They need to raise $50,000 to cover the construction and furnishings. They intend to harvest the wood from the local Forest and use large Timbers to ensure that the building has the potential to last centuries.
The Norse gods are making a strong comeback after a thousand years in the shadows. Outmaneuvered by Christianity around year 1000, Nordic paganism is now Iceland’s fastest growing religion. From 570 members in 2002, the ‘association of the faith of the Æsir’ – Ásatrúarfélagið – now numbers 3900 Icelanders, making it the largest non-Christian religion in the country.
“I don’t believe anyone believes in a one-eyed man who is riding about on a horse with eight feet,” High priest Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson told The Guardian. “We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of nature and human psychology.”
The pantheistic religion that is the ethnic faith of the Norse people is a prime target for globalist to push their agenda of open borders, homosexuality, forced multiculturalism and the devaluing of European culture. While we would like to think this temple will not fall prey to such things and be used for faith, not propaganda, the reality looks unpromising when the High Priestess of the temple openly states she does even believe in the Gods. Hopefully her views are not shared by her parishioners.
Although long in the making, the Ásatrúarfélagið’s first temple is finally expected to stand ready by the end of 2018. It is designed by Icelandic architect and member of the association Magnús Jensson and given a form to underscore a close relationship to earth, sky and sun. The temple will hold a maximum of 250 people for religious ceremonies and concerts.
Although the temple, called Hof Ásatrúarfélagsins, will be Iceland’s first in 1000 years it is likely not to be the last. The land was donated by the city of Reykjavik, and other municipalities have shown interest in having temples built, seeing perhaps the potential allure of tourism. Similarly, Denmark consecrated a temple called Valheim Hof to Odin for the first time in a millennium in 2016.
The builders of Britain’s ancient stone circles like Stonehenge were using Pythagoras’ theorem 2,000 years before the Greek philosopher was born, experts have claimed.
A new book, Megalith, has re-examined the ancient geometry of Neolithic monuments and concluded they were constructed by sophisticated astronomers who understood lengthy lunar, solar and eclipse cycles and built huge stone calendars using complex geometry
One contributor, megalithic expert Robin Heath has even proposed that there exists a great Pythagorean triangle in the British landscape linking Stonehenge, the site from which the Preseli bluestones were cut in Wales, and Lundy Island, an important prehistoric site.
Pythagoras’ discovery that the sum of the areas of two squares on the sides of a triangle will add up to the area of a square on hypotenuse has been used for millennia to help builders attain perfect right-angles.
Stonehenge in 2750 BC with the four marker stones picked out
The new book, published today to coincide with today’s summer solstice, shows how within one of Stonehenge’s earliest incarnations, dating from 2750BC, there lies a rectangle of four Sarsen stones which when split in half diagonally forms a perfect Pythagorean 5:12:13 triangle.
The eight lines which radiate from the rectangle and triangles also perfectly align to important dates in the Neolithic calendar, such as the summer and winter solstices and spring and autumn equinoxes.
They also mark Imbolc, the ancient date for the beginning of Spring on February 1, Beltane, or May Day, lammas, the start of the wheat harvest and Samhain, October 31 which traditionally marked the time when cattle were brought down from summer pastures and slaughtered for the winter which has become Halloween.
A bird’s eye view of Stonehenge showing the rectangle and Pythagorean triangles.
Contributor and editor John Matineau, said: “People often think of our ancestors as rough cavemen but they were also sophisticated astronomers.
“They were applying Pythagorean geometry over 2000 years before Pythagoras was born.
“We see triangles and double squares used which are simple versions of pythagorean geometry. And then we have this synthesis on different sites of solar and lunar numbers.
“We think these people didn’t have scientific minds but first and foremost they were astronomers and cosmologists. They were studying long and difficult to understand cycles and they knew about these when they started planning sites like Stonehenge.
“I do feel very sad that visitors to Stonehenge are not told anything about the astronomical alignments, even when they are very simple to explain.”
Nearly two miles north-east of Stonehenge, stood Woodhenge, which was also constructed using a 12:35:37 triangle.
Pythagorean triangles have also been found at Avebury, the inner ring of the Druid Temple in Inverness, Castlerigg in Keswick, Cumbria, Barbrook, in Derbyshire, Borrowston Rig, on the Scottish borders, and Daviot ‘B’, in Aberdeenshire.
Consequently many stone ‘circle’ were not fully circular but have geometry derived from Pythagorean triangles often in whole numbers of Megalithic yards (2.72 feet) which were probably laid out using ropes and pegs.
Mr Heath added: “The phrase ‘a length of time’ may originally derive from an epoch when the length of a ruler, rope or set measure actually represented a time period—a technique manifested within many megalithic structures, which enshrine the time periods of the Sun and Moon.”
The huge stones of Stonehenge were also once surrounded by 56 wooden posts or stones which could be used for predicting eclipses as well as showing the position of the Sun and the Moon and the lunar phases.
And the bluestone horseshoe in the centre is thought to contain 19 stones to represent the number of years it takes for the Sun and Moon metonic cycle to go full circle and reset.
The authors believe that much of the knowledge was lost following the rise of Christianity in Britain.
Robin Heath claims important sites in Britain are also linked by triangles
“These days it’s seen as hippy dippy or New Age, but actually it’s a colossal omission to the history of science that we don’t see these monuments for what they are,” added Mr Heath.
“People see the Neolithic builders of Stonehenge as howling barbarians, when they were very learned and it has been forgotten.”
SALEM — It is not her fault, Laurie Cabot declared.
Then she thought for a moment and revised her statement.
“OK, it is kind of my fault,” she said, referring to what has happened to October in Salem since she arrived nearly five decades ago and began the modern witch era in the “Witch City.”
But really, if anyone is to blame for kicking off the events that somehow led to the spooktacular charade that dominates the Halloween season in the city, Cabot argues, it was Molly Boo.
Molly Boo was her cat.
Her black cat.
Had she not gotten stuck up in that tree, Cabot said, none of this might have happened.
Let’s rewind.
Laurie Cabot is a witch. She has been studying witchcraft since she was a child growing up in Boston, and today, at age 84, is easily the most famous practicing witch in the country, the grande dame of witchcraft.
But back then, when she was first beginning her study of the ancient practice of magic, people did not come out and say they were a witch. That kinda thing could lead to trouble.
Eventually, she did take to dressing the part — black robes, pentagram necklace — but by then it was the late ’60s and people just thought she was a hippie.
She was living in the North End at the time, divorced, struggling to raise two children, and another single mom suggested they pool their money and move to the suburbs.
Great, Cabot said. Anywhere but Salem.
“Salem seemed like a bad idea because I didn’t know how anyone would take me because of the witch trials,” she said.
Laurie Cabot inside her home in Salem.
Sure enough, the friend came back with a listing for an apartment on Salem’s Chestnut Street, a broad boulevard filled with stunningly gorgeous homes and postcard-perfect trees, and Cabot could not resist.
But the witch thing, she kept under wraps. Then her cat changed all that.
She had two black cats at the time — “they were given to me by someone who knew I was a witch,” she said with an eye roll — and one of them, Molly Boo, climbed the tree outside her apartment, got stuck about 50 feet up, and would not come down. Her other cat, Sabrina, would climb up and try to show Molly Boo how to get down, but Molly Boo would not follow.
Cabot said she called everyone — animal control, the police, the fire department — and they all told her the cat would eventually come down on its own. That’s what cats do.
But after three days of awful weather and no movement from Molly Boo, Cabot made a move she knew would get attention. She called the local newspaper, the Salem News, and gave them a story they couldn’t resist.
“My cat is stuck in a tree,” she said she told the person who answered the phone. “I am a witch. That cat is my familiar (a witch term for an animal-shaped spirit that serves as a psychically connected servant, companion, and spy). And I want someone to come get my cat out of the tree.”
A photographer came, as did the mayor and several rescue vehicles.
Molly Boo was helped down. And after the photos of a real-life Salem witch hit the wire services, Laurie Cabot’s secret was out.
Plenty of media followed, and soon after, in 1970, Cabot opened the city’s first “witch shop.” She sold wands and potions and other tools of the trade, but she said her real goal was to educate the public about witchcraft — and especially to dispel all the incorrect rumors about evil intentions and devil-worshipping.
In retrospect, she said, she was very naïve to think it would be that easy, and she sees what has happened in the 47 years that have followed as being both incredibly positive and incredibly confusing.
She is proud of the fact that her witch shop and openness turned Salem into something of a safe space for practicing witches, and many began flocking to the city, to live openly, to perform rituals with other witches, and to celebrate the witches’ New Year, what they know as Samhain and everyone else calls Halloween.
More witch shops opened, but so too did all the other stuff that has come to be associated with Halloween but has little to do with witchcraft — the haunted houses and the ghost tours and the zombie walks.
“I’m still not sure what a guy with an ax in his head and blood dripping down his face has to do with witchcraft,” she said. “Some of it is offensive. The fun house. The scary murderous stuff. It brings bad vibes. It’s projecting the wrong kinds of things.”
A doll of Laurie Cabot sits on a shelf inside her home in Salem.
It is a question of intent, which is a huge part of being a witch. Intent is how witches manipulate environmental energy. And when it comes to dressing up for Samhain, the intent of a costume is to cast a spell projecting the kind of person they want to be for the New Year. “We don’t allow any devil costumes into our parties,” she said.
And intent is something Cabot is thinking about lately, as she looks back through the long lens of all that has happened in Salem since her cat went up that tree.
It is late in her story, and she knows this. She has been suffering significant health problems of late, including a recent bout of dizziness and nausea that lasted for so many weeks that she thought she was ready to go. (Doctors eventually found an ulcer, and medication has curbed the symptoms.)
But she is proud that she helped transform the city, and in some ways became its face. (And what a face it is — with an elaborate tattoo on her left cheek and huge black-framed glasses, all surrounded by a magnificent mane of black hair ringed with white.)
She has trouble walking, and spends most of her time in her apartment, seated at a dining room table covered in jewels and deer antlers and potions and other bits and bobs that she and her daughter, Penny, use to make potions and broomsticks and other tools that are sold at a store just around the corner called Enchanted. Witches from near and far make daily pilgrimages to visit her — one, earlier this week, arrived carrying a gift of a crystal that was nearly two feet long — and she is now at work on her eighth book, a memoir.
But with Halloween just around the corner, and the streets below a chaos of tourists, there is a lot of talk of all it has become.
“It’s not my fault that people practice such silliness. I didn’t set out to make Halloween such a big deal in Salem.”
No, that all started with a black cat.
Majick Spell Candles made by Laurie Cabot are for sale in Enchanted, an authentic witch shop.
Not too long ago we did a report on the discovery of the true Gallows Hill in Salem Massachusetts. The legendary site that many practicioners of witchcraft hold as sacred has long been steeped in mystery as to its true location. Due to the misnomer “Gallows Hill” by Nathaniel Hawthorne “the hanging judge”, a small hill just on the skirts of Salem was named Gallows Hill. But there was no evidence to prove that it ever actually was and today just stands as a base for a water tower and a playground and it’s foot.
Archaeologists and historians worked together to finally pinpoint the true location which was known as Proctor’s ledge.
Disguised by trees and a neighborhood it does not seem like much of a hill. But historical landmarks were used to successfully triangulate its location. A memorial commemorating the site was completed this summer.
The staff at Spellbound say they have received death threats
Toni Hunt center with Emily Parker left and Bobbi Jo-right
Witches who run an occult shop in the shadow of a famous Cathedral claim they are victims of a hate campaign and say the police are doing nothing about it.
“I have reported such incidents on numerous occasions but when the police arrive they tell me that people are just expressing opinions,” she said. If we were members any other religion or group it would be treated as hate crime and dealt with appropriately.”
By “Any other religion or group” she would be referring to the massive influx of Muslims into the UK who have been given special religious protections by authorities to the point that even discussing rapist who is a Muslim can land one in prison for a hate crime.
Toni Hunt and her staff at ‘Spellbound’ in College Green, Gloucester, say they have been called terrorists and devil worshippers and have received death threats. According to them no matter how many of these incidents they have reported, the police just blow it off because of their beliefs. While this is a real problem, there’s an underlying problem that shows how the Witch community made matters worse.
Ms. Hunt says they have been targeted for abuse for about two years, This is normal for any Witch shop, but she says things got worse in recent months when they received a threat to burn down the premises – with the staff still inside. This surge in hate and aggression towards the shop seems to coincide with the #BindTrump event four months ago where a group of liberals hijacked Wicca for a despicable public hexing of President Trump which was nothing but another method of public protest at the expense of the entire Pagan community. This single act set back Pagan public relations 30 years by vindicating the christian extremist’s claim that we are all evil devil worshippers of the Ult-left because it was a religious attack on a leader they view as a champion of their religion. And while most UK conservatives are not too concerned with Trump as a president, Christians all over the world were abuzz with the news that Witches were casting spells against a president and it was viewed as pure unadulterated persecution.
Ms. Hunt continues
“Persecution of witches did not end centuries ago – it is still very prominent in the 21st century and we are being subjected to it regularly. We have been called all sorts – Black Magic Badger Killers, Spawn of Satan and in the same league as ISIS.”
It should also be stated that part of the intent of #BindTrump was to also bind him from issuing military orders needed to protect the country. The only reason one would support this is because they sympathize with the enemy. So it is only a logical step that an association with ISIS would quickly form. While we fully agree what is happening to these women is wrong, we must not ignore that actions have consequences. In no way are we stating that these women had any involvement with #BindTrump, but this is no doubt a problem made worse by the narcissistic and selfish act of a vocal minority abusing Paganism for political gain.
In the heart of Portland Maine there is a statue made of bronze that watches over the city. The statue is a deity of war, wisdom, arts, trade, and defense. She is Roman and equal to the Greek goddess Athena. Her name is Minerva. She occupies Monument square and is the
heirloom to the fallen soldiers and sailors of the civil war. She is the mother of Portland.
The guardian of the fallen and a token of thanks to the bravest men the state of Maine has ever seen.
Richard Morris Hunt built the pedestal she stands on in 1891. He was born in Brattleboro, Vermont on October 31st, 1827 and died on July 31st, 1895. Richard was one of the greatest architects of his time. The pedestal of the statue of liberty was built with his very hands. Conversely, the statue was constructed by another man by the name of Franklin Bachelder Simmons. Frank was born in Webster Maine on January 11th, 1839 and died on December 8th, 1913. Indeed only a Mainer would have the right to make such a relic for the fallen warriors of Portland.
Before the statue was erected Monument square was called Market square. Kimball Clapp City hall stood there at this time. Only in time would Minerva demolish city hall and widen the square with her ancient power and blessing.
Minerva was born from the godhead of Jupiter with a sword in her hand. Minerva in ancient imagery usually is seen with an owl. This is a reference that suggests Minerva was a deity of much wisdom. Maine is not alone with the fascination of Minerva. The seal of California used her imagery during the political birth of that state. Further, The highest medal issued by the United States government displays her imagery. The medal of honor!
Minerva is a Pagan iconic figure. In a Christian dominated society it is fascinating to see how important she is even in modern times. Most importantly she is what is left of the memory of the fallen hero’s of the people that lost their lives fighting in the civil war. The spirit of Minerva was with the north. She watches the living and comforts our hero’s. May we remember the hero’s of Portland. Minerva was placed in the heart of Portland to remember them. If you find yourself at monument square be sure to heed the understanding and ultimate sacrifice of life. liberty and freedom is what was given by our warriors. They were led by Minerva.
The only civil war battle fought in Maine was the battle of Portland harbor in June of 1863. Southern raiders triggered the battle after seizing two non military vessels while trying to escape to the ocean. The raiders never made their escape.
