposite seasons. Distance (A.U.) - Distance from Earth to Mars in astronomical units, where one (1) A.U. equals 92,955,807.267 miles or 149,597,870.691 km.

Opposition occurs 11 months after conjunction when Mars is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. At that time, the two planets will lie nearly in a straight line with respect to the Sun, or five weeks after retrogression begins. Opposition will occur at 1157 UT on May 04, 2031 (138.4° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.7 arcsec. Mars will remain visible for more than twelve months after opposition and then become lost in the glare of the Sun around May 31, 2032 as it approaches the next conjunction (July 11, 2032). The cycle is complete in 780 Earth days.

Closest approach occurs at 0350 UT on May 12, 2031 (142.1° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.9 at a distance of 0.5533578 astronomical units (AU) or 51,437,823 miles (82,781,152 km). During closest approach in 2031 the apparent diameter of Mars will be 2.4 arcsec larger than it was at the same period in 2029; however, it will be 17.1 degrees lower in the sky - not quite as good for observing the Red Planet for observers in the northern hemisphere. It should also be noted that closest approach between Earth and Mars is not necessarily coincident with the time of opposition but varies by as much as two weeks.

https://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jbeish/2031_MARS.htm 

Pater is perhaps the most frequent epithet of Janus, found also in the composition Ianuspater. While numerous gods share this cultic epithet it seems the Romans felt it was typically pertinent to Janus.[77] When invoked along with other gods, usually only he is called pater.[78] For Janus the title is not just a term of respect; principally it marks his primordial role. He is the first of the gods and thus their father: the formula quasi deorum deum corresponds to diuum deus of the carmen Saliare.[79] Similarly, in the expression duonus Cerus, Cerus means creator and is considered a masculine form related to Ceres.[80] Lydus gives Πατρίκιος (Patricius) and explains it as autóchthon: since he does not give another epithet corresponding to Pater it may be inferred that Lydus understands Patricius as a synonym of Pater.[81] There is no evidence connecting Janus to gentilician cults or identifying him as a national god particularly venerated by the oldest patrician families.[82]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus

Wave is the fourth studio album by Patti Smith, and the third and final album where the Patti Smith Group is billed. It was released on May 17, 1979, by Arista Records. Produced by Todd Rundgren, the album continued the band's move towards more radio-friendly mainstream pop rock sound. Wave garnered a mixed reception from music critics and was less successful than its predecessor, Easter (1978). However, the songs "Frederick" and "Dancing Barefoot" both received commercial airplay. Following the album's release, the band disbanded, and frontwoman Patti Smith pursued a solo career nine years later with Dream of Life (1988).

The title track was a tribute to Pope John Paul I, whose brief papacy coincided with the recording sessions of Wave. The first single of the album was "Frederick", a love song for frontwoman Patti Smith's fiancé Fred "Sonic" Smith with a melody and structure bearing a resemblance to "Because the Night", the group's biggest hit.[2][3] Smith began writing the lyrics of second single "Dancing Barefoot" in late 1978 and recorded it in 1979.[4] The song was described as "a swirling, seductive love song" that uses "love-as-addiction" metaphors and wordplay with the words "heroine" and "heroin".[3] Smith stated she was told to replace the word "heroine" with a synonym because of issues with radio airplay, but she objected the decision since she actually intended the lyric to reference the female equivalent of hero. Rolling Stone ranked the song number 323 on their 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[5] Both songs received commercial airplay.[4] A cover of the Byrds' "So You Want to Be (A Rock 'n' Roll Star)" was released as the album's third and final single.[3]

After Wave was released, the band disbanded in fall 1979 when finishing their last concert in Florence, Italy. Patti married Fred on March 1, 1980 and spent many years in semi-retirement from music following the birth of their children, Jesse and Jackson, until her return as a solo singer with Dream of Life (1988).[2] The 1996 remaster of Wave includes Smith's original version of "Fire of Unknown Origin". Blue Öyster Cult's version was released on their album of the same name in 1981. The back cover of the original LP bore a quote from the Jean Genet poem "Le Condamné à mort".

Critical reception

In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau found the album "quirkier than the more generally satisfying Easter and praised "Dancing Barefoot" and the title track. However, he dismissed "Seven Ways of Going" and "Broken Flag" as "unlistenable [and less interesting than]" the band's 1976 album Radio Ethiopia.[6] Tom Carson of Rolling Stone also negatively likenened Wave to Radio Ethiopia, concluding that the record "is too confused and hermetically smug to be much more than an interesting failure."[3] The Globe and Mail determined that "Rundgren handles the production chores with remarkable restraint as he showcases Patti Smith the suicidal torch singer, admirably backed by her resident group of musicians."[10]

AllMusic's William Ruhlmann noted that Smith "achieves a sense of charm and sincerity on Wave that she hadn't even attempted on her earlier albums" but lamented that "the overall mediocre quality of the material makes this the slightest of Smith's efforts."[1] In a 2019 review for PopMatters, Matt McKinzie dubbed the album as the singer's "most unapologetically-pop effort" where she "reject[s] the idea that her genre capabilities begin and end with th[e] four-letter word [punk]."[11] Emma Johnston, a writer from Louder Sound, ranked Wave number 6 on a list of Patti Smith's best albums, writing that it was "Smith at her least filtered and most emotionally open, and remains something of an underrated treasure."[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_(Patti_Smith_Group_album)

Vice President Kamala Harris

August 12  · 

It is my honor to travel our nation as Vice President and fight for the freedom of Americans to make decisions about their own body, to love who they love openly and with pride, to be safe from gun violence and hate, and to breathe clean air and drink clean water.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1084659100326245&set=a.287432416715588

Kamala Harris to skip Al Smith dinner, a traditional event for major presidential candidates

By  JONATHAN J. COOPER

Updated 3:45 PM PDT, September 21, 2024

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PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will skip this year’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York, breaking with presidential tradition so she can campaign instead in a battleground state less than three weeks before Election Day.

The dinner benefitting Catholic Charities traditionally has been used to promote collegiality and good humor, with presidential candidates from both parties appearing on the same night and trading barbs.

Harris’ team wants her to spend as much time as possible in the battleground states that will decide the election rather than heavily Democratic New York, a campaign official said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss campaign plans and confirming a decision first reported by CNN. Her team told organizers that she would be willing to attend as president if she’s elected, the official said.

Donald Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a question about whether he would attend the dinner. His 2016 appearance at the dinner invited boos when many in the audience felt he crossed a line when he called Democrat Hillary Clinton corrupt and claimed she hated Catholics.

This year’s white-tie gala is scheduled for Oct. 17.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who plays a prominent role in the dinner, has been highly critical of Democrats, writing a 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed that carried the headline, “The Democrats Abandon Catholics.”

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is named for the former New York governor, a Democrat and the first Roman Catholic to be nominated for president by a major party in 1928. He was handily defeated by Herbert Hoover. It raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities and has traditionally shown that those vying to lead the nation can get along, or pretend to, for one night.

The event has become a tradition for presidential candidates since Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy appeared together in 1960. In 1996, the Archdiocese of New York decided not to invite then-President Bill Clinton and his Republican challenger, Bob Dole, reportedly because Clinton vetoed a late-term abortion ban.

https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-al-smith-dinner-109cbfcdb2693c960483b8d4843cd704

Patti Smith on singing at the Vatican: 'Anyone who would confine me to an old line is a fool'

Why is Patti Smith, who opened Horses with the line ‘Jesus died for someone’s sins, but not mine’, playing a gig at the Vatican? Our intrepid reporter asked her

News that rebel bard Patti Smith is to sing in a Christmas concert for the Vatican caused a small sensation. An Italian Catholic organisation decried her appearance as “blasphemous” and asked for it to be banned. Around Smith’s adopted hometown, New York, blogs burbled and water coolers bubbled about her surprising move. One TV producer friend – Jewish, as it goes – lamented to me, “And to think I believed her when she sang, ‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.’”

You don’t have to be Christian for those lyrics from Smith’s 1975 track, Gloria, to be a lifeline. Their defiance still beckons the alienated outsider kids who flock to New York hoping to fit in with all the other misfits, just like she did. So arty New Yorkers claim Smith’s playful and sombre artistry like their own Lady Liberty’s torch.

If punk is about controversy, then Smith had done it again. Yet interestingly, no such mini-scandal erupts when Smith sings for the Dalai Lama, as she frequently does. It’s not an exact comparison, as Buddhism is known as a belief system, not a religion; yet the Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader, just like Pope Francis. However, even aside from its current crises, Catholicism is always filed under “organised religion”, which Smith’s iconoclastic work is supposed to smash, not endorse. Clearly, for Smith, nothing is sacred – even her own work. But artistically, isn’t that her job description?

Smith’s landmark line has all the angst you’d expect from Catholics, Jews or members of any guilt-edged faith. Smith herself was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, “an austere faith, culturally and artistically”, as she told the audience at a Museum of the Moving Image screening of Darren Aronofsky’s Noah; she co-wrote a lullaby, Mercy Is …, for the bold but wobbly epic. Wryly confiding that she had always fancied acting in a film, Smith said, “I always thought that life was like God’s movie. I wanted to be in a movie but it didn’t happen. But I got a good role in God’s movie!” (Smith-spotters, please note – she doesn’t count her quick appearance in Jean-Luc Godard’s Film Socialisme.)

Seizing the moment, your reporter asked Smith how she felt about unsettling her fans with her Vatican performance. Smith responded with customary fire. “I’m not playing to the Pope,” she snapped with classic ferocity. “He may not even be there! But I expect there’ll be a bunch of cardinals …” (Audience applause, laughter.) “It’s a Christmas concert for the people, and it’s being televised. I like Pope Francis and I’m happy to sing for him. Anyone who would confine me to a line from 20 years ago is a fool!” (Much applause.) “I had a strong religious upbringing, and the first word on my first LP is Jesus. I did a lot of thinking. I’m not against Jesus, but I was 20 and I wanted to make my own mistakes and I didn’t want anyone dying for me. I stand behind that 20-year-old girl, but I have evolved. I’ll sing to my enemy! I don’t like being pinned down and I’ll do what the fuck I want, especially at my age … oh, I hope there’s no small children here!” (Huge applause.)

So, braving criticism from hardcore Smith fans and Catholics, Patti Smith will rock the Vatican. Happily, Smith is essentially consistent. She really is New York’s Other Lady Liberty.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/nov/18/patti-smith-christmas-concert-vatican 

Pope John Paul I (Latin: Ioannes Paulus I; Italian: Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani [alˈbiːno luˈtʃaːni]; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent year of three popes and the first to occur since 1605. John Paul I remains the most recent Italian-born pope, the last in a succession of such popes that started with Clement VII in 1523.

Before the August 1978 papal conclave that elected him, he expressed his desire not to be elected, telling those close to him that he would decline the papacy if elected; upon the cardinals' electing him, he felt an obligation to say yes.[4] He was the first pontiff to have a double name, choosing "John Paul" in honour of his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI. He explained that he was indebted to John XXIII and to Paul VI for naming him a bishop and a cardinal, respectively. Furthermore, he was the first pope to add the regnal number "I", designating himself "the First".

His two immediate successors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, later recalled the warm qualities of the late pontiff in several addresses. In Italy, he is remembered with the appellatives of Il Papa del Sorriso (transl. The Smiling Pope)[5] and Il Sorriso di Dio (transl. The Smile of God).[6] Time magazine and other publications referred to him as "The September Pope".[7] He is also known in Italy as "Papa Luciani". In his hometown of Canale d'Agordo a museum built and named in his honour is dedicated to his life and brief papacy.

He was declared a servant of God by his successor, John Paul II, on 23 November 2003, the first step on the road to sainthood. Pope Francis confirmed his heroic virtue on 8 November 2017 and named him as Venerable. Pope Francis presided over the beatification on 4 September 2022.[8][9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_I 

Pedro Arrupe Gondra, SJ (14 November 1907 – 5 February 1991) was a Spanish Catholic priest who served as the 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983.[3] He has been called a second founder of the Society, which he led in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council, especially with regard to faith that does justice and preferential option for the poor.[4][3]

Born in 1907 in Bilbao, Arrupe joined the Jesuits in 1927 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1936. While serving as a novice master outside Hiroshima in 1945, Arrupe used his medical background as a first responder to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.[5]

In 1983, paralysis from a stroke caused Arrupe to resign from office. He lived on until 1991, when he died in the local Jesuit infirmary.[5] His cause for sainthood was opened by the Jesuits and the Diocese of Rome in 2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Arrupe

The CORONA [1] program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The CORONA satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union (USSR), China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CORONA_(satellite)

Havana syndrome ’ and the mystery of the microwaves by Gordon Carera

"Doctors, scientists, intelligence agents and government officials have all been trying to find out what causes "Havana syndrome" - a mysterious illness that has struck American diplomats and spies. Some call it an act of war, others wonder if it is some new and secret form of surveillance - and some people believe it could even be all in the mind. So who or what is responsible? It often started with a sound, one that people struggled to describe. "Buzzing", "grinding metal", "piercing squeals", was the best they could manage. One woman described a low hum and intense pressure in her skull; another felt a pulse of pain. Those who did not hear a sound, felt heat or pressure. But for those who heard the sound, covering their ears made no difference. Some of the people who experienced the syndrome were left with dizziness and fatigue for months. Havana syndrome first emerged in Cuba in 2016. The first cases were CIA officers, which meant they were kept secret. But, eventually, word got out and anxiety spread. Twenty-six personnel and family members would report a wide variety of symptoms. There were whispers that some colleagues thought sufferers were crazy and it was "all in the mind". Five years on, reports now number in the hundreds and, the BBC has been told, span every continent, leaving a real impact on the US's ability to operate overseas. Uncovering the truth has now become a top US national security priority - one that an official has described as the most difficult intelligence challenge they have ever faced. Hard evidence has been elusive, making the syndrome a battleground for competing theories. Some see it as a psychological illness, others a secret weapon. But a growing trail of evidence has focused on microwaves as the most likely culprit. In 2015,  diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba  were restored after decades of hostility. But within two years, Havana syndrome almost shut the embassy down, as staff were withdrawn because of concerns for their welfare. Initially, there was speculation that the Cuban government - or a hard-line faction opposed to improving relations - might be responsible,  having deployed some kind of sonic weapon. Cuba's security services,  after all,  had been nervous about an influx of US personnel and kept a tight grip on the capital. That theory would fade as cases spread around the world. But recently, another possibility  has come into the frame - one whose roots lay in the darker recesses of the Cold War, and a place where science, medicine, espionage and geopolitics collide. When James Lin, a professor at the University of Illinois, read the first reports about the mysterious sounds in Havana, he immediately suspected that microwaves were responsible. His belief was based not just on theoretical research, but first-hand experience. Decades earlier, he had heard the sounds himself. Since its emergence around World War Two, there had been reports of people being able to hear something when a nearby radar was switched on and began sending microwaves into the sky. This was even though there was no external noise. In 1961, a paper by Dr Allen Frey argued the sounds were caused by microwaves interacting with the nervous system, leading to the term the "Frey Effect". But the exact causes - and implications - remained unclear. In the 1970s, Prof Lin set to work conducting his experiments at the University of Washington.  He sat on a wooden chair in a small room lined with absorbent materials, an antenna aimed at the back of his head. In his hand he held a light switch. Outside, a colleague sent pulses of microwaves through the antenna at random intervals. If Prof Lin heard a sound, he pressed the switch. A single pulse sounded like a zip or a clicking finger. A series of pulses like a bird chirping. They were produced in his head rather than as sound waves coming from outside. Prof Lin believed the energy was absorbed by the soft brain tissue and converted to a pressure wave moving inside the head, which was interpreted by the brain as sound. This occurred when high-power microwaves were delivered as pulses rather than in the low-power continuous form you get from a modern microwave oven or other devices. Prof Lin recalls that he was careful not to dial it up too high. "I did not want to have my brain damaged," he told the BBC. In 1978, he found he was not alone in his interest, and received an unusual invitation to discuss his latest paper from a group of scientists who had been carrying out their own experiments. During the Cold War, science was the focus of intense super-power rivalry. Even areas like mind control were explored,  amid fears of the other side getting an edge - and this included microwaves. Prof Lin was shown the Soviet approach at a centre of scientific research in the town of Pushchino, near Moscow. "They had a very elaborate, very well-equipped laboratory," Prof Lin recalls. But their experiment was cruder than his. The subject would sit in a drum of salty seawater with their head sticking out. Then microwaves would be fired at their brain. The scientists thought the microwaves interacted with the nervous system and wanted to question Prof Lin on his alternative view. Curiosity cut both ways, and US spies kept close track on Soviet research. A 1976 report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, unearthed by the BBC, says it could find no proof of Communist-bloc microwave weapons, but says it had learnt of experiments where microwaves were pulsed at the throat of frogs until their hearts stopped. The report also reveals that the US was concerned Soviet microwaves could be used to impair brain function or induce sounds for psychological effect. "Their internal sound perception research has great potential for development into a system for disorienting or disrupting the behaviour patterns of military or diplomatic personnel." American interest was more than just defensive. James Lin would occasionally glimpse references to secret US work on weapons in the same field. And while Prof Lin was in Pushchino, another group of Americans not far away were worried that they were being zapped by microwaves - and that their own government had covered it up. For nearly a quarter of a century, the 10-storey US embassy in Moscow was bathed by a wide, invisible beam of low-level microwaves. It became known as "the Moscow signal". But for many years,  most of  those working inside knew nothing. The beam came from an antenna on the balcony of a nearby Soviet apartment and hit the upper floors of the embassy where the ambassador's office and more sensitive work was carried out. It had been first spotted in the 1950s and was later monitored from a room on the 10th floor. But its existence was a secret tightly held from all but a few working inside. "We were trying to figure out just what might be its purpose," explains Jack Matlock, number two at the embassy in the mid-70s. But a new ambassador, Walter Stoessel, arrived in 1974 and threatened to resign unless everyone was told. "That caused something like panic," recalls Mr Matlock. Embassy staff whose children were in a basement nursery were especially worried. But the State Department played down any risk. Then Ambassador Stoessel, himself, fell ill - with bleeding of the eyes as one of his symptoms. In a now declassified 1975 phone call to the Soviet ambassador to Washington, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger linked Stoessel's illness to microwaves, admitting "we are trying to keep the thing quiet". Stoessel died of leukaemia at the age of 66. "He decided to play the good soldier", and not make a fuss, his daughter told the BBC. From 1976 screens were installed to protect people. But many diplomats were angry, believing the State Department had first kept quiet, and then resisted acknowledging any possible health impact. This was a claim echoed decades later with Havana syndrome. What was the Moscow signal for? "I'm pretty sure that the Soviets had intentions other than damaging us," says Matlock. They were ahead of the US in surveillance technology and one theory was that they bounced microwaves off windows to pick up conversations, another that they were activating their own listening devices hidden inside the building or capturing information through microwaves hitting US electronic devices (known as "peek and poke"). The Soviets at one point told Matlock that the purpose was actually to jam American equipment on the embassy roof used to intercept Soviet communications in Moscow. This is the world of surveillance and counter-surveillance, one so secret that even within embassies and governments only a few people know the full picture. One theory is that Havana involved a much more targeted method to carry out some kind of surveillance with higher-power, directed microwaves. One former UK intelligence official told the BBC that microwaves could be used to "illuminate" electronic devices to extract signals or identify and track them. Others speculate that a device (even perhaps an American one) might have been poorly engineered or malfunctioned and caused a physical reaction in some people. However, US officials tell the BBC no device has been identified or recovered. After a lull, cases began to spread beyond Cuba. In December 2017, Marc Polymeropolous woke suddenly in a Moscow hotel room. A senior CIA officer, he was in town to meet Russian counterparts. "My ears were ringing, my head was spinning. I felt like I was going to vomit. I couldn't stand up," he told the BBC. "It was terrifying." It was a year after the first Havana cases, but the CIA medical office told him his symptoms didn't match the Cuban cases. A long battle for medical treatment began. The severe headaches never went away and in the summer of 2019 he was forced to retire. Mr Polymreopolous originally thought he had been hit by some kind of technical surveillance tool that had been "turned up too much". But when more cases emerged at the CIA which were all, he says, linked to people working on Russia, he came to believe he had been targeted with a weapon. But then came China, including at the consulate in Guangzhou in early 2018. Some of those affected in China contacted Beatrice Golomb, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, who has long researched the health effects of microwaves, as well as other unexplained illnesses. She told the BBC that she wrote to the State Department's medical team in January 2018 with a detailed account of why she thought microwaves were responsible. "This makes for interesting reading," was the non-committal response. Prof Golomb says high levels of radiation were recorded by family members of personnel in Guangzhou using commercially available equipment. "The needle went off the top of the available readings." But she says the State Department told its own employees that the measurements they had taken off their own back were classified. A host of problems plagued early investigations. There was a failure to collect consistent data. The State Department and CIA failed to communicate with each other, and the scepticism of their internal medical teams caused tension. Only one out of the nine cases from China was initially determined by the State Department to match the criteria for the syndrome based on Havana cases. That left others who experienced symptoms angry, and feeling as if they were being accused of making it up. They began a battle for equal treatment, which is still going on today. As frustration grew, some of those affected turned to Mark Zaid, a lawyer who specialises in national security cases. He now acts for around two dozen government personnel, half from the intelligence community. "This is not Havana syndrome. It's a misnomer," argues Mr Zaid, whose clients were affected in many locations. "What's been going on has been known by the United States government probably, based on evidence that I have seen, since the late 1960s." Since 2013, Mr Zaid has represented one employee of the US National Security Agency who believed they were damaged in 1996 in a location which remains classified. Mr Zaid questions why the US government has been so unwilling to acknowledge a longer history. One possibility, he says, is because it might open a Pandora's Box of incidents that have been ignored over the years. Another is because the US, too, has developed and perhaps even deployed microwaves itself and wants to keep it secret. The  country's interest in weaponising microwaves extended beyond the end of the Cold War. Reports say from the 1990s, the US Air Force had a project codenamed "Hello" to see if microwaves could create disturbing sounds in people's heads, one called "Goodbye" to test their use for crowd control, and one codenamed "Goodnight" to see if they could be used to kill people. Reports from a decade ago suggested these had not proved successful. But the study of the mind and what can be done to it has been receiving increased focus within the military and security world. "The brain is being seen as the 21st Century battle-scape," argues James Giordano, an adviser to the Pentagon and Professor in Neurology and Biochemistry at Georgetown University, who was asked to look at the initial Havana cases. "Brain sciences are global. It is not just the province of what used to be known as the West." Ways to both augment and damage brain function are being worked on, he told the BBC. But it is a field with little transparency or rules. He says China and Russia have been engaged in microwave research and raises the possibility that tools developed for industrial and commercial uses - for instance to test the impact of microwaves on materials - could have been repurposed. But he also wonders if disruption and spreading fear were also the aim. This kind of technology may have been around for a while - and even have been used selectively. But that would still mean something changed in Cuba to get it noticed. Bill Evanina was a senior intelligence official when the Havana cases emerged, and stepped down as the head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center this year. He has little doubt about what happened in Havana. "Was it an offensive weapon? I believe it was," he told the BBC. He believes microwaves may have been deployed in recent military conflicts, but points to specific circumstances to explain a shift. Cuba, 90 miles off the Florida coast, has long been an ideal site to collect "signals intelligence" by intercepting communications.  During the Cold War, it was home to a major Soviet listening station. When Vladimir Putin visited in 2014, reports suggested it was being re-opened. China also opened two sites in recent years, according to one source, while the Russians sent in 30 additional intelligence officers. But from 2015, the US was back in town. With its newly opened embassy and a beefed-up presence, the US was just beginning to establish its footing, collecting intelligence and pushing back against Russian and Chinese spies. "We were in a ground fight," one person recalls. Then the sounds began. "Who had the most to benefit from the closing of the embassy in Havana?" asks Mr Evanina. "If the Russian government was increasing and promulgating their intelligence collection in Cuba, it was probably not good for them to have the US in Cuba." Russia has repeatedly dismissed accusations it is involved, or has "directed microwave weapons". "Such provocative, baseless speculation and fanciful hypotheses can't really be considered a serious matter for comment," its foreign ministry has said. And there have been sceptics about the very existence of Havana syndrome. They argue that the unique situation in Cuba supports their case. 

Contagious Stress

Robert W Baloh, a Professor of Neurology at UCLA, has long studied unexplained health symptoms. When he saw the Havana syndrome reports, he concluded they were a mass psychogenic condition. He compares this to the way people feel sick when they are told they have eaten tainted food even if there was nothing wrong with it - the reverse of the placebo effect. "When you see mass psychogenic illness, there's usually some stressful underlying situation," he says. "In the case of Cuba and the mass of the embassy employees - particularly the CIA agents who first were affected - they certainly were in a stressful situation." In his view, every-day symptoms like brain fog and dizziness are reframed - by sufferers, media and health professionals - as the syndrome. "The symptoms are as real as any other symptoms," he says, arguing that individuals became hyper-aware and fearful as reports spread, especially within a closed community.  This, he believes, then became contagious among other US officials serving abroad.  

There remain many unexplained elements. Why did Canadian diplomats report symptoms in Havana? Were they collateral damage from targeting nearby Americans? And why have no UK officials reported symptoms? "The Russians have literally tried to kill people on British soil in recent years with radioactive materials, yet why are there no reported cases?" asks Mark Zaid.  "I would probably put on pause the statement that no-one in the UK has experienced any symptoms," responds Bill Evanina, who says the US is now sharing details with allies to spot cases. Some instances may be unrelated. "We had a bunch of military folk in the Middle East who claimed to have this attack - turned out they had food poisoning," says one former official. "We need to separate the wheat from the chaff," reckons Mark Zaid, who says members of the public, some with mental health issues, approach him claiming to suffer from microwave attacks. One former official reckons around half the cases reported by US officials are possibly linked to attacks by an adversary. Others say the real number could be even smaller. A December 2020 report by the US National Academies of Sciences was a pivotal moment. Experts took evidence from scientists and clinicians as well as eight victims. "It was quite dramatic," recalls Professor David Relman of Stanford, who chaired the panel. "Some of these people literally were in hiding, for fear of further actions against them by whomever. There were actually precautions we had to take to ensure their safety." The panel looked at psychological and other causes, but concluded that directed, high energy, pulsed microwaves were most likely responsible for some of the cases, similar to the view of James Lin, who gave evidence. But even though the State Department sponsored the study, it still considers the conclusion only a plausible hypothesis and officials say they have not found further evidence to support it. The Biden administration has signalled it is taking the issue seriously. CIA and State Department officials are given advice on how to respond to incidents (including 'getting off the X' - meaning physically moving from a spot if they feel they are getting hit). The State Department has set up a task force to support staff over what are now called "unexplained health incidents". Previous attempts to categorise cases as to whether they met specific criteria have been abandoned. But without a definition, it becomes harder to count. This year, a new wave of cases arrived - including Berlin and a larger group in Vienna. In August, a trip by US Vice-President Kamala Harris to Vietnam was delayed three hours because of a reported case at the embassy in Hanoi. Worried diplomats are now asking questions before taking foreign assignments with their families. "This is a major distraction for us if we think that the Russians are doing things to our intelligence officers who are travelling," says former CIA officer Polymreopolous, who finally received the medical treatment he wanted this year. "That's going to put a crimp in our operational footprint." The CIA has taken over the hunt for a cause, with a veteran of the hunt for Osama bin Laden placed in charge.   

Markers In The Blood

An accusation that another state has been harming US officials is a consequential one. "That's an act of war," says Mr Polymeropolous. That makes it a high bar to reach. Policymakers will demand hard evidence, which so far, officials say, is still lacking. Five years on, some US officials say little more is known other than when Havana syndrome started. But others disagree. They say the evidence for microwaves is much stronger now, if not yet conclusive. The BBC has learnt that new evidence is arriving as data is collected and analysed more systematically for the first time. Some of the cases this year showed specific markers in the blood, indicating brain injury. These markers fall away after a few days and previously too much time had elapsed to spot them. But now that people are being tested much more quickly after reporting symptoms, they have been seen for the first time. The debate remains divisive and it is possible the answer is complex. There may be a core of real cases, while others have been folded into the syndrome. Officials raise the possibility that the technology and the intent might have changed over time, perhaps shifting to try and unsettle the US. Some even worry one state may have piggy-backed on another's activities. "We like a simple label diagnosis," argues Professor Relman. "But sometimes it is tough to achieve. And when we can't, we have to be very careful not to simply throw up our hands and walk away." The mystery of Havana syndrome could be its real power. The ambiguity and fear it spreads act as a multiplier, making more and more people wonder if they are suffering, and making it harder for spies and diplomats to operate overseas. Even if it began as a tightly defined incident, Havana syndrome may have developed a life of its own."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58396698  

I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on.........

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019

Salvador Miranda (October 18, 1939 – June 1, 2024) was an American bibliographer, librarian and church historian.[1][2]

Biography

Miranda was born on October 18, 1939, in Havana, Cuba.[2] In 1958, he graduated from the Jesuit-run Colegio de Belén in Havana after which he attended the law school at the University of Havana.[2] After the Cuban Revolution in 1963, he moved to Puerto Rico to study humanities at the University of Puerto Rico.[2] As a young Cuban exile, he was a member of the Cuban-American expeditionary force in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.[1] He then returned to school graduating with a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Biscayne College; an M.A. in Modern European History in 1974 from Villanova University; and an M.S. in Library and Information Science in 1976 from Florida State University.[2] After graduating from Florida State, he accepted a position as the Latin American and Caribbean Bibliographer at the University of Florida Libraries in Gainesville.[2] In 1986, he served as assistant director for Collection Management at Florida International University Libraries in Miami.[2] On June 30, 2001, he retired.[2]

The title of his 319-page master's thesis in history was The Sacred College of Cardinals in the Twentieth Century (1903-1973): Developments, Documents and Biographies[2] which he expanded to include earlier cardinals and then digitized, making it available as an online resource.[1] In appreciation of his research, Bishop Cipriano Calderón Polo, the founding director of the Spanish edition of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano and the vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, whom he corresponded with for years over the history of the episcopacy, invited him to present at the first continental meeting of bishops from Latin America in 1999.[1][3]

His research and expertise has been used as a resource by various publications including The New York Times,[4] The Cleveland Plain Dealer,[5] Religion News Service,[6] La Stampa,[7] and The Wall Street Journal.[8]

On 28 June 2023, Miranda posted on The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church's main page that he had been hospitalized with cardiac issues.[9] He died on June 1, 2024, at the age of 84.[10][11]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Miranda_(historian)

REMOTE CONTROL HEART ATTACK WEAPONS

"The brain is on the verge of becoming the next battlefield with weapons currently being designed to hack directly into your nervous system.

"Controlled Personnel Effects"

(see image, right) is one of the Air Force’s ambitious long-term challenges. It starts with better and more accurate bombs, but moves on to discuss devices that "make selected adversaries think or act according to our needs… By studying and modeling the human brain and nervous system, the ability to mentally influence or confuse personnel is also possible."

The first stage is technology to “remotely create physical sensations.”

They give the example of the Active Denial System "people zapper" which uses a high-frequency radiation similar to microwaves as a non-lethal means of crowd control.

Other weapons can affect the nervous system directly. The Pulsed Energy Projectile fires a short intense pulse of laser energy. This vaporizes the outer layer of the target, creating a rapidly-expanding expanding ball of plasma. At different power levels, those expanding plasmas could deliver a harmless warning, stun the target, or disable them –  all with pinpoint laser precision from a mile away.

Early reports on the effects of PEPs mentioned temporary paralysis, then thought to be related to ultrasonic shockwaves. It later became apparent that the electromagnetic pulse caused by the expanding plasma was triggering nerve cells

Details of this emerged in a heavily-censored document released to Ed Hammond of the Sunshine Project under the Freedom if Information Act. Called “Sensory consequence of electromagnetic pulsed emitted by laser induced plasmas,” it described research on activating the nerve cells responsible for sensing unpleasant stimuli: heat, damage, pressure, cold. By selectively stimulating a particular nociceptor, a finely tuned PEP might sensations of say, being burned, frozen or dipped in acid — all without doing the slightest actual harm.

The skin is the easiest target for such stimulation. But, in principle, any sensory nerves could be triggered. The Controlled Effects document suggests “it may be possible to create synthetic images…to confuse an individual’ s visual sense or, in a similar manner, confuse his senses of sound, taste, touch, or smell.”

In other words, it may be possible to use electromagnetic means to create overwhelming ‘sound’ or ‘light’, or indeed ‘intolerable smell’ which would exist only in the brain of the person perceiving them.

There is another side as well. The “sensory consequences” document also notes that the nervous system which controls muscles could be influenced to cause what they call “Taser-like motor effects.” The stun gun’s ability to shock the muscles into malfunction is relatively crude; we might now be looking at are much more targeted effects.

The American military may want to attack the nervous system, with pain rays and laser plasma pulses. But they’re not the only ones.

The Russians have long studied such systems, too — including one weapon that could, in theory, remotely trigger heart attacks.

In 2003, at the 2nd European Symposium on Non-Lethal Weapons, Anatoly Korolev and his colleagues from Moscow State University presented a paper with the snappy title "Bioelectrodynamic Criterion of the NLW Effectiveness Estimation and the Interaction mechanisms of the multilayer Skin Tissues with electromagnetic Radiation." This is a study of how radio-frequency weapons — like the American Active Denial System — affect the skin. After wading through a mass of technical data showing how complex the interactions are we reach the punch line:

The sensations modality (pricking, touch, pressure, gooseflesh, touch, burning pain etc) depends on the field parameters and individual concrete human being factors. As a matter of fact, we can really choose the non-lethal bioeffect.

The effects include sensations similar to those discussed previously, and more besides. The paper discusses effects on cell membranes and affecting the body’s normal function, including "information transfer to the organs of control."

At the same conference, V Makukhin of the Trymas Engineering Center in Moscow described "Electronic equipment for complex influence on biological objects." And when he says "biological objects," he means you and me.

His laboratory apparatus uses a modulated beam of radio waves to produce what he terms "disorder of autonomic nervous system," put forward as a possible non-lethal weapon. Makhunin notes that there is no general agreement on how EM waves disrupt nerves – he mentions ion channels similar to those in the plasma paper – but he certainly seems to be seeing the same effects as American researchers.

But it need not be a non-lethal weapon. Makhunin also mentions the effects of "change of electrocardiogram" and what he calls "function break of heart muscle."

The vulnerability of the heart to electrical stimulation (including that produced by EM waves) is well documented.

A lethal device would interfere with the electrical potentials that keep the chambers of the heart synchronized, producing fibrillation and rapid death. A death ray doesn’t need to be a truck-sized laser that

reduces the target to smoking heap; a small device that stops the heart will do the job.

Little has been openly published in this area in the public domain, but this may be the tip of the iceberg. We are likely to be hearing more in future – especially if the Russians manage to find funding.

I don’t think we need tinfoil hats just yet. But a layer of conducting mesh built into body armor might save a lot of heartache in years to come." 

REMOTE CONTROL HEART ATTACK WEAPONS

https://www.impactlab.com/2006/02/15/remote-control-heart-attack-weapons/

Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II; Italian: Giovanni Paolo II; Polish: Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛv vɔjˈtɨwa];[b] 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II 

As May 18 dawned, Mount St. Helens's activity did not show any change from the pattern of the preceding month. The rates of bulge movement and sulfur dioxide emission, and ground temperature readings did not reveal any changes indicating a catastrophic eruption. USGS volcanologist David A. Johnston was on duty at an observation post around 6 mi (10 km) north of the volcano: as of 6:00 am, Johnston's measurements did not indicate any unusual activity.[9]

At 8:32 am, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake centered directly below the north slope triggered that part of the volcano to slide,[31] approximately 7–20 seconds after the shock,[9] followed a few seconds later by the main volcanic blast. The landslide, the largest subaerial landslide in recorded history, traveled at 110 to 155 mph (177 to 249 km/h) and moved across Spirit Lake's west arm. Part of it hit a 1,150 ft-high (350 m) ridge about 6 mi (10 km) north.[9] Some of the slide spilled over the ridge, but most of it moved 13 mi (21 km) down the North Fork Toutle River, filling its valley up to 600 feet (180 m) deep with avalanche debris.[31] An area of about 24 sq mi (62 km2) was covered, and the total volume of the deposit was about 0.7 cu mi (2.9 km3).[9]

Scientists were able to reconstruct the motion of the landslide from a series of rapid photographs by Gary Rosenquist, who was camping 11 mi (18 km) away from the blast 46°18′49″N 122°02′12″W.[9] Rosenquist, his party, and his photographs survived because the blast was deflected by local topography 1 mi (1.6 km) short of his location.[32]

Sound of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, as heard from 140 miles away

Duration: 44 seconds.0:44

Amateur recording of a series of booms produced by the eruption, as heard from the town of Newport, Oregon (audio filtered and amplified).

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Most of St. Helens's former north side became a rubble deposit 17 mi (27 km) long, averaging 150 ft (46 m) thick; the slide was thickest at 1 mi (1.6 km) below Spirit Lake and thinnest at its western margin.[9] The landslide temporarily displaced the waters of Spirit Lake to the ridge north of the lake, in a giant wave about 600 ft (180 m) high.[33] This, in turn, created a 295 ft (90 m) avalanche of debris consisting of the returning waters and thousands of uprooted trees and stumps. Some of these remained intact with roots, but most had been sheared off at the stump seconds earlier by the blast of superheated volcanic gas and ash that had immediately followed and overtaken the initial landslide. The debris was transported along with the water as it returned to its basin, raising the surface level of Spirit Lake by about 200 ft (61 m).[9]

Four decades after the eruption, floating log mats persist on Spirit Lake and nearby St. Helens Lake, changing position with the wind. The rest of the trees, especially those that were not completely detached from their roots, were turned upright by their own weight and became waterlogged, sinking into the muddy sediments at the bottom where they are in the process of becoming petrified in the anaerobic and mineral-rich waters. This provides insight into other sites with a similar fossil record.[34]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens

Updated May 18, 2023 Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons Both the 2022 National Defense Strategy and the House Armed Services Committee’s bipartisan Future of Defense Task Force Report have identified directed energy as a technology that could have a significant impact on U.S. national security in the years to come. As the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to invest in directed-energy (DE) weapons, Congress may consider implications for defense authorizations, appropriations, and oversight. Overview DOD defines DE weapons as those using concentrated electromagnetic energy, rather than kinetic energy, to “incapacitate, damage, disable, or destroy enemy equipment, facilities, and/or personnel.” DE weapons include high-energy lasers (HEL) and high-powered microwave (HPM) weapons; other DE weapons, such as particle beam weapons, are outside the scope of this In Focus. HELs might be used by ground forces in short-range air defense (SHORAD), counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), or counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) missions. The weapons might be used to “dazzle” (i.e., temporarily disable) or damage satellites and sensors. This could in turn interfere with intelligence-gathering operations; military cmmunications; and positioning, navigation, and timing systems used for weapons targeting. In addition, HELs could theoretically provide options for boost-phase missile intercept, given their speed-of-light travel time; however, experts disagree on the affordability, technological feasibility, and utility of this application. In general, HELs might offer lower costs per shot and— assuming access to a sufficient power supply—deeper magazines compared with traditional munitions. (Although a number of different types of HELs exist, many of the United States’ current programs are solid state lasers, which are fueled by electrical power. As a result, the cost per shot is equivalent to the cost of the electrical power required to fire the shot.) This could in turn produce a favorable costexchange ratio for the defender, whose marginal costs would be significantly lower than those of the aggressor.

Similarly, HPM weapons could provide a nonkinetic means of disabling adversary electronics and communications systems. These weapons could potentially generate effects over wider areas than HELs, which emit a narrower beam of energy. As a result, some analysts have noted that HPM weapons might provide more effective area defense against missile salvos and swarms of drones. HPM weapons have also been considered for use as nonlethal “heat ray” systems for crowd control. Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. This In Focus discusses a selection of unclassified DE weapons programs in three leading military powers: the United States, China, and Russia. United States DOD requested approximately $1 billion for unclassified DE programs in FY2024. (For additional information about specific U.S. DE weapons programs, see CRS Report R44175, Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Gun-Launched Guided Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke, and CRS Report R45098, U.S. Army WeaponsRelated Directed Energy (DE) Programs: Background and Potential Issues for Congress, by Andrew Feickert.) DOD does not currently have any DE programs of record. DOD directed energy programs are coordinated by the Principal Director for Directed Energy within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD[R&E]). The Principal Director for Directed Energy is additionally responsible for development and oversight of the Directed Energy Roadmap. According to OUSD(R&E), DOD’s current DE roadmap outlines DOD’s plan to increase power levels of DE weapons from around 150 kilowatts (kW—a unit of power), as is currently feasible, to 300 kW by FY2023, “with goal milestones to achieve 500 kW class with reduced size and weight by FY2025 and to further reduce size and weight and increase power to MW [megawatt] levels by FY2026.” For reference, although there is no consensus regarding the precise power level that would be needed to neutralize different target sets, some analysts believe that lasers of around 100 kW could engage unmanned aircraft systems, small boats, rockets, artillery, and mortars, whereas lasers of around 300 kW could additionally engage cruise missiles flying in certain profiles (i.e., flying across—rather than at—the laser). Lasers of 1 MW could potentially neutralize ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons. In addition to the DE roadmap, OUSD(R&E) manages the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI), which former Principal Director for Directed Energy Dr. Jim Trebes notes is “to demonstrate laser output power scaling while maintaining or improving beam quality and efficiency.” HELSI is intended to strengthen the defense industrial base for potential future directed energy weapons by providing near-term prototyping opportunities for industry partners. Dr. Trebes additionally notes that OUSD(R&E) has completed a DOD-wide Laser Lethality Analysis Process Review to identify future needs for the Department and best practices for DE development and use. According to OUSD(R&E), DOD is also testing a Directed Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons https://crsreports.congress.gov Energy Lethality Database that is to serve as a searchable repository for the department’s DE analyses. China According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, China has been developing DE weapons since at least the 1980s and has made steady progress in developing HPM and increasingly powerful HELs. China has reportedly developed a 30-kilowatt roadmobile HEL, LW-30, designed to engage unmanned aircraft systems and precision-guided weapons. Reports indicate that China is also developing an airborne HEL pod. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, China is additionally pursuing DE weapons to disrupt, degrade, or damage satellites and their sensors and possibly already has a limited capability to employ laser systems against satellite sensors. China [has likely fielded] a ground-based laser weapon that can counter low-orbit spacebased sensors ... and by the mid-to-late 2020s, it may field higher power systems that extend the threat to the structures of non-optical satellites. Russia Russia has been conducting DE weapons research since the 1960s, with a particular emphasis on HELs. Russia has reportedly deployed the Peresvet ground-based HEL with several mobile intercontinental ballistic missile units. Although little is publicly known about Peresvet, including its power level, some analysts assert it is to dazzle satellites and provide point defense against unmanned aircraft systems. Russia’s deputy defense minister Alexei Krivoruchko has stated that efforts are underway to increase Peresvet’s power level and to deploy it on military aircraft. Reports suggest that Russia may also be developing HPMs as well as additional HELs capable of performing antisatellite missions. Potential Issues and Questions for Congress Technological Maturity Directed-energy weapons programs continue to face questions about their technological maturity, including the ability to improve beam quality and control to militarily useful levels and the ability to meet size, weight, and power (SWaP) and cooling requirements for integration into current platforms. Some DE systems are small enough to fit on military vehicles, but many require larger and/or fixed platforms that could potentially limit deployment options and operational utility. In what ways, if any, are DOD technology maturation efforts reducing the SWaP and cooling requirements of DE systems? Weapons Characteristics Although HELs may offer a lower cost per shot than traditional weapons such as missiles, they are also subject to a number of limitations. For example, atmospheric conditions (e.g., rain, fog, obscurants) and SWaP and cooling requirements can limit the range and beam quality of HELs, in turn reducing their effectiveness. Traditional weapons, in contrast, are not affected by these factors. How, if at all, might HEL limitations be mitigated by technological developments, concepts of operation, or other methods? What impact might a failure to mitigate these limitations have on future military operations? Mission Utility Given the strengths and weaknesses of DE weapons, DOD is continuing to examine their role within the military. DOD is additionally conducting multiple utility studies to analyze potential concepts of operation for DE weapons and to assess the scenarios in which they might be militarily useful. How might Congress draw upon the conclusions of these analyses as it conducts oversight of DE weapons programs? What is the appropriate balance between DE weapons and traditional munitions within the military’s portfolio of capabilities? Defense Industrial Base Some analysts have expressed concerns that, in the past, DOD did not provide stable funding for DE weapons programs or sufficient opportunities for the DE workforce. According to OUSD(R&E), HELSI is intended to address these concerns by providing industry with assured prototyping opportunities. In what ways, if any, has HELSI strengthened the defense industrial base for DE weapons? What, if any, challenges does the base continue to face and how might they be mitigated?

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11882

Published: 10 October 1996

Russian documents Set out 'tectonic weapon' research

Carl Levitin 

Moscow. The first official details have emerged in Moscow of ambitious research into 'tectonic warfare' carried out by the former Soviet Union and subsequently by the government of Russia, and involving atte mpts to stimulate 'artificial' earthquakes as weapons of destruction. According to documents obtained by the newspaper Moscow News, two research programmes, the first known as ' Mercury ' and the second as ' Volcano', were aimed at creating new earthquake epicentres by using underground nuclear explosions . Geophysicists are aware that impending earthquakes may be triggered by underground nuclear explosions . But Western geophysicists remain sceptical about tectonic warfare and have all but abandoned research after two unsuccessful phases of activity in the 1960s and 1980s, says Roger Clark, a lecturer in geophysics at the University of Leeds. Clark is not at all surprised that th e Russians tried to create earthquakes and control their location electromagnetically, however. "This sort of science is very much part of their heritage. We don't think it is impossible, or wrong , but past experience suggests it is very, very unlikely. "

The programme , which was secretly launched by the Communist rulers of the former Soviet Union in 1987, and has been unofficially known to Western geophysicists for several years, is now believed to have been abandoned. It would certainly contravene the terms of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which Russia signe d at the United Nations in Geneva last month . The Mercury project was launched in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, but came to a halt when the republic became independent. It was superseded by the Volcano project. Three underground nuclear tests are believed to have taken place at sites in Kyrgyzstan.

According to the documents, the Mercury project was launched by a secret decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. The objective was to "develop a methodology for remote operation on an earthquake epicentre by using weak seismic fields and research possibilities of transferring the seismic energy of an explosion ".

The documents say that the Mercury project involved 22 scientific and industrial organizations, including the Geological Institute of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences in Baku. The remit extended to developing the electronic equipment to be installed aboard space satellites that would control the tectonic weapon. The scientists were given three years to complete research, with testing planned for 1990.

https://www.nature.com/articles/383471a0 

9. Interprovincial Works and Houses in Rome 304 §1. In the spirit of our fourth vow, the Society confirms its commitment to the interprovincial Roman works entrusted to it by the Holy See: the Pontifical Gregorian University and its associated institutes, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, as well as the Pontifical Russicum College, the Vatican Radio, and the Vatican Observatory, all of which are common works of the whole Society, placed directly under the superior general. Recognizing the very valuable service that these institutions have offered and continue to offer today, it calls upon major superiors who share Father General s responsibility for them to continue their help through subsidies and especially by training and offering professors and other personnel to them. 

§2. Also recommended to the care of all the provinces are those other works or houses in Rome that render a service to the entire Society, such as the Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus and the international colleges of the Society in Rome.[142]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

On 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck twice and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately and later sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court. The Pope forgave Ağca for the assassination attempt.[1] He was pardoned by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi at the Pope's request and was deported to Turkey in June 2000. Ağca converted to Roman Catholicism in 2007.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Pope_John_Paul_II

Janice Soprano Baccalieri is a fictional character in the HBO television drama series The Sopranos and in the film The Many Saints of Newark. She is the eldest sibling of the show's protagonist, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). On the show, she is portrayed by Aida Turturro, and a young Janice appears in flashbacks portrayed by Madeline Blue and Juliet Fox. Alexandra Intrator portrays a young Janice Soprano in the 2021 prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janice_Soprano 

James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (Italian: [ɡandolˈfiːni]; September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series The Sopranos (1999–2007). For this role, he won three Emmy Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Golden Globe Award. His role as Tony Soprano has been described as one of the greatest and most influential performances in television history.

Gandolfini was featured in numerous films including True Romance (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Get Shorty (1995), A Civil Action (1998), The Last Castle (2001), Romance & Cigarettes (2005), All the King's Men (2006), In the Loop (2009), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Not Fade Away (2012), and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). He received acclaim for playing against type starring in the romantic comedy Enough Said (2013). For the role, he earned numerous critics awards including a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Gandolfini is also known for his roles on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire (1992), On the Waterfront (1995), and God of Carnage (2009), the latter earning him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination. He also produced the war documentaries Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq (2007) and Wartorn: 1861–2010 (2011) as well as the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie nomination.

In 2013, Gandolfini died of a heart attack in Rome at the age of 51.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gandolfini

Janice is a modern feminine given name, an extended version of Jane, an English feminine form of John which is itself derived from the Hebrew Yohanan, meaning ('Graced by god') or Yehohanan ('God is gracious'). The name Janice was first used by American author Paul Leicester Ford for the heroine of the 1899 novel Janice Meredith.[1] Janice Meredith was a 1924 silent film based on the novel by Ford and the 1900 stage play A Colonial Girl. Janis is a spelling variant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janice_(given_name)

The archbasilica's Latin name is Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris ac Sancti Ioannis Baptistae et Ioannis Evangelistae ad Lateranum,[6] which in English is the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist at the Lateran, and in Italian Arcibasilica [Papale] del Santissimo Salvatore e Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbasilica_of_Saint_John_Lateran#Lateran_Palace 

Fisherman suplex

Also known as a fisherman's suplex or the leg hook suplex, this move has the opponent in a front facelock with the near arm draped over the attacker's shoulder; the wrestler hooks the opponent's near leg behind the opponent's knee with their free arm and falls backwards, flipping the opponent onto their back. In most cases, the attacking wrestler will keep the leg hooked and bridge to pin the opponent in a cradle-like position, as in the case of Mr. Perfect and Curtis Axel's Perfect-plex.[1] Other times the wrestler will apply a leglock submission hold to the hooked leg. It is used by Peyton Royce as the Venus Flytrap, as well as Penelope Ford.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suplex

The Ring of the Fisherman (Latin: Anulus piscatoris; Italian: Anello Piscatorio), also known as the Piscatory Ring, is an official part of the regalia worn by the pope, who according to Catholic theology is the head of the Catholic Church and successor of Saint Peter, who was a fisherman by trade. It used to feature a bas-relief of Peter fishing from a boat, a symbolism derived from the tradition that the apostles were "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). The Fisherman's Ring is a signet used until 1842 to seal official documents signed by the pope.[1] Since at least the Middle Ages it has been a tradition for Catholics meeting the pope to show their devotion by kissing the ring.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_the_Fisherman

Fished

To be fooled or tricked as in fish taking a bait

It originated from Korean slang language

I was so happy when I got a text message during class! At the instant, I thought I was so cool.

but only to realize that the text was from the guy sitting next to me. It read:

"You are fished"

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fished

The Janus Society was an early homophile organization founded in 1962 and based in Philadelphia. It is notable as the publisher of DRUM magazine, one of the earliest gay-interest publications in the United States and most widely circulated in the 1960s,[270] and for its role in organizing many of the nation's earliest gay rights demonstrations.[271] The organization focused on a policy of militant respectability, a strategy demanding respect by showing the public gay individuals conforming to hetero-normative standards of dress at protests.[270]

The Society of Janus is the second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society[272]), and is a San Francisco, California based BDSM education and support group. It was founded in August 1974 by the late Cynthia Slater and Larry Olsen. According to the Leather Hall of Fame biography of Slater, she said of the Society of Janus:[273]

There were three basic reasons why we chose Janus. First of all, Janus has two faces, which we interpreted as the duality of SM (one's dominant and submissive sides). Second, he's the Roman god of portals, and more importantly, of beginnings and endings. To us, it represents the beginning of one's acceptance of self, the beginning of freedom from guilt, and the eventual ending of self-loathing and fear over one's SM desires. And third, Janus is the Roman god of war—the war we fight against stereotypes commonly held against us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus

Thirteenth Rule. To be right in everything, we ought always to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchical Church so decides it, believing that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride, there is the same Spirit which governs and directs us for the salvation of our souls. Because by the same Spirit and our Lord Who gave the ten Commandments, our holy Mother the Church is directed and governed."

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing

How many genders are there?

The Bible asserts that there are only two genders. God’s creation of mankind, described in Genesis 1:27, makes this plain: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Male and female are the two genders.

Throughout human history, most societies have agreed with the Bible that there are only two genders. There are males and females, and there are men and women. In modern times, especially in the last century, perceptions and theories have changed. Today, there is a push for people to respect the existence of many different gender identities, including, but not limited to, male, female, transgender, gender neutral, genderqueer, non-binary, agender, pangender, and so on. With so many possible genders, the word gender has become practically meaningless, at least outside of Scripture.

People who believe that there are more than two genders create a distinction between sex and gender. Sex, they say, is a label we are assigned at birth. Some people are assigned male at birth, and other people are assigned female at birth, based on physical anatomy. The label is also referred to as birth sex or biological sex. Gender, the same people suggest, does not always align with a person’s assigned sex. People can identify their own gender, regardless of sex, and express it in individualistic ways. According to this view, humans decide their gender identity, but not the sex they were assigned at birth.

We need to be clear on what God says about sex, gender, and gender identity. Of course, we must do with this love, care, and compassion for those who are struggling to make sense of themselves. We are to “speak the truth in love,” as Paul says in Ephesians 4:15.

God defines gender within the context of creation, as He created mankind male and female (Genesis 1:27). There are undeniable biological differences between males and females. These differences extend to gender. There are differences between men and women, and God has assigned specific roles to each gender. Not only did God create males and females, men and women, but He beheld His creation and called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). If God’s creation is “good,” in that it reflects God’s glory, then the attempt to fundamentally change it is not good.

While there are differences between men and women, both are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). This means that men and women have equal dignity. In fact, God blessed Adam and Eve rather than Adam alone and told them to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28, ESV). Of course, the very command to multiply requires two complementary genders.

The equal dignity of men and women extends to their spiritual standing before God. Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28, ESV). The gospel is equally available for men and women. Everyone needs to be saved from sin. The two genders, mentioned in this verse, are saved the same way. Once saved, men and women are one in Christ.

There are several reasons why God created the two genders with differences. First, He created men and women with different sexual organs to procreate (Genesis 1:28). Procreation can only occur between men and women. Second, God created the two genders with differences that impart value and significance to companionship. Speaking to Adam, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone,” and then He created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. Third, heterosexual marriages represent God’s love for us. Paul says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

Although many will disagree with the biblical teaching that there are only two genders, we hold fast to the truth of God’s Word. We “must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). And we do so unashamedly, as Paul did whenever he preached the gospel: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16, ESV).

https://www.gotquestions.org/how-many-genders-are-there.html 

When Kate Bush sat in on Pink Floyd’s recording sessions: “I was absolutely staggered”

Lucy Harbron

@lucyharbron

Thu 14 December 2023 22:30, UK

While the world didn’t hear Kate Bush’s unique voice until she was 19, the singer had been working on it since childhood. By 15, she had amassed over 50 songs. With the help of her family, a self-made demo tape ended up in the hands of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, and the rest was history.

Ricky Hopper, a friend of the Bush family, passed her demo tape onto the Pink Floyd guitarist, who was immediately impressed. He was so impressed, in fact, that Gilmour himself paid for Bush to go and record a more professional track, leading to her being signed to EMI.

Gilmour, it would seem, took Bush on as something of protégé. He saw so considerable promise, even when record labels doubted her. “It took better than the average A&R man’s ear to spot the talent,” he said in one interview, recounting how the pair met. Gilmour was so passionate about Bush’s potential that he even fought EMI over her. He explained: “The label at first were convinced I’d sold them a dud and wasted two years over it. They were difficult with producers for her and refused to use the guy I told them to use until I lashed out at them.”

But besides helping Bush find a producer, as he set her up with Andrew Powell, who would produce two of her albums, Gilmour greatly inspired Bush’s own creative vision. Through their friendship, Bush was handed an insight into the music industry as she witnessed the guitar player at work during the heyday of Pink Floyd.

Just as Bush met Gilmour in 1975, Pink Floyd were working on their ninth studio album, Wish You Were Here. In creating the follow-up to the epic 1973 concept album, Dark Side Of The Moon, the band had a big task ahead of them, trying to better their previous record and were stationed at Abbey Road studios to write and record.

During one of their album sessions, 15-year-old Kate Bush was invited along. “I was absolutely staggered,” Bush later wrote in a book celebrating the famous studio. Best known as the eponymous studio behind The Beatles album, artists including Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, The Zombies, and more have all recorded at the studio. To this day, Abbey Road remains a landmark, with acts like Nick Cave, Blur, Amy Winehouse, and Spice Girls adding their names to history over the last few decades.

To a teenage Kate Bush, the studio seemed like a dream: “I really thought I would never be able to record in a place like Abbey Road.”

However, Bush did make it there. Her second album, Never For Ever, was recorded and produced at the studio. It was even where the singer took her first foray into self-producing, sitting behind the control desk in Studio Two. “Being on your own in studio 2 is a fascinating experience, she said in Brian Southall’s book Abbey Road. I felt tremendous vibes in there, both positive and negative.”

To Bush, there was something magical and mythical at play, adding, “You know it’s built on key lines [Invisible, mysterious force fields such as those found at Stonehenge], which means there are very powerful forces at work. I even thought of coming in in the evenings just to write, but it would have been an enormously expensive way of writing.”

Achieving a dream that was once set thanks to a kind invite from David Gilmour and Pink Floyd, the band helped a teenage Bush imagine bigger and better things for herself that she’d one day make happen.

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/when-kate-bush-sat-in-on-pink-floyd-recording-sessions/

A 10" pink vinyl record with four songs taken from the album ("The Big Sky", "Cloudbusting", "Watching You Without Me" and "Jig of Life") was released by Audio Fidelity (catalogue number AFZEP 001) on 16 April 2011 for Record Store Day 2011, limited to 1000 copies worldwide.[21]

During her 2014 Before the Dawn concerts, Bush performed almost the entire album live for the first time, with the exceptions of "The Big Sky" and "Mother Stands for Comfort". "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" had previously been performed live in 1987 with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball.

In November 2018, Bush released box sets of remasters of her studio albums, including Hounds of Love.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hounds_of_Love

Hounds of Love is the fifth studio album by the English musician Kate Bush, released on 16 September 1985 by EMI Records.[4] It was a commercial and artistic success and marked a return to the public eye for Bush after the relatively low sales of her previous album, 1982's The Dreaming. The album's lead single, "Running Up That Hill", became one of Bush's biggest hits, giving Bush her second UK number-one single in June 2022. The album's first side produced three further singles, "Cloudbusting", "Hounds of Love", and "The Big Sky". The second side, subtitled The Ninth Wave, forms a conceptual suite about a woman drifting alone in the sea at night.

Hounds of Love received critical acclaim in both contemporary and retrospective reviews. It is considered by many fans and music critics to be Bush's best album, and has been regularly voted one of the greatest albums of all time.[5] It was Bush's second album to top the UK Albums Chart, and in the US it reached the top 40 on the Billboard 200. Hounds of Love is Bush's best-selling studio album,[6] having been certified double platinum for 600,000 sales in the UK,[7] and by 1998 it had sold 1.1 million copies worldwide.[8] The album was nominated at the 1986 Brit Awards for Best British Album, at which Bush was also nominated for Best British Female and Best British Single for "Running Up That Hill". In 2022, the album re-entered various charts, including reaching number one on the Billboard Top Alternative Albums, due to the appearance of "Running Up That Hill" in the Netflix series Stranger Things.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hounds_of_Love

Lupercalia, also known as Lupercal, was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility.[1] Lupercalia was also known as dies Februatus, after the purification instruments called februa, the basis for the month named Februarius.

Name

The festival was originally known as Februa ("Purifications" or "Purgings") after the februum which was used on the day.[2] It was also known as Februatus and gave its name variously, as epithet to Juno Februalis, Februlis, or Februata in her role as patron deity of that month; to a supposed purification deity called Februus;[a] and to February (mensis Februarius), the month during which the festival occurred.[2] Ovid connects februare to an Etruscan word for "purging".[4]

The name Lupercalia was believed in antiquity to evince some connection with the Ancient Greek festival of the Arcadian Lykaia, a wolf festival (Ancient Greek: λύκος, lýkos; Latin: lupus), and the worship of Lycaean Pan, assumed to be a Greek equivalent to Faunus, as instituted by Evander.[5] Justin describes a cult image of "the Lycaean god, whom the Greeks call Pan and the Romans Lupercus", as nude, save for a goatskin girdle.[6]

The statue stood in the Lupercal, the cave where tradition held that Romulus and Remus were suckled by the she-wolf (Lupa). The cave lay at the foot of the Palatine Hill, on which Romulus was thought to have founded Rome.[7] The name of the festival most likely derives from lupus, "wolf", though both the etymology and its significance are obscure. The wolf appellation may have to do with the fact that an animal predator plays a key role in male rites of passage.[8] Despite Justin's assertion, no deity named "Lupercus" has been identified.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia

The Capitoline Wolf (Italian: Lupa Capitolina) is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. According to the legend, when King Numitor, grandfather of the twins, was overthrown by his brother Amulius in Alba Longa, the usurper ordered them to be cast into the Tiber River. They were rescued by a she-wolf that cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them.

The age and origin of the Capitoline Wolf are controversial. The statue was long thought to be an Etruscan work of the fifth century BC,[1] with the twins added in the late 15th century AD, probably by sculptor Antonio del Pollaiuolo.[2] However, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating in the 21st century has suggested that the wolf portion of the statue may have been cast between 1021 and 1153,[3] though the results are inconsistent, and there is yet no consensus for a revised dating. In a conference on this theme, most academics continued to support an ancient Etruscan origin.[citation needed] An analysis of the metal suggests that it contains lead from a source not known to have operated during medieval times.[4]

The image of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus has been a symbol of Rome since ancient times, and one of the most recognizable icons of ancient mythology.[5] The sculpture has been housed since 1471 in the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Campidoglio (the ancient Capitoline Hill), Rome, Italy, and many replicas are in various places around the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitoline_Wolf

Sirius is colloquially known as the "Dog Star", reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (the Greater Dog).[19] The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, the star marked winter and was an important reference for their navigation around the Pacific Ocean.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius

In ancient Roman religion, Ceres (/ˈsɪəriːz/ SEER-eez,[1][2] Latin: [ˈkɛreːs]) was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships.[3] She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres". Her seven-day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres' games). She was also honoured in the May lustration (lustratio) of the fields at the Ambarvalia festival: at harvesttime: and during Roman marriages and funeral rites. She is usually depicted as a mature woman.

Ceres is the only one of Rome's many agricultural deities to be listed among the Dii Consentes, Rome's equivalent to the Twelve Olympians of Greek mythology. The Romans saw her as the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter,[4] whose mythology was reinterpreted for Ceres in Roman art and literature.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(mythology)

Rhea or Rheia (/ˈriːə/;[1] Ancient Greek: Ῥέα [r̥é.aː] or Ῥεία [r̥ěː.aː]) is a mother goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Titan daughter of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus, himself a son of Gaia. She is the older sister of Cronus, who was also her consort, and the mother of the five eldest Olympian gods (Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, and Zeus) and Hades, king of the underworld.

When Cronus learnt that he was destined to be overthrown by one of his children like his father before him, he swallowed all the children Rhea bore as soon as they were born. When Rhea had her sixth and final child, Zeus, she spirited him away and hid him in Crete, giving Cronus a rock to swallow instead, thus saving her youngest son who would go on to challenge his father's rule and rescue the rest of his siblings. Following Zeus's defeat of Cronus and the rise of the Olympian gods into power, Rhea withdraws from her role as the queen of the gods to become a supporting figure on Mount Olympus. She has some roles in the new Olympian era. She attended the birth of her grandson Apollo and raised her other grandson Dionysus. After Persephone was abducted by Hades, Rhea was sent to Demeter by Zeus. In the myth of Pelops, she resurrects the unfortunate youth after he has been slain.

In early traditions, she is known as "the mother of gods" and therefore is strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, who have similar functions. The classical Greeks saw her as the mother of the Olympian gods and goddesses. The Romans identified her with Magna Mater (their form of Cybele), and the Goddess Ops.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhea_(mythology)

Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. She has been signed to WWE since July 2017, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley and is the current Women's World Champion in her second reign. Her first reign with the Women's World Championship at 380 days is tied with Bayley as the longest in the title's history.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhea_Ripley

Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi (Samoan pronunciation: [a.noˈaʔ.i] ah-no-AH ee; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers in the world,[8][9][10][11] Reigns's 1,316-day reign as Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion is the fourth-longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest championship reign since 1988.[a]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Reigns

Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus: a Roman work of the entire Society, 304 §2"

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii is a 1972 concert film directed by Adrian Maben and featuring the English rock group Pink Floyd performing at the ancient Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy. The band performs a typical live set from the era, but there is no audience beyond the basic film crew. The main footage in and around the amphitheatre was filmed over four days in October 1971, using the band's regular touring equipment, including a mobile 8-track recorder from Paris[2] (before being bumped up to 16-track in post-production).[3] Additional footage filmed in a Paris television studio the following December was added for the original 1972 release. The film was then re-released in 1974 with additional studio material of the band working on The Dark Side of the Moon, and interviews at Abbey Road Studios.

The film has subsequently been released on video numerous times, and in 2002, a Director's cut DVD appeared which combined the original footage from 1971 with more contemporary shots of space and the area around Pompeii, assembled by Maben. A number of bands have taken inspiration from the film in creating their own videos, or filming concerts without an audience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd:_Live_at_Pompeii

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD

Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in Southern Italy, the best-known is its eruption in 79 AD,[2][3] which was one of the deadliest in history.[4]

Mount Vesuvius violently spewed forth a cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), ejecting molten rock, pulverized pumice and hot ash at 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[5][6] The event gives its name to the Vesuvian type of volcanic eruption, characterised by columns of hot gases and ash reaching the stratosphere, although the event also included pyroclastic flows associated with Pelean eruptions.

The event destroyed several Roman towns and settlements in the area. Pompeii and Herculaneum, obliterated and buried underneath massive pyroclastic surges and ashfall deposits, are the most famous examples.[4][5] Archaeological excavations have revealed much of the towns and the lives of the inhabitants leading to the area becoming the Vesuvius National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The total population of both cities was over 20,000.[7][8] The remains of over 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The total death toll from the eruption remains unknown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruption_of_Mount_Vesuvius_in_79_AD 

Pink Floyd - One of these days (HQ - The Director's Cut)

Bruno Calderon

Video extracted from the DVD Pink Floyd Live @ Pompeii (The Director's Cut)

Thank you Nick Mason!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1kZ6M2aMvw

Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets and the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.

A ballistic body is a free-moving body with momentum, which can be subject to forces such as those exerted by pressurized gases from a gun barrel or a propelling nozzle, normal force by rifling, and gravity and air drag during flight.

A ballistic missile is a missile that is guided only during the relatively brief initial phase of powered flight, with the trajectory subsequently governed by the laws of classical mechanics, in contrast to (for example) a cruise missile, which is aerodynamically guided in powered flight like a fixed-wing aircraft.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistics 

MGM agrees to pay victims of Las Vegas shooting up to $800 million

Nation Oct 3, 2019 11:50 AM EST

FILE PHOTO: People stand behind police barrier tape outside the Luxor hotel Obelisk and the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, following a mass shooting at the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 2, 2017. Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Attorneys for thousands of victims of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history said Thursday that they reached a settlement expected to pay between $735 million and $800 million to those who sued over the Las Vegas massacre.

The amount of the settlement with MGM Resorts International depends on the number of plaintiffs who take part, according to a statement from Las Vegas law firm Eglet Adams, which represents nearly 2,500 victims and made the announcement just days after the second anniversary of the massacre.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against the owner of the Mandalay Bay resort where the gunman opened fire into an outdoor concert on Oct. 1, 2017. The casino giant also owns the venue where 58 people died and hundreds were injured.

“Our goal has always been to resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process,” said Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts. “This agreement with the plaintiffs’ counsel is a major step, and one that we hoped for a long time would be possible.”

An independent administrator will be appointed by a court to dole out money from the settlement fund, attorneys and MGM said. They expect to wrap up the process by late next year.

MGM’s insurers will fund a minimum of $735 million. Depending on the number of victims who participate, the company will contribute more, up to $800 million, according to the victims’ attorneys.

“Today’s agreement marks a milestone in the recovery process for the victims of the horrifying events of 1 October,” Robert Eglet, a lead plaintiffs’ counsel, said in the statement. “While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horrors so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families.”

He said the deal “represents good corporate citizenship” by MGM Resorts.

The statement comes as another attorney for victims planned a news conference on “extremely important developments” Thursday in San Diego.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/mgm-agrees-to-pay-victims-of-las-vegas-shooting-up-to-800-million

In Canaanite mythology there were twin mountains, Targhizizi and Tharumagi, which hold the firmament up above the earth-circling ocean, thereby bounding the earth. W. F. Albright, for example, says that El Shaddai is a derivation of a Semitic stem that appears in the Akkadian shadû ('mountain') and shaddā'û or shaddû'a ('mountain-dweller'), one of the names of Amurru. Philo of Byblos states that Atlas was one of the elohim, which would clearly fit into the story of El Shaddai as "God of the Mountain(s)". Harriet Lutzky has presented evidence that Shaddai was an attribute of a Semitic goddess, linking the epithet with Hebrew šad, 'breast', as "the one of the breast". The idea of two mountains being associated here as the breasts of the Earth, fits into the Canaanite mythology quite well. The ideas of pairs of mountains seem to be quite common in Canaanite mythology. The late period of this cosmology makes it difficult to tell what influences (Roman, Greek, or Hebrew) may have informed Philo's writings.

Mythology

In the Baal Cycle, Ba'al Hadad is challenged by and defeats Yam using two magical weapons (called "Driver" and "Chaser") made for him by Kothar-wa-Khasis. Afterward, with the help of Athirat and Anat, Ba'al persuades El to allow him a palace. El approves, and the palace is built by Kothar-wa-Khasis. After the palace is constructed, Ba'al gives forth a thunderous roar out of the palace window and challenges Mot. Mot enters through the window and swallows Ba'al, sending him to the underworld. With no one to give rain, there is a terrible drought in Ba'al's absence. The other deities, especially El and Anat, are distraught that Ba'al had been taken to the underworld. Anat goes to the underworld, attacks Mot with a knife, grinds him up into pieces, and scatters him far and wide. With Mot defeated, Ba'al is able to return and refresh the Earth with rain.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion

Beelzebub or Baʿal Zebub (/biːˈɛlzəbʌb, ˈbiːl-/[1] bee-EL-zə-bub, BEEL-; Hebrew: בַּעַל־זְבוּב‎ Baʿal-zəḇūḇ), also spelled Beelzebul or Belzebuth, and occasionally known as the Lord of the Flies, is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron. In some Abrahamic religions he is described as a major demon. The name Beelzebub is associated with the Canaanite god Baal.

In theological sources, predominantly Christian, Beelzebub is another name for Satan. He is known in demonology as one of the seven deadly demons or seven princes of Hell, Beelzebub representing gluttony and envy. The Dictionnaire Infernal describes Beelzebub as a being capable of flying, known as the "Lord of the Flyers", or the "Lord of the Flies".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beelzebub

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Matthew 4:8-11

Rabbinic tradition equates Baʿal Berith with Beelzebub, "the lord of flies," the god of Philistine Ekron (2 Kings 1:2).[12] He was worshipped in the shape of a fly; and Jewish tradition states that so addicted were the Jews to his cult that they would carry an image of him in their pockets, producing it, and kissing it from time to time. Baʿal Zebub was called Baʿal Berith because such Jews might be said to make a covenant of devotion with the idol, being unwilling to part with it for a single moment.[13] According to another conception, Baʿal Berith was an obscene article of idolatrous worship, possibly a simulacrum priapi.[14] This is evidently based on the later use of the word "berit" to refer to circumcision.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal_Berith

Smith's Bible Dictionary - Baal

Baal, [N] [B] [E] [H]

the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as Ashtoreth was their supreme female divinity. Some suppose Baal to correspond to the sun and Ashtoreth to the moon; others that Baal was Jupiter and Ashtoreth Venus. There can be no doubt of the very high antiquity of the worship of Baal. It prevailed in the time of Moses among the Moabites and Midianites, ( Numbers 22:41 ) and through them spread to the Israelites. ( Numbers 25:3-18 ; 4:3 ) In the times of the kings it became the religion of the court and people of the ten tribes, ( 1 Kings 16:31-33 ; 1 Kings 18:19 1 Kings 18:22 ) and appears never to have been permanently abolished among them. ( 2 Kings 17:16 ) Temples were erected to Baal in Judah, ( 1 Kings 16:32 ) and he was worshipped with much ceremony. ( 1 Kings 18:19 1 Kings 18:26-28 ; 2 Kings 10:22 ) The attractiveness of this worship to the Jews undoubtedly grew out of its licentious character. We find this worship also in Phoenician colonies. The religion of the ancient British islands much resembled this ancient worship of Baal, and may have been derived from it. Nor need we hesitate to regard the Babylonian Bel, ( Isaiah 46:1 ) or Beaus, as essentially identical with Baal, though perhaps under some modified form. The plural, BAALIM, is found frequently, showing that he was probably worshipped under different compounds, among which appear--

BAAL-BERITH (the covenant Baal ), ( Judges 8:33 ; 9:4 ) the god who comes into covenant with the worshippers.

BAAL-ZEBUB (lord of the fly ), and worshipped at Ekron. ( 2 Kings 1:2 2 Kings 1:3 2 Kings 1:16 )

BAAL-HANAN. a. The name of one of the early kings of Edom. ( Genesis 36:38 Genesis 36:39 ; 1 Chronicles 1:49 1 Chronicles 1:50 ) b. The name of one of Davids officers, who had the superintendence of his olive and sycamore plantations. ( 1 Chronicles 27:28 )

BAAL-PEOR (lord of the opening , i.e. for others to join in the worship). We have already referred to the worship of this god. The narrative (Numb 25) seems clearly to show that this form of Baal-worship was connected with licentious rites.

[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible

[B] indicates this entry was also found in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary

[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary

[H] indicates this entry was also found in Hitchcock's Bible Names

Bibliography Information

Smith, William, Dr. "Entry for 'Baal,'". "Smith's Bible Dictionary". . 1901.

Smith's Bible Dictionary - Baal

Baal, [N] [B] [E] [H]

geographical. This word occurs as the prefix or suffix to the names of several places in Palestine, some of which are as follows:

BAAL a town of Simeon, named only in ( 1 Chronicles 4:33 ) which from the parallel list in ( Joshua 19:8 ) seems to have been identical with BAALATH-BEER.

BAALAH (mistress ). a. Another name for KIRJATH-JEARIM, or KIRJATH BAAL, the well-known town now Kuriet el Enab . ( Joshua 15:9 Joshua 15:10 ; 1 Chronicles 13:6 ) b. A town in the south of Judah, ( Joshua 15:29 ) which in Josh 19:3 is called BALAH, and in the parallel list, ( 1 Chronicles 4:29 ) BILHAH.

BAALATH (mistress ), a town of Dan named with Gibbethon, Gath-rim-mon and other Philistine places. ( Joshua 19:44 )

BAALATH-BEER (lord of the well ). BAAL 1, a town among those in the south part of Judah, given to Simeon, which also bore the name of RAMATH-NEGEB, or "the height of the south." ( Joshua 19:8 )

BAAL-GAD (lord of fortune ), used to denote the most northern, ( Joshua 11:17 ; 12:7 ) or perhaps northwestern, ( Joshua 13:5 ) point to which Joshuas victories extended. It was in all probability a Phoenician or Canaanite sanctuary of Baal under the aspect of Gad or Fortune.

BAAL-HAMON (lord of a multitude ), a place at which Solomon had a vineyard, evidently of great extent. ( Solomon 8:11 )

BAAL-HAZOR (village of Baal ), a place where Absalom appears to have had a sheep-farm, and where Amnon was murdered. ( 2 Samuel 13:23 )

MOUNT MOUNT BAAL-HERMON (Lord of Hermon ), ( Judges 3:3 ) and simply Baal-hermon. ( 1 Chronicles 5:23 ) This is usually considered as a distinct place from Mount Hermon; but we know that this mountain had at least three names ( 3:9 ) and Baal-hermon may have been a fourth in use among the Phoenician worshippers.

BAAL-MEON (lord of the house ), one of the towns which were built by the Reubenites. ( Numbers 32:38 ) It also occurs in ( 1 Chronicles 5:8 ) and on each occasion with Nebo. In the time of Ezekiel it was Moabite, one of the cities which were the "glory of the country." ( Ezekiel 25:9 )

BAAL-PERAZIM (lord of divisions ), the scene of a victory of David over the Philistines, and of a great destruction of their images. ( 2 Samuel 5:20 ; 1 Chronicles 14:11 ) See ( Isaiah 28:21 ) where it is called MOUNT MOUNT PERAZIM.

BAAL-SHALISHA (lord of Shalisha ), a place named only in ( 2 Kings 4:42 ) apparently not far from Gilgal; comp. ( 2 Kings 4:38 )

BAAL-TAMAR (lord of the palm tree ), a place named only in ( Judges 20:33 ) as near Gibeah of Benjamin. The palm tree (tamar ) of Deborah, ( Judges 4:5 ) was situated somewhere in the locality, and is possibly alluded to.

BAAL-ZEPHON (lord of the north ), a place in Egypt near where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. ( Numbers 33:7 ; Ezekiel 14:2 Ezekiel 14:9 ) We place Baal-zephon on the western shore of the Gulf of Suez, a little below its head, which at that time was about 30 or 40 miles northward of the Present head.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/baal/

The Division Bell is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 March 1994 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and on 5 April by Columbia Records in the United States.[4]

The second Pink Floyd album recorded without the founding member Roger Waters, The Division Bell was written mostly by the guitarist and singer, David Gilmour, and the keyboardist, Richard Wright. It features Wright's first lead vocal on a Pink Floyd album since The Dark Side of the Moon (1973). Gilmour's fiancée, the novelist Polly Samson, co-wrote many of the lyrics, which deal with themes of communication. It was the last Pink Floyd studio album to be composed of entirely new material, and the last recorded with Wright, who died in 2008.

Recording took place in locations including the band's Britannia Row Studios and Gilmour's houseboat, Astoria. The production team included longtime Pink Floyd collaborators such as the producer Bob Ezrin, the engineer Andy Jackson, the saxophonist Dick Parry and the bassist Guy Pratt.

The Division Bell received mixed reviews, but reached number one in more than 10 countries, including the UK and the US. In the US, it was certified double platinum in 1994 and triple platinum in 1999. Pink Floyd promoted it with a tour of the US and Europe; the tour sold more than 5 million tickets and made around $100 million in gross income. A live album and video, Pulse, was released in 1995. Unused material from the Division Bell sessions became part of Pink Floyd's next album, The Endless River (2014).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Division_Bell

Throughout Zoroastrian history, shrines and temples have been the focus of worship and pilgrimage for adherents of the religion. Early Zoroastrians were recorded as worshiping in the 5th century BCE on mounds and hills where fires were lit below the open skies.[58] In the wake of Achaemenid expansion, shrines were constructed throughout the empire and particularly influenced the role of Mithra, Aredvi Sura Anahita, Verethragna and Tishtrya, alongside other traditional Yazata who all have hymns within the Avesta and also local deities and culture-heroes. Today, enclosed and covered fire temples tend to be the focus of community worship where fires of varying grades are maintained by the clergy assigned to the temples.[59]

The incorporation of cultural and local rituals is quite common and traditions have been passed down in historically Zoroastrian communities such as herbal healing practices, wedding ceremonies, and the like.[60][61][31] Traditionally, Zoroastrian rituals have also included shamanic elements involving mystical methods such as spirit travel to the invisible realm and involving the consumption of fortified wine, Haoma, mang, and other ritual aids.[62][33][63][64][65]

In Zoroastrianism, water (aban) and fire (atar) are agents of ritual purity, and the associated purification ceremonies are considered the basis of ritual life. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, water and fire are respectively the second and last primordial elements to have been created, and scripture considers fire to have its origin in the waters (re. which conception see Apam Napat). Both water and fire are considered life-sustaining, and both water and fire are represented within the precinct of a fire temple. Zoroastrians usually pray in the presence of some form of fire (which can be considered evident in any source of light), and the culminating rite of the principal act of worship constitutes a "strengthening of the waters". Fire is considered a medium through which spiritual insight and wisdom are gained, and water is considered the source of that wisdom. Both fire and water are also hypostasized as the Yazatas Atar and Anahita, with worship hymns and litanies dedicated to them.[citation needed]

A corpse is considered a host for decay, i.e., of druj. Consequently, scripture enjoins the safe disposal of the dead in a manner such that a corpse does not pollute the good creation. These injunctions are the doctrinal basis of the fast-fading traditional practice of ritual exposure, most commonly identified with the so-called Towers of Silence for which there is no standard technical term in either scripture or tradition. Ritual exposure is currently mainly practiced by Zoroastrian communities of the Indian subcontinent, in locations where it is not illegal and diclofenac poisoning has not led to the virtual extinction of scavenger birds. Other Zoroastrian communities either cremate their dead, or bury them in graves that are cased with lime mortar.[citation needed]

The central ritual of Zoroastrianism is the Yasna, which is a recitation of the eponymous book of the Avesta and sacrificial ritual ceremony involving Haoma.[67] Extensions to the Yasna ritual are possible through use of the Visperad and Vendidad, but such an extended ritual is rare in modern Zoroastrianism.[68][69] The Yasna itself descended from Indo-Iranian sacrificial ceremonies and animal sacrifice of varying degrees are mentioned in the Avesta and are still practiced in Zoroastrianism albeit through reduced forms such as the sacrifice of fat before meals.[70] High rituals such as the Yasna are considered to be the purview of the Mobads with a corpus of individual and communal rituals and prayers included in the Khordeh Avesta.[67][71]

A Zoroastrian is welcomed into the faith through the Navjote/Sedreh Pushi ceremony, which is traditionally conducted during the later childhood or pre-teen years of the aspirant, though there is no defined age limit for the ritual.[31][72] After the ceremony, Zoroastrians are encouraged to wear their sedreh (ritual shirt) and kusti (ritual girdle) daily as a spiritual reminder and for mystical protection, though reformist Zoroastrians tend to only wear them during festivals, ceremonies, and prayers.[73][31][72]

Historically, Zoroastrians are encouraged to pray the five daily Gāhs and to maintain and celebrate the various holy festivals of the Zoroastrian calendar, which can differ from community to community.[74][75] Zoroastrian prayers, called manthras, are conducted usually with hands outstretched in imitation of Zoroaster's prayer style described in the Gathas and are of a reflectionary and supplicant nature believed to be endowed with the ability to banish evil.[76][77][52] Devout Zoroastrians are known to cover their heads during prayer, either with traditional topi, scarves, other headwear, or even just their hands. However, full coverage and veiling which is traditional in Islamic practice is not a part of Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian women in Iran wear their head coverings displaying hair and their faces to defy mandates by the Islamic Republic of Iran.[78]

Late antiquity

As late as the Parthian period, a form of Zoroastrianism was without a doubt the dominant religion in the Armenian lands.[115] The Sassanids aggressively promoted the Zurvanite form of Zoroastrianism, often building fire temples in captured territories to promote the religion. During the period of their centuries-long suzerainty over the Caucasus, the Sassanids made attempts to promote Zoroastrianism there with considerable successes, and it was prominent in the pre-Christian Caucasus (especially modern-day Azerbaijan).[citation needed]

Due to its ties to the Christian Roman Empire, Persia's arch-rival since Parthian times, the Sassanids were suspicious of Roman Christianity, and after the reign of Constantine the Great, sometimes persecuted it.[116] In 451 CE, The Sassanid authority clashed with their Armenian subjects in the Battle of Avarayr, making them officially break with the Roman Church. But the Sassanids tolerated or even sometimes favored the Christianity of the Church of the East. The acceptance of Christianity in Georgia (Caucasian Iberia) saw the Zoroastrian religion there slowly but surely decline,[117] but as late the 5th century CE, it was still widely practised as something like a second established religion.[118][119]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

Thirteenth Rule. To be right in everything, we ought always to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchical Church so decides it, believing that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride, there is the same Spirit which governs and directs us for the salvation of our souls. Because by the same Spirit and our Lord Who gave the ten Commandments, our holy Mother the Church is directed and governed."

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing 

14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf 

India and Persia were to be overcome by force of arms, he announced. To that end, many more were to be enrolled into the ranks of the Illuminated. Enthusiastic scenes throughout Afghanistan resulted from the proclamation, which was carried far and wide, to the accompaniment of kettle-drums, wild sword-dances. [And] when he was ready Bayezid attended by his halka, or circle of dervishes, led the campaign into the lush land of India. Intercepted by the Moshin Khan whom he had earlier escaped, he was wounded, put to flight, and [he] eventually died as a result of this encounter. "His son, Omar Ansari, proclaimed himself leader, and immediately ordered an attack upon the Pathan tribe of the Yusufzai who had allied themselves with the Moghul. He was killed by the hillmen, and his own son, 'The Servant of the One', took over the leadership. [And] by the middle of the seventeenth century this youth had been killed defending his castle against a Moghul expeditionary force. His infant son escaped with some of his followers, into Afghanistan proper, where the cult was restarted. The descendants of this Abdul-Qadir (Servant of the Powerful) continued to rule the fanatics, and to send their teachers far and wide. The creed eventually split into two divisions: the military and the religious, and nowadays it is only the followers of the latter [WAY] who survived, still a secret cult, which might, given the right conditions, have touched off a movement as important as that of the Assassins. "[Now,] forty years after the last religio-military leader of the Afghan Illuminated Ones died, a society of the same name (the Illuminati) came into being in Germany, formed, it is said, by Adam Weishaupt, the [young Jesuit priest, a] professor of Canon Law at [the Jesuit] Ingolstadt University. Coincidences of date and beliefs connect these Bavarian Illuminati with the Afghan ones, and also with the other cults which called themselves 'Illuminated'. [William Cooper: In actual fact, they are all the same.] [In] the beginning of the seventeenth century saw the foundation of the Illuminated Ones of Spain -- the Alumbrados, condemned in an edict of the Grand Inquisition of 1623." 

[William Cooper]: Out of which the condemned Ignatius Loyola emerged as a man, as a man immune to prosecution, arrest, or accusation from any king, prince, or prelate, as the head of one of the most powerful secret societies ever organized, the Society of Jesus, now known as the Jesuits. Ignatius Loyola had been the leader of the Alumbrados in Spain. And it was his sect, the illuminated ones, or the Alumbrados, which became the Society of Jesus.

Hour 15: The Roshaniya (aired March 9th, 1993)

https://viefag.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/transcripts-of-william-cooper-s-mystery-babylon-series.pdf

Thus, contrary to accepted opinion the Illuminati did not begin with Adam Weishaupt, but had always been a major influence in Jesuitism, from the time the Society of Jesus was founded by Loyola. In fact, Leopold Engel says that Weishaupt was the head of the revived Order of the Illuminati. Indeed, Weishaupt himself originally claimed that the Illuminati originated from the Zoroastrian religion of the last King of Persia, Yadzegerd III (632-651 B.C.).

Catholic priest Fr. John Hogan is even more conclusive. He writes: "The Jesuits are well-known... [as] ... reforms of older orders..." And the Jesuit priest Malachi Martin said the same thing. We quote again the observation of Schuster: "It is a strange phenomenon in the history of the Roman church, [that] every time there is a crisis of extraordinary value, new Masonic Orders are called forth and that is how the Jesuit came into being.

If we look at the Illuminati we will see a direct semblance between Jesuitism and Illuminism. No marvel, for as we saw, Weishaupt based his Order on the Constitutions of the Jesuits! Thus it is impossible to resist the conviction that Weishaupt simply disavowed and distanced himself from the Jesuits after 1773 to keep his professorship, while remaining a Jesuit, and so he was able to more effectively work for the revival of his Order." [Emphasis supplied]"

page 265 

"Ruling Through the Bavarian Illuminati" 

Codeword Barbelon book One 

by P.D. Stuart 

What does it mean to be double-minded?

The term double-minded comes from the Greek word dipsuchos, meaning “a person with two minds or souls.” It’s interesting that this word appears only in the book of James (James 1:8; 4:8). Bible scholars conclude that James might have coined this word. To grasp the full meaning of this word, it is best to understand how it is used within its context.

James writes of the doubting person that he is “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6–8). A doubter is a double-minded person. Jesus had in mind such a person when He spoke of the one who tries to serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). As such, he is “unstable,” which comes from a Greek word meaning “unsteady, wavering, in both his character and feelings.”

A double-minded person is restless and confused in his thoughts, his actions, and his behavior. Such a person is always in conflict with himself. One torn by such inner conflict can never lean with confidence on God and His gracious promises. Correspondingly, the term unstable is analogous to a drunken man unable to walk a straight line, swaying one way, then another. He has no defined direction and as a result doesn’t get anywhere. Such a person is “unstable in all he does.”

Those who are double-minded do not have the faith spoken of in Hebrews 11:1, 3: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. . . . By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” We cannot be both “certain” and doubting, as is the double-minded person. One part of his mind is sure of something, while the other part doubts. It brings to mind the “pushmi-pullyu” of the Dr. Doolittle stories, an animal with a head at either end of its body and which was constantly trying to walk in two directions at once. Such is the double-minded man.

Jesus declared, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). God and the things of this world are of such opposite natures that it is impossible to love either one completely without hating the other. Those who try to love both will become unstable in all their ways. If someone struggles with being double-minded, he or she should read, study, and memorize the Word, for it is the Word of God that produces faith (Romans 10:17). And he or she should pray for faith. God freely gives what is good to those who ask Him (Luke 11:9–12), and it’s good to ask for an increase of faith (Luke 17:5; Mark 9:24).

https://www.gotquestions.org/double-minded.html

Ancient Things

December 1 at 11:51 AM  · 

Arched limestone stela from the Serapeum of Saqqara, c. 525-404 B.C.

The Serapeum of Saqqara was an ancient Egyptian burial site for Sacred Bulls from the Apis temple at Memphis. The bulls were thought to represent manifestations of the god Ptah, who would become immortal after death as Osiris-Apis, a name that evolved into Serapis (Σέραπις) in the Hellenistic period and Userhapi (ⲟⲩⲥⲉⲣϩⲁⲡⲓ) in Coptic.

The Serapeum is a part of the Saqqara necropolis, which also includes other animal catacombs, most notably the Apis mother cows' burial chambers.

At least sixty Apis Bull's are known to have been interred at the Serapeum between the New Kingdom and the end of the Ptolemaic Period, a time frame spanning around 1400 years.

This stela is now on display at the Musée du Louvre.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0cGydr5pi4QZ47B5AdBDjr2eFN8YJPN9GgbrMi8YXSKKwUY6W7zBqUG2SJC1Li2jil&id=100067037776008

In Hebrew, the word saraph means "burning", and is used seven times throughout the text of the Hebrew Bible as a noun, usually to denote "serpent",[4] twice in the Book of Numbers, once in the Book of Deuteronomy, and four times in the Book of Isaiah.[5][6][7] The reason why the word for "burning" was also used to denote a serpent is not universally agreed upon; it may be due to a certain snake species' fiery colors, or perhaps the burning sensation left by its venomous bite. Regardless, its plural form, seraphim, occurs in both Numbers and Isaiah, but only in Isaiah is it used to denote an angelic being; likewise, these angels are referred to only as the plural seraphim – Isaiah later uses the singular saraph to describe a "fiery flying serpent", in line with the other uses of the term throughout the Tanakh.

There is emerging consensus that the motifs used to display seraphs in Hyksos-era Canaan had their original sources in Egyptian uraeus iconography.[8] In Egyptian iconography, the uraeus was used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, divinity and divine authority, and later iconography often showed uraei with wings. In the early monarchic period of Israel and Judah, Egyptian motifs were evidently borrowed by the Israelites en masse, as a plethora of personal seals belonging to classes ranging from commonfolk to royalty have been discovered, which incorporate several pieces of ancient Egyptian iconography, including the winged sun, ankh, the hedjet and deshret crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, scarabs, and the uraeus cobra. These uraei often had four wings, as opposed to the Egyptian standard which only gave them two.[9] These images have been connected with the seraphim angels associated with Isaiah's visions, or perhaps more directly to the aforementioned "fiery flying serpent", but this continues to be debated – and an image of serpentine seraphim clashes with Isaiah's own vision, which clearly envisioned seraphim with heads, legs, and arms – although, on the second matter, some scholars have proposed that the covered "feet" of the seraphim should be identified as genitals, as "feet" are often used in the Hebrew Bible as a euphemism for the penis.[10][11]

The vision in Isaiah Chapter 6 of seraphim in an idealized version of Solomon's Temple represents the sole instance in the Hebrew Bible of this word being used to describe celestial beings.[12] "... I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly." (Isaiah 6:1–3)[13] And one cried to another, "Holy, holy, holy, is YHWH of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory." (verses 2–3)[14] One seraph carries out an act of ritual purification for the prophet by touching his lips with a live coal from the altar (verses 6–7)[15] "And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

The text describes the "seraphim" as winged celestial beings with a fiery passion for doing God's good work.[16] Notwithstanding the wording of the text itself, at least one Hebrew scholar claims that in the Hebrew Bible the seraphim do not have the status of angels, and that it is only in later sources (like De Coelesti Hierarchia or Summa Theologiae) that they are considered to be a division of the divine messengers.[17]

Seraphim appear in the 2nd-century BC Book of Enoch,[18] where they are mentioned, in conjunction with cherubim, as the heavenly creatures standing nearest to the throne of God. In non-biblical sources they are sometimes called the Akyəst (Ge'ez: አክይስት "serpents", "dragons"; an alternate term for Hell).[19][20][21]

In the Second Book of Enoch, two classes of celestial beings are mentioned alongside the seraphim and cherubim, known as the phoenixes and the chalkydri (Ancient Greek: χαλκύδραι khalkýdrai, compound of χαλκός khalkós "brass, copper" + ὕδρα hýdra "hydra", "water-serpent"—lit. "brazen hydras", "copper serpents"). Both are described as "flying elements of the sun" that reside in either the 4th or 7th heaven, who have twelve wings and burst into song at sunrise.[22][23]

In the Book of Revelation (4:4–8), the beasts are described as being forever in God's presence and praising him: "[A]nd they rest not day and night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.'" This account differs slightly from the account of Isaiah, stating in the eighth verse, "And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within". They appear also in the Gnostic text, On the Origin of the World.[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraph

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

◄ 2 Corinthians 11:14 ►

1 In the year of the death of king Uzziah, [a]I saw also the Lord sitting upon an [b]high throne, and lifted up, and the lower [c]parts thereof filled the Temple.

2 The [d]Seraphims stood upon it, every one had six wings: with twain he covered his [e]face, and with twain he covered his [f]feet, and with twain he did [g]fly.

3 And one cried to another, and said, [h]Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole [i]world is full of his glory.

Isaiah 6:1-3

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%206&version=GNV

Sara Calaway born (Sara Chirie Frank on November 2, 1970) is an American professional wrestling valet and a one-time wrestler. She is best known as the former wife of The Undertaker. She was valet for The Undertaker in 2001 and 2002 in the WWE.

World Wrestling Federation

Sara made her first appearance in the WWF in series of footage shot by a stalker, the first being played May 28, 2001 on Raw. After weeks of stalker footage on June 18, 2001 RAW, Diamond Dallas Page revealed himself as the man who has been stalking The Undertaker's wife. This to a feud between Undertaker and DDP. The feud ended on August 20, 2001 RAW Sara defeated Diamond Dallas Page with help from Undertaker. After September 2001 Sara Calloway quietly disappeared from WWF Television. She would make a few more appearances in 2002.

Personal life

Sara was married to Mark Calaway from 21 July 2000 - 25 April 2007. They have two children together Chasey Calaway (born on November 21, 2002) and Gracie Calaway, (born on May 15, 2005). They divorced in mid 2007.

https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Sara_Calaway

Michelle Leigh Calaway[5] (née McCool; born January 25, 1980) is an American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she is a former two-time, as well as first ever WWE Divas Champion and a two-time WWE Women's Champion.

McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the WWE Diva Search. From 2005 to 2007, she utilized the character of a personal trainer, before changing it to that of a teacher. At The Great American Bash in 2008, McCool became the inaugural WWE Divas Champion, holding the title for approximately five months. She then won the WWE Women's Championship at The Bash in 2009, becoming the first female wrestler to have held both titles. At Night of Champions in 2010, she unified both titles becoming the first and only WWE Unified Divas Champion. McCool held both titles on two occasions, which makes her a four-time champion overall. In November 2010, she was ranked number one in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Female 50, and she retired the following year. Since 2018, McCool has made occasional appearances in WWE, including participating in matches.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_McCool

Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell.[1] He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a five-time World Tag Team Champion.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Missy Hyatt helped Bagwell break into the wrestling business.[6] Growing up, Bagwell was a standout baseball player during his tenure in Sprayberry High School, and worked for his family's lumber company. Upon graduating from high school, he started an amateur boxing career.[2][3][7] When the lumber company went bankrupt, Bagwell became a certified massage therapist before deciding to become a wrestler.[2]

Early career (1990–1991)

He trained under Steve Lawler and debuted in 1990, working for North Georgia Wrestling as Fabulous Fabian. In 1991, he began wrestling with the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) as The Handsome Stranger, a gimmick suggested by Demolition Axe that saw Bagwell don a Lone Ranger-style mask, and hand out roses to the female fans.[8]

World Championship Wrestling (1991–2001)

Early years (1991–1992)

In 1991, Bagwell was hired by World Championship Wrestling, where he wrestled under his full name. Bagwell made his WCW debut on November 5 in a non-televised match, losing to Mike Graham.[2][8][9] He would then wrestle a tryout match on November 11 and made his televised debut as a fan favorite at Clash of the Champions XVII, where he was interviewed by Missy Hyatt. He made his televised in-ring debut by defeating Rip Rogers on the December 14 episode of World Championship Wrestling. Bagwell made his pay-per-view debut at Starrcade, where he was paired with Jimmy Garvin against Michael Hayes and Tracy Smothers in a Lethal Lottery match, which he and Garvin won after Bagwell hit Smothers with the fisherman suplex to qualify for the Battlebowl battle royal later in the night, which Sting won. Bagwell received his first title shot on the January 11, 1992 episode of World Championship Wrestling against Steve Austin for the World Television Championship, but failed to win the title as the match ended in a ten-minute time limit draw. Bagwell would then begin feuding with the Terry Taylor, which led to a match between the two at SuperBrawl II, which Bagwell won.

Bagwell formed a tag team with Tom Zenk on the February 15 episode of World Championship Wrestling, to feud with Taylor and his partner Greg Valentine over the United States Tag Team Championship and received several title shots, but failed to win the titles. Bagwell would then lose a match to Scotty Flamingo at WrestleWar. The duo would participate in a tournament for the newly created NWA World Tag Team Championship, where they would lose to Rick Rude and Steve Austin in the first round at Clash of the Champions XIX. Bagwell would then face Greg Valentine in a losing effort at Beach Blast. Bagwell and Zenk would fail in several title shots and after limited success as a team, they split up quietly and focused on their singles careers. He would then form a short-lived tag team with Brad Armstrong for the remainder of the year until the two split up in early 1993.

World Tag Team Champion (1993–1996)

Main articles: Stars and Stripes and American Males

Bagwell participated in a tournament for the vacant World Television Championship on the February 20, 1993 episode of Worldwide, where he lost to Maxx Payne in the first round. On the February 20 episode of Saturday Night, Bagwell teamed with 2 Cold Scorpio and Steve Regal to defeat Scotty Flamingo, Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce in a six-man tag team match. This would lead to the formation of a tag team of Bagwell and Scorpio. During this time, Bagwell began a feud with the Hollywood Blonds (Brian Pillman and Steve Austin), which led to Bagwell teaming with Erik Watts to take on The Hollywood Blonds in a tag team match at SuperBrawl III, which Bagwell's team lost.[10] Bagwell resumed teaming with Scorpio and the team gained success unlike Bagwell's previous teams as they defeated various teams including Bobby Eaton and Chris Benoit at Slamboree, Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce at Beach Blast and The Equalizer and Paul Orndorff at Fall Brawl. As a result of their success in the tag team division, they quickly became contenders for the World Tag Team Championship. On the October 23 episode of Saturday Night, Bagwell and Scorpio defeated the Nasty Boys to win the World Tag Team Championship, thus marking Bagwell's first title win in WCW. They lost the titles back to The Nasty Boys at Halloween Havoc.

Bagwell would be paired with Tex Slazenger against Rick Rude and Shanghai Pierce in a Battlebowl qualifying match at the Battlebowl pay-per-view on November 20, which Bagwell's team lost. Bagwell and Scorpio would then begin feuding with the newly formed team Pretty Wonderful, which led to a match at Starrcade, which Pretty Wonderful won. Bagwell and Scorpio defeated Pretty Wonderful in a rematch at Clash of the Champions XXVI to earn a title shot for the World Tag Team Championship against The Nasty Boys on the January 29, 1994 episode of Saturday Night, but failed in regaining the titles. Bagwell received his first world championship title shot on the final episode of Power Hour on March 5 against Rick Rude for the International World Heavyweight Championship, which he lost. Shortly after, Scorpio was released by WCW, thus dissolving Bagwell and Scorpio's tag team.

On the May 28 episode of Worldwide, Bagwell formed a new tag team with The Patriot called Stars and Stripes as they defeated Dick Slater and Chris Sullivan in their first match as a team. They were quickly put in contention for the World Tag Team Championship and entered a feud with the champions Pretty Wonderful over the titles. After losing to Pretty Wonderful in a title shot at Fall Brawl, Stars and Stripes defeated them in a rematch on the September 25 episode of Main Event to win the World Tag Team Championship, thus marking Bagwell's second reign with the title. They lost the titles back to Pretty Wonderful at Halloween Havoc but won the titles a second time at Clash of the Champions XXIX. They lost the titles to Harlem Heat on December 8, which aired on the January 14, 1995 episode of Saturday Night. Stars and Stripes failed in regaining the titles from Harlem Heat in rematches at Clash of the Champions XXX, the February 11 episode of Saturday Night and the March 5 episode of WorldWide.

Bagwell would enter a tournament for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, losing to Meng in the opening round on the April 29 episode of Saturday Night. The Patriot left WCW in May and Bagwell resumed to singles competition while making makeshift tag teams with Jim Duggan, Johnny B. Badd and Alex Wright to regain the World Tag Team Championship but could not regain the titles.

On the September 16 episode of Saturday Night, Bagwell formed a tag team with Scotty Riggs called the American Males as they defeated State Patrol in their debut match. The newly formed team defeated Harlem Heat to win the World Tag Team Championship on the September 18 episode of Monday Nitro. They lost the titles back to Harlem Heat on the October 28 episode of Saturday Night. Bagwell participated in the first-ever World War 3 battle royal at the namesake event for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Randy Savage. The American Males received a rematch for the tag team titles against Harlem Heat on the December 4 episode of Nitro, which they failed to win. The team would find no success afterwards and would lose most of their matches throughout 1996. During this time, Bagwell made only two pay-per-view appearances; the first at The Great American Bash, where he lost to Diamond Dallas Page and the second at World War 3, where he participated in the namesake match with the winner earning a title shot for the World Heavyweight Championship, but failed to win the match.

New World Order (1996–1999)

See also: New World Order and Vicious and Delicious

On November 25, 1996, Bagwell joined the New World Order (nWo) after turning on his partner Scotty Riggs. He soon renamed himself to Buff Bagwell. To go along with his name change he developed the habits of flexing his muscles and would talk to the camera insulting his opponents while complimenting himself. Bagwell began feuding with Riggs, defeating him in a match at Souled Out. Bagwell then represented nWo against Diamond Dallas Page at SuperBrawl VII, which he lost via disqualification after nWo members interfered in the match. Following the event, Bagwell resumed his feud with Riggs, which culminated in a strap match between the two at Uncensored, which Bagwell won. Shortly after, Bagwell formed a tag team with nWo teammate Scott Norton called Vicious and Delicious. The team feuded with established teams like Harlem Heat and Steiner Brothers including a loss to Harlem Heat at Road Wild. While with the nWo, he also competed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a part of nWo Japan, the NJPW version of the nWo. When he returned to America, he began a feud with Lex Luger, which later saw Bagwell defeat him, with the assistance of nWo, at Starrcade.[9][11]

Bagwell posing during a taping of Nitro in 1998

On the April 22, 1998 edition of Thunder, Bagwell wrestled a tag team match with Scott Norton (representing the nWo) against Rick Steiner and Lex Luger which they won when Scott Steiner interfered on his behalf.[2] Just before that, Rick attempted his diving bulldog finishing move, which was not executed correctly and resulted in Bagwell's head striking Steiner's back, jamming his neck and severely injuring him. Bagwell was diagnosed with several damaged vertebrae and developed spinal shock, leading him to use a wheelchair and neck brace for months. He returned for an interview only to be ridiculed by Hollywood Hogan and shoved to the entryway floor.[9] On July 6, after recently having neck surgery, the wheelchair-ridden Bagwell returned to WCW in his home state of Georgia. Bagwell seemed to have a new attitude and even called out Rick Steiner to offer him his forgiveness. Bagwell restrained Rick while fellow nWo member Scott Steiner assaulted him with a steel chair, reaffirming his loyalty to Hogan and the nWo. Bagwell then rose from his wheelchair and helped Scott beat down Rick. In January 1999, the nWo factions reunited, leading Bagwell and Steiner to side with the nWo Wolfpac. Their alliance ended at Uncensored when Bagwell accidentally hit Steiner with a chair, costing him the World Television Championship.[9]

New Blood (1999–2000)

Main article: New Blood

In June 1999, Bagwell engaged in a rivalry with WCW President Ric Flair and Vice President Roddy Piper after claiming he was being held back. This led to a three-round boxing match with Piper at Bash at the Beach, which saw Bagwell victorious. In September 1999, he feuded with Berlyn when Berlyn issued a challenge to Bagwell, but at Fall Brawl, Bagwell was late coming to the arena and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan replaced him. The next night on Nitro, Bagwell lost to Berlyn after the interference of his bodyguard, The Wall. In November, he defeated veteran Curt Hennig in a retirement match. Bagwell then feuded with Diamond Dallas Page after he made allegations about Page's wife Kimberly. Having spent much of 1999 feuding with older wrestlers, Bagwell was one of the first to join Eric Bischoff's New Blood alliance, forming a tag team with Shane Douglas while both were members. Bagwell and Douglas eventually won the World Tag Team Championship from Ric Flair and Lex Luger, giving Bagwell his fifth World Tag Team Title reign and rekindling his feud with Luger from two years earlier. At Slamboree, Luger defeated Bagwell via submission with the Torture Rack.[9]

On May 9, 2000 following a Thunder taping in Springfield, Illinois, Bagwell punched and yelled racial slurs at WCW crew member Darrell Miller after he and Bagwell began arguing when Miller attempted to carry equipment through a doorway in which Bagwell was standing. Six days later, Bagwell was charged with battery by the Sangamon County, Illinois State's Attorney's office. In response, WCW suspended Bagwell for thirty days and stripped him of his half of the World Tag Team Championship.[12][13]

Upon his return, Bagwell attempted to win the World Tag Team Title with Douglas once more, but was unsuccessful. Bagwell, now with Torrie Wilson by his side, wrestled Douglas at Bash at the Beach, but lost when Wilson distracted him and sided with Douglas. Bagwell then began a feud with Chris Kanyon, who began stalking him and harassing Bagwell's mother Judy as a psychological tactic. Bagwell eventually defeated Kanyon in a match where Judy was suspended from a forklift. He rescued his mother despite the surprise interference of actor David Arquette.[8][9] In August 2000, David Flair's storyline girlfriend Miss Hancock mysteriously became pregnant. Flair quickly accused the womanizing Bagwell, which led to a first blood match at Halloween Havoc, with Flair hoping to obtain a sample of Bagwell's blood to prove he was the father of Hancock's child. Although Bagwell was victorious, Flair managed to get his blood sample when Bagwell's nemesis Lex Luger attacked him after the match. Bagwell was then revealed as not being the father, and the entire pregnancy was eventually found to have been a fabrication.[9]

Totally Buff (2000–2001)

At Starrcade, Bagwell, who at the time had returned as a backstage interviewer, betrayed Goldberg by trying to cost him his match with Lex Luger. Bagwell's efforts were unsuccessful, but he managed to hit Goldberg with a steel chair after he had pinned Luger. Despite feuding in the past, Bagwell and Luger united and became known as Totally Buff. Totally Buff would go on to defeat Goldberg at Sin after a fan maced Goldberg, allowing Bagwell to pin him. Due to a stipulation in the match, Goldberg was, in storyline, fired. In early 2001, Totally Buff joined Ric Flair's Magnificent Seven stable, and remained with them until WCW's closure. Bagwell went to the WWF and Luger refused.[9]

World Wrestling Federation (2001)

Shortly after WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in March 2001, Bagwell was one of the first AOL Time Warner contracted wrestlers to accept the offered buy-out on his contract and sign with the WWF. On July 1, 2001, Bagwell faced Booker T at a house show and he made his WWF televised debut on the July 2 episode of Raw is War, facing Booker T for the WCW Championship. The match went to a no-contest after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle.[1] Sports journalist Michael Landsberg reported that many have called the bout "the worst match ever", and remarked that Bagwell is "not a great wrestler".[14] When Bagwell arrived to the Raw tapings on July 9 in Atlanta, Georgia, he was informed he was being released from his contract due to complaints about his attitude and an altercation with fellow WCW alumnus Shane Helms. There were also accusations that Bagwell faked an injury at the July 3 SmackDown! tapings after receiving an aided powerbomb from the Acolytes Protection Agency. The accusations also claimed his mother Judy was calling WWF offices to request that her son get time off to heal from an injury supposedly inflicted to Bagwell from the aided powerbomb and to complain about her son's travel arrangements.[8][9] Bagwell himself claims that he never understood why he was fired from the WWF.[15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff_Bagwell

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the 1992 film, also written by Whedon, although they are separate and unrelated productions.[12] Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner of the series under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on March 10, 1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20, 2003, on UPN.

The series follows Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), the latest in a succession of young women known as "Vampire Slayers". Slayers are chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons and other forces of darkness. Buffy wants to live a normal life, but learns to embrace her destiny as the series progresses. Like previous Slayers, she is aided by a Watcher, who guides, teaches and trains her. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy surrounds herself with loyal friends who become known as the "Scoobies". The show primarily takes place in the fictional setting of Sunnydale, a small Southern California city located on a "Hellmouth"; a portal "between this reality and the next", and a convergence point of mystical energies.[13] Because of this, supernatural creatures and beings with magical powers, both good and evil, are drawn to Sunnydale or rise from below ground to menace the town and the world.

The series received critical and popular acclaim, and is often listed among the greatest television series of all time. Original airings often reached four to six million viewers.[14][15] Although lower than successful shows on the "big four" networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox),[16] these ratings were a success for the relatively new and smaller WB Television Network.[17] Despite being mostly ignored in above-the-line categories by the Emmys, the series was nominated for the American Film Institute Award for Drama Series of the Year, Gellar was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her performance in the show and the series was nominated five times for Television Critics Association Awards, winning in 2003 for the Television Critics Association Heritage Award.

The success of Buffy has led to hundreds of tie-in products, including novels, comics and video games. The series has received attention in fandom (including fan films), parody, and academia, and has influenced the direction of other television series.[1][18] Buffy was part of a wave of television series from the late 1990s and early 2000s that featured strong female characters, alongside Charmed, Xena: Warrior Princess, La Femme Nikita, Dark Angel, and Alias.[19] The series, as well as its spin-off series, Angel, and extensions thereof, have been collectively termed the "Buffyverse".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer 

Pretty Intense”: The Undertaker Tolerated Major Pain for Ex-wife Sara Only to Regret Later

By

Tushar Deogharkar

Aug 6, 2022 | 6:30 AM PDT

Besides the black coat and the hat, we’ve also known The Undertaker for his unique body tattoos. One of the most notable and remembered tattoos was the one on his throat, which Taker made after marrying his ex-wife Sara Frank.

The Phenom made that tattoo as a wedding gift for his then-wife Sara Frank. He made a tattoo at a sensitive place on his body and had to hide it. Hence, he changed it into a design after their divorce.

As per the reporting of Celebs Chitchat, The Undertaker once shared how he felt while engraving the tattoo on his adam’s apple.

Taker said, “Yeah – that tickled a little. It was pretty intense. It’s a good thing I have a high pain threshold.”

Even though he portrayed The Deadman on screen, making a tattoo on the throat is painful, as it is one of the most sensitive area of the body. However, the WWE Legend might have regretted later again going through the same pain after the divorce.

As of today, the tattoo stays on his adam’s apple under a new tribal-like design to hide it. Taker was in his prime between 2004 to 2011, appearing regularly on WWE television. Hence, the SARA tattoo on his throat is widely remembered by all the fans.

How many kids do The Undertaker and Sara Frank have?

The Undertaker and Sara Frank were married in the year 2000 in a private ceremony. They exchanged their vows in front of their family and close friends. Moreover, they also have two daughters from their marriage.

The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, Chasey Calaway, on 21st November 2002. Sara gave birth to their second daughter, Gracie Calaway, on 15th May 2005.

Unlike Gunner Calaway and Kaia Calaway, Taker’s these two daughters have always been behind closed doors. Moreover, a handful of people know them personally as they are kept away from the limelight.

Who is Sara Frank’s husband now?

The Undertaker and Sara Frank’s marriage came to an end in 2007. After her divorce from Mark Calaway, she married the actor Jason Schnuit in 2009. 

We know Schnuit for his acting roles in the movies Virgins of Sherwood Forest and Burning Desires. Meanwhile, The Deadman is currently married to Michelle McCool.

Before marrying Sara Frank, The Undertaker was married to Jodi Lynn between 1989 and 1999. They have a son together named Gunner Vincent Calaway.

https://www.essentiallysports.com/wwe-news-pretty-intense-the-undertaker-tolerated-major-pain-for-ex-wife-sara-only-to-regret-later/

The Brothers of Destruction were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE composed of storyline half-brothers The Undertaker and Kane.[3]

With more deep-seated drama and dysfunction than other WWE tag team combinations, their relationship/brotherhood was furnished with an elaborately dark and disturbed domestic backstory. In what became a fickle WWE sibling relationship with Paul Bearer (later learned to be Kane's father) only adding to the pendulum and complexities, The Undertaker and Kane went back and forth from one extreme to the other: alternatively feuding to barbaric lengths and yet teaming together as The Brothers of Destruction from 1997 to 2020 (The Undertaker's retirement).

As the Brothers of Destruction, they won three tag team championships (two WWF Tag Team Championships and one WCW Tag Team Championship). Their on-again, off-again feuding was typically rooted in the harboring of unresolved, harsh feelings from the arson incident dating back to their youth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_of_Destruction

Thomas Trace Beatie (born 1974[1]) is an American public speaker, author, and advocate of transgender rights and sexuality issues, with a focus on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.[2]

Beatie came out as a trans man in early 1997. Beatie had gender-affirming surgery in March 2002 and became known as "the pregnant man" after he became pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007.[3] Beatie chose to be pregnant, with donated sperm,[4][5] because his wife Nancy was sterile.

The couple filed for divorce in 2012. The Beatie case is the first of its kind on record, where a documented legal male gave birth within a marriage to a woman, and for the first time, a court challenged a marriage where the husband gave birth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beatie

Exoteric Masonry, which is only the husks of the Mystic Order formed by the Sons of Cain has in modern times attracted the masculine element with its positively polarized physical vehicles, and educated them in industry and statecraft, thus controlling the material development of the world. The sons of Seth, constituting themselves the Priestcraft have worked their spell over the positive vital bodies of the feminine element to dominate the spiritual development. And whereas, the sons of Cain working through Freemasonry and kindred movements, have openly fought for the temporal power, the Priestcraft has fought as strenuously and perhaps more effectively, by stealth, to retain their monopoly upon the spiritual development of the feminine element. To the casual onlooker it would seem as if there were no decided antagonism between these two movements at the present time, but though Freemasonry of today is but a shell of its true ancient mystic self, and though Catholicism has been terribly tarnished by the touch of time, in that one thing there is no difference, the war is as keen as ever, the efforts of the Church are not concentrated upon the masses however as much as upon those who are seeking to live the higher life, so that they may gain admission to the Mystery Temple and learn how to make the Philosophers’ Stone. As mankind advances in evolution, the vital body becomes more permanently positively polarized giving to both sexes a greater desire for spirituality, and though we change from the masculine to feminine in alternate embodiment, positive polarity of the vital body is becoming more pronounced regardless of sex, and this accounts for the growing tendency towards Altruism which is even being brought out by the suffering entailed by the great war we are now fighting, for all agree that they are seeking to obtain a lasting peace where the swords may be made into plowshares, and the spears into pruning hooks. In the past humanity has been claiming universal brotherhood as a great ideal, but we must come closer than that to be in full accord with the Christ. He said to his Disciples “ye are my friends.” Among brothers and sisters hate and enmity may exist, but friendship is the expression of love and cannot exist apart from that. This is therefore the magic word which will eventually level all distinctions, bring peace upon earth and goodwill among men. This is the great Ideal proclaimed by the Rosicrucian Fellowship, an Ideal which points the shortest way to the New Heaven and the New Earth, where the sons of Cain and the sons of Seth will eventually be united.

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM

by MAX HEINDEL

https://dn720206.ca.archive.org/0/items/freemasonryandca017137mbp/freemasonryandca017137mbp.pdf

Seth,[a] in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. According to the Hebrew Bible, he had two brothers: Cain and Abel. According to Genesis 4:25, Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, and Eve believed that God had appointed him as a replacement for Abel.

Genesis

According to the Book of Genesis, Seth was born when Adam was 130 years old (according to the Masoretic Text),[1] or 230 years old (according to the Septuagint),[2] "a son in his likeness and image".[1] The genealogy repeated at 1 Chronicles 1:1–3. Genesis 5:4–5 states that Adam fathered "sons and daughters" before his death, aged 930 years. According to Genesis, Seth died at the age of 912 (that is, 14 years before Noah's birth).[3]

Jewish tradition

Seth figures in the biblical texts of the Life of Adam and Eve (the Apocalypse of Moses). It recounts the lives of Adam and Eve from after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden to their deaths. While the surviving versions were composed from the early third to the fifth century,[4]: 252  the literary units in the work are considered to be older and predominantly of Jewish origin.[5] There is wide agreement that the original was composed in a Semitic language[4]: 251  in the first century AD/CE.[4]: 252  In the Greek versions, Seth and Eve travel to the doors of the Garden to beg for some oil of the Tree of Mercy (i.e. the Tree of Life). On the way, Seth is attacked and bitten by a wild beast, which goes away when ordered by Seth. Michael refuses to give them the oil at that time, but promises to give it at the end of time, when all flesh will be raised up, the delights of paradise will be given to the holy people and God will be in their midst. On their return, Adam says to Eve: "What hast thou done? Thou hast brought upon us great wrath which is death." (chapters 5–14) Later, only Seth can witness the taking-up of Adam at his funeral in a divine chariot, which deposits him in the Garden of Eden.[6]

Genesis refers to Seth as the ancestor of Noah and hence the father of all mankind, all other Gammerites having perished in the Great Flood. It is said[by whom?] that late in life, Adam gave Seth secret teachings that would become the Kabbalah.[citation needed] The Zohar refers to Seth as "ancestor of all the generations of the Egyptians or Tsetsaudim" (Hebrew: righteous ones).[7] According to Seder Olam Rabbah, based on Jewish reckoning, he was born in 2130 BC AM. According to Aggadah, he had 2 sons and many wives. According to the Seder Olam Rabbah, he died in 1042 AM.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth

Set (/sɛt/; Egyptological: Sutekh - swtẖ ~ stẖ[a] or: Seth /sɛθ/) is a god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion.[6]: 269  In Ancient Greek, the god's name is given as Sēth (Σήθ). Set had a positive role where he accompanies Ra on his barque to repel Apep (Apophis), the serpent of Chaos.[6]: 269  Set had a vital role as a reconciled combatant.[6]: 269  He was lord of the Red Land (desert), where he was the balance to Horus' role as lord of the Black Land (fertile land).[6]: 269 

In the Osiris myth, the most important Egyptian myth, Set is portrayed as the usurper who murdered and mutilated his own brother, Osiris. Osiris's sister-wife, Isis, reassembled his corpse and resurrected her dead brother-husband with the help of the goddess Nephthys. The resurrection lasted long enough to conceive his son and heir, Horus. Horus sought revenge upon Set, and many of the ancient Egyptian myths describe their conflicts.[7]

Family

Set is the son of Geb, the Earth, and Nut, the Sky; his siblings are Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys. He married Nephthys and fathered Anubis and Wepwawet.[1] In some accounts, he had relationships with the foreign goddesses Anat and Astarte.[6]: 270  From these relationships is said to be born a crocodile deity called Maga.[8]

Name origin

The meaning of the name Set is unknown, but it is thought to have been originally pronounced *sūtiẖ [ˈsuw.tixʲ] based on spellings of his name in Egyptian hieroglyphs as stẖ and swtẖ.[9] The Late Egyptian spelling stš reflects the palatalization of ẖ while the eventual loss of the final consonant is recorded in spellings like swtj.[10] The Coptic form of the name, ⲥⲏⲧ Sēt, is the basis for the English vocalization.[9][11]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(deity)

Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian god. A syncretic deity derived from the worship of the Egyptian Osiris and Apis,[1] Serapis was extensively popularized in the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter,[2] as a means to unify the Greek and Egyptian subjects of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

The cultus of Serapis was spread as a matter of deliberate policy by subsequent Ptolemaic kings. Serapis continued to increase in popularity during the Roman Empire, often replacing Osiris as the consort of Isis in temples outside Egypt. Alongside his Egyptian roots he gained attributes from other deities, such as chthonic powers linked to the Greek Hades and Demeter, and benevolence derived from associations with Dionysus.

Iconography

Serapis was depicted as Greek in appearance but with Egyptian trappings, and combined iconography from a great many cults, signifying both abundance and resurrection.

The Greeks had little respect for animal-headed figures, and so a Greek-style anthropomorphic statue was chosen as the idol, and proclaimed as the equivalent of the highly popular Apis.[a] It was named Userhapi (i.e. "Osiris-Apis"), which became Greek Sarapis, and was said to be Osiris in full, rather than just his ka (life force).

The cult statue of Serapis that Ptolemy I erected in Alexandria enriched the texture of the Serapis conception by portraying him in a combination of both Egyptian and Greek styles.[5] The statue suitably depicted a figure resembling Hades or Pluto, both being kings of the Greek underworld, and was shown enthroned with the modius, a basket / grain-measure, on his head, since it was a Greek symbol for the land of the dead. He also held a sceptre in his hand indicating his rulership, with Cerberus, gatekeeper of the underworld, resting at his feet. The statue also had what appeared to be a serpent at its base, fitting the Egyptian symbol of rulership, the uraeus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serapis

The conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great opened a new era for the cult. In trying to find a religious cult that would unite both Egyptian and Hellenic subjects, Ptolemy Soter crafted the Isis cult as it would be introduced into Greco-Roman society. Osiris was renamed Serapis and identified with a variety of Egyptian and Hellenic gods (Osiris, Apis, Dionysus, Hades). He became a god of healing and the underworld. Isis was identified with Hellenic deities such as Demeter or Aphrodite. Greek iconography was introduced to the cult which made it visually appealing to the Hellenes. In those days when the provincial city-states of the Hellenic world fell to Alexander's universal empire, the traditional gods of the city-state no longer sufficed. Gods like Isis and Serapis were not connected with any specific town and were truly universal in scope."

The Cult of Isis Today 

Today, Isiac religion is undergoing something of a revival. Among New Age crowds, Isis is a popular symbol among those seeking an alternative to "patriarchal" religions. In fact, Isis worship is part of the "goddess spirituality" movement promoted by feminist and other postmodern identity groups. However, their understanding and practices related to Isis are sometimes more conditioned by revisionist politics than by anything resembling history or archaeology. Nonetheless, alternative religious movements have coincided with periodic bursts of "Egyptomania" to open the door for a second look at the Isiac cults." 

Cult Of Isis in Ancient Rome | UNRV Roman History 

https://www.unrv.com/culture/isis.php

In Egypt's Early Dynastic period (c. 3100 – c. 2686 BC), Anubis was portrayed in full animal form, with a "jackal" head and body.[14] A jackal god, probably Anubis, is depicted in stone inscriptions from the reigns of Hor-Aha, Djer, and other pharaohs of the First Dynasty.[15] Since Predynastic Egypt, when the dead were buried in shallow graves, jackals had been strongly associated with cemeteries because they were scavengers which uncovered human bodies and ate their flesh.[16] In the spirit of "fighting like with like," a jackal was chosen to protect the dead, because "a common problem (and cause of concern) must have been the digging up of bodies, shortly after burial, by jackals and other wild dogs which lived on the margins of the cultivation."[17]

In the Old Kingdom, Anubis was the most important god of the dead. He was replaced in that role by Osiris during the Middle Kingdom (2000–1700 BC).[18] In the Roman era, which started in 30 BC, tomb paintings depict him holding the hand of deceased persons to guide them to Osiris.[19]

The parentage of Anubis varied between myths, times and sources. In early mythology, he was portrayed as a son of Ra.[20] In the Coffin Texts, which were written in the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181–2055 BC), Anubis is the son of either the cow goddess Hesat or the cat-headed Bastet.[21] Another tradition depicted him as the son of Ra and Nephthys.[20] The Greek Plutarch (c. 40–120 AD) reported a tradition that Anubis was the illegitimate son of Nephthys and Osiris, but that he was adopted by Osiris's wife Isis:[22]

For when Isis found out that Osiris loved her sister and had relations with her in mistaking her sister for herself, and when she saw a proof of it in the form of a garland of clover that he had left to Nephthys – she was looking for a baby, because Nephthys abandoned it at once after it had been born for fear of Set; and when Isis found the baby helped by the dogs which with great difficulties lead her there, she raised him and he became her guard and ally by the name of Anubis.

George Hart sees this story as an "attempt to incorporate the independent deity Anubis into the Osirian pantheon."[21] An Egyptian papyrus from the Roman period (30–380 AD) simply called Anubis the "son of Isis."[21] In Nubia, Anubis was seen as the husband of his mother Nephthys.[1]

Hermanubis in the November panel of a Roman mosaic calendar from Sousse, Tunisia.

In the Ptolemaic period (350–30 BC), when Egypt became a Hellenistic kingdom ruled by Greek pharaohs, Anubis was merged with the Greek god Hermes, becoming Hermanubis.[23][24] The two gods were considered similar because they both guided souls to the afterlife.[25] The center of this cult was in uten-ha/Sa-ka/ Cynopolis, a place whose Greek name means "city of dogs." In Book XI of The Golden Ass by Apuleius, there is evidence that the worship of this god was continued in Rome through at least the 2nd century. Indeed, Hermanubis also appears in the alchemical and hermetical literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Although the Greeks and Romans typically scorned Egyptian animal-headed gods as bizarre and primitive (Anubis was mockingly called "Barker" by the Greeks), Anubis was sometimes associated with Sirius in the heavens and Cerberus and Hades in the underworld.[26] In his dialogues, Plato often has Socrates utter oaths "by the dog" (Greek: kai me ton kuna), "by the dog of Egypt", and "by the dog, the god of the Egyptians", both for emphasis and to appeal to Anubis as an arbiter of truth in the underworld.[27]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis

Rubedo is a Latin word meaning "redness" that was adopted by alchemists to define the fourth and final major stage in their magnum opus.[1] Both gold and the philosopher's stone were associated with the color red, as rubedo signaled alchemical success, and the end of the great work.[2] Rubedo is also known by the Greek word iosis.

Interpretation

The three alchemical stages preceding rubedo were nigredo (blackness), which represented putrefaction and spiritual death; albedo (whiteness), which represented purification; and citrinitas (yellowness), the solar dawn or awakening.[3] Some sources describe the alchemical process as three-phased with citrinitas serving as mere extension and takes place between albedo and rubedo.[4] The rubedo stage entails the attempt of the alchemist to integrate the psychospiritual outcomes of the process into a coherent sense of self before its re-entry to the world.[5] The stage can take some time or years to complete due to the required synthesis and substantiation of insights and experiences.[5]

The symbols used in alchemical writing and art to represent this red stage can include blood, a phoenix, a rose, a crowned king, or a figure wearing red clothes. Countless sources mention a reddening process; the seventeenth dictum of the 12th century Turba Philosophorum is one example:

O Turba of Philosophers and disciples, now hast thou spoken about making into white, but it yet remains to treat concerning the reddening! Know, all ye seekers after this Art, that unless ye whiten, ye cannot make red, because the two natures are nothing other than red and white. Whiten, therefore, the red, and redden the white![6]

Psychology

In the framework of psychological development (especially with followers of Jungian psychology), these four alchemical steps are viewed as analogous to the process of attaining individuation or the process that allows an individual to attain the integration of opposites, their transcendence, and, finally, emergence out of an undifferentiated unconscious.[7] In an archetypal schema, rubedo represents the Self archetype, and is the culmination of the four stages, the merging of ego and Self.[8] It is also described as a stage that gives birth to a new personality.[9] Represented by the color of blood in alchemy, the stage indicates a process that cannot be reversed since it involves the struggle of the self towards its manifestation.[10]

The Self manifests itself in "wholeness," a point in which a person discovers their true nature. Another interpretation phrased it as "reunification" which entail the reunion of body, soul, and spirit, leading to a diminished inner conflict.[11]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubedo

About the future in store for the Sons of Cain and their followers the temple legend is also most eloquent. It states that from Cain descended Methuselah, who invented writing, Tubal Cain, a cunning worker in metals, and Jubal, who originated music. In short the Sons of Cain are the originators of the arts and crafts. Therefore when Jehovah chose Solomon, the scion of the race of Seth, to build a house for his name, the sublime spirituality of a long line of divinely guided ancestors flowered into conception of the magnificent temple called Solomon’s Temple, though he was only the instrument to carry over the divine plan revealed by Jehovah to David. But he was unable to execute the divine design in a material manner. Therefore it became necessary for him to apply to King Hiram, of Tyre, the descendent of Cain, who selected Hiram Abiff, the son of a widow, (as all Free Masons are called because of the relation of their divine progenitor with Eve). Hiram Abiff became then Grand Master of the army of construction. In him the arts and crafts of all the Sons of Cain who had gone before had flowered. He was skilled beyond all others in the work of the world, without which the plan of Jehovah must have remained a divine dream forever. It could never have become a concrete reality. The worldly acumen of the Sons of Cain was as necessary to the completion of this temple as the spiritual conception of the Sons of Seth, and, therefore, during the period of construction the two classes joined forces, the underlying enmity was hidden under a superficial show of amity. It was, indeed, the first attempt to unite them, and had that been accomplished the world history from then on would have been altered in a very material manner. The Sons of Cain, descended from the fiery Lucifer Spirits, were naturally proficient in the use of fire. By it they melted the metals hoarded by Solomon and his ancestors into altars, lavers and vessels of various kinds. Pillars were fashioned by workmen under his direction and arches to rest upon by them. The great edifice was nearing completion and Hiram Abiff made ready to cast the “molten sea,” which was to be the crowning effort, his masterpiece. It was in the construction of this great work that the treachery of the Sons of Seth became manifest and frustrated the divine plan of reconciliation when they tried to quench his fire with their natural weapon, water, and almost succeeded. The incidents which led up to this catastrophe, their meaning and the sequel will be related in the next chapter.

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM

by MAX HEINDEL

https://dn720206.ca.archive.org/0/items/freemasonryandca017137mbp/freemasonryandca017137mbp.pdf

The Carolingian dynasty (/ˌkærəˈlɪndʒiən/ KARR-ə-LIN-jee-ən;[1] known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD.[2] The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. Nearly every monarch of France from Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious until the penultimate monarch of France Louis Philippe have been his descendants. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.

Name

The Carolingian dynasty takes its name from Carolus, the Latinised name of multiple Frankish kings including Charlemagne and Charles Martel.[3] The name originates from a common Germanic word, rendered in Old High German as Karl or Kerl,[4] meaning 'man', 'husband', or 'freeman'.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_dynasty

Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II; Polish: Jan Paweł II; Italian: Giovanni Paolo II; born KAROL Józef Wojtyła, Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛv vɔjˈtɨwa];[b] 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005.

In his youth, Wojtyła dabbled in stage acting. He graduated with excellent grades from an all-boys high school in Wadowice, Poland, in 1938, soon after which World War II broke out. During the war, to avoid being kidnapped and sent off to a German forced labour camp, he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. Wojtyła eventually took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theatre. The linguistically skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish at university. Encouraged by a conversation with Adam Stefan Sapieha, he decided to study theology and become a priest. Eventually, Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kraków and then a cardinal, both positions held by his mentor. Wojtyła was elected pope on the third day of the second papal conclave of 1978, and became one of the youngest popes in history. The conclave was called after the death of John Paul I, who served only 33 days as pope. Wojtyła adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him.[9]

John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history after Pius IX and St. Peter. John Paul II attempted to improve the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the spirit of ecumenism, holding atheism as the greatest threat. He maintained the Church's previous positions on such matters as abortion, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conservative in their interpretation.[10][11] He put emphasis on family and identity, while questioning consumerism, hedonism and the pursuit of wealth. He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, John Paul II beatified 1,344 people,[12] and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated many of the world's bishops, and ordained many priests.[13]

He has been credited with fighting against dictatorships for democracy and with helping to end communist rule in his native Poland and the rest of Europe.[14] Under John Paul II, the Catholic Church greatly expanded its influence in Africa and Latin America and retained its influence in Europe and the rest of the world. On 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by his successor, Benedict XVI, and on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) he was beatified. On 27 April 2014, he was canonised together with John XXIII.[15] He has been criticised for allegedly, as archbishop, having been insufficiently harsh in acting against the sexual abuse of children by priests in Poland,[16] though the allegations themselves have been criticised.[17][18] Posthumously he has been referred to by some Catholics as Pope St. John Paul the Great, though that title has no official recognition.[19]

Under John Paul II, two of the most important documents of the contemporary Catholic Church were drafted and promulgated: the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which revised and updated the 1917 Code of Canon Law, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first universal catechism to be issued since the Roman Catechism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II

On June 24, 1717, six months after the exile of the Stuarts, four lodges in London (names not given) met at Apple-Tree Tavern and united English Freemasonry under the name "United Grand Lodge," which has been nicknamed the Mother Grand Lodge, or Grand Mother Lodge.

The first French Templar Lodge was founded in 1725 by a contingent of exiled Stuart sympathizers. In 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, attempted to regain his Scottish throne and was soundly defeated in less than a year. Upon returning to France, the Scottish Templars founded the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, quickly developing it to 32 degrees by 1755. In 1801 all French lodges accepted the Templar Scottish Rite degrees. That same year the Scottish Rite of Charleston, S.C., created the 33rd and final degree in Templar Freemasonry.

On the continent of Europe, French Freemasonry is known as Scottish Rite, Grand Orient, French Grand Lodge, Continental, or Latin Freemasonry. The Templar York Rite in England was transported to America, where it remains to this day. English Freemasonry continued with the three Craft Degrees until 1860, when it adopted the thirty additional degrees of the Scottish Rite, but for competitive reasons refused to call it "Scottish."'

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf

Rito Scozzese

Antioco Ed Accettato

History

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is the final and the only result of a complex reform that involves various Masonic Systems which developed separately one from another during the XVIII century in the range of the so called Scottish Regime. This regime originated from the advent of the Scottish Masters since about 1738 and continued with the Chapters of Clermont (1754), the Emperors of the Orient and the Western world (1758) which put in practice rituality defined as the Rite of Perfection or the Rite of Heredom. The aim of the reform, that unified all in one single Order, was aside from these veins, also minor branches with more recent manifestation among which the Primitive Rite and others.

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is the rituality that characterises a particular Masonic Body which it adopts and makes his. This Masonic Body is called “The Supreme Council of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the 33 rd and Last Level of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite”.

The first Supreme Council (SC) called Mother of the World was founded in Charleston, Carolina, USA on the May 31st 1801 and presently has headquarters in Washington DC, USA.

In some ten years the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, under the impetus of the SC of Charleston, practically spread to all the world through further Supreme Councils which were formed in national territorial Jurisdictions, each independent and autonomous, jealous of their very sovereignty.

The Scottish Rite in Italy

The SC of Italy, that today is denominated “the Supreme Council SS.GG.II.GG. of the 3 rd and Last Level of the Free Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Italian Jurisdiction – Grand Orient of Italy – Palazzo Giustiniani” as shown in a manuscript handed down as the Verbal of the Foundation, also called the “Seal of Foundation” which was founded and installed ritually in Milan on March16th 1805 by the Count Alexandre Francois Auguste De Grasse Tilly S.G.C. of the SC of France (1804), duly assisted by the French and Italian Brothers, with Licenses conferred by the SC Mother of the World of Charleston. The SC of Italy was a direct emanation of this Ritual Body.

In the same constitutional act of the SC of Italy, it is formally declared that it “creates and constitutes by its sovereign authority a General Grand Lodge in Italy under the name of G.O. Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite“. The Grand Orient of Italy, thus founded, was ritually installed on June 20th 1805 by the same founders of the SC of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

The SC of Italy with headquarters in Milan, had jurisdiction only in the territory of the Italian Kingdom and the Sovereign Grand Commander was the Vice King Eugenio Beauharnais.

Subsequently, on the not yet unified Italian territory, other SS.CC ‘s were formed among which (in Naples) a SC called of the two Sicilies (1809), a SC of Palermo (1860), a SC of Naples (1860). Following the unification of Italy initially a SC was formed with the fusion of the SC Milan with that of Turin (1862), then with the transfer of the capital to Florence another SC of this city (1864) was formed. A further SC was established in 1870 in Rome, permanent Capital of the Kingdom. Following numerous agreements and with much difficulty, the unification between the various SS.CC in a single SC of Italy was achieved with headquarters in Rome.

From a schism which occurring 1908, a second SC was born called “Piazza del Gesù” which since 1912 was recognized by many SS.CC. of the world opposed to that of 2Palazzo Giustiniani”. The fascist period, during which all Masonic activity in Italy was prohibited, actually eliminated the problem of this atypical duplication between the historical continuity and the possession of recognition of the various Jurisdictions.

The separation between the Jurisdictions of the Grand Orient of Italy and the SC was sanctioned in 1922. The conference of Paris of the SS.CC. of the world, held in 1929, authorized this principle for all the SS.CC.

Upon recommencement of Masonic activity in 1943, after the failures of unification attempts, those who possessed the Supreme Level of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, formed two SS.CC. of “Palazzo Giustiniani” and “Piazza del Gesù”.

From 1960 to 1973, the residual incomprehension between the two historical blocks of Italian Masonry were settled. Since then, in spite of other efforts of schism, in particular that of 1977 which failed owing to the loyalty of the Scottish Brothers of Italy and the wisdom of SS.CC. of the rest of the world, the SC of “Palazzo Giustiniani” represents the regularity for 54 Supreme Councils in the world.

https://www.ritoscozzese.it/en/rsaa/history/

In 1748 the Rite de Veilla Bru, or Faithful Scotsman, was established at Toulouse with nine degrees, the first three Symbolic, followed by the Secret Master, four Elu degrees, and the Ninth degree ' Scientific Masonry.^" " In 1750 and 1751, a Lodge styled ' St. Jean de Ecossais ' was established at Marseilles, which afterwards assumed the style of ' Scottish Mother Lodge of France.' Its regime finally consisted of Eighteen degrees, of which the Scottish Mother Lodge of France at Paris afterwards borrowed Eight."

" In 1752 a power of the High degrees was established under the pompous title of * Sovereign Council, Sublime Scotch Mother Lodge of the Grand French Globe.' It afterwards called itself* Sovereign Council, Sublime Mother Lodge of the Excellents of the Grand French Globe.' The ' Council of the Emperors of the East and West ' assumed that title also on the 22d January, 1780. — Ragon."

"In 1754, The Chevalier de Bonneville established a chapter of the High degrees at Paris, styled the ' Chapter of Clermont.' In it the Templar system was revived, and the Baron de Hund received the High degrees, there and thence derived the principles and doctrines of his ' Order of Strict Observance ' —Thory and Leveque—Ragon says, The regime of the Chapter of Clermont at first comprised only three degrees, viz., the three Symbolic, followed by the Knight of the Eagle or Master Elect, Illustrious Knight or Templar, and Illustrious Sublime Knight—but that they soon became more numerous."

" In the same year Martinez Pascalis established his rite of ' Elus C'dens ' with nine degrees. He did not carry it to Paris until 1767, where Martinism in ten degrees grew out of it." — Clavel.

" In 1757 M. de St. Gelaire introduced at Paris the ' Order of Noachites.' ^'

page 50

THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH KITE, IN THIRTY-THREE DEGREES. KNOWN HITHERTO UNDER THE NAMES OF THE " BITE OF PEEPECTION" ^THE " EITE OF HEEEDOM" THE " ANCIEIII SCOTTISH rite"—THE " EITE OF KILWINNING" AND LAST, AS THE " SCOTTISH EITE, ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED." A FULL AND COMPLETE HISTORY, WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING NUMEROUS AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS, RELATING TO THE ORIGIN, PKO- OB£SS AND ESTABLISHMENT OP THE EITE—EDICTS, CIRCULARS, PATENTS, REGISTERS, AND THE OPINIONS OF NUMEROUS AUTHORS — ILLUSTRATED WITH "TABLETS," / BY ROBERT B. FOLGER, M. D., Past Master, 33d., iJi-SECRETARY GENERAL, &0. SECOND EDITION. ,c ^ j ;^ NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/The_ancient_and_accepted_Scottish_rite%2C_in_thirty-three_degrees_%28IA_ancientaccepted00folg%29.pdf

PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS Thirty-Second Degree ; oR;, Sublime Prince of the KoYAL Secret. The French Revolution—Jacobins Like Chicago Anarchists—Lodge and Romish Despotism—Denials that Masonry is a Religion—Proof that Masonry is a Religion—Made Twofold More the Child of Hell—Freemasonry Confessedly Deistic—Deism is Practical Atheism—Adopts the Motto of the Jesuits—**They Sbal] Be Booted Up." This degree originated thirty years before the French Eevolntion of 1789^ and was active in producing it. The lodge-theory was that of the anarchists of today^ that;, if institutions or religion, and government were abolished;, human passions, like fluids^, would find their level in universal peace and happiness. Communists ^guillotined their king^ and hung their bishops to lampposts ; proclaimed "^^liberty and equality ;'^ and put their religious creed over the gate of their cemetery: ''There is no God! Death is an eternal sleep/' The last degree of their system required the candidate to stab his I brother, or nearest friend, as a traitor to the lodge, and ' amid the brother's groans, and pleadings for his life, they laid the candidate's gloved hand on the beating heart of a lamb. And, if he stabbed, they removed the vj)linder, and swore him to vengeance against Church and State. This was ''The Royal Secret/' This explains the vengeance sworn in this and other degrees of that day. {See Rohison's Conspiracy, p. 299.) But, in this country, and at this day, this degree is senseless, and worthless. Its bluster about freeing the people, is meaningless, and itself not worth reading. But how happens this once "Ne plus ultra'' degree to be so prolix and stupid as to be scarce worth reading ?

450 JACOBINS LIKE CHICAGO ANARCHISTS. The answer is this : when formed by Jacobin Jesuits, in 1754, in the Jesuits' College of Clermont, Paris, it was "the Military Organization'' as the candidate was told. (See page 397,) It then crowned the Eite of Perfection of 25 degrees, which was adopted by ^^the Council of Emperors/' four years later; that is, in 1758. | (See note 377.) The Jacobins, like the Chicago anarchists lately hung were then -secretly swearing to do what they afterwards did, viz,, wage war on the government. ^ Hence this 32nd grade was not called a degree, but an "organization/' as it was. But when adopted by Morin's Sovereign Inspectors, at Charleston, S. C, in 1801, no war was then contemplated^ but by Aaron Burr, and he was soon tried by Jefferson, for his life. The country was then peaceful, and satisfied and pleased with their free constitution, adopted in 1789, only twelve years before. Of course, no fighting was contemplated. True French sympathizers elected Jefferson that year; but the French revolution had reacted, and the Monroe doctrine was soon adopted, to keep the United States free from foreign entanglements. Masonry now did not mean fight, but money^ and false worship. What then were Dalcho, Mitchell and Provost to do ? They had resolved on an "Ancient and Accepted Scottish Eite,'' to rule the false worships of Masonry throughout the world. They adopted a scale of thirtytwo degrees; and placed this Military degree at the head: because, it had been, as the notes and ritual say: "the Ne Phis Ultra degree/' and it would not do to leave it out. They therefore stretched it, and stuffed it into its present shape, prolix enough. Hence the hotchpotch flummery of a camp of nine sides, with stupid Masomc explanatious for every comer, i

LODGE AND ROMISH DESPOTISM. 451 But the one "^^mission and object^^ (Maekey) of Masonry is kept steadily in view; which is the worship of the god of this world, who is Satan, as the ''Orand Architect of the Universe/' and to accomplish this by inventing ^^a religion in which all mankind agree ;^^ and this, by putting all earth's religions upon a level, and uniting them together in Masonic worship, which is boldly avowed in rituals, lexicons, and philosophical degrees. This is, (in Revelation, IS, IJf,) called: the image of the beast, made by ^^them, that dwell on the earth;'' that is, everybody; every creed, and no creed; all who join secret lodges. But this world-religion must have some form and shape, to hold together; and be taxed; hence, it takes the form, or image, of the beast. Lodge despotism is as absolute as Eomigh despotism, and is the image of it ; and it is made, as we have seen, by the lamb-dragon beast, which is Popery; ^Hhat great city, (Rome) which reigneth over the kings of the earth/' {Rev, 17, 18.) Note now the profound craft, by which this is to be accomplished, viz,. Masonry promises men salvation by I ceremonies invented by men, administered by priests, and inhabited by devils. This is the sum and substance of all the false religions on earth, and will ultimately unite them against Christ. (See Rev. 20^.) But the only opponents Masonry dreads, is Christ, who refused to worship Satan, and his followers. If there were no Christians in lodges, Masonry would not live an hour. Hence, though Christ is wholly omitted, in the lower degrees, He is taken into the lodges, made by Jesuits and Jews, as a tool of incantation, but He is not permitted to be worshiped there, except by worships which are paid to devils. In the next and last degree, of the world's ruling rite, the SSrd^ Christ i^ twir-p o^]]o(] ''our 452 DENIALS THAT MASONRY IS A RELIGION. Sovereign/' (See pp. 476-7.) but none are baptized in His name, nor do they celebrate His death. The bread is eaten and the wine drunk from human skulls, in honor of devils, not Christ; and though Christ is called sovereign, they trample on His law. Why, then, do they pay Him these empty compliments? Plainly, to draw in ignorant, weak, and worldly Christians, and this is what they achieve. ^ Nothing is more common, than the denial that Free* masonry is a religion. This denial is made by many Masons, and by all Jack-Masons, who bear the burdens of the lodge, while claiming merit for not joining it. But the many distinct avowals, that ''Masonry is a religious institution'' made by the highest Masonic authorities, have been given in their own words. The diabolical craft of the system appears in this; that while ^^traditions,'^ which are man-made religions, crucified ^*^the Son of Gpod,'^ they worship the cross, the tool by which they tortured Him, to make believe they were opposed to His crucifixion and torture, as if the assassin should kneel before the dagger, with which he stabbed his victim. N'or is this all, or the worst: claiming that they unite all religions in one, they renounce and exclude the God and religion of the Bible, as ^^bigoted^' and narrow. They work only in Christian lands, not in barbarous and savage countries; and they denounce as ^^bigoted'^ the religion of the lands where they work. And to crown their falsehood with felony, they steal and falsely appropriate the principles knd fruits of the Gospel of Christ. The quotations which we give below, not only prove that Masonry claims to be a religion, but the true religion, and that its thistles produce figs, that its heathen ritual regenerates, sanctiPROOF THAT MASONRY IS A RELIGIOK'. 453 fies, and saves men. To begin with the Entered Apprentice : ^^There he stands without our portals^ on the threshold of this new Masonic life, in darkness, helplessness and ignorance. Having been wandering amid the errors, and covered over with the pollutions of the outer and profane world, he comes inquiringly to our doors, seeking the new birth, and asking a withdraw^d of the veil which conceals divine truth from his uninitiated sight. * * * There is to be not simply a change for the future, but also an extinction of the past ; for initiation is, as it were, a death to the world, and a resurrection to a new life.'' Mackey's Ritualist, pp, 22-3. This is Satan's travesty and burlesque of Bible conviction of sin, and seeking religion. The Fellow Craft is still compassing Mt. Sinai. Then follows the new birth, or regeneration, not ^^by the Holy Ghost," but by the third, or Master's degree : ^^This has very properlv been called ihQ sublime degree of a Master Mason, as well for the solemnity of the ceremonies which accompany it, as for the profound lessons of wisdom which it inculcates. The important design of the degree is to symbolize the great doctrine of the resurrection of the body, and the immortality of the soul; and hence it has been remiarked-by a learned v/riter of our Order, that the Master Mason represents a man saved from the grave of iniquity, and raised to the faith of salvation." — MacJcey's Ritualist, p. 109. Then follows the Masonic lying-in, in w^hich the devil acts as midwife. The hoodwink falls, the lodge claps and stamps, and the weary, badgered and befooled candidate experiences such a ^change of heart/"

FREEMASONRY CONFESSEDLY DEISTIC. 455 dwelling place of Him who is the author of purity." — Machey's Ritualist, p. 39. What is professing religion, if this is not? Then also the same writer says of the Shock o'f Enlightenment, or Eite of Illumination : ^This mental illumination,'—this spiritual light, which, after his new birth, is the first demand of the new candidate, is but another name for Divine Truth,— the truth of God and the soul,—the nature and essence of both,—which constitute the chief design of all Masonic teaching." — Machey's Ritualist, p, SS. We add the following, not because needed to prove Masonry a religion, but to show that it is organized deism : ^'^Every important undertaking in Masonry is both begun and completed with prayer. The prayers given in the hand-books of the Blue Lodge, are such, as all Masons, whatever their religious faith, may unite in. In the orders of knighthood the prayers are, as a matter of course, strictly and intensely Christia^. In the third L degree a sublime prayer, adapted from the 14th chapter of Job, is made in American lodges an essential part of the ritual of Eaising." — Morris' Dictionary Art. Prayer. it is evident from the above quotations that Freemasonry claims to he a religion. Kow let Masonic authorities tell us what kind of a religion it is. "The truth, is, that Masonry is undoubtedly a religious institution,—its religion being of that universal kind in which all men agree, and which, handed down through the long succession of ages, from that ancient priesthood who first taught it, embraces the great tenets of the existence of God, and of the immortality of the 456 DEISM IS PRACTICAL ATHEISM. soul; tenets, which by its peculiar symbolic languages, it has preserved from its foundation, and still continues m the same beautiful way to teach. Beyond this for its religious faith, we must not and cannot go/' — MacJcey's Masonic Jurisprudence, page 95, ''The religion then, of Masonry, is pure theism, on which its different members engraft their own peculiar opinions, but they are not permitted to introduce them into the lodge, or to connect their truth or falsehood with the truth of Masonry/' — Macheys Lexicon, Art. Religion, "All the ceremonies of our order are prefaced and terminated with prayer, because Masonry is a religious institution and because we thereby show our dependence on, -and our faith and trust in God." — MacJcey's Lexicon, Art, Prayer. — ''This is the scope and aim of its ritual. The Master Mason represents man when youth, manhood, old age, and life itself have passed away as fleeting shadows, yet raised from the grave of iniquity, and quickened into another and better existence. By its legend and all its ritual it is implied that we have been redeemed from the death of sin and sepulchre of pollution !" Machey's Ritualist, p, 109. These and the like quotations might be continued to any extent and from different authors. But these will suffice to settle the question with all rational and intelligent readers. And if once the ministry and churches* of this country can be possessed of these facts, there will be raised to God one general cry ; as when President Lincoln called the American people to unite in prayer for deliverance from the curse of the slavery war. Deism is practical atheism. For the infinite God cannot be reached by finite minds, but only through a merciful Mediator.

' • ADOPTS THE MOTTO OF THE JESUITS. 457 But the key to the importance of this 33nd degree, is its Motto: ''Ad majorem Dei gloriam/' Note 370. This is the motto of the Jesuits ; who, with the apostate Ramsay, made these French degrees, falsely called Scottish. This motto was adopted by their founder, Igna^ tins Loyola; and is still the motto of the order which he founded, in an underground chapel of the Holy Martyrs in 1534, seventeen years after Luther nailed his Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, in 1517. The reformation' had only fairly begun, and this underground, secret order of Jesuits met the Eeformation, and has turned it back. Some principalities in Germany, once Protestant, are now under Popish prindes ! That order now rules Popedom, though once prohibited by it, as Masonry is now. The reader will find the above motto on page IJf, of the introduction, and the founding of the order on page 9 of the ''History pf the Society of Jesus,'' Baltimore, 1878. And on pages 13 and 13 he says, that .^ in the village of Lasorta, near Rome, while praying, he I was '^dazzled by a brilliant light ;^^ and ^^the entire J history of the order,'' says the historian^ ^^is but a de- 1 velopment of that vision.'^ ? Now, if that light had been from God, as was that which shone around Paul, at his conversion, Loyola's life would have borne thfe same fruit which Paul's did, instead of the ignorance, superstition, and persecution which has tracked Papacy ever since; and now furnishes saloon-keepers for our cities, and carries their votes to license pauperism, crime, blasphemy, and woe. But if that light was from Satan, who is Christ's rival and counterfeit, then we should expect the fruits, which we see follow the Papacy everywhere. Then that supornatural light was Masonic light, whose fruits are the 458 "they shall be rooted up/^ same. And our Savior has told us: '''By their fruits ye shall Jcnow them/' These lodges are not of God's plantings and we have the word of Christy that 'Hhey shall be rooted up/' (Math. 15, IS,) Let ns look to Him for the fulfillment of that glorious promise.

Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated Volume 2

by Blanchard

https://dn790006.ca.archive.org/0/items/scotchritemasonr02blan/scotchritemasonr02blan.pdf

PART VI 1THE PERSONAL LIFE OF THOSE ALREADY ADMITTED AND INCORPORATED INTO THE BODY OF THE SOCIETY

SECTION 1: THE APOSTOLIC CHARACTER OF OUR VOWS IN GENERAL

143 §1. Our consecration by profession of the evangelical counsels, by which we respond to a divine vocation, is at one and the same time the following of Christ poor, virginal, and obedient and a rejection of those idols that the world is always prepared to adore, especially wealth, pleasure, prestige, and power. Hence, our poverty, chastity, and obedience ought visibly and efficaciously to bear witness to this attitude, whereby we proclaim the evangelical possibility of a certain communion among men and women that is a foretaste of the future kingdom of God.[1]

§2. Our religious vows, while binding us, also set us free:

free, by our vow of poverty, to share the life of the poor and to use whatever resources we may have, not for our own security and comfort, but for service;

free, by our vow of chastity, to be men for others, in friendship and communion with all, but especially with those who share our mission of service;

free, by our vow of obedience, to respond to the call of Christ as made known to us by him whom the Spirit has placed over the Church, and to follow the lead of all our superiors.[2] [1] See GC 32, d. 4, no. 16; see GC 31, d. 16, no. 4; d. 17, no. 2; d. 18, no. 3. [2] GC 32, d. 2, no. 20. 215

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Note 370.—"Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. The 32nd degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite, and for many years, or until the institution of the 33d degree, this was the highest degree, or ne plus ultra of Masonry. The body is styled a Consistory, and should be held in a building of two stories. The officers are, a Thrice Illustrious Commander, First and Second Lieutenants, a Minister of State, a Grand Chancellor, a Grand Treasurer, a Grand Secretary, and a Grand Captain of the Guard. In the East a throne, elevated on seven steps, which is the seat of the Thrice Illustrious Commander, who wears a robe of royal purple, and he and the Lieutenants, wear swords. The collar of this degree is black, lined with scarlet, and in the center, at the point, a double-headed eagle, of silver or gold, on a red Teutonic cross. The apron is of white satin, with a border of gold lace, one inch wide, lined with scarlet; on the flap is a double-headed eagle, on each side of which is the flag of the country in which the body is located, the flag of Prussia and the Beause- -ant of the Kadosh degree; on the apron is the camp of the Crusaders, , which is thus explained; it is composed of an enneagon, within which is ' inscribed a heptagon, within that a pentagon, and in the center an equilateral triangle, within which is a circle. Between the heptagon and pentagon are placed five standards, in the designs of whigjl are five letters, which form a particular word. The first standard is purple, on which is emblazoned the ark of the covenant, with a palm, tree on each side; the ark has the motto Laus Deo. The second is blue, on which is a lion, of gold, couchant, holding in his mouth a golden key, with a collar of the same metal on his neck, and on it is the device, Ad majorem Dei gloriam. The third is white, and displays a heart in flames, with two wings; it is surmounted by a crown of laurels. The fourth is green, and bears a double-headed black eagle, crowned, holding a sword in his right claw, and a bleeding heart in his left. The fifth bears a black ox. on a field of gold. On the sides of the enneagon are nine tents, with flags, representing the divisions of the Masonic army; on the angles are nine pinions, of the same color as the flag of the tent that precedes it. The hall of the Consistory is hung with black, strewed with tears of silver. The jewel is a double-headed white and black eagle, resting on a Teutonic cross, of gold, worn attached to the collar or ribbon. ^The members are called Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. The moral of the degree teaches opposition to bigotry, superstition, and all the passions and vices which disgrace human nature."—Macoy's Encyclopaedia and Pictionary of Freemasonry, Article Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam or Ad majórem Dei glóriam, also rendered as the abbreviation AMDG, is the Latin motto of the Society of Jesus, an order of the Catholic Church. It means "For the greater glory of God."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_maiorem_Dei_gloriam

MISSIONS FROM THE SUPREME PONTIFF

252 §1. To be truly Christian, our service to the Church must be anchored in fidelity to Christ, who makes all things new; to be proper to the Society, it must be done in union with the successors of Peter[32]

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Valley of Traverse City

ANCIENT ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE

The History and Legend of Scottish Rite Origins

The Story Unfolds…

Like much of early Masonic history, the origins of the Scottish Rite are uncertain. This is primarily due to the lack of historic documentation prior to the early 1700’s and not to any great veiled mystery. The few records kept were subject to loss, fire, weather and aging. So we can at best only speculate on many of our origins by looking at the few documents, historical references and legends that remain.

What We Know

In 1754, near Paris, Chevalier de Bonneville established the Chapter of Clermont. The Chapter resided in the College of Jesuits of Clermont, hence the name. It is said to have been created to honor the Duc de Clermont, then Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge of France.

The Chapter of Clermont was a “Chapter of the Advanced Degrees” and initially entailed six degrees and was later extended to 25 known degrees. The six initial degrees were 1˚, 2˚ and 3˚ St John’s Masonry, 4˚ Knight of the Eagle, 5˚ Illustrious Knight or Templar, 6˚ Sublime Illustrious Knight.

Interestingly enough historically, prior to the time of the Rite’s creation, James II had been in residence at Clermont in exile from Britain from 1688 to his death in 1701. As noted by German Masonic historian, Lenning… “whilst in exile, James II residing at the Jesuit College of Clermont in France, allowed his closest associates to fabricate certain degrees in order to extend their political views.” Lenning believed this to have been an attempt on the part of James and his associates to regain control of the British throne for the House of Stuart. If Lenning is right, this places the origins of the “Rite of Perfection” in the hands of James II and the Jacobite (Stuart) Freemasons who at the time were in exile from Great Britain throughout France and Italy. Lenning also contends that these degrees were introduced into French Freemasonry under the name of the Clermont System.

James II died in exile in 1701. His son James III is said to have continued his father’s Masonic legacy and later created further higher degrees.

Perhaps James II saw in the Jesuit morality plays of the College of Clermont a vessel for passing on a set of moral lessons. Some of the world’s greatest playwrights had emerged from Clermont. Jesuit tutelage had previously produced great writers such as Lope de Vega, Moliere, Racine, and the Corneille brothers. Ensconced in exile, I believe James II did find the inspiration and the training to help produce what would later become the first six degrees. From out of the darkness… comes light.

To be continued… (Author’s note… An in depth look at the Templar influence in Scottish Rite masonry’s origins can be found by visiting the Rosslyn Templars’ website.)"

https://web.archive.org/.../scottish-rite-history.html

Just before the War of 1812, the British clandestinely organized several Scottish Rite Lodges in the northeast with headquarters at Boston. After the War they were discovered by Charleston, and following some negotiations, were permitted to operate under the English Masonic obedience (obedience meaning "constitution"). The Boston headquarters became known as the Northern Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite Freemasonry and has since been nicknamed the "Eastern Establishment." The Charleston headquarters became known as the Southern Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. As stated earlier, the Southern Jurisdiction followed the French Masonic obedience.

The Southern Jurisdiction Supreme Council operates its "Grand East" or spiritual headquarters from Charleston. In 1870 it moved its "Secretariat" (political office) to Washington, D.C.68 An indication of Masonry's influence is the fact that of the two parades permitted to march down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C., one is the Inaugural Parade and the other the Shriner's Parade.

Shriners are sometimes referred to as thirty-second and a half degree Masons. The Shriners operate children's hospitals. (See Appendix 7 for their history).

All Masons in America must travel through the first three "Blue Lodge" degrees before choosing York or Scottish Rites, both of which are Templar Rites. The 13th degree York Mason and 32 degree Scottish Mason unite in the Shrine. (See Appendix 2, Fig. 3.)

We can make some general observations regarding the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions of American Freemasonry. The Northern Jurisdiction, which we can identify in American politics with the Eastern Establishment, is right-wing or moderate. It is the headquarters of America's aristocracy and is primarily Republican. The Southern Jurisdiction is left-wing or liberal, more or less comprised of the working middle class and common laborer, and usually Democrat. There are crossovers in both Jurisdictions, and when voters in America take sides on issues, we are caught up in this Masonic struggle of conservative versus liberal, right-wing versus left-wing, big business versus labor, free enterprise versus socialism, etc.

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf

Papal Visits to the White House

Papal visits to the White House have been rare—with Pope Francis' recent visit, just three popes in history have visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This most recent visit provides an opportunity to look back at the pontiffs who have visited the President’s House.

On October 6, 1979, Pope John Paul II arrived in an open-topped limousine, driving through the Northwest gate as he waved to onlookers on Pennsylvania Avenue. President Jimmy Carter, First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Vice President and Mrs. Mondale greeted the pope under the red-carpeted North Portico. The pontiff kissed 11 year-old Amy Carter.

Carter held a private meeting with Pope John Paul in the Oval office for an hour and then emerged before 6,000 people gathered on the South Lawn. “Niech bedzie bog Pochwalony” (May God be praised,) said Carter in Polish. The pontiff responded, “It gives me great joy to be the first Pope in history to come to the capital of this nation, and I thank almighty God for this blessing.”

The president and pope ascended the South stairs to the Blue Room and then on to the Second Floor. They came out to wave on the Truman Balcony and, after delivering a papal blessing, the pope returned to the South Lawn to mingle and to shake hands with the crowd for 20 minutes. The pope left the White House about 5:00 p.m.

The second pope to visit the White House was Pope Benedict XVI on April 16, 2008, which also happened to be the pontiff’s 81st birthday. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush greeted the pope at Andrews Air Force Base, a departure from the tradition of the president and his family greeting official guests for the first time at the White House.

At the arrival ceremony on the South Lawn, soprano Kathleen Battle sang a version of “The Lord’s Prayer” before about 13,500 guests. The pope received a 21-gun salute and the U.S. Marine Band played “Inno e Marcia Pontificale” (the national anthem of the Holy See) and “The Star Spangled Banner.” Pope Benedict and President Bush both spoke briefly and then were accompanied by the First Lady as they walked up the steps to the balcony next to the Blue Room, where the pope spread his arms and received cheers.

Inside the Blue Room, the president surprised the pope with a birthday cake before they went into the Oval Office for a private meeting.

On September 23, 2015, Pope Francis became only the third pontiff in history to pay a visit to the White House. He arrived on September 22 at Andrews Air Force Base and was greeted by the President Barack Obama and First Family and Vice President Joe Biden and his family on the tarmac.

The official arrival ceremony for the pope was held on the morning of September 23, 2015, on the South Lawn of the White House. With a crowd of an estimated 11,000, Pope Francis and President Obama stood before an honor guard as a band played the United States national anthem and "Inno e Marcia Pontificale," the national anthem for the Holy See. The president and pontiff both made remarks covering topics such as immigration, Cuba-U.S. relations, religious tolerance, and climate change.

After the pope’s speech, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama stopped with the pope on a balcony and waved to the crowd before heading inside. The president and pontiff then met privately for about 40 minutes in the Oval Office.

Gift exchanges are customary between U.S. officials and foreign dignitaries. The president presented his guest with a one-of-a-kind sculpture of an ascending dove made from metal taken from the Statue of Liberty, a 19th century key from the Maryland home of Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American to become a saint, and wood which once grew in the White House garden. Pope Francis gave President Obama a bronze bas-relief of the medallion of the World Meeting of Families, the Catholic rally in Philadelphia that was the original reason for the papal visit to the U.S.

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/papal-visits-to-the-white-house

THE CONFLICT: PRIORY OF SION VERSUS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Secret societies by virtue of their very secrecy have often kept historians at bay, and the historians, reluctant to confess their ignorance, prefer to diminish the consequence of their subject. Freemasonry.. is of vital importance to any social, psychological, cultural or political history of eighteenth-century Europe, and even to the founding of the United States; but most history books don't even mention it. It is almost as if an implicit policy obtained: If something cannot be exhaustively documented, it must be irrelevant and thereby not worth discussing I at all. Investigators of the Holy Grail' Freemasonry, French and English, as we know it today, finds its loots in two organizations of the Middle Ages - the Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. What follows is the fascinating, if sometimes complicated and obscure history, of how these two modern, anti-Christian secular secret societies - English and French Freemasonry - developed from two groups that themselves had roots in the occult. We will see how the Priory of Sion desired to rule the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem through its counterfeit Jewish Merovingian bloodline, and how its own creation, the Knights Templar, moved beyond its role as police and protector of Sion to financial masters of medieval Europe. We will trace the alliance of Sion and the Templars, their dispute over the discovery of Solomon's treasures, and the terrible intrigues which followed that led to the undoing of the Templars in their struggle over wealth, power, and politics. We will reveal the beliefs of these two groups: that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene; that a spiritual god of good (Satan) battles a material god of evil; that Lucifer, not Jesus, deserves worship; that a "Spear of Destiny" (later sought and possessed by Hitler) allows the holder to rule the world. We will also present data about the whereabouts of King Solomon's wealth, the plan to one day return it to Jerusalem, and reveal that the ultimate goal of these two groups is world government, and that their descendants, English and French Freemasonry, desire the same. The Historical Trail: The Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail In 1982 and 1986 three secular revisionist authors, Michael Baigent~ Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln published Holy Blood, Holy Grail followed by The Messianic Legacy. These two books dramatically reveal a secret order structured in the manner of Freemasonry, and founded in Europe twelve centuries before the Grand Lodge was officially formed in 1717. This order protects both the Holy Grail and the Merovingian bloodline, which bloodline carried Mystery Babylon into the Catholic Church in 496 A.D. 56 The Holy Grail, of course, is the so-called cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The Merovingians, owners of the Holy Grail, teach that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene. The Merovingians claim to be the offspring of that "holy" union, and as such, assert they are Jews of the Davidic line.

In Revelation 17:3-5 the apostle John describes a vision, which Rev. J. R. Church in Guardians of the Grail believes is fulfilled in the Grail legend. The Whore of Babylon is holding in her hand a golden cup full of blasphemy. Church believes the cup is the blasphemous Holy Grail Another element of the Grail legend is the spear supposed to have pierced the side of Jesus, also known as the Spear of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny. Whoever possesses this spear, so the legend goes, will rule the world. The Merovingians, whose descendants are the Habsburg pretenders to the Austrian throne today, are in possession of the spear. It is on display in the Habsburg museum in Vienna, Austria~ No one, however, knows the location of the Holy Grail. At least no one is telling. Although heretical, this secret society should not be discounted, for it is alive and well today. In fact, in 1956, an Order calling itself the Prieure de Sion, or Priory of Sion, registered itself publicly for the first time with the French government. (Sion is French for Zion.) It is from this Order that the legend of the Holy Grail originated five centuries after Christ's death. Rev. Church remarks of this organization: This mysterious group is presently made up of over 9,000 men, including Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Moslems. The members of this secret sect should be considered unfaithful to their respective beliefs, for in reality they are neither Christian nor Catholic, they are neither Jew nor Moslem. Their doctrine sidesteps the basic tenets of those beliefs and replaces them with the teachings of their greatest prophet - whom they believe to be Buddha.2 From this secret order J. R. Church believes will come the Anti-Christ, for he writes, "Their ultimate goal is world government!'"

Scarlet and the Beast by John Daniel

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCd0nFuvnM4OYWuVW5QUBCpsTfBv5bYx/view?usp=sharing

The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Latin Kingdom, was a Crusader state that was established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1099 until the fall of Acre in 1291. Its history is divided into two periods with a brief interruption in its existence, beginning with its collapse after the siege of Jerusalem in 1187 and its restoration after the Third Crusade in 1192.

The original Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted from 1099 to 1187 before being almost entirely overrun by the Ayyubid Sultanate under Saladin. Following the Third Crusade, it was re-established in Acre in 1192. The re-established state is commonly known as the "Second Kingdom of Jerusalem" or alternatively as the "Kingdom of Acre" after its new capital city. Acre remained the capital for the rest of its existence excluding the two decades that followed the Crusaders' establishment of partial control over Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade, through the diplomacy of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen vis-à-vis the Ayyubids.

The vast majority of the Crusaders who established and settled the Kingdom of Jerusalem were from the Kingdom of France, as were the knights and soldiers who made up the bulk of the steady flow of reinforcements throughout the two-hundred-year span of its existence; its rulers and elite were therefore predominantly French.[4] French Crusaders also brought their language to the Levant, thus establishing Old French as the lingua franca of the Crusader states, in which Latin served as the official language. While the majority of the population in the countryside comprised Christians and Muslims from local Levantine ethnicities, many Europeans (primarily French and Italian) also arrived to settle in villages across the region.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Jerusalem

Pope Adrian IV (Latin: Adrianus IV; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear);[1] c. 1100[note 1] – 1 September 1159, also Hadrian IV)[3] was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman to have been pope.

Adrian was born in Hertfordshire, England, but little is known of his early life. Although he does not appear to have received a great degree of schooling, while still a youth he travelled to the south of France where he was schooled in Arles, studying law. He then travelled to Avignon, where he joined the Abbey of Saint-Ruf [fr]. There he became a canon regular and was eventually appointed abbot. He travelled to Rome several times, where he appears to have caught the attention of Pope Eugene III, and was sent on a mission to Catalonia where the Reconquista was attempting to reclaim land from the Muslim Al-Andalus. Around this time his abbey complained to Eugene that Breakspear was too heavy a disciplinarian, and in order to make use of him as a papal legate as well as to pacify his monks, he was appointed Bishop of Albano some time around 1149.

As bishop, Breakspear was soon sent on another diplomatic mission, this time to Scandinavia. In the middle of a civil war, Breakspear reorganised the Church in Norway and then moved on to Sweden. Here, he was very much acclaimed by the people, and when he left, chroniclers called him a saint. Breakspear returned to Rome in 1154; Eugene's successor Pope Anastasius IV had died only a few weeks previously. For reasons now unknown, but possibly at his predecessor's request, Breakspear was elected next pope by the cardinals. He was unable to complete his coronation service, however, because of the parlous state of politics in Rome, which at the time was a den of 'heresy' and republicanism. Adrian decisively restored the papal authority there, but his other major policy issue—relations with the newly crowned Holy Roman emperor, Frederick I—started off badly and got progressively worse. Each party, as a result of a particular aggravating incident, found something to condemn the other for. As a result, Adrian entered into an alliance with the Byzantine emperor, Manuel I Komnenos who was keen to re-assert his authority in the south of Italy, but was unable to do so due to the Norman kings' occupation of the region, now under William I of Sicily.

Adrian's alliance with the Byzantine emperor came to nothing, as William decisively defeated Manuel and forced Adrian to come to terms at the Treaty of Benevento. This alienated Emperor Frederick even more, as he saw it as a repudiation of their existing treaty. Relations soured further when Frederick laid claim to a large swathe of territory in northern Italy. Adrian's relations with his country of birth, however, seem to have remained generally good. Certainly, he showered St Albans Abbey with privileges, and he appears to have forwarded King Henry II's policies where he could. Most famously, in 1158 Adrian is supposed to have granted Henry the papal bull Laudabiliter, which is thought to have authorised Henry to invade Ireland. Henry did not do so, however, for another 14 years, and scholars are uncertain whether the bull ever existed.

Following Adrian's death at Anagni, there was uncertainty as to who to succeed him, with both pro- and anti-imperial cardinals voting for different candidates. Although Pope Alexander III officially took over, the subsequent election of an antipope led to a 22-year-long schism. Scholars have debated Adrian's pontificate widely. Much of a positive nature—his building programme and reorganisation of papal finances, for example—has been identified, particularly in the context of such a short reign. He was also up against powerful forces out of his control, which, while he never overcame them, he managed effectively.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Adrian_IV

The Priory of Sion is an initiatory Order of chivalry, founded on July 15 1099 in Jerusalem, by Godfrey of Bouillon, at the Abbey "Our Lady of Mount Sion" as "Order of our Lady of Mount Sion."The Order, after being registered for the first time in history, in 1956, and then being dissolved in 1993, was newly registered in 2015, perpetuating the legitimate Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair's lineage, through the actual Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti.The Priory of Sion is characterized by a gnostic and rosicrucian influence, who sets himself the task of supporting and nurturing personal growth, moral and spiritual, with respect and in harmony with the personal objectives that each of us, by nature, has to carry through in life experience.It's also our purpose the esoteric research as the study and experience related to the transcendent and mystical in an environment of communion with our Brothers and Sisters, Members of the Order.The Priory of Sion today inherits a tradition of esoteric, philosophical, spiritual and cultural legacy, which favors the cultivation of values and principles that offers the way to live a more aware and noble personal dimension.We work through symbols, ancient rituals, theurgic practice and traditions, in order to live a personal and collective sprirituality in communion with our Brothers and Sisters.The Order is apolitical and forbids its members to be made a place of political debate, or even worse, to be exploited for such purposes."

http://www.prieure-de-sion.com/

The Prieuré was cited by name in references extending from the twelfth to the early seventeenth century. Then, in documents dating from 1619, it was stated to have incurred the displeasure of King Louis XIII of France, who evicted them from their seat at Orléans and turned the premises over to the Jesuits.5 After that, the Prieuré de Sion seemed to vanish from the historical record, at least under that name, until 1956, when it appeared again, registered in the French Journal officiel. And yet the present-day Order had repeatedly cited certain of its activities between 1619 and the twentieth century, certain historical events in which it had played a role, certain historical developments in which it had some sort of vested interest. When we examined the events and developments in question, we found indisputable evidence attesting to the involvement of an organised and coherent cadre working in concert behind the scenes, sometimes using other institutions as a façade. This cadre was not named specifically, but everything indicated that it was indeed the Prieuré de Sion. What was more, it proved to involve precisely the same network of interlinked families claiming Merovingian descent. Whether it was the intrigues and the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century, the insurrection known as the Fronde in the seventeenth century or the Masonic conspiracies of the eighteenth century, successive generations of precisely the same families were implicated, operating in accordance with a single consistent pattern."

The Messianic Legacy

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UV7FwghOOhdkp4fdk2SzG7oem2nRleW0/view?usp=sharing

The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem date back to the First Crusade, when its leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, liberated Jerusalem. As part of his operations to organize the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, he founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. According to accounts of the Crusades, in 1103 the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order, and reserved the right for himself and his successors (as agents of the Patriarch of Jerusalem) to appoint Knights to it, should the Patriarch be absent or unable to do so.The Order’s members included not only the Regular Canons (Fratres) but also the Secular Canons (Confratres) and the Sergentes. The latter were armed knights chosen from the crusader troops for their qualities of valor and dedication; they vowed to obey Augustinian Rule of poverty and obedience and undertook specifically, under the command of the King of Jerusalem, to defend the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Places.Very soon after the First Crusade the troops – including the Knights of the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre – began to return to their homelands. This led to the creation of priories all over Europe, which were part of the Order as they came under the jurisdiction of the noble knights or prelates who had been invested on the Holy Sepulchre itself and who, although they were no longer in the direct service of the King of Jerusalem, continued to belong to the Order of Canons.The Order first began to fail as a cohesive military body of knights after Saladin regained Jerusalem in 1182, and completely ceased to exist in that format after the defeat of Acre in 1291. The passing of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem left the Order without a leader, though it continued to survive in the European priories thanks to the protection of sovereigns, princes, bishops and the Holy See. The priories kept alive the ideals of the Crusader Knights: propagation of the Faith, defense of the weak, charity towards other human beings. With the exception of events in Spain, it was only rarely that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ever took part again in military action to defend Christianity.In the 14th century, the Holy See made an extremely high payment to the Egyptian Sultan so that he would grant the right to protect the Christian Sanctuaries to the Franciscan Friars Minor. Throughout the whole period of the Latin Patriarchate’s suppression, the right to create new Knights was the prerogative of the representative of the highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land: the Custos.In 1847 the Patriarchate was restored and Pope Pius IX modernized the Order, issuing a new Constitution, which placed it under the direct protection of the Holy See and conferred its government to the Latin Patriarch. The Order’s fundamental role was also defined: to uphold the works of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whilst preserving the spiritual duty of propagating the Faith.In 1949, Pius XII decreed that the Grand Master of the Order should be a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and assigned the position of Grand Prior to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1962 Pope John XXIII and, in 1967, Pope Paul VI reorganized and revitalized the Order by adding more specific regulations to the Constitution with the intention of making the Order’s activities more co-coordinated and more effective.In February 1996, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II enhanced the Order’s status. Today it is a Public Association of faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1.

https://eohsjeastern.org/a-brief-history/

Horses: the extent to which they can be possessed in our houses [575, 576]; the extent to which they can be used on missions [574, 625]"

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Order of Alcántara (Leonese: Orde de Alcántara, Spanish: Orden de Alcántara), also called the Knights of St. Julian,[1] was originally a military order of León, founded in 1166[2] and confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177.[3]

Alcántara

Alcántara is a town on the Tagus (which is here crossed by a bridge – cantara in Arabic, hence the name). The town is situated on the plain of Extremadura, a great field of conflict for the Muslims and Christians of Iberian Peninsula in the 12th century. Alcántara was first taken in 1167 by King Ferdinand II of León; In 1174 it fell again into the hands of Abu Yaqub Yusuf;[4] and was not recovered until 1214, when it was taken by King Alfonso IX of León.[5] The Order of Trujillo was the Castilian branch of the order until 1195.

To defend this conquest, on a border exposed to many assaults, the king resorted to military orders. The Middle Ages knew neither standing armies nor garrisons, a deficiency that the military orders supplied, combining as they did military training with monastic stability. In 1214 Alcántara was first committed to the care of the Castilian Knights of Calatrava, who had lately received great support after their performance in 1212 at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa against the Almohades. Alonzo of León wished to found at Alcántara a special branch of this celebrated order for his realm. However, four years later the Order decided that the post was too far from its Castilian headquarters. They gave up the scheme and transferred the castle, with the permission of the king, to a peculiar Leonese order still in a formative stage, known as the Knights of St Julian de Pereiro.

History

Origins of the Order

This order's genesis is obscure, but according to a somewhat questionable tradition, St. Julian de Pereiro was a hermit of the country of Salamanca, where by his counsel, some knights built a castle on the river Tagus to oppose the Muslims. They are mentioned in 1176, in a grant of King Fernando of León, but without allusion to their military character. They are first acknowledged as a military order by a papal bull in 1177 by Pope Alexander III. Through their compact with the Knights of Calatrava, they accepted the Cistercian rule and costume, (a white mantle with the scarlet overcross), and they submitted to the right of inspection and correction from the Master of Calatrava. This union did not last long.

Internal dissensions

The Knights of Alcántara, under their new name, acquired many castles and estates, for the most part at the expense of the Muslims. They amassed great wealth from booty during the war and from pious donations. It was a turning point in their career. However, ambitions and dissensions increased among them. The post of grand master became the aim of rival aspirants. In 1318, the Grand Master, Ruy Vaz, was besieged by his own Knights, sustained in this by the Grand Master of Calatrava. This rent in their body produced no less than three grand masters in contention, supported severally by the Knights, by the Cistercians, and by the king. The rise of such dissensions could be attributed to the fact that military orders had lost the chief object of their vocation when the Moors were driven from their last foothold in the Iberian Peninsula. Some authors assign as causes of their disintegration the decimation of the cloisters by the Black Death in the fourteenth century, and the laxity which allowed recruitment from the most poorly qualified subjects. Lastly, there was the revolution in warfare, when the growth of modern artillery and infantry overpowered the armed cavalry of feudal times, while the orders still held to their obsolete mode of fighting. The orders, nevertheless, by their wealth and numerous vassals, remained a tremendous power in the kingdom, and before long were involved deeply in political agitations. During the fatal schism between Pedro of Castile and his brother, Henry the Bastard, which divided half Europe, the Knights of Alcántara were also split into two factions which warred upon each other.

Royal involvement

The kings, on their side, did not fail to take an active part in the election of the grand master, who could bring such valuable support to the royal authority. In 1409, the regent of Castile succeeded in having his son, Sancho, a boy of eight years, made Grand Master of Alcántara. These intrigues went on until 1492, when Pope Alexander VI invested the Catholic King, Ferdinand of Aragon, with the grand mastership of Alcántara for life. Adrian VI went farther, in favour of his pupil, Charles V, for in 1522 he bestowed the three masterships of Spain upon the Crown, even permitting their inheritance through the female line. The Knights of Alcántara were released from the vow of celibacy by the Holy See in 1540, and the ties of common life were sundered. The order was reduced to a system of endowments at the disposal of the king, of which he availed to himself to reward his nobles. There were no less than thirty-seven "Commanderies", with fifty-three castles or villages. Under the French domination the revenues of Alcántara were confiscated, in 1808, and they were only partly given back in 1814, after the restoration of Ferdinand VII.

The Liberal monarchy seized much of the Order's properties in the 1830s, but by royal decree of 7 April 1848 the majority of the benefices of the four Orders were restored. In the Concordat of 1851 the four Military Orders were allowed continued ecclesiastical jurisdiction over their territories, while the titular of the jurisdiction remained the King (or Queen), as administrator of the four Orders by Apostolic Delegation. Certain of the confiscated properties were restored and concentrated together near Ciudad Real, while others distributed more distantly were integrated into the dioceses in which they lay, and were removed from the Order's jurisdiction. The territories now concentrated around the city of Ciudad Real were designated as the new Priory, a Prelature nullius dioeceseos called the "Priory of the four reunited Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa", with the Prior holding the titular diocese of Dora and given as his Priory Church, or Cathedral, the former Parish Church of Santa María del Prado in Ciudad Real. The 1st Spanish Republic proclaimed on 12 February 1873 made as one of its first provisions the abolition of all Military Orders, by decree of 9 March following; the Pope, Pius IX, considering that the Orders' ecclesiastical jurisdiction was thereby rendered ineffective, transferred the administration of their benefices to the closest dioceses, in the Bull Quo graviu of 14 July 1873. The President of the Republic, the Duke of La Torre, seeing this as a concession by the Pope, re-established the Military Orders and their governing body, the Tribunal.

The Bull Ad Apostolicam published on 18 November 1875 re-established the Orders' ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the priory based at Ciudad Real. The solemn inauguration of the Priory followed, on 6 June 1876 and the first Prior appointed on the 29 September next. The administration was now re-titled once again by royal decree of 1 August 1876, as the Tribunal Metropolitano y Consejo de las Órdenes Militares, with the responsibility for regulating the proofs of nobility and the admission and investiture of the knights, the appointment of charges and officers, the creation or suppression of parishes, the construction or repair of churches and chapels, the direction of the benefices and hospitals and modification of regulations or statutes; the government thus formally recognised the continued legal existence of the four Orders.

Alfonso XIII obtained de facto papal approval of his new title of Grand Master and Perpetual Administrator when the Holy See confirmed certain regulations in 1916. A royal decree of 18 February 1906 introduced some modifications to the regulations governing the Metropolitan Tribunal and Council that were the last formal regulations introduced before the fall of the monarchy in 1931. The 2nd Republic purported to suppress the Orders in a decree of 29 April 1931, just two weeks after the proclamation of the Republic, and dissolve the Tribunal but did not mention the Consejo de las Órdenes Militares, leaving the juridical situation of this body intact. The suppression provoked an immediate protest by the Cardinal Primate since the religious character of these Orders was regulated by the Concordat. In a modification of the earlier act, the Ministry of War by a decree of 5 August 1931 declared the four Orders subject to the Spanish law on Associations, to which status it had also converted the five Maestranzas and named a "Junta, or Provisional Commission", to which it gave juridical personality in place of the Consejo.

The Count of Barcelona, father of King Juan Carlos I, was formally nominated by the King "Dean President of the Royal Council of the Orders of Chivalry of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa" in 1978. Following his death the Grand Commander of the Order of Alcantara, the Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, was appointed his successor and upon his death in 2015 his Son Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria[6] became the head of the Order.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Alc%C3%A1ntara

Defining Locura: The Inquisitors’ Interpretive Problems Loosely translated the word loca means “crazy” or “mad.” In general Spanish use, loca is the feminine form of the adjective locura, a noun that signifies “MADNESS”, “craziness” or “insanity”. Loca was likely used in the sixteenth century Castile, as it is today, when referring to a person who has lost reason or rationality.27 According to the 23rd edition of the Diccionario de la Lengua Española the word loca also signifies someone who is possessed of “poor or little judgment, [who is] foolish/ridiculous and imprudent”.28 Likewise, the Diccionario Crítico Etimológico Castellano e Hispánico similarly asserts “Loco is a word in general use throughout all literary periods of the Middle Ages”.29 The Diccionario Crítico notes that loco has also been taken to mean “insane” or “unhealthy” (insano).30 27 Sara T. Nalle, Mad for God: Bartolomé Sánchez, the secret Messiah of Cardenete. (Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia Press, 2001), 151. Thus, for the purposes of this thesis locura and its adjective loca are considered to imply loss of reason or judgment and, depending on the context, imprudent or foolish behavior i.e. “craziness” or “madness”."

EL SABOR DE HEREJIA: THE EDICT OF 1525, THE ALUMBRADOS

AND THE INQUISITORS’ USAGE OF LOCURA

https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/uf/e0/04/13/85/00001/montoya_j.pdf

Father Sosa invited everyone to “fix our eyes on him, so that his eyes may reflect to us the poor and humble Jesus who seduced him to the point of MADNESS. St. Ignatius was a madman for Christ, as the monk of Montserrat called him.”"

Ahead of World Youth Day, the head of the Jesuits had a candid Q&A with six young pilgrims

Ricardo da Silva, S.J.

August 02, 2023

Ahead of World Youth Day, the head of the Jesuits had a candid Q&A with six young pilgrims | America Magazine

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/08/02/father-arturo-sosa-magis-world-youth-day-questions-245777

The Knight’s Templar was expelled from the Papacy in 1312 by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France. The few Templars who escaped went to the powerful kingdom of Aragon and became known as the Order of the Calatrava, who would later align with the the Montessa. In 1534, a Spanish nobleman by the name of Ignatius Loyola would revive the Templars and call them the "Society of Jesus." Loyola was a Templar, and a member of a secret society called the "Alumbrados."  The third Superior General and co-founder of the order was Francis Borgia. The Borgia bloodline is part of the notorious "Black Nobility" which dates back to the ancient Ptolemaic period in history."

Exposing the Jesuits and the Papacy: The Jesuits are the revived Knights Templar (jesuitinquisition.blogspot.com)

http://jesuitinquisition.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-jesuits-are-revived-knights-templar.html

"The Order of Calatrava (Spanish: Orden de Calatrava, Portuguese: Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164. Most of the political and military power of the order had dissipated by the end of the 15th century, but the last dissolution of the order's property did not occur until 1838.'

Modern Times

In 1931, once again unilaterally, the Second Spanish Republic suppressed the Spanish Orders. To survive, they had to resort to the Ley de Asociaciones Civiles ("Law of Civil Associations"), leading a precarious existence until the Concordat of 1953 recognized the Priory. Afterward, by the papal bull Constat militarium, the Priory was reduced to a mere title of the Bishop of Ciudad Real.In 1980, upon request by his august father, who was appointed Dean President of the Council, King Juan Carlos I by royal initiative caused the rebirth of the Orders. Under the Apostolic Pastoral Tertio millennio adveniente, the Spanish Orders began their renewal in 1996.Today, the aim of the Spanish Orders is basically the same as they had when founded: the defense of the Catholic faith. The sword has been put aside, but their doctrine, example, self-sanctification, and divine worship remain active, aside from their cultural and social activities.Their two hundred and fifty members guard the spirit and life of the Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara, and Montesa under their Grand Master, King Felipe VI, and the Real Consejo de las Órdenes (Royal Council of the Orders) presided over by his Royal Highness Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria.[4]The Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe took the cross of the order in 1887 and established it as its company logo as a tribute to the knights, which remains until today.[5][6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Calatrava

“The third of the great chivalric bodies, taking its rise in the time of the Crusades was the [exclusively White German] TEUTONIC KNIGHTS or KNIGHTS OF SAINT MARY OF JERUSALEM. Like its two predecessors [the KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS and the KNIGHTS TEMPLARS] the new Order was based on a unison of monastic and military service. . . . Several distinguished Germans contributed their property to the support of the work begun by their countrymen. A service and ritual were established, and in the year 1119, only one year after the founding of the Templars, the new Order received sanction of Pope Calixtus II. Religious and martial vows were taken by the brothers. In the choice of a dress and regalia, the Teutonic Knights distinguished themselves as much as possible from the Hospitallers and the Templars. The gown was black with a white mantle, and on this was a black cross with a silver edging [very similar to the design of Himmler’s SS uniform]. The Order soon achieved an invincible fame [as did Himmler’s Waffen SS], and its members became the recipients of the same favors and honors which were showered upon the other two brotherhoods. The second establishment of the Teutonic Knights was founded in 1189 by the burghers of Bremen and Lubeck . . . The two chapters were presently combined into one Order by Duke Frederick of Suabia, who in 1192 obtained for the union the sanction of Pope Celestine III. [According to Walter Schellenberg, one of Himmler’s most trusted SS/SD Generals was known as “the Duke of Suabia.”] The rule of the body was amplified and the discipline of the Augustinians adopted for its government. [The discipline of the Jesuits was adopted for the government of Himmler’s SS.] At the origin of the Teutonic Order none but Germans of noble birth were admitted to membership [as only racially “Aryan” Germans were first admitted to Himmler’s Order of the SS]. . . . priests [were later] added to the fraternity [as were certain Jesuits and other priests secretly admitted into the SS]. The chief officer was called the Grand Master [as Himmler was also called “the Grand Master”]. A papal edict followed, putting the new brotherhood on the same level with the Hospitallers [Knights of Malta] and Templars [Scottish Rite Freemasons], under the sanction and encouragement of the Church [as the SS was also under the sanction of the Papacy; Pope Pius XII, as “Archbishop Pacelli” serving as Pope Pius XI’s Nuncio in both Munich and Berlin (1917-1929), oversaw its creation during his twelve-year reign as “the German Pope”]. . . . The Order . . . after a precarious existence of three centuries, was finally abolished by Napoleon in 1809 [on the order of his master, the Black Pope, who had also commanded his Masonic Avenger to destroy Pope Pius VII’s Holy Roman Empire—the Roman Catholic First German Reich (962-1806AD)].

[A] belligerent and angry Europe [was] preparing her armor and mustering her warriors for the THIRD CRUSADE [uniting Roman Catholic Europe to the task of liberating Jerusalem as a result of the anti-Moslem agitation preached by the Pope’s priests for decades]. . . . First of all in the work was the aged but still fiery and warlike [Roman Catholic] FREDERICK BARBAROSSA, Emperor of Germany [who, as the national hero of Germany, would serve in being Roman Catholic Adolf Hitler’s model as “the Fuehrer,” in uniting the peoples of Europe into a massive Crusade called “Operation Barbarossa,” deceptively intended to liberate Moscow as a result of the anti-Jew/anti-Communist agitation preached by the Pope’s Jesuits for decades]. . . . Of all who had preceded him, not one was Barbarossa’s equal in genius and generalship [as Hitler would also appear to be a genius in generalship during the pre-war and early war years]. . . . His army in the aggregate, exclusive of unarmed pilgrims, numbered over a hundred thousand. Of these, sixty thousand were cavalry, and of these fifteen thousand were Knights, the flower of the Teutonic Order [corresponding to Hitler’s three million-man Wehrmacht; 160,000 were Waffen SS, the flower of Himmler’s Teutonic Order of the SS]. . . . He overcame every obstacle, fought his way through every peril, and came without serious disaster to Iconium. . . . By this time the name of Frederick had become a terror, and the Moslems began to stand aloof from the invincible German army [as Hitler’s army for a time became a terror and was invincible to the Russian Orthodox Slavs]. . . . Evil was the day when Frederick died. . . . The command devolved upon the son of Barbarossa [the Duke of Suabia] . . . In a short time the gallant Duke of Suabia died . . . At this juncture a new figure rose on the horizon . . . a Crusader of the Crusaders, greatest of all the medieval heroes—young Richard Plantagenet the Lion Heart, King of England. . . . Here in the valley of Hebron, with the towers of Jerusalem in view, the Lion Heart called a council! . . . It was decided that the present prosecution of the enterprise was inexpedient and should be given up. Great was the chagrin of the army when this decision was promulgated . . . and Jerusalem was left to the perpetual profanation of the Turks.” [The failure of the Pope’s Third Crusade rested on one decision not to take Jerusalem from the Moslems; the failure of the Pope’s Operation Barbarossa rested on one decision not to take Moscow from the Communists—as decreed by the Black Pope, conveyed by Bormann and commanded by Hitler!] {24} [Emphasis added]

John Clark Ridpath,

1901 American Historian

Ridpath’s Universal History

Vatican Assassins Wounded In The House of My Friends

Third Edition

by Eric Jon Phelps

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uQl1CmWeLL87RWVtzKttGFKm0frSNR8D/view?usp=sharing

AFA-27 [recorded 03/15/87] | The CIA, the Military & Drugs Part IV

Developing a line of inquiry presented in the preceding broadcast, this program focuses on narco-terrorism in Latin America. Particular emphasis is on intelligence-related elements that figured in the Iran-Contra scandal, anti-Castro Cubans in particular. Much of the discussion centers on activities that took place when George Bush was in charge of the CIA.

After reviewing the Latin American narcotics network of Corsican gangster and Third Reich collaborator Auguste Ricord, the broadcast focuses on the role of Ricord associate Klaus Barbie in the 1980 “Cocaine Coup” in Bolivia. The Gestapo chief of Lyons (France) during the war, Barbie found post-war employment with American intelligence, first with the Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps, and later with the CIA.

With the aid of elements of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, Barbie and a group of fascist terrorists associated with the narcotics trade overthrew the Bolivian government and established a dictatorship under General Garcia-Meza. Under this regime, the business of cocaine kingpin Roberto Suarez thrived, aided by Barbie and his “bridegrooms of death.” Doubling as para-fascist terrorists and enforcers for the government, Barbie and his cutthroats aided the bloody suppression of trade unions and the political left in the coup’s aftermath.

Barbie’s cocaine mercenaries included some interesting individuals. German-born Joachim Fiebelkorn (a neo-Nazi and informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency) was joined with Italian fascists, such as Pierluigi Pagliai (a member of the infamous P‑2 lodge discussed in AFAs 18,19) and the notorious fascist Stefano Delle Chiaie, a principal architect of the “strategy of tension.”

The strategy of tension (a major focal point of AFA-19) was an out-cropping of what Danish journalist Henrik Kruger termed “the International Fascista.” (Kruger is the author of The Great Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence and International Fascism, published in softcover by the South End Press of Boston, copyright 1980. Mr. Emory views the work as the best individual volume ever written on the subject of the intelligence community and the narcotics trade.) A consortium of fascists in Europe and Latin America, International Fascista included numerous Latin death squad elements, elements of U.S. intelligence and the Paladin mercenary group (funded by Libyan dictator Khadafy, as well as the weapons empire of SS officer and sometime CIA operative Otto Skorzeny.) A principal figure in the postwar ODESSA organization, Skorzeny is discussed at considerable length in AFA-22.

One of the major cogs of the International Fascista was CORU, arguably the most militant and deadly of the anti-Castro Cuban organizations. CORU was involved in a string of bombings, assassinations and terrorist attacks in the mid 1970’s, including the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier in Washington D.C. CORU’s reign of terror took place when George Bush was director of the CIA, and an element of the agency appears to have been involved with it.

Program Highlights Include: “Operation Condor” (an international assassination consortium of Latin American dictatorships); a number of assassinations and attempted assassinations conducted under “Condor;” Argentine fascist and P‑2 lodge member Jose Lopez Rega; Italian fascist and Skorzeny associate Prince Justo Valerio Borghese; former Goebbels Propaganda Ministry official Gerhard Hartmut Von Schubert (the operating manager of the Paladin group); Paladin’s overlap with Spanish intelligence and the CIA; Operation Condor’s attempts at disguising its acts as left-wing terror; the position of the World Anti-Communist League in the milieu set forth in this broadcast

For more related content, please visit:

http://ourhiddenhistory.org/

https://archive.org/details/@altviewstv-fanclub

https://rumble.com/v4e2vto-dave-emory-anti-fascist-archives-27-the-cia-the-military-and-drugs-part-4-o.html 

Grand strategy

The historian Bernard Bachrach argues that the rise of the Carolingians to power is best understood using the theory of a Carolingian grand strategy. A grand strategy is a long term military and political strategy that lasts for longer than a typical campaigning season, and can span long periods of time.[46] The Carolingians followed a set course of action that discounts the idea of a random rise in power and can be considered as a grand strategy. Another major part of the grand strategy of the early Carolingians encompassed their political alliance with the aristocracy. This political relationship gave the Carolingians authority and power in the Frankish kingdom.

Beginning with Pippin II, the Carolingians set out to put the regnum Francorum ("kingdom of the Franks") back together, after its fragmentation after the death of Dagobert I, a Merovingian king. After an early failed attempt in c. 651 to usurp the throne from the Merovingians, the early Carolingians began to slowly gain power and influence as they consolidated military power as mayors of the palace. In order to do this, the Carolingians used a combination of Late Roman military organization along with the incremental changes that occurred between the fifth and eighth centuries. Because of the defensive strategy the Romans had implemented during the Late Empire, the population had become militarized and were thus available for military use.[47] The existence of the remaining Roman infrastructure that could be used for military purposes, such as roads, strongholds and fortified cities meant that the reformed strategies of the Late Romans would still be relevant. Civilian men who lived either in or near a walled city or strong point were required to learn how to fight and defend the areas in which they lived. These men were rarely used in the course of Carolingian grand strategy because they were used for defensive purposes, and the Carolingians were for the most part on the offensive most of the time.

Another class of civilians were required to serve in the military which included going on campaigns. Depending on one's wealth, one would be required to render different sorts of service, and "the richer the man was, the greater was his military obligation for service".[48] For example, if rich, one might be required as a knight. Or one might be required to provide a number of fighting men.

In addition to those who owed military service for the lands they had, there were also professional soldiers who fought for the Carolingians. If the holder of a certain amount of land was ineligible for military service (women, old men, sickly men or cowards) they would still owe military service. Instead of going themselves, they would hire a soldier to fight in their place. Institutions, such as monasteries or churches were also required to send soldiers to fight based on the wealth and the amount of lands they held. In fact, the use of ecclesiastical institutions for their resources for the military was a tradition that the Carolingians continued and greatly benefitted from.

It was "highly unlikely that armies of many more than a hundred thousand effectives with their support systems could be supplied in the field in a single theatre of operation."[49] Because of this, each landholder would not be required to mobilize all of his men each year for the campaigning season, but instead, the Carolingians would decide which kinds of troops were needed from each landholder, and what they should bring with them. In some cases, sending men to fight could be substituted for different types of war machines. In order to send effective fighting men, many institutions would have well trained soldiers that were skilled in fighting as heavily armored troops. These men would be trained, armored, and given the things they needed in order to fight as heavy troops at the expense of the household or institution for whom they fought. These armed retinues served almost as private armies, "which were supported at the expense of the great magnates, [and] were of considerable importance to early Carolingian military organization and warfare."[50] The Carolingians themselves supported their own military household and they were the most important "core of the standing army in the" regnum Francorum.[51]

It was by utilizing the organization of the military in an effective manner that contributed to the success of the Carolingians in their grand strategy. This strategy consisted of strictly adhering to the reconstruction of the regnum Francorum under their authority. Bernard Bachrach gives three principles for Carolingian long-term strategy that spanned generations of Carolingian rulers:

The first principle… was to move cautiously outward from the Carolingian base in Austrasia. Its second principle was to engage in a single region at a time until the conquest had been accomplished. The third principle was to avoid becoming involved beyond the frontiers of the regnum Francorum or to do so when absolutely necessary and then not for the purpose of conquest".[52]

This is important to the development of medieval history because without such a military organization and without a grand strategy, the Carolingians would not have successfully become kings of the Franks, as legitimized by the bishop of Rome. Furthermore, it was ultimately because of their efforts and infrastructure that Charlemagne was able to become such a powerful king and be crowned Emperor of the Romans in 800. Without the efforts of his predecessors, he would not have been as successful as he was and the revival of the Roman Empire in the West was likely to have not occurred.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_dynasty

Pope Paul V (Latin: Paulus V; Italian: Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries.[2] In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal Robert Bellarmine to inform Galileo that the Copernican theory could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the geocentric model as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the trial of 1633.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_V 

The House of Borghese is a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the commune. During the 16th century, the head of the family, Marcantonio, moved to Rome, where they rose in power and wealth following the election of his son Camillo as Pope Paul V in 1605. They were one of the leading families of the black nobility and maintain close ties to the Vatican.

Borghese (Borghesi) of Siena

The family originated with Tiezzo da Monticiano, a 13th-century wool merchant in Siena, whose nephew Borghese gave his name to the family. Among the important Sienese Borghese are:

Agostino (1390–1462), noted soldier in the wars between Siena and Florence, named count palatine by Pope Pius II and count of the Holy Roman Empire by Sigismund

Niccolò (1432–1500), man of letters, philosopher, and important political figure in the Sienese republic, belonging to the Monte dei Nove.

Pietro (1469–1527), named a senator of Rome by Pope Leo X, killed in the Sack of Rome.

Marcantonio (1504–1574), politician and lawyer in papal service.

Borghese of Rome

The head of the family, Marcantonio, Patrician of Siena, moved to Rome in 1541 and this Sienese family rapidly gained access to the upper echelons of Roman society, culminating in the election of Marcantonio's son Camillo Borghese as Pope Paul V in 1605. Paul V was an unabashed nepotist, naming his brother Francesco (1556–1620) Duke of Rignano and general of the papal army, his other brother Giambattista (1554–1609) Governor of the Borgo and castellan of Castel Sant'Angelo, and his sister Ortensia's son Scipione Caffarelli (1577–1633), becoming Scipione Borghese on his adoption) a Cardinal and his adoptive son. Paul also bestowed on his nephew Scipione the title Prince of Vivero on (November 17, 1609). As an extended family, the Borghese became some of the largest landowners of the Roman Campagna, increasing their wealth by their strategic control of their properties and a concerted policy of assuming monopolies of milling grain and the rights to run inns.

Paul V Burghesius Romanus name on St. Peter's Basilica

Thus the Borghese family rose still further in power and wealth. Many of Paul V's official inscriptions include ROMANUS after his name, to reinforce the family's new Roman connection. Scipione was a major patron of the arts, and the family art collection burgeoned under his guardianship (formerly housed at the family seat in Rome, Palazzo Borghese, it has since 1903 been established as the Galleria Borghese, located in the family's former property, Villa Borghese).

Marcantonio II (1598–1658), son of Giambattista, was named prince of Sulmona in 1610 (Grandee of Spain of 1st class), again through Paul V's influence, in this case with Philip III of Spain. In 1619 Marcantonio II married Camilla Orsini, becoming heir to both the Borghese and Orsini families. His son Paolo (1624–1646) married Olimpia Aldobrandini, princess of Rossano, and by this marriage enabled the Borghese to lay claim to the Aldobrandini family legacy as well, though this right was only recognised in 1769 after protracted court battles. Along with Paolo's titles, Olimpia passed the title of prince of Rossano to their grandson Marcantonio III (1660–1729), who also became viceroy of Naples.

His grandson Marcantonio IV (1730–1800), prince of Sulmona and of Rossano, was a senator of the Roman Republic. His son Camillo Filippo Ludovico (1775–1832) enlisted in the Napoleonic army and later became one of its generals. In 1803 he married Napoleon's sister, Pauline Bonaparte, the promiscuous widow of General Leclerc. Camillo was named duke of Guastalla in 1806, and governor of Piedmont (1807–1814). Camillo's sale of the Borghese collection of antiquities enriched the new Musée du Louvre. On Napoleon's fall, he separated from Pauline and retired to private life in Florence, dying without issue.

Marcantonio IV's second son, prince Francesco Borghese-Aldobrandini (1776–1839), was also a general in the Napoleonic army, and inherited all Camillo's property. Francesco had married Adèle de La Rochefoucauld, daughter of Alexandre-Francois, and their son Marcantonio married Thérèse de La Rochefoucauld, daughter of Alexandre-Jules (brother of Adèle).

His great-grandson Prince Scipione Borghese (1871–1927) was an industrialist and sportsman, remembered for participating in the 1907 Peking to Paris Race with the journalist Luigi Barzini.

His nephew Junio Valerio Borghese (1906–1974) was a Navy official under the Fascist regime and awardee of the Gold Medal of Military Valour for his commando actions during World War II. In post-war Italy he became a prominent far-right politician; he fled to Spain in 1970 after being accused of plotting a coup d'état.

There are 4 present branches of the Borghese family:

Borghese, descended from Marcantonio V, princes of Sulmona, Rossano, son of Francesco

Borghese-Aldobrandini, descended from Camillo, princes of Meldola, son of Francesco

Borghese-Salviati, descended from Scipione, dukes of Giuliano, son of Francesco

Borghese-Torlonia, Giulio (1847–1914), princes of Fucino, grandson of Francesco, married princess Anna Maria Torlonia

Notable members of the family

Scipione Borghese (1577–1633): cardinal, artistic patron of Bernini, and nephew of Pope Paul V

Pope Paul V (1605–1621): né Camillo Borghese (1550–1621)

Paolo Borghese (1622–1646), he married Olimpia Aldobrandini

Francesco Scipione Maria Borghese (1697–1759): cardinal

Marcantonio Borghese (1730–1800): rebuilt the Villa Borghese and its gardens

Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese (1775–1832): second husband of Pauline Bonaparte

Pauline Borghese, née Bonaparte (1780–1825): sister of Napoleon and wife of Camillo Borghese

Scipione Borghese (1871–1927): politician and explorer

Giangiacomo Borghese (1889–1954): 6th fascist governor of Rome (1939–1944) and husband of the 13th Princess of Leonforte

Paolo Borghese (1904–1985): Duke of Bomarzo and husband of Marcella Borghese

Junio Valerio Borghese (1906–1974): Italian naval commander and politician

Marcella Borghese, née Fazi (1911–2002): cosmetics entrepreneur and wife of Paolo Borghese

Lorenzo Borghese (b. 1972): entrepreneur and television personality

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borghese_family 

6. The delegates commit to working with the schools to enhance the way parents and families are invited into our education and formation." 

The Rio Papers International Congress for Jesuit Education Delegates Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 2017

The Rio Papers (googleusercontent.com)

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ce18dDJhSfoJ:https://jesuitinstitute.org/Resources/Rio%2520Papers.pdf&cd=51&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Borghese

Recorded in many forms including Bourges, Bourgaize, Bourgeois, (France), Burgess, Burges and Burgis (England and Scotland), Borghese, Borgesio and Burgisi (Italy), and others, this interesting surname is of pre 8th century Old French origins. It derives from the word "burgeis", meaning inhabitant and FREEMAN of a fortified town, one which could apply municipal rates, taxes, and duties. A burgeis generally had tenure of land or buildings from a landlord by "burgage", which involved the payment of a fixed money rent. In Scotland, the position of burgess required not only the making of payments, but to be availble to take part in guarding the town. The surname is one of the earliest recorded anywhere in the world. These recordings are from England because this country was the first to adopt both hereditary surnames and to make the necessary registers in which to record them. France was several centuries later, and Italy, not until the 19th century in most areas. Early recordings showing the influence of the Norman-French in England after the Invasion of 1066 include: Ralph le Burgeis, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Sussex in 1195, and Philip Bourges in the cartulary of Oseney Abbey, Oxford in 1197. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey Burgeis, which was dated 1115, in the "Winton Rolls" of Hampshire. This was during the reign of King Henry 1st, known as "The Lion of Justice", 1100 - 1135. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. Over the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Borghese

FREEMASON

Encyclopedia Masonica

One who has been initiated into the mysteries of the Fraternity of Freemasonry. Freemasons are so called to distinguish them from the Operative or Stone-Masons, who constituted an inferior class of workmen, and out of whom they sprang (see Stonemasons and Traveling Freemasons). The meaning of the epithet free, as applied to Mason, is given under the word Free. In the old lectures of the eighteenth century a Freemason was described as being "a freeman, born of a freewoman, brother to a king, fellow to a prince, or companion to a beggar, if a Mason," and by this was meant to indicate the universality of the Brotherhood.

The word Freemason was until recently divided into two words, sometimes with and sometimes without a hyphen; and we find in all the old books and manuscripts Free Mason or Free-Mason. But this usage has generally been abandoned by writers, and Freemason is usually spelled as one word. The old Constitutions constantly used the word Mason. E et the word was employed at a very early period in the parish registers of England, and by some writers. Thus, in the register of the parish of Astbury we find these items:

1685. Smallwood, Jos., fils Jos. Henshaw, Freemason bapt 3 die Nov. 1697. Jos. fil Jos. Henshaw, Freemason, buried 7 April.

But the most singular passage is one found in Cawdray's Treasurie of Similies, published in 1609, and which he copied from Bishop Coverdale's translation of Werdmuller's A Spiritual and most Precious Perle, which was published in 1550. It is as follows:

As the freemason heweth-the hard stones . . . even so God the Heavenly Free-Mason buildeth a Christian church.

But, in fact, the word was used at a much earlier period, and occurs, Steinbrenner says in his Origin and Early History of Masonry (page 110), for the first time in a statute passed in 1350, in the twenty-fifth year of Edward I, where the wages of a Master Freemason are fixed at 4 pence, and of other Masons at 3 pence. The original French text of the statute is "Mestre de franche-peer." "Here," says Steinbrenner, "the word Freemason evidently signifies a free-stone mason?one who works in free-stone, the French franche-peer, meaning franche-pierre, as distinguished from the rough masons who merely built walls of rough, unhown stone." This latter sort of workmen was that class called by the Scotch Masons cowans whom the Freemasons were forbidden to work with, whence we get the modern use of that word.

Ten years after, in 1360, we have a statute of Edward III, in which it is ordained that "every Mason shall finish his work, be it of free-stone or of rough-stone," where the French text of the statute is file franche-pere ou de grosse-pere." Thus it seems evident that the word free-mason was originally used in contradistinction to rough-rruson. The old Constituitions sometimes call these latter masons rough layers.

Doctor Murray's New English Dictionary has the following information under Freemason: The precise import with which the adjective was originally used in this designation has been much disputed Three views have been propounded.

1. The suggestion that free mason stands for free stone mason would appear unworthy of attention, but for the curious fact that the earliest known instances of any similar appellation are mestre mason de France peer, master mason of free stone. Act 25, Edward III, st. II, e. 3, A.D. 1350, and sculptores lapidum liberorum "carvers of free stones," alleged to occur in a document of 1217, Finders History of freemasonry (51), citing Wyatt Papworth; the coincidence, however, seems to be merely accidental.

2. The view most generally held is that free masons were those who were free of the masons' gild. Against this explanation many forcible objections have been brought by Mr. G. W. Speth, who suggests:

3. That the itinerant masons were called free because they claimed exemption from the control of the local gilds of the towns in which they temporarily settled.

4. Perhaps the best hypothesis is that the term refers to the mediaeval practice of emancipating skilled artisans, in order that they might be able to travel and render their services wherever any great building was in process of construction.

And then the following meanings are given:

1. A member of a certain class of skilled workers in stone, in the fourteenth and following centuries often mentioned in contradistinction to rough masons, ligiers, etc. They traveled from place to place, finding employment wherever important buildings were being erected, and had a system of secret signs and passwords by which a craftsman who had been admitted on giving evidence of competent skill could be recognized. In later use, sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, the term seems often to be used merely as a more complimentary synonym of mason, implying that the workman so designated belonged to a superior grade.

The earliest instance quoted of the word in this sense is in a list of the London City Companies of 1376.

2. A member of the Fraternity, called more fully Free and Accepted Masons. Early in the seventeenth century, the Societies of Freemasons, in sense 1, began to admit honorary members, not connected with the building trades, but supposed to be eminent for architectural w or antiquarian learning. These were caned Accepted Masons, though the term Free Masons was often loosely applied to them; and they were admitted to a knowledge of the secret signs, and instructed in the legendary history of the Craft, which had already begun to be developed. The distinction of being an Accepted Mason became a fashionable object of ambition, and before the end of the seventeenth century, the object of the Societies of Freemasons seems to have been chiefly social and convivial. In 1717, under the guidance of the physicist J. T. Desaguliers, four of these Societies or Lodges in London united to form a Grand Lodge, with a new constitution and ritual, and a system of secret signs, the object of the Society as reconstituted being mutual help and the promotion of brotherly feeling among its members.

Brother E. L. Hawkins observes that the earliest instance quoted of the word in this sense is in Ashmole's Diary under date of 1646 (see Ashmole).

Gould in his Concise History has this to say upon the subject:

Two curious coincidences have been connected with the above year, 1375.

The first, that the earliest copy of the manuscript constitutions, Remus Manuscript, refers to the customs of that period;

the second, that the formation p of a wonderful society, occasioned by a combination of masons undertaking not to work without an advance of wages, when summoned from several counties by writs of Edward III, to rebuild and enlarge Windsor Castle, under the direction of William of Wykeham, has been plated at the same date. It is said also that these masons agreed on certain signs and tokens by which they might know one another, and render mutual assistance against impressment- and further agreed not to work unless free and on their own terms. Hence they called themselves Free-Masons.

A child's book, Dives Pragmaticus, printed in the year 1563, and reproduced in 1910 by the owner, the John Rylands Library at Manchester, England, contains a list of occupations and line 97 is Al Free masons, Brike layers and dawbers of walled.

https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/encyclopedia/freemason 

Vatican reaffirms 'grave sin' of Freemasonry, says Catholics cannot join the world's largest secret society

Freemasonry has been prohibited for Catholics since 1738, when Pope Clement XII called the secret society 'depraved and perverted'

By Timothy H.J. Nerozzi Fox News

Published November 15, 2023 12:25pm EST

The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has reaffirmed the Catholic Church's teachings that laity or clerics participating in Freemasonry are in "a state of grave sin."

The DDF released the Nov. 13 document to the public with the signatures of Pope Francis and the DDF Prefect Cardinal Victor Fernández, urging the faithful not to participate in or affiliate with Freemasonry groups.

"On the doctrinal level, it should be remembered that active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is forbidden because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the document reads, citing the 1983 "Declaration on Masonic Associations" by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would go on to become Pope Benedict XVI.

"Therefore, those who are formally and knowingly enrolled in Masonic Lodges and have embraced Masonic principles fall under the provisions in the above-mentioned Declaration. These measures also apply to any clerics enrolled in Freemasonry," the document continues.

The clarification was requested by Bishop Julito Cortes of the Philippines, who raised concerns about growing interest in the secret society in his country.

Freemasonry, the world's largest secret society with millions of members scattered across almost every country in the world, established its first Grand Lodge in England in 1717.

The society swears oaths of secrecy, fellowship and fraternity among members and has accumulated a vast catalog of rituals, ceremonial attire and secret signals between masons. These aesthetic affectations often use Christian imagery despite being used for non-Christian rituals.

Freemasons are usually expected to profess belief in a "supreme being" but are not obligated to believe in any specific deity.

Members of the Catholic Church are not allowed to join or affiliate with Freemasonry groups due to the organizations' deistic, non-Christian teachings about divinity.

Additionally, the secretive and ritualistic nature of Freemason lodges has often led to accusations from Catholic leaders of idolatry and clandestine opposition to Christianity.

However, Freemason associations are far from uniform, and Masonic culture differs greatly between different rites, sects, lodges and national bodies of Freemasonry. The Catholic Church has fought most aggressively with Masonic bodies in continental Europe, which boasts a more ideological tone.

Freemasonry in the U.S. and the U.K., while still linked to overseas lodges, is reportedly more socially and professionally focused.

Freemasonry was rendered an excommunicable offense in 1738 by Pope Clement XII, who called the secret society "depraved and perverted."

The 1983 document by then-Cardinal Ratzinger cited in the Vatican's latest document states that the "negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden."

The 1983 document adds, "The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion."

The Vatican recommended a pastoral approach to the issue of Freemasonry in the Philippines, suggesting national bishops push for greater catechesis on the subject among the laity.

"On the pastoral level, the Dicastery proposes that the Philippine Bishops conduct catechesis accessible to the people and in all parishes regarding the reasons for the irreconcilability between the Catholic Faith and Freemasonry."

It is debated whether joining a Freemasonic lodge incurs an automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church under Canon Law.

https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/vatican-reaffirms-grave-sin-freemasonry-catholics-cannot-join-worlds-largest-secret-society

It will be lawful for an ecclesiastic, or one of the religious order jeg. a Jesuit, to kill a calumniator who threatens to spread atrocious accusations against himself or his religion," is the rule given by the Jesuit Francis Amicus. Clement XIV was in their eyes such a calumniator. Indeed, as we have read, the Jesuit oath states, "I will secretly use the poisoned cup, the strangulation cord, the steel of the poniard (a dagger) or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honor, rank. dignity, or authority of the person or persons...." That would include 'popicide'! Several historians have opined that the poison given to Pope Clement XIV was administered by one of his regular guests or a servant. And it is a fact that every week the pope met with his Jesuit confessor.

Even to this day, of those who have access to the pope, the Jesuits are always the best positioned. The Jesuits know all the secrets of the popes and have the most intimate access to the Roman pontiffs. Indeed, some of the Pope's closest advisors are Jesuits. Further, it is a requirement that the pope's confessor must be a Jesuit. Jean Lacouture's work Jesuits: A Multibiography confirms that Pope Paul VI (Cardinal Montini) had as his confessor a Jesuit priest. And the Jesuit Cardinal Paolo Dezza, with whom the Pope is said to have had "almost daily meetings," tells us that the "White Pope" has private "monthly face-to- face meetings" with the "Black Pope."" This quote is verbatim.

Nor were these weekly meetings a peculiarity of Paul VT's papacy "The Pope's confessor, an ordinary priest, must be a Jesuit: he must

25 Charles Newdigate, Glimps of the Great Secret Society, op. cit., p. 40: and Wylie, History of Protestantism, op. cit.

26 R. W. Thompson, Footprints of the Jesuits, op. cit., pp. 224-227. 27 Francis Amicus, Cursus Theologici, Tomus v., Duaci, 1642, Disp. 36,

Sect. 5, n. 118.

28 Jean Lacouture, Jesuits: A Multibiography, op. cit., p. 463, para. 1. See also, p. 444 (Pope Pius XII also having Jesuit Father Robert Leiber. as his confessor). Only a Jesuit can be the Pope's confessor: p. 445.

252 

Order out of Chaos: the Jesuits, Their rise, fall...Audacious Return the Vatican once a week at a fixed time, and he alone may absolve the Pope of his sins. In fact, Cardinal Dezza was confessor to two Popes- Paul VI and John Paul I-both of whom 'chose him as confessor.

10

The reader may be surprised to learn that there have been several such Papal assassinations, and attempts at assassinations. Malachi Martin, the former Jesuit professor and Vatican insider, says that the tensions between Paul VI and the Jesuit General was so high that the Pontill was thinking about "dissolving the Company a second time." He was not to live to execute any such plans. In 1970, Pope Paul VI was almost stabbed to death by Benjamin Mendoza y Amor Flores. Malachi Martin writes: "Had it not been for that still collar and the speed of Paul's private secretary, Monsignore Macchi, who caught Mendoza's arm and slowed its force, Paul VI would have been killed. As it was, he was wounded slightly on both sides of the neck." Then, on July 14, 1978, for no apparent reason, Paul VI fell into unconsciousness for four hours and died soon after of a massive heart attack. It would be remiss of me not to point out that almost every pope who has sought to dissolve the Jesuits has had an untimely and sudden demise.

Likewise, Paul VI's successor Pope John Paul I inherited a financial scandal involving the Jesuits, the Vatican Bank and its American director, Bishop Paul Marcinkus. John Paul I decided to act: he went to bed with a copy of his speech about his plans to either terminate or reorganize the Jesuits. He was found dead by his housekeeper the following morning." In an earlier age so untimely a death might have stirred deep suspicions. Time magazine, October 9, 1978, notes: "If this were the time of the Borgias," said a young teacher in Rome, "there'd be talk that John Paul was poisoned."

29 Nino Lo Bello, The Vatican Empire, (New York: Trident Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, 1968), p. 78. Nino Lo Bello was the author of ten books, including the New York Times bestsellers. The Vatican Empire, Vatican U.S.A., European Detours, The Vatican Papers, and Nino Lo Bello's Guide to the Vatican. For eight years, he was Italian correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune and served as special correspondent to the International Herald Tribune for more than a

quarter-century.

30 Malachi Martin, The Jesuits: The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989), p. 401; see also his comments on pp. 231-233 regarding the murder of

Pope Sixtus V in 1590.

31

Martin, The Jesuits, The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the

Roman Catholic Church, op. cit., p. 44.

253

CODEWORD BARBELON

Three years later, on May 13, 1981, the successor to John Paul I, "ope John Paul II, was struck by two bullets from the semiautomatic istol of hitman Mehmet Ali Agca. Three weeks prior to the ssassination attempt John Paul II had a meeting with six of the most owerful cardinals in the Vatican and was in deadlock talks with the esuit General. The topic? The forced resignation of the Jesuit General Pedro Arrupe!" John Paul had written a letter to Father General Arrupe, insisting on appointing the 80 year old Jesuit Cardinal Paolo Dezza as his personal delegate to the Jesuits, with power to govern the Society of Jesus. After the failed attempt on his life John Paul II withdrew his demands, and lived a long life-unlike Pope Clement XIV.

Not long thereafter the attempted assassination of John Paul II by Mehmet Ali, May 1981, the Jesuit General Pedro Arrupe" made this marvellous admission: "The Company is feared everywhere.... The people say, "These Jesuits are wily! And so powerful!****

Returning to the suppression. For all its "comprehensive" and bold declarations, Pope Clement's decree of 1773 proved only partially successful and palpably shortlived. After Clement's suspicious and untimely death, Cardinal Braschi was elected Pope Pius VI, on February 15, 1775. The successor to the unfortunate Clement XIV was no less in fear of the Jesuits. A former pupil of the Society of Jesus, he knew their wrath. Almost immediately he sought to secure the release of Fr. Ricci, the Jesuit General, and his assistants from the prison in Castel San Angelo. But Charles III. King of Spain, insisted on their detention. Moreover, the Jesuits were never suppressed in Russia or Germany. Pius VI, seeing the fate of his predecessors, colluded with Frederick II of Prussia to "saving the Jesuits." On March 12, 1783. Pius VI "approved" the maintenance of the Jesuits in Russia.

138

32 Malachi Martin, The Jesuits..., op, cit., pp. 79-80, 94.

33 Pedro Arrupe (1907-1991) "the 28th Superior General". For nearly 20

years, he was the central figure in the renewal of the Society after Vatican Council II. From the Basque country of Spain, he put his medical training on hold to join the Jesuits. He was expelled from Spain in 1932, along with all the Jesuits by the Spanish government. 34 Jean Lacouture, Jesuits: A Multibiography, op. cit., p. 472; Alain. Woodrow, Les Jesuits (Paris: Jean-Claude Lattés, 1984), p. 267. 35 Lacouture, Jesuits: A Multibiography, op. cit., p. 305.

36 Histoire religieuse, politique et litteraire de la Compagnie de Jesus, op

cit, p. 485.

254

"Order Out of Chaos: The Jesuits, Their Rise, Fall, And Audacious Return" Codeword Barbelon book One 

by P.D. Stuart

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/632221927727910 

What was the Merovingian Dynasty?

Answer

The Merovingian Dynasty was a Frankish line of kings who ruled in Western Europe from AD 476 to 752. By the end of the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire and the influence of Greco-Roman culture were in decline. The Roman Empire had lost its hold on most of Western Europe. From the capital in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), the Eastern Roman Empire was focused on defending against Arab/Islamic invaders from the East. Out from under the thumb of Rome, and with less pressing threats from invaders, Western Europe began to come into its own politically, and Christianity in Western Europe began to develop as well.

At this time and for several centuries to follow, Gaul was the largest and most important state in Western Europe. It encompassed modern France and Luxembourg as well as significant portions of Switzerland, northern and central Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. Gaul fell to the Franks, a Germanic tribe, in 486. The Merovingian Dynasty, named for the Frankish King Merovech, continued to expand their kingdom. In 496, Merovech’s grandson, King Clovis I, was baptized as a Christian. (His wife was Catholic, and she had been trying to convert him. Before an important battle that he feared he might lose, Clovis asked the aid of his wife’s God. After victory in battle, he “converted.”)

Clovis’s conversion had significant historical impact but seems to have had very little personal impact. Clovis and his forces were still quite willing to use treachery and brutality to defeat any opposition. As a Catholic convert, Clovis was loyal to the Nicene Creed. Although Arianism had been popular among Germanic peoples, Clovis led his people to accept the orthodox understanding of the Person of Christ and also used this theological disagreement as motivation (or pretext?) to expel the Arian Visigoths from Southern France.

As loyal Catholics, the Merovingian rulers were allied with the Pope and became promoters of Catholic Christianity. Although the Merovingians were harsh and even barbaric in their rule, their alliance with and promotion of Roman Catholicism resulted in at least a nominal acceptance of orthodox Christianity throughout Western Europe and even led to the spread of Christianity to England.

The harsh practices of the Merovingian Dynasty in the 6th and 7th centuries were detrimental to the Church. The Merovingians viewed the Church as a tool to be used for their own purposes. They regularly appointed laymen as bishops and sold church offices. Pope Gregory tried to institute reforms, but these were resisted. Finally, in 752 Pope Zachary deposed King Chideric III, ending the Merovingian Dynasty. Pope Stephen II (Zachary’s successor) crowned Pepin the Short king of Gaul. Pepin was the first king of the new Carolingian Dynasty.

When considering the impact of the Merovingian Dynasty, it might be easy to slip into cynicism. This is one instance in which orthodox Christianity (at least orthodox in respect to the Nicene Creed) was spread by ungodly political and military means. However, we must remember that God can use any event and any ruler—even those who have no genuine allegiance to Him—to accomplish His ultimate goal without divine approval of the means (see Isaiah 10:5–19). What the Merovingian kings did with sinful motives God used to spread (at least a nominal) orthodox Christianity throughout Western Europe and prepared the way for the gospel to be proclaimed in England. Just as Joseph pointed out to his brothers who sold him into slavery that what they meant for evil God used for good (see Genesis 50:20), the progeny of English Christianity can be thankful for the influence of the Merovingian Dynasty while acknowledging that many of the means used to spread Christianity were counter to the spirit of it.

In the 1982 book Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the 2003 book The Da Vinci Code, the authors concoct a myth that the Merovingian kings were actually physical descendants of Jesus Christ through a relationship with Mary Magdalene. This is a baseless hoax. While the Merovingian kings claimed divine support for their dynasty, there is no historical record of them claiming to be of the bloodline of Jesus Christ. Further, there is absolutely no biblical or historical evidence of Jesus being married or having children.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Merovingian-dynasty.html

Protocol 15: When the King of Israel sets upon his sacred head the crown offered him by Europe he will become patriarch of the world.

Twelve royal families in Europe today have Grail blood flowing through their veins. Two of them carry the title of "King of Jerusalem:" Otto von Habsburg, Pretender to the Austrian throne, and Juan Carlos, King of Spain.

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel 

https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf

We have seen that Pope Francis admits he still "thinks like a Jesuit." Well, fellow Jesuit, Robert Blair Kaiser (in his book Inside the Jesuits) tell us that Francis not only thinks like a Jesuit, but that his actions are due to his "Jesuit DNA". According to a book review  by the Jesuit journal America, Kaiser's book probes "into what it means to think like a Jesuit in the age of Francis. He argues as the outset that Francis "has been driven by his Jesuit DNA to make changes in the Church that have been UP TO NOW UNTHINKABLE."

In a direct reference to Francis' comments that he still 'thinks like a Jesuit' and still "feel" himself a Jesuit, Robert Blair Kaiser in his book Inside the Jesuits contends that the above statement of Francis is most revealing about where this Jesuit Pope is taking the Catholic Church." page 84

"But the inquiring reader might ask, "If there is indeed such a thing, even metaphorically, as 'Jesuit DNA,' then how would we account for the vast number of 'genetic mutations' that one finds in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)? By 'genetic mutations' I refer to the seemingly maverick and self-willed Jesuits that seem to mutiny from time to time.

The answer is simple. In giving these eight Jesuit profiles, Kaiser not only seeks to demonstrate that there is such a thing as metaphorical "Jesuit DNA," but also that Jesuits can very versatile, and that they are required to be that way in order to act their part in virtually any field of action that they may find themselves, WHETHER LEFT-WING social activist, OR CONSERVATIVE RIGHT demagogue, 'President'. In other words, Kaiser shows that the Jesuits are trained to be "all things to all men," since the "end justifies the means." Hence, the Jesuit will play any fiddle that his superiors demand or his role requires. He can play both the fool or the wise statesman-like role." pages 88-89

"To more fully appreciate the practical evils of the Jesuit DNA we must look to history. The most evil socialist movement of the twentieth century, that of Adolf Hitler, was inspired by Jesuit principles. Here is what Hitler said of the influence of the Jesuits on his Nazi Party (a radical communist movement also known as fascism):

"I have learnt most of all from the Jesuit Order... So far, there has been nothing more imposing on earth than the hierarchical organization of the Catholic Church. A good part of that organization I have transported DIRECT TO MY OWN PARTY... I will tell you a secret. I am founding an Order... In Himmler I see OUR IGNATIUS DE LOYOLA!"

Walther Friedrich Schellenberg (1910-1952), the German SS-Brigadefuhrer who rose through the ranks of Hitler's SS to become the head of foreign intelligence wrote: "The SS had been organized by Himmler ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF THE JESUIT ORDER. The rules of service and SPIRITUAL EXERCISES PRESCRIBED BY IGNATIUS DE LOYOLA constituted a model which Himmler strove CAREFULLY TO COPY. Absolute obedience was the supreme rule; every order had to be executed without comment."

"Exploring Francis' Jesuit DNA"

Pope Francis Lord of the World

by P.D. Stuart 

23andMe Holding Co. is an American personal genomics and biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California.[1][2] It is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva sample that is laboratory analysed, using single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping,[3] to generate reports relating to the customer's ancestry and genetic predispositions to health-related topics. The company's name is derived from the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a diploid human cell.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23andMe

The Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries (currently Spain and Luxembourg). The Capetians appear first in the records as powerful nobles serving under the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne in West Francia, which later became France. As their power increased, they came into conflict with the older royal family and attained the crown several times before the eventual start of the continuous rule of the descendants of Hugh Capet (ruled 987–996).

Hugh's paternal ancestral family, the Robertians, appear in documents that trace the family back to his great-grandfather Robert the Strong (d. 866). His origins remain unclear, but medieval records hint at an origin in East Francia, in present-day Germany, an area then still also ruled by the Carolingians. In particular, Regino of Prüm (died 915) states that Robert the Strong's son Odo was said to be a relative (nepos) of a Count Meingaud, count of an area near Worms, who died in 892, and there are indications that Maingaud's family used the names Robert and Odo.

Modern proposals about their ancestry further back are based on the idea that there was one family which frequently named its sons Robert, including Robert III of Worms (800–834), Robert the Strong (d. 866), and Robert I of France (866–923). For example, one proposed ancestor is Robert of Hesbaye (c. 800), about whom there are almost no records.

The Robertian family figured prominently amongst the Carolingian nobility and married into this royal family. Eventually, the Robertians themselves produced Frankish kings such as the brothers Odo (reigned 888–898) and Robert I (r. 922–923), then Hugh Capet (r. 987–996), who ruled from his seat in Paris as the first Capetian king of France.

Although Philip II Augustus (r. 1180–1223) was officially the last monarch of France with the title "King of the Franks" (rex Francorum) and the first to style himself "King of France" (roi de France), in (systematic application of) historiography, Hugh Capet holds this distinction. He founded the Capetians, the royal dynasty that ruled France until the revolution of the Second French Republic in 1848—save during the interregnum of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Members of the family still reign in Europe today : both King Felipe VI of Spain and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg descend from this family through the Bourbon cadet branch of the dynasty.

Origin

The oldest known Robertians probably originated in the county of Hesbaye, around Tongeren in modern-day Belgium. The first certain ancestor is Robert the Strong count of Paris,[1] probably the son of Robert III of Worms, grandson of Robert of Hesbaye, and nephew of Ermengarde of Hesbaye, who was the daughter of Ingram, and wife of Louis the Pious. Other related family includes Cancor, founder of the Lorsch Abbey, his sister Landrada and her son Saint Chrodogang, archbishop of Metz.

History

Robert the Strong

The sons of Robert the Strong were Odo and Robert, who were both king of Western Francia and ruled during the Carolingian era. His daughter Richildis married a count of Troyes. The family became Counts of Paris under Odo and "Dukes of the Franks" under Robert, possessing large parts of the ancient Neustria. Although quarrels continued between Robert's son Hugh the Great and Louis IV of France, they were mended upon the ascension of Lothair I of France (954–986). Lothair greatly expanded the Robertian dominions when he granted Hugh Aquitaine as well as much of Burgundy,[2] both rich and influential territories, arguably two of the richest in France.

The Carolingian dynasty ceased to rule France upon the death of Louis V (d. 987). After the death of Louis, the son of Hugh the Great, Hugh Capet was chosen as king of the Franks, nominally the last ruler of West Francia. Given the resurgence of the Holy Roman Empire title and dignities in the West Francian kingdom, Europe was later believed to have entered a new age, so Hugh came to be known in historiography as the first king of France, as western civilization was perceived to have entered the High Middle Ages period. Hugh was crowned at Noyon on July 3, 987 with the full support of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. With Hugh's coronation, a new era began for France, and his descendants came to be named, after him, the Capetians. They ruled France as the Capetians, Valois, and Bourbons until the French Revolution. They returned after 1815 and ruled until Louis Philippe was deposed in 1848.

However, they have continued to rule Spain, with two republican interruptions, through the Bourbon Dynasty right down to the current king Felipe VI.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertians 

When were the Jesuits restored?

August 7, 1814

Pressured by the royal courts of Portugal, France and Spain, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society, causing Jesuits throughout the world to renounce their vows and go into exile. Pope Pius VII, a Benedictine, restored the Society on August 7, 1814."

https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/video-resources/jesuit-values-videos/suppression-of-the-society-of-jesus

The Capetian dynasty (/kəˈpiːʃən/; French: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favor of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans. Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon house are still ruling over Spain and Luxembourg."

Name origins and usage

The name of the dynasty derives from its founder, Hugh, who was known as "Hugh Capet".[4] The meaning of "Capet" (a nickname rather than a surname of the modern sort) is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with "cape", other suggestions indicate it might be connected to the Latin word caput ("head"), and explain it as meaning "chief" or "head".[citation needed]

Historians in the 19th century (see House of France) came to apply the name "Capetian" to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice. The name "Capet" has also been used as a surname for French royalty, particularly but not exclusively those of the House of Capet. One notable use was during the French Revolution, when the dethroned King Louis XVI (a member of the House of Bourbon and a direct male-line descendant of Hugh Capet) and Queen Marie Antoinette (a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) were referred to as "Louis and Antoinette Capet" (the queen being addressed as "the Widow Capet" after the execution of her husband).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_dynasty 

St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome is considered the mother church of all the Catholic churches in the Western world; inscribed on the church facade for all to see are the Latin words “omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et CAPUT,” meaning, “The mother and HEAD of all the churches of the city and of the world.”

https://www.simplycatholic.com/st-john-lateran-basilica/

In the second prelude, for Chief- Gene ral read highest Leader, and for captain read leader. For the first Leader the Spanish Autograph has Captain General, and for the second (leader), caudillo ; the former title expressing, as Father Rothaan remarks, a Commander-in-Chief of lawful warfare, the latter designating rather the leader of a faction, and being often used in a bad sense, as of a captain of robbers or malefactors. In order to express in some measure this distinction, he has made use of the terms Dux Generalis (LeaderGeneral) and CAPUT (HEAD) in his literal Version. The Common Version makes no distinction ; and hence, in order to render this Version with strict faithfulness, must read, both here and in the next two paragraphs, leader instead of captain, although (as the reader will already have perceived) this latter is the term which erceived) this latter is the term which corresponds the more nearly with the Spanish original. In all three places Father Rothaan has caput : in the third prelude he has again Dux instead of Imperator : see above. In the first point, in order to be strictly with the Common Version, readier?/ and smoky chair in stead of chair offire and smoke ; although this latter is what the Autograph has, a certain great chair of fire and smoke, " in which", observes Father Rothaan, there is no solidity, no true glory, but mere agitation and perpetual disturbance joined with thick darkness"; And this image", he adds, " exhibits the evil spirit such as he is, but not such as he offers himself to men's minds."

The Spiritual Exercises of Loyola

https://ia801306.us.archive.org/8/items/a588350800loyouoft/a588350800loyouoft.pdf 

Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]"

page 463

The CONstitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Revelation 13:18

New International Version

"18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a] That number is 666."

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A18&version=NIV  

Lothair I (Dutch and Medieval Latin: Lotharius; German: Lothar; French: Lothaire; Italian: Lotario; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century Carolingian emperor (817–855, with his father until 840) and king of Italy (818–855) and Middle Francia (843–855).

Lothair I was the eldest son of the Carolingian emperor Louis I and his wife Ermengarde of Hesbaye,[1] daughter of Ingerman the duke of Hesbaye. On several occasions, Lothair led his full-brothers Pepin I of Aquitaine and Louis the German in revolt against their father to protest against attempts to make their half-brother Charles the Bald a co-heir to the Frankish domains. Upon the father's death, Charles and Louis joined forces against Lothair in a three-year civil war (840–843). The struggles between the brothers led directly to the breakup of the Frankish Empire assembled by their grandfather Charlemagne, and laid the foundation for the development of modern France and Germany.[2]

Early life and reign

Kingdom of Bavaria

Lothair was born in 795, to Louis the Pious and Ermengarde of Hesbaye. His father was the son of the reigning Emperor, Charlemagne. Little is known of Lothair's early life, which was probably passed at the court of his grandfather Charlemagne. In 814, the elderly emperor died, and left his sole surviving legitimate son Louis the Pious as successor to his vast empire. The next year, Lothair would be sent to govern Bavaria for his father, the new emperor.[1] In 817, Louis the Pious[1] drew up his Ordinatio Imperii.[3] In this, Louis designated Lothair as his principal heir and ordered that Lothair would be the overlord of Louis' younger sons Pippin of Aquitaine (who was 20) and Louis the German (who was 13), as well as his nephew (Lothair's cousin) Bernard of Italy. Lothair would also inherit their lands if they were to die childless. Lothair, aged 22, was then crowned joint emperor by his father at Aachen.[1] At the same time, Aquitaine and Bavaria were granted to his brothers Pippin and Louis, respectively, as subsidiary kingdoms.[3] Following the death of Bernard, brought on by his plotting against and blinding by Louis the Pious, Lothair also received the Kingdom of Italy.[citation needed] In 821, Lothair married Ermengarde (d. 851), daughter of Hugh the Count of Tours.[1]

In 822, he assumed the government of Italy, and at Easter, 5 April 823, he was crowned emperor again by Pope Paschal I, this time at Rome. In November 824, Lothair promulgated a statute, the Constitutio Romana, concerning the relations of pope and emperor, which reserved the supreme power to the secular potentate, and he afterwards issued various ordinances for the good government of Italy.[1]

On Lothair's return to his father's court, his stepmother Judith won his consent to her plan for securing a kingdom for her son Charles, a scheme which was carried out in 829,[1] when the young prince was given Alemannia as king.[citation needed] Lothair, however, soon changed his attitude and spent the succeeding decade in constant strife over the division of the Empire with his father. He was alternately master of the Empire, and banished and confined to Italy, at one time taking up arms in alliance with his brothers and at another fighting against them, whilst the bounds of his appointed kingdom were in turn extended and reduced.[1][4]

Division of the kingdom

The first rebellion began in 830. All three brothers fought their father, whom they deposed. In 831, their father was reinstated and he deprived Lothair of his imperial title and gave Italy to Charles. The second rebellion was instigated by Angilbert II, Archbishop of Milan in 833, and again Louis was deposed in 834. Lothair, through the loyalty of the Lombards and later reconciliations, retained Italy and the imperial position through all remaining divisions of the Empire by his father.[4][5]

When Louis the Pious was dying in 840, he sent the imperial insignia to Lothair, who, disregarding the various partitions, claimed the whole of the Empire. He was 45 years old when his father died. Negotiations with his brother Louis the German and his half-brother Charles, both of whom resisted this claim, were followed by an alliance of the younger brothers against Lothair.[2] A decisive battle was fought at Fontenay-en-Puisaye on 25 June 841, when, in spite of his[1] and his allied nephew Pepin II of Aquitaine's[citation needed] personal gallantry, Lothair was defeated and fled to Aachen. With fresh troops he began a war of plunder, but the forces of his brothers were too strong, and taking with him such treasure as he could collect, he abandoned his capital to them.[1][clarification needed] He met with the leaders of the Stellinga in Speyer and promised them his support in return for theirs, but Louis and then the native Saxon nobility put down the Stellinga in the next years.[citation needed]

Peace negotiations began, and in June 842 the brothers met on an island in the Saône. They agreed to an arrangement which developed, after much difficulty and delay, into the Treaty of Verdun, signed in August 843. By this, Lothair received the imperial title as well as northern Italy and a long stretch of territory from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, essentially along the valleys of the Rhine and the Rhône; this territory includes the regions Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy, and Provence. He soon ceded Italy to his eldest son, Louis, and remained in his new kingdom, engaging in alternate quarrels and reconciliations with his brothers and in futile efforts to defend his lands from the attacks of the Northmen (as Vikings were known in Frankish writings) and the Saracens (as those loyal to the various Fatimids, Umayyads and Abbasides are known in Frankish writings).[1][5]

In 845 the count of Arles, Fulcrad, led a rebellion in Provence. The emperor put it down and the count joined him in an expedition against the Saracens in Italy in 846.

Death and aftermath

In 855 he became seriously ill, and despairing of recovery renounced the throne, divided his lands among his three sons, and on 23 September entered the monastery of Prüm, where he died six days later. He was buried at Prüm, where his remains were found in 1860.[1] It was at Prüm that Lothair was most commemorated.[6]

The same year, Lothair's kingdom was divided between his three sons[1] in a deal called the Treaty of Prüm: the eldest, Louis II, received Italy and the title of emperor; the second, Lothair II, received Lotharingia; the youngest, Charles, received Provence.[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothair_I 

The name Lothair traces its origins to German - Old High German and is derived from two elements: loth, meaning famous, and hari, meaning army. Thus, Lothair directly translates to famous army. This name gained prevalence during the 9th and 10th centuries in the Frankish Empire, which encompassed vast territories of modern-day Germany, France, and Italy.

In history, the name Lothair is notably associated with several prominent figures. The most well-known bearer of this name is Lothair I, who was crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor in the year 817. Lothair I was a key figure in the Carolingian dynasty and played a vital role in shaping the political landscape of medieval Europe. His reign marked significant accomplishments and challenges, ultimately cementing his position in history.

In modern-day usage, the name Lothair has become less common but still maintains some presence. It is occasionally bestowed upon children as a nod to their Germanic or medieval heritage, giving them a sense of historical and unique identity. Moreover, the name may occasionally appear in works of literature, films, or other forms of popular culture to evoke a sense of nobility or historicity. Overall, the name Lothair encapsulates the fascinating historical connections of the Frankish Empire and its influential figures.

https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/lothair

The name Luther traces its origins back to English, where it emerged from the word leod meaning people and here meaning army. This etymology gives rise to the meaning Army of the People, making Luther a name that embodies strength and collective action. Over time, Luther has appeared in various historical contexts, leaving its mark on different cultures and regions around the world.

In history, the name Luther gained prominence with the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Martin Luther, an influential German theologian and composer, challenged the practices of the Catholic Church and sparked a movement that would reshape the religious and social landscape of Europe. Martin Luther's prolific writings and his translation of the Bible into German played a significant role in spreading Protestantism. His name became synonymous with the reformist movement, and Lutheranism was established as a distinct Christian denomination.

In modern-day usage, the name Luther continues to resonate with historical significance and strength. It is often chosen by parents who desire a name that exudes resilience, leadership, and a connection to the past. The name Luther can be found worldwide, and its usage extends beyond German-speaking countries. As a testament to its enduring appeal, Luther has also found its way into popular culture. Whether it be in literature, film, or music, the name Luther maintains its authoritative presence, leaving an indelible impression on those who hear or bear it.

https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/luther 

The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (Latin: Magnum schisma occidentale, Ecclesiae occidentalis schisma), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon both claimed to be the true pope, and were joined by a third line of Pisan claimants in 1409. The schism was driven by personalities and political allegiances, with the Avignon Papacy being closely associated with the French monarchy.

The papacy had resided in Avignon since 1309, but Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1377. The Catholic Church split in 1378 after Gregory XI's death and Urban VI's election. A group of French cardinals declared his election invalid and elected Clement VII as pope. After several attempts at reconciliation, the Council of Pisa (1409) declared that both rivals were illegitimate and elected a third purported pope. The schism was finally resolved when the Pisan claimant Antipope John XXIII called the Council of Constance (1414–1418). The Council arranged the renunciation of both Roman pope Gregory XII and Pisan antipope John XXIII. The Avignon antipope Benedict XIII was excommunicated, while Pope Martin V was elected and reigned from Rome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schism 

The Diet of Worms of 1521 (German: Reichstag zu Worms [ˈʁaɪçstaːk tsuː ˈvɔʁms]) was an imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City of Worms. Martin Luther was summoned to the diet in order to renounce or reaffirm his views in response to a Papal bull of Pope Leo X. In answer to questioning, he defended these views and refused to recant them. At the end of the diet, the Emperor issued the Edict of Worms (Wormser Edikt), a decree which condemned Luther as "a notorious heretic" and banned citizens of the Empire from propagating his ideas. Although the Protestant Reformation is usually considered to have begun in 1517, the edict signals the first overt schism.

The diet was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521 at the Bischofshof palace in Worms, with the Emperor presiding.[1] Other imperial diets took place at Worms in the years 829, 926, 1076, 1122, 1495, and 1545, but unless plainly qualified, the term "Diet of Worms" usually refers to the assembly of 1521.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms 

416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls. [11]

L. D. S. "

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Rosicrucianism is a theosophy advanced by an invisible order of spiritual knights who in spreading Christian Hermeticism, Kabbalah,

and Gnosis seek to enliven and to preserve the memory of Divine

Wisdom, understood as a feminine flame of love called SOFIA or

Shekhinah, exoterically given as a fresh unfolded rose, yet, more akin to the BLUE FIRE of alchemy, the blue virgin. Rosicrucians have no organisation and there are no recognizable Rosicrucian individuals, but the order makes its presence known by leaving behind engrammatic writings in the genre of Hermetic-Platonic Christianity.

The historical roots of Hermeticism is to be located in Ancient

Egypt. Long before the rise of Christianity, Hermetic texts were structured around the belief that organisms contain sparks of a Divine mind unto which they each strive to attend. Things easily transform into others, thereby generating certain cyclical patterns, cycles that periodically renew themselves on a cosmic scale. These transformations of life and death were enacted in the Hermetic Mysteries in Ancient Egypt through the gods Isis, Horus, and Osiris. In the Alexandrian period these myths were reshaped into Hermetic discourses on the transformations of the self with Thot, the scribal god. These discourses were introduced in the west in 1474 when Marsilio Ficino translated the Hermetic Pimander from the Greek. The story of Christian Rosencreutz can be seen as a new version of these mysteries, specifically tempered by German Paracelsian philosophy on the Lion of the darkest night, a biblical icon for how the higher self lies slumbering in consciousness." 

Rose Cross Over The Baltic: The Spread of Rosicrucianism In Northern Europe

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vWI_uTVg5lzNCDm16itq-PLSavozNR_F/view?usp=sharing

Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to).

This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view?usp=sharing

According to doctrinal English opinion, the present heir to the Royal House of Stuart is Prince Franz of Bavaria who is said to inherit the Scottish honours by virtue of the Last Will and Testament of Charles Edward’syounger brother, Cardinal Henry, de jure Duke of York. This Will supposedly nominated Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia as the Stuart successor. By wayof marriages in the female line of descent from Charles Emmanuel’s brother, Victor Emmanuel I, the present Franz of Bavaria succeeds his father, the late Prince Albrecht, relying in this on a somewhat tenuous ancestry back to Henrietta, a daughter of Charles I. The fact is, however, that Cardinal Henry Stuart’s Will did not name Charles Emmanuel as his successor. This is acomplete fantasy that has made its way into the historybooks, but was originally a purposely-contrived deceptionon the part of Georgian politicians — a deception perpetuated by the later Victorian ministers.From the time that the Elector of Hanover began his reign as King George I of Britain in 1714, it became politically expedient to suppress or veil a good deal of information about certain families while enhancing the lineage of others. The House of Stuart came underparticular attack in order to justify the incoming German succession. Even today, history books repeat the nonsense contrived contemporarily and afterwards to discredit the Scots dynasty and its associated families. 

The fabrications are so well ingrained that they are destined to prevail for as long as historical authors continue to copy from one another.Charles Edward Stuart was married in 1772 to Princess Louise Maximilienne, the daughter of Gustavus, Prince de Stolberg-Guedern. In 1784, however, papal dispensation for divorce was obtained following Louise’s affair with the Italian poet Vittorio, Count Alfieri. Louise had been declared barren by the doctors,and after a few years of marriage she left Charles in 1780 to take up residence with her lover. The divorce is frequently described as the end of married life for Charles Edward — but it was not. The Stuart archives in Rome and Brussels reveal thatin November 1785 Charles was married again, to the Comtesse de Massillan at the Santi Apostoli in Rome. She was Marguerite Marie Thérése O’Dea d’Audibert de Lussan — a cousin by descent from Charles's grand uncle, King Charles II. Until 1769 she had been a ward of her own grand uncle, Louis Jacques d’Audibert, Archbishop of Bordeaux. Marguerite’s paternal grandmother Theresa, Marchesa d’Aubignie, was the daughter of James de Rohano Stuardo, Prince of Boveria, Marquis d’Aubignie. He was the natural son (legitimated 1667) of King Charles Il and Marguerite, Duchesse de Rohan. On her mother’s side, Margueritede Massillan was descended through the Comtes de Lussan. In November 1786 the 37-year-old Countess gavebirth to a son, Edouard Jacques Stuardo (Edward James Stuart), who became known as ‘Count Stuarton’. Although no secret in Europe, news of Charles Edward's legitimate son and heir was immediately suppressed by the Hanoverian government at Westminster. He has consequently since been totally neglected by academic historians in Britain. In that same month, Charles Edward's daughter Charlotte of Albany (born 1753 by Clementina Walkinshaw of Borrowfield) met King George III's brother William, Duke of Gloucester, at thehouse of Prince Santa Croce in Rome. Concerned about the strength of her own position as Charles Edward's ‘legitimated’ offspring, she informed Gloucester of the royal birth and sought his advice. The Duke confided that Charlotte’s status was probably safe enough, but his main concern was a letter that had been sent to her father by King George III in 1784. It suggested that Charles Edward could return to Britain from exile as the Count of Albany (Scotland). Charles had declined the invitation, but the matter was now complicated bythe new-born son who might well choose otherwise on becoming the Second Count in due course. When Charles Edward died, a contrived substitution of Wills enabled knowledge of both the marriage and the birth to be concealed from the British public, a concealment that was perpetuated through the Hanover—Saxe-Coburg era until the truth finally emerged inthe 1970s.  In 1784 Charles had made a Will nominating his brother Cardinal Henry, de jure Duke of York, as hisroyal heir. Charlotte of Albany was to be the sole estate beneficiary. This is well enough documented in the historical biographies — but what those accounts fail tomention is that this was not Charles's final Testament. It was superseded by another before his death. Not only was the fact of this later Will concealed by the Georgian Parliament, but so too was the reason for its existence. In order to stabilize King George III's position, his politicians thought it expedient to end the problem of Stuart popularity in Britain by having the Scottish linedeclared extinct — particularly since the Jacobites had been so instrumental in the American War of Independence (1775-1783). An enormous number of deprived Scots had emigrated to America following the subjugation of the Highlands after Culloden. They had not managed to regain their independence at home, but continued their Cause from across the Atlantic, thereby aiding their fellow Americans to secure their own freedom from Hanoverian constraint. On 30 January 1788 the de jure King Charles II (fondly remembered as Bonnie Prince Charlie) died, aged 67, at the Mutti Palazzo in Rome. Shortly before his death he wrote his Last Will and Testament. This was witnessed on 13 January 1788 by the Dominican Father O'Kelly and the Abbé Consalvi, both of whom were executors. The Will stated that Charles's offspring, Edward James and Charlotte, were to be co-heirs of the estate; his son Edward was to succeed to the Royal Honours on his 16th birthday, and Cardinal Henry was to be temporary Regent in the meantime. Following Charles Edward's demise, his ambitious brother Henry wasted no time in proclaiming himself King Henry I de jure of Scots (IX of England). To support this claim he produced not Charles’s Will of 1788 but his earlier Will of 1784 — which suited Britain’s Government since the Cardinal was not likely to have any children. Both O’Kelly and Consalvi were party to the intrigue in return for rapid promotion within the Church. Soon afterwards, the former became Dominican Procurator, while the Abbé was raised to the Cardinalate. Charlotte of Albany was provided with a home in Frascati, and the Mutti Palazzo was retained for Marguerite de Massillan and Prince Edward. Also involved in the scheme was the Abbé James Placid Waters, Procurator of the Benedictines in Rome. By declaring himself King de jure, Henry sought to nullify the immediate Regency clause in his brother’s Will. But in January 1789 Henry made his own Will in which he redressed his selfish strategy for the future: all his possessions and heritable status were bequeathed to Prince Edward James — that is, ‘to my nephew, Count Stuarton’. Both Cardinal Ercole Consalvi and Cardinal Angelo Cesarini were privy to the Will and were executors, as attested in their memoirs. As it happened, Henry subsequently lost a great deal of his wealth in the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic advance into the Papal States. In 1799 he became a pensioner of the British Crown at the rate of £5,000 per annum (about £250,000 in today’s terms) - but in return he was required to rewrite his Will. At a joint meeting between Prince Edward, Comtesse Marguerite, and the Pope, a suitable rewording was agreed. The new Will was made in 1802, but the inheritance still rested with Prince Edward. The revised document simply substituted the words ‘to my nephew, Count Stuarton’ with ‘in favour of that Prince to whom it descends by virtue of de jure blood relationship’. When Henry Stuart died in July 1807, King George and the British Parliament decided that the second Will was actually less appropriate than the former. They therefore ignored the 1802 document and reverted to Henry’s original Will of 1789 — and the press reported that Henry had made his bequest to his ‘relation Count Stuarton’ (meaning, of course, Edward James). However, no one in England thought to enquire who this relation, Count Stuarton, might be. Having dealt with the first hurdle, the Hanoverian ministers then produced Henry’s amended 1802 Will. By virtue of its malleable nature, the wording (‘in favour of that Prince to whom it descends by virtue of de jure blood relationship’) was strategically implemented in favour of Charles Emmanuel IV, ex-King of Sardinia. He had recently abdicated to join the Jesuit Order, and so the Stuart legacy passed to a potentially childless monk. Charles Emmanuel duly wrote to King George's Parliament denouncing the nomination because heknew the Stuarts to be alive and well. Indeed, having lived with him in Sardinia from 1797, Marguerite andher son Edward were then resident at his house by the Corso in Rome. The correspondence was ignored at Westminster, and the whole issue was put under wraps in Britain. History now records the ‘diverted succession’ as having progressed from Sardinia, through Modena, into Bavaria. The reality is that the legitimate Royal House of Stuart (Stewart) exists today, and haslong been actively interested in European constitutional management. In 1809 a dispute over sovereign loyalties arose between two sons of George III. It became known as the ‘War of the Brothers’. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (the father of Queen Victoria), was a Freemason, while his brother Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex,was a Knight Templar. Edward's problem was that his brother’s Templar colleagues were Stuart supporters. He therefore endeavoured to sway their allegiance tothe reigning House of Hanover. In the event he failed, but compromised by creating a Templar-styled branch within the existing Masonic structure. This fell under the protectorate of Kent, and followed the English York Rite of Freemasonry. The chivalric Templars pursued the Scottish Rite under the protectorate of Prince Edward James Stuart, Second Count of Albany. While the exiled Stuarts were in France and Italy, they were deeply involved with the general growth and dissemination of Freemasonry, and they were the instigators of the exported Scottish Rite, which had higher degrees and held more profound mysteries than other Masonic systems. Prominent in this movement was Charles Edward's cousin and mentor, the Comte de St Germain. The Stuarts’ involvement was firmly based on established rights and privileges, with a desire to initiate brethren into the true antiquity and pedigree ofthe Craft. In England, the inherent secrecy of the club like lodges provided the perfect facility for undercover intrigue against the Whigs and the German succession. Throughout the land, the Jacobite societies and Tory lodges became closely entwined — as a result of which they became prime targets for Whig Intelligence, whose high-ranking Secret Service operatives duly infiltrated the fraternities. In later years English Freemasonry dispensed with political intrigue to become more concerned with allegorical representation and the codes of brotherly love, faith and charity. In Europe, however, many scientifically-based intellectual lodges of the traditional style are still extant. In 1817 a Dr Robert Watson purchased in Rome some of Cardinal Henry’s documents concerning the Stuart dynasty. He paid £23 sterling (equivalent to about £610 today), and prepared to publish the contents. But, beforehe had a chance to do this, the files were seized by the papal police and passed to London so that their contents would not become known. Some time later, the doctor received a payment from Westminster for having been deprived of his property. Not content with this, Watson pursued his right to the papers — only to be found dead, supposedly having committed suicide, in 1838. The papers have never since appeared in the public domain. Along with Cardinal Henry, the Abbé Waters also lost his possessions and became a pensioner of King George. Waters, an executor for Charlotte of Albany, was the custodian of various other Stuart papers — his guardianship of which constituted the route to his future Hanoverian income. In 1805 the Abbé was obliged to pass them over to the British Government. At length, some were deposited at Windsor Castle, where they remain today. As for the rest, their whereabouts are conveniently unknown. 

By virtue of these documentary acquisitions, the way was deemed clear for Prince Edward James to be totally excluded from historical records in Britain. But this was not the case in continental Europe, where he is well documented in papers held by the Stuart Trustees, and features in the writings of René, Vicomte Chateaubriand, Abbé James Waters, Princess Caroline Murat, and others. Although the Stuarts have been ignored by the British authorities since the death of Cardinal Henry, the descendants of Prince Edward James, Count Stuarton, Second Count of Albany, have been actively engaged in social, political, military and sovereign affairs for the past two centuries. They have often advised governments on constitutional and diplomatic matters in an effort to promote the ideals of public service and religious toleration, as upheld by their own reigning house, and they have been particularly concerned with matters of trade, welfare and education. In 1888 Prince Edward's grandson, Charles Benedict James Stuart, Fourth Count of Albany, was scheduled to visit Britain. He was due to attend a grand Stuart Exhibition at the New Gallery, London. It was sponsored by the Order of the White Rose, and the main organizers were Bertram, Earl of Ashburnham, and Melville Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny. But the Exhibition was wholly undermined by Hanoverian agents, and Prince Charles Benedict was found dead (presumed murdered) in Italy. There was no display in 1888 after all. A rather different Exhibition was held the following year. Instead of being in honour of the Stuarts, as was planned, it was promoted to celebrate the bicentenary of the Whig Revolution which had deposed James VII (Il) and the Stuarts in 1688! The Exhibition’s new patron was Queen Victoria herself, and the event was used as a cover to obtain even more valuable documents of Stuart heritage. Having been ousted from their patronage, Lord Ashburnham and the Marquis de Ruvigny directed their future interests towards the chivalric societies of Europe — the Order of the Realm of Sion, the Knights Protectors of the Sacred Sepulchre, and the Order of the Sangréal. In spite of Queen Victoria’s efforts to suppress Stuart popularity, there was a significant Jacobite revival in the late 1800s. The Queen’s advisers therefore sought to emphasize her tenuous claim to Stuart descent to the exclusion of the Stuarts’ own Scottish heritage. As a result, Thane Banquo and the Scots line from King Alpin disappeared from the Hanoverians’ readjusted Stuart registers. The Lord Lyon, King of Arms, subsequently wrote, ‘The traditional account of the descent of the family from Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, and through him from the ancient Kings of Scotland, is now generally discredited.’ From that time, the Stuarts’ Breton line was brought wholly to the fore —- but why anyone should have to discredit one line of a descent in order to promote another is beyond ordinary understanding. Everyone has at least two lines of immediate descent, and the Stuarts were no exception. Subsequent members of the Scots Royal Family were prominent in the Belgian Resistance during World War Il. Hubert Pierlot, Prime Minister of Belgium, was a close friend of the Stewarts, who had reverted to the original spelling of their name in 1892. In that year they had moved to the Chateau du Moulin in the Belgian Ardennes, where they lived until 1968. This castle had originally been given to the family in 1692 by King Louis XIV. As recently as 1982, the City of Brussels honoured the Stewarts with a grand reception. Then, on 14 December 1990, the Brussels Registrars signed, sealed and authenticated an updated Charter of the Royal House of Stewart, detailing the complete family descent from the time of Robert the Bruce down to date.

Today, there are several lines descended from Prince Edward James, Second Count of Albany. They include the Counts of Derneley and the Dukes of Coldingham. Foremost, however, in the main line of legitimate descent from Charles Edward Stewart and his son Edward James is the present Seventh Count of Albany: Prince Michael James Alexander Stewart, Duc d’Aquitaine, Comte de Blois, Head of the Sacred Kindred of St Columba, Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, Patron Grand Officer of the International Society of Commission Officers for the Commonwealth, and President of the European Council of Princes. Prince Michael’s own compelling book Scotland — The Forgotten Kingdom? (a thoroughly detailed and politically corrected history of the Scots royal descent) is now in the course of preparation. This senior Stewart descent goes all the way back to King Arthur's father, King Aedan of Scots, on the one hand and to Prince Nascien of the Septimanian Midi on the other. The Scots descent traces further back through King Lucius of Siluria to Bran the Blessed and Joseph of Arimathea (St James the Just), while the Midi succession stems from the Merovingians’ male ancestral line through the Fisher Kings to Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Conjoining the lines from their 1st-century points of departure, the descent is in the succession of the Royal House of Judah. This is a truly unique line of sovereign lineage from King David in one of the key descents which comprise the Bloodline of the Holy Grail.

pages 427-436 

Chapter 20 "The Sangreal Today"

Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zsH4O_ls0IgWEYXLXWCo7I3IUi32FJhq/view?usp=sharing

What was the Carolingian Dynasty?

Answer

The Carolingian Dynasty ruled the Franks, a Germanic tribe, in Western Europe for about 200 years, from AD 751 to 987. Unlike modern nations in which an election or a sudden coup d'état marks clear boundaries between rulers or administrations, during the Middle Ages it often took years (even two or three generations) for one family or dynasty to decline and another to come to the fore. While the end of one dynasty is ruling by title, the beginnings of another might have been ruling in actuality. The Carolingian Dynasty takes its name from the personal name Charles, since many of the kings in the dynasty bore that name, most notably Charlemagne.

The Franks had been the major power in Gaul since the 6th century, ruled by the Merovingians. Over time, as Merovingian power diminished, wealthy and influential local leaders emerged. By the beginning of the 8th century, the Merovingians were rulers in name only. Pepin (the first member of the Carolingian Dynasty) emerged as the “virtual ruler” even though there was still a Merovingian king on the throne. Pepin’s son, Charles Martel, defeated an Arab invasion at Tours, France, in 732, further consolidating the power of the family. In 751 Charles’ son Pepin the Short was crowned king of the Franks by the Pope, officially ending the Merovingian Dynasty. Pepin the Short, with the Pope’s approval, confined the remaining Merovingian rivals to a monastery.

On Christmas Day in 800, Pepin the Short’s son Charles (who would become known as Charles the Great or Charlemagne) was crowned Emperor of the Roman Empire by Pope Leo III, thus cementing the tie between the papacy and the Carolingian Dynasty. Under Charlemagne peace and political unity blanketed a great deal of Western Europe and provided an opportunity for the church to flourish.

Prior to Charlemagne, the Carolingian rulers demonstrated no real piety and often saw the church as simply a means of promoting Frankish interests. Perhaps for this reason, they did support missionary work and church reforms. While it is most likely that Charlemagne saw Christianity as a way to further his own power as well, he also demonstrated a genuine concern for the advance and development of Christianity. He convened numerous synods to help settle theological and church disputes. By accepting his crown from the Pope, he acknowledged and enhanced the Pope’s authority, and that event gave rise to the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne conducted two successful campaigns against the Lombards and then returned some of the conquered territory in Northern Italy to the Pope. He also supported the Pope financially, with the stated expectation that the Pope would support him with prayers and otherwise allow him to rule as he saw fit.

Charlemagne divided his land into dioceses and increased the number of bishops. He insisted that the bishops have authority in the churches, not the local wealthy land owners and sponsors. Although he was barely literate, he sought to improve the education of the clergy by bringing in scholars from around the world. He increased the number of archbishops and built churches. He sought to enforce the sanctity of marriage (though he had not been faithful to his own wife!).

Charlemagne strengthened the Carolingian Dynasty when he conquered Saxon territory in Northern Europe and demanded that those he conquered be baptized. He encouraged missionary work among them and moved some of them to the Rhineland so that they would be surrounded by Christians who would aid in their assimilation. Eventually, the Saxons did become largely Christian. Treatment of non-Christians by the Carolingians was not nearly as brutal as it had been under the Merovingians.

In summary, under Charlemagne the church in Western Europe flourished, and Christianity spread to people who had not been exposed to it before. Power began to shift from the Eastern Roman Empire to Western Europe and then to the Pope. This shift would dominate world affairs for more than a thousand years to come.

Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious ruled with his father and then became sole Emperor after Charlemagne’s death in 814. Louis was not as energetic as his father and was more interested in the ascetic lifestyle. Upon his death, the realm was divided among his three sons. Internal strife resulted, and the decline of the Carolingian Dynasty followed. With that decline, the power of the Pope over the Holy Roman Empire increased. The bishops in Western Europe increasingly looked to the Pope for protection from the archbishops who had been strengthened but also held in check by Carolingian rulers. By the end of the 9th century, there was a power vacuum in Western Europe with Scandinavian invaders threatening. It is interesting to note that the Scandinavians resisted conversion to Christianity because they saw it as submission to Carolingian power. With the Carolingians weakened, this barrier was removed, and by 950 Scandinavia had been thoroughly Christianized.

It is impossible to know just how many people (if any) came to a genuine faith in Christ due to the efforts of the Carolingian Dynasty. Certainly Charlemagne’s use of force to spread Christianity is deplorable to modern Christians. Nevertheless, his efforts did bring Christianity into new territories and helped shift the balance of power to the West. In His providence God used Western dominance to help spread the truth of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Carolingian-dynasty.html

Isaiah 10

1599 Geneva Bible

10 1 Of wicked lawmakers. 5 God will punish his people by the Assyrians and after destroy them. 21 The remnant of Israel shall be saved.

1 Woe unto them that decree wicked decrees, and [a]write grievous things,

2 To keep back the poor from judgment, and to take away the judgment of the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may spoil the fatherless.

3 What will ye do now in the day of visitation, and of destruction, which shall come from [b]far? to whom will ye flee for help and where will ye leave your [c]glory?

4 [d]Without me everyone shall fall among them that are bound, and they shall fall down among the slain: yet for all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

5 ¶ O [e]Assyria, the rod of my wrath: and the staff in their hands is mine indignation.

6 I will send [f]him to a dissembling nation, and I will give him a charge against the people of my wrath to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them under feet like the mire in the street.

7 But he thinketh not so, neither doth his heart esteem it so: but he imagineth to destroy and to cut off not a few nations.

8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether Kings?

9 Is not Calno as [g]Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus?

10 Like as mine hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, seeing their idols were above Jerusalem, and above Samaria:

11 Shall not I, as I have done to Samaria, and to the idols thereof, so do to Jerusalem, and to the idols thereof?

12 ¶ But when the Lord hath accomplished [h]all his work upon mount Zion and Jerusalem, I will visit the fruit of the proud heart [i]of the king of Assyria, and his glorious and proud looks,

13 Because he said, By the power of mine own hand have I done it, and by my wisdom, because I am wise: therefore I have removed the borders of the people, and have spoiled their treasures, and have pulled down the inhabitants like a valiant man.

14 And mine hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people, and as one that gathereth eggs that are left, so have I gathered all the earth: and there was none to move the wing or to open the mouth, or to whisper.

15 Shall the [j]axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw exalt itself against him that moveth it? as if the rod should lift up itself against him that taketh it up, or the staff should exalt itself as it were no wood.

16 Therefore shall the Lord God of hosts send among his fat men leanness, and under his glory he shall kindle a burning, like the burning of fire.

17 And the light of Israel shall be as a [k]fire, and the Holy one thereof as a flame, and it shall burn, and devour [l]his thorns and his briers in one day:

18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful fields both soul [m]and flesh: and he shall be as the [n]fainting of a standard bearer.

19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may tell them.

20 ¶ And at that day shall the remnant of Israel and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, stay no more upon him that smote them, but shall [o]stay upon the Lord, the Holy one of Israel in truth.

21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob unto the mighty God.

22 For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, yet shall the remnant of them return. The consumption [p]decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

23 For the Lord God of hosts shall make the consumption even [q]determined, in the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people, that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of Assyria: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee after the manner of [r]Egypt.

25 But yet a very little time, and the wrath shall be consumed, and mine anger in their destruction.

26 And the Lord of hosts shall raise up a scourge for him, according to the plague of [s]Midian in the rock Oreb: and as his staff was upon the [t]Sea, so he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt.

27 And at that day shall his burden be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck: and the yoke shall be destroyed because of [u]the anointing.

28 He is come to [v]Aiath: he is passed into Migron: at Michmash shall he lay up his armor.

29 They have gone over the ford: they lodged in the lodging at Geba: Ramah is afraid: Gibeah of Saul is fled away.

30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter Gallim, cause Laish to hear, O poor Anathoth.

31 Madmenah is removed: the inhabitants of Gebim have gathered themselves together.

32 Yet there is a time that he will stay at Nob: he shall lift up his hand toward the mount of the daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord God of hosts shall cut off the [w]bough with fear, and they of high stature shall be cut off, and the high shall be humbled.

34 And he shall cut away the thick places of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall have a mighty fall.

Footnotes

Isaiah 10:1 Which write and pronounce a wicked sentence to oppress the poor: meaning, that the wicked magistrates, which were the chief cause of mischief, should be first punished.

Isaiah 10:3 To wit, from Assyria.

Isaiah 10:3 Your riches and authority, that they may be safe, and that ye may receive them again.

Isaiah 10:4 Because they have forsaken me, some shall go into captivity, and the rest shall be slain.

Isaiah 10:5 God calleth for the Assyrians to be the executioners of his vengeance.

Isaiah 10:6 That is, the Assyrians against the Jews, which are but hypocrites: and in the sixth and seventh verse is declared the difference of the work of God, and of the wicked in one very thing and act: for God’s intention is to chastise them for their amendment, and the Assyrians’ purpose is to destroy them to enrich themselves: thus in respect of God’s justice, it is God’s work, but in respect of their own malice, it is the work of the devil.

Isaiah 10:9 Seeing that I have overcome as well one city as another, so that none could resist, shall Jerusalem be able to escape mine hands?

Isaiah 10:12 When he hath sufficiently chastised his people (for he beginneth at his own house) then will he burn the rods.

Isaiah 10:12 Meaning of Sennacherib.

Isaiah 10:15 Here we see that no creature is able to do anything, but as God appointeth him, and that they are all but his instruments to do his work, though the intentions be divers, as verse 6.

Isaiah 10:17 Meaning, that God is a light to comfort his people, and a fire to burn his enemies.

Isaiah 10:17 That is, the Assyrians.

Isaiah 10:18 To wit, body and soul utterly.

Isaiah 10:18 When the battle is lost and the standard taken.

Isaiah 10:20 This is the end of God’s plagues toward his, to bring them to him, and to forsake all trust in others.

Isaiah 10:22 This small number which seemed to be consumed, and yet according to God’s decree is saved, shall be sufficient to fill all the world with righteousness.

Isaiah 10:23 God will destroy this land as he hath determined, and after save a small portion.

Isaiah 10:24 As the Egyptians did punish thee.

Isaiah 10:26 Read Isa. 9:4.

Isaiah 10:26 When the Israelites passed through by the lifting up of Moses’ rod, and the enemies were drowned, Exod. 14:28.

Isaiah 10:27 Because of the promise made to that kingdom, whereby Christ’s kingdom was prefigured.

Isaiah 10:28 He describeth by what way the Assyrians should come against Jerusalem, to confirm the faithful, when it should come to pass, that as their plague was come, so should they be delivered.

Isaiah 10:33 Fear and destruction shall come upon Judah for the princes and the people shall be all led away captives.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2010&version=GNV