Here’s a recipe for a Brew to drink to purify yourself just prior to performing a Ritual or Spell Get the good olde Kettle out some fresh water and start the brew under a dark moon night 1 part lemon verbena 1 part dried lemon peel 1 part chamomile You can add a dash of […]
“It is intolerable that agencies entrusted with enforcing our laws are themselves wantonly violating them…”
Conservation groups cheered when a federal judge ruled last month that the Forest Service and Idaho Department of Fish and Game violated federal law by landing helicopters in an Idaho wilderness area to attach tracking collars to elk and wolves. The court also ordered the data gathered through these illegal activities destroyed. The now-halted project gives every appearance of an unscientific witch hunt, tailor-made to scapegoat wolf predation as the cause of elk population declines and to justify a wolf-killing program in wilderness.
Source: Idaho Helicopter Ruling a Victory for Wilderness, Wildlife | Straight from the Horse’s Heart
Write your own programming … Paula Cas
By Jon Rappoport
If you want to track a civilization as it collapses, watch what happens to the concept of the rebel.
From the 1960s onward—starting with Lee Oswald and the assassination of JFK—the whole idea of “the rebel” with power has been sequentially updated and repackaged. This is intentional.
The objective is to equate “rebel” with a whole host of qualities—e.g., runaway self-serving paranoia; random destruction; out-of-control drug use; generalized hatred; the commission of crimes…
On a lesser, “commercialized” level, the new rebel can define himself by merely showing up at a concert to scream and drink heavily and break something, having already dressed to make a dissident fashion statement. He can take an afternoon off from college classes and have his arms tattooed. All the while, of course, he functions as an avid consumer of mainstream corporate products.
You even have people who, considering themselves rebels of the first order, support a government that spies on its people 24/7, launches military attacks all over the world, and now funds a Manhattan Project to map every move of the 100 billion neurons of the brain, for the ultimate purpose of controlling it.
Going back as far as the 1950s, the so-called decade of conformity, psyops professionals sculpted notions of The Rebel: He was the person who, because he had psychological problems, didn’t want to take part in the emerging bland corporate culture.
He was imagined and presented as troubled, morose; a wobbly unfocused JD Salinger Holden Caulfield, or an unkempt beatnik, a Madison Avenue caricature of somebody who opposed Madison Avenue.
In other words, the people who were shaping the consumer culture were creating the image of the rebel as a cartoon figure who just didn’t want to buy into “the good life.”
Time Magazine ran a cover story on the beatniks, and characterized them as a disaffected trend. Marlon Brando, heading up a bunch of moronic motorcycle riders, invaded a town of pleasant clueless citizens and took it over, wreaking destruction. The 1953 movie was The Wild One. James Dean, who had the same trouble Brando did in articulating a complete sentence, was “the rebel without a cause” in the “iconic film” of the same name. He raced cars toward cliffs because his father couldn’t understand him.
These were all puff pieces designed to make rebels look ridiculous, and they worked. They also functioned to transmit the idea to young people that being a rebel should be a showbiz affectation. That worked, too.
Then the late 1960s arrived. Flower children, in part invented by the major media, would surely take over the world and dethrone fascist authority with rainbows. San Francisco was the epicenter. But Haight-Ashbury, where the flowers and the weed were magically growing out of the sidewalks, turned into a speed, acid, and heroin nightmare, a playground for psychopaths to cash in and steal and destroy lives. The CIA, of course, gave the LSD culture a major push.
For all that the anti-war movement eventually accomplished in ending the Vietnam war-crime, in the aftermath many of those college students who had been in the streets—once the fear of being drafted was gone—scurried into counselors’ offices to see where they might fit into the job market after graduation. The military industrial complex took its profits and moved on, undeterred.
The idea of the rebel was gone. It later resurfaced as The Cocaine Dealer, the archangel of the 1980s.
And so forth and so on. All these incarnations of The Rebel were artificially created and sustained as psyops. At bottom, the idea was to discredit the Individual, in favor of The Group.
Now, in our collectivist society of 2017, The Group, as a rapidly expanding victim class, is the government’s number one project. It’s a straight con. “We’re here to make you worse off while we ‘lift you up’.”
In the op to demean, distort, and squash the rebel, there is a single obvious common denominator: the establishment media are doing the defining; they are the ones who are setting the parameters and making the descriptions; they are the ones who build the cartoons; looking down their noses, pretending to a degree of sympathy, they paint one unflattering picture after another of what the rebel is and does and says; they have co-opted the whole game.
These days, the ultimate rebels, the media would have you believe, are “gun-toting racist bitter clingers who have religion.” Another attempt to shape a distorted unflattering portrait
You can take a whole host of political films and television series of the past 50 years, and look at them for signs of the Rebel: Seven Days in May, Advise and Consent, The Candidate, The Seduction of Joe Tynan, Dave, Primary Colors, The Contender, Good Night and Good Luck, The American President, West Wing, Scandal, The Newsroom…
Good acting, bad acting, drama, message—at the end you’re looking for the core. What do the rebel heroes really stand for? What are their principles? It’s all bland. It’s vague. It has the posturing of importance, but little else.
As I was finishing this piece, a friend wrote with a quote attributed to Robert Anton Wilson: “The universe is a war between reality programmers.”
This is exactly where the real rebel enters the scene. He’s not trying to program people. Freedom means cutting loose from programming.
The Rebel doesn’t go to the market and choose which reality program he wants. They’re all used up as soon as they come out of the package.
“THIS or THAT” is the history of Earth: choose reality program A or B. The choice was always a con.
We’re well into a time period when the experts and scientific authorities are settling on the human being as a biological machine that can only respond to programming. That’s their view and their default position.
It’s sheer madness, of course, but what else do you expect? We’re in an intense technological age, and people are obsessed with making things run smoother. They treat their precious little algorithms for control like the Crown Jewels. They’re terribly enthusiastic about the problem they’re solving, and that problem is us.
We’re the wild cards, a fact which they take to be result of our improper and incomplete conditioning. They aim to fix that.
“Why not stop diddling around and just make the whole thing over? Why not reshape humans?”
Having decided that, the battle begins between competing programmers of the mind. Which program for humans is better?
The rebel is against all such programming, no matter how “good and right” it sounds. “Good” and “right” are the traps.
“Well, certainly we could make a list of qualities we want all people to have. You know, the best qualities, like bravery and determination. Who could be against that? So suppose we could actually program such qualities into humans? Wouldn’t that be a fine thing? Then people would just BE that way…”
The ultimate rebellion is against programming, whatever it looks like, wherever it occurs.
Programming is someone else’s idea of who and what you should be.
It is never your idea.
Your idea is where the power is.
And that’s what makes you a genuine rebel.
Source: The covert op to neuter the rebel « Jon Rappoport’s Blog
Sekhmet is one of the oldest known Egyptian deities. She is very closely associated with Hathor. Her name is derived from “sekhem’ and it means power or might. Sekhmet is often translated as “She who is powerful”. The Egyptian texts show that Sekhmet had good and bad aspects. What makes Sekhmet very interesting to me is that some scribes stole a story about her in an ancient Egyptian text and put it in the bible.
If you are familiar with my work, you know that all Goddesses are nature or an aspect of nature. This is why she has good and bad aspects. Nature is beautiful, but can also be destructive. To understand who she really is you have to know the true history of this world. In Lemurian Magic I showed you the war of the gods. Mother Nature having enough of this war caused the earth to spin uncontrollably and move out of it’s orbit. When the disaster was over Egypt and other civilizations were settled. The pyramids and sphinx were built at this time with the remaining technology. This happened at about 11000 BCE. When the earth had calmed down and stabilized the sun was rising between Virgo and Leo. The sphinx was built at this time and had the head of a goddess(Virgo) and the body of a lion(Leo). Egypt was going to be a matriarch. If you didn’t want to obey by these rules, you could go somewhere else. This is why Sumer was a patriarch.
Sekhmet is the goddess of the age of Leo. The lion became a symbol in Sumer for the sun, but it also was a symbol of kingship. The lioness became the goddess Sekhmet in Egypt and this was a perfect symbol for Egypt. Lions, like all nature, are a matriarch. The females hunt at night and this makes the lioness a symbol of the moon. If you have read my God(s) post you know the Egyptians venerated the moon most of all. The Pharaohs used her as a symbol of war because lioness are hunters and the power of nature is awesome. The lion has become the symbol of Judah, specifically the line of David and Jesus. The lioness also became the symbol of the female bloodline in Egypt. The Talmud refers to Mary as the lioness of god. So basically both of these are showing the royal bloodline from Egypt.
Which brings me to why she is the most destructive of the goddesses. In an ancient Egyptian text, called The Destruction of Mankind, Ra(the sun) is angry at mankind for not preserving balance and justice(Maat). The vengeful goddess Sekhmet goes after people and the earth’s fields ran red with human blood. The people of Egypt devised a plan to pour pomegranate juice in beer to stain it blood-red. They poured the beer and red ochre into the Nile flooding the fields with blood. Sekhmet gorged on the beer and became so drunk she slept for three days. Since she is linked with the moon, sleeping for three days has to do with the new moon. The Egyptians celebrated this every year on the feast day of Hathor/Sekhmet. They drank red beer and poured red ochre in the Nile turning it blood-red. This is the story stolen by bible scribes and put in the Old Testament as one of the plagues of Egypt. All they have done is make it a vengeful male god. Just to show you how far we have come as a human race, they still do a very similar celebration in Chicago to this day. Every year on St. Patrick’s day people in Chicago drink green beer and turn the Chicago river bright green. Today they do not celebrate appeasing a vengeful goddess. It is much more civilized than that. Today they celebrate St. Patrick killing all the serpents in Ireland. The killing of the serpents was not the reptilian snake, it was the Druids. If you are familiar with my work, you know how deep the connection is between Egypt and Ireland.
Sekhmet usually has the uraeus symbol and solar disk. When she is standing she usually has the papyrus scepter. All of these are symbols of Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt was the Hyksos pharaohs and it is where all the patriarch religions come from. How does this very early goddess of Upper Egypt become part of Lower Egypt? It all goes back to the father of Tuthmoses and Akhenaton, Amenhotep III. This pharaoh was trying to keep Egypt united. He used her because she represented the moon, but had the solar disk and other Lower Egyptian symbols associated with her. She was feared in Egypt because she was the symbol of Mother Nature that brought an end to the war of the gods. The war caused the imbalance and nearly caused the extinction of the human race. Her also being a symbol of the moon tells me that the legends and myths about the moon bringing an end to the chaos are correct(See Lemurian Magic). Her sleeping for 3 days may literally mean a new moon. Did it take 3 days for people to come out of hiding once the chaos had stopped?
As I have stated before, the Hyksos pharaohs of Lower Egypt did not understand the true meaning of the gods and goddesses of Egypt. They wanted monotheism, control of the masses and females(especially young girls) to be nothing more than sex slaves. Tuthmoses and Akhenaton were Moses and Aaron in the bible(see Patriarch Pharaohs). Sekhmet is nature and sometimes she is shown seated on a throne. Seated Goddesses and Gods in Egypt symbolized fixed and embodied archetypes. Things you can not change. Certain rules cannot be broken in this fleshy existence. The patriarch scribes who wrote the bible did not understand the true meaning of the Gods and Goddesses of Egypt. They just took certain aspects of the Gods and Goddesses and used it to create their book for control. What they thought was a vengeful Goddess was actually aspects of nature, but they took this and put it on a bearded man to make money and control people. I see Sekhmet as the Goddess who will bring balance if you don’t have it, but if you have balance she will make it seem like your life is purrrrfect.
Source: Sekhmet – secretsoftheserpent
Jupiter is the defining element of the New Moon eclipse in Pisces. Chatter has already started up about the ugly T-square forming among the malefics, the conjunction of Mars and Uranus hitting off aspects to the big baddies, Saturn and Pluto. The god of war, action oriented Mars in his home field of Aries makes him trigger happy, looking to expend his martial energy and fulfil his purpose.
If you’re like me and Mars owns a good portion of your personal planets, you’ll feel Mars tension and for many, it will manifest in argument and schisms between people fighting to get their way and to satisfy their desires — often at the expense of others. If Mars is subtle for you, you might find yourself full of nervous tension, but most of all, with Pluto in the mix, the physical self frustrates if it cannot find a way to release this energy. Hit the gym, go a few rounds with someone you trust, but most of all, stay in controlled environments where even if something unexpected should occur, you are surrounded by support systems or preparations that will help you weather unfortunate surprises. So if you do go to the gym — make sure there’s a first aid kit with you and you’ve got your boxing gloves laced up right.
What makes Jupiter so key in this eclipse is dependent upon a series of aspects. Not only does Jupiter conjunct with fixed star Spica, but as in the last lunar eclipse, Jupiter is lurching backwards into retrograde. Given the stellium in foggy Pisces where Mercury, Sun, Moon, and Neptune are thrown together, now might be a time when you discover the friends and contacts that you’ve accrued under Jupiter’s expansive influence in Libra are not the people you thought they were — either you fooled yourself about their true nature, or they concealed who they really are. Now might not be the right time to address those issues, however, with Mercury unable to operate with any fundamental clarity in the Neptunian house, and with the harsh aspects occurring between Pluto, Mars/Uranus, and Saturn.
Case in point, I had a dear friend approach me with a problem she has ongoing with a close friend of her own. She discovered this friend of hers had been concealing information from her in and effort to present themselves in a better light, and now she is unsure whether she wants to continue a friendship with this person. The concern is that this person is hot-headed and may react inappropriately if she abandons the friendship, even though they are in the wrong. Sometimes, no matter how right we are, how good our intentions, we should take the time to weigh the possible consequences of our choices. As satisfying as it would be for her to simply cut off her friendship and be done with the confusion and difficulty this false friend presented, sometimes our best course of action is simply to offer neither resistance nor help, but let others choose their own paths without our interference. Taking time away from problem-people and simply withdrawing is a passive strategy that is also, often, a healing one — time reveals yet more things we did not know, and problems that we were upset about before, suddenly unravel themselves while we were busy doing something else. The problems dissipates, and leaves us lighter than when we started.
As an old saying goes — don’t invite trouble to your door, because trouble already knows where you live. This would be a good thing to keep in mind if you find yourself faced with conflicts that you would ordinarily dive into this eclipse period. Take a deep breath and consider dealing with problems in new ways. When faced with a tide, it is pointless to swim against it — consider swimming with it until it ebbs and you can find your feet again and take new direction, instead of exhausting yourself in the struggle.
Saturn and Pluto are in play. Here is where, though it is not immediately obvious that Jupiter is the major player of this chart, as much of the bluster online is being made over the malefics — which are certainly alarming in their own right — Jupiter makes his presence known through rulership and a chain of dispositors.
Pluto moving through Capricorn is giving momentum to Saturn by rulership, as earthy and conscientious Capricorn is owned by disciplinarian Saturn; and Saturn, of course, is in Jupiter’s house of lucky, expansive Sagittarius, meaning that Saturn, already spurred by Plutonian energy from Capricorn, is filtering this turbo-charged force all the way to Jupiter, by rulership. And Jupiter wants bigger, better, faster, more! Is it like a fountain, where several trickles from the top are running down to form a flood at the bottom, where Jupiter is collecting all this potential force from the other planets.
We can follow the breadcrumbs of this chain of dispositors further if we wish, when we realize that if Jupiter is in Libra, that sign of relationships and equality, than where oh where is the ruler of Libra, Venus?
Venus can be found in Aries — also in opposition to Jupiter in Libra!
The goddess of love, rich in gifts of seduction and flattery, may be telling us something about the nature of our relationships and the choices we might make between them while Jupiter is in Libra. Some friends might run away with your heart during this eclipse! But beware, for it is in the myth of Aphrodite — Venus — that she is given a girdle by the gods that lends her the ability to wield her tongue to appeal to vanity. Make sure whoever you might be involved with is not simply selling you sweet dreams and words, pandering to your ego, with no intention of giving anything of value in return. Glamour and charm can be persuasive, but empty when they have lost their power to enchant.
Jupiter is also square Pluto in Capricorn and Venus in Aries, where Venus is at her detriment, and where rammy Mars also happens to be. Since Aries is Mars’ natural home, the presences of Uranus and Venus alongside him are secondary to Mars, who holds primacy over those planets. With the male and female energies in tight configuration, this could make for sparks between lovers, but this sexual tension could also easily manifest as argument, the knock-down drag-out 3 am fight that ends up in a heated reunion. If you live in close proximity with those kinds of romantic entanglements like I have, you might want to invest in some ear plugs to save your sanity. (Or, you might be inspiring others to buy ear plugs.)
Further complicating factors is Saturn in Sagittarius square Pluto in Capricorn and Mars/Uranus in Aries square Pluto. Jupiter in Libra will be expanding these malefics and is pulling at the stellium in Pisces — Chiron, Neptune, Mercury, Sun and Moon — as well as Venus, Mars, and Uranus seated in Aries.
Jupiter forms an anchor point in this configuration. And while the term anchor sounds like a stabilizing force, perhaps this is inaccurate — better to say that in this case, Jupiter’s amplifying power is perhaps best described as a slingshot, in which Mars conjunct Uranus and the stellium in Pisces is going to add expansive force to these planets and signs respective properties. Pisces in his foggy element will have the capacity to lead astray with greater enthusiasm or, at best, inspiring genius and creatives propelled by martial energy thanks to the god of war. Mars with Uranus will lend an intense force in their own arenas, Pluto’s square supercharging all that’s already in play in this clash of malefics.
Good luck everyone, stay safe, stay aware, and keep your thinking clear so you can perceive obstacles and work around them safely. I expect a potential uptick in car accidents (Mercury and Neptune) so be careful when out drinking and driving and navigating with your fellow citizens on the road.
Source: New Moon and Solar Eclipse in Pisces on 2-26-2017, Impressions | starsbydesign
In the field of alternative medicine, Reiki is used to help bolster one’s own healing abilities to cure all manner of maladies. Although it’s typically said that there is no side effects involved with Reiki, the practitioners are taught to warn patients that part of the healing process can involve a detox that can bring some side effects
A full body treatment takes from 45 to 60 minutes per session, a short session that only focuses on the chakras lasts 15 to 30 minutes. Sometimes the person who is receiving Reiki will not feel anything during a session, this is because Reiki energy often works on a subtle level.
No matter what, Reiki energy always travels to the place that is needed the most, but it’s essential to understand that healing is a process. Reiki does not fix depression, anxiety, or aches and pain with just one session, just like it take a long time to cure a cold using conventional medicine, it takes time to heal.
The most common reactions during a Reiki session are: feeling emotional, hot or cold, seeing colors or light, twitching, stomach rumbles, and even falling asleep during the session. Every body is different, so every reaction is going to be unique, just make sure if you’re feeling uncomfortable during a session, inform the practitioner immediately.
Other commonly experienced side effects are: cold and sore throat, fever, abdominal pain or an upset stomach, fatigue and the need to sleep, less energy, feeling lightheaded, sensations in different parts of the body (often in the head and heart), and major life changes in relationships, career, locations, etc.
It’s often recommended to drink lots of water and rest as soon as you get Reiki because you might be feeling a bit tired. If you can, don’t drive to your appointment, or better yet, find a practitioner that can go to your home or take a distance healing session so that you can take a nice nap after the session.
A lot of people will notice that after this process takes its course, they start experiencing the happy side effects of Reiki. This happens because every single time we heal, we release one layer of darkness from our auras and our body’s blueprint. The body will slowly flush out the toxicity that is stored in our cells in order to pave the way for a healthier and happier lifestyle.
So next time you experience a side effect after a healing session, drink lots of water, rest, and welcome the side effects!
Source: Secondary Effects of a Reiki Session – Holistic Experiment
This article struck a cord with me as I experienced the same thing after my hip replacement … Paula Cas
We all have moments when we feel a little bit off or just not quite in tune with our spirituality, intuition, or inner voice. But what do we do when we feel completely disconnected for days or weeks at a time?
Unlike those small “off” moments, which can be triggered by relatively innocuous things like annoyance, brief lack of confidence, or just a plain old bad day, disconnection generally has larger roots. Grief, depression, serious illness, surgery*, and new medications are all things that can and do vastly affect us on physical, emotional, and metaphysical levels. But in these instances, knowing the cause isn’t necessarily helpful, as they are not circumstances that we can easily change.
So, what do we do?
The big answer—and the one I most often have trouble with—is patience. Like any other mental or emotional blockage, very often it’s just something your body and mind have to work their way through. But “be patient” is terrible advice, right? You are already stressed, it’s like telling you to calm down. So, here are a few things to try while you’re waiting:
Continue with routine as soon as possible
The causes that landed us in this state are also often things that disrupt our lives anyway. The quicker that you can get back to some semblance of your “normal” life, the better.
Create new rituals
Whether you can continue with routine or not, maybe you need something new. Here we want simple daily things that are not strenuous or time consuming. Try something like ending each night writing down one thing that went well, or one thing you are grateful for. Or lighting a candle for a cause that you believe in, or a person/people you’d like to help.
Practice meditation
In whatever way works for you (we have some tips on that). If it allows you to feel something, great! If not, hopefully it helps a bit with the relaxation you almost assuredly need.
Make time for fun
This one can be hard, I know. But, as hokey as it sounds, your inner child does need a chance to roam. And play is so important, for all creatures. If you are physically able, a hike or even a short walk in nature can do wonders, and in the spirit of play I am rarely one to say no to a turn on a swing set. You might also try having coffee or lunch with friends, or simply chatting on the phone or over text. If being social isn’t your thing (or it’s too taxing due to the current situation), maybe you could splurge on a new book you’d been wanting to read, borrow a favorite from the library (e-books, looove), or veg out in front of the tv with that series you’ve been meaning to watch.
Don’t force it
Not yourself, nor any of these suggestions. I can’t emphasize this enough. Do. Not. Force. It. You might be tempted to bargain or make deals—“If I do this every day, I’ll be back to normal a month and a day from now.”—don’t. Added pressure will likely only make things worse. We all heal at different rates and in different ways. And as much as this might not feel like healing, I assure you, it is.
Remember that all things are cyclical. You may feel lost, maybe even like you’ve veered off the path and cannot see a way through. But if all of life is a circle, eventually the fog has to clear, and you will find your way back.
*For the sake of clarity, disclosure, and all of that soul-baring fun(?) stuff, here’s a bit of personal insight from Melankalia:
I had surgery two weeks ago. For the first time. Out-patient, all went as expected (barring something of a major panic-attack coming out of anesthesia, NOT fun), recovery, healing, and physical therapy are all going well. All good things.
But I feel weird. There are mobility issues, the pain meds are not quite agreeing with me, and my stamina is sort of laughable, but these are things I expected and accounted for. What I did not expect was to feel so very disconnected metaphysically, and (somewhat) emotionally. I don’t know if it’s the physical trauma of surgery, a sensitivity to the new foreign bodies embedded in my flesh, lingering effects of being flooded with various medications, or just some chaotic out-of-whack result of all of the above. But I just don’t feel….right. My intuition, the “voices in my head”, my connection to deities and to nature all feel muted. And now I am just biding my time…and trying to take my own advice.
But, I know, or at least I believe, that in time I’ll be feeling more me again. And if you’re reading this, and struggling, I believe that eventually you will be okay again, too.
Source: How to Cope When You Feel Disconnected | Witchery Wednesday
Photos of wild mares at Teterville (photo: Carol Walker)
By Debbie Coffey, V.P. and Dir. of Wild Horse Affairs, Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved.
After no news for 2 years by BLM on their promised investigation and report to the public on the deaths of wild horses at Scott City, KS, after our 2/2/17 report titled “196 wild horses died at BLM’s Scott City feedlot (a BLM Auschwitz for wild horses),” the BLM was suddenly able to muster up a little something for the public on the Wild Horse & Burro Program website in only about a week.
It popped up under “news” and it seems the BLM was careful to not mention deaths or draw too much attention to the issue at hand in the headline, by titling their “news” “Status of Off Range Corral in Scott City, KS.”
In fact, buried at the end of the 3rd paragraph, the BLM (with more current information) finally stated that 213 mares died (out of the 1,493 wild mares) between June 2014 and October, 2016.
So, about 14% of the wild horses that the BLM shipped to that feedlot, died on that feedlot.
It seems that in the very little offered as a “news” report to the public, the BLM tried to cover up their actions (and more importantly, their lack of action), resulting in the deaths of so many wild horses.
In BLM’s “news” version (HERE) of what happened to wild horses on the Scott City feedlot, they cited “crowding at the feed bunks most likely resulting in some horses not receiving the protein and energy required to support their needs. The BLM made adjustments and the animals began to acclimate and show improvements in their overall health, which resulted in a dramatic decrease in the monthly mortality rate. “
SO WHY DID SO MANY WILD HORSES DIE BEFORE THE “ADJUSTMENTS” WERE MADE? In an August 2014 article on EquiMed, USDA veterinarian Dr. Al Kane stated “in addition to increasing the amount of feed being offered during feedings, we’ve worked with the onsite veterinarian and the operator to increase the energy density of the horses’ feed by increasing the ratio of alfalfa to grass in the hay mix. This helps support the horses’ nutritional needs during the transition from open-pasture to the corral environment”..
WHY WASN’T THE CORRECT FEED PLANNED BEFORE THE WILD HORSES ARRIVED AT THIS FEEDLOT? The BLM has been “managing” wild horses for about 45 years and still can’t get it right.
The BLM still didn’t inform the public that 87 of the 196 wild horses were euthanized, or that 41 wild horses died of colic or that 14 wild horses died of fractures of the spinal cord (neck and back) and 6 horses died of leg or pelvis fractures. The BLM’s version of the “news” didn’t mention the wind storms that were noted by the local veterinarian in his reports to them, or the many cases of sand colic suffered by the wild horses, or the fact that a squeeze chute wasn’t brought to the feedlot until almost 2 months after the horses arrived.
Note that the BLM’s “news” did not provide you with the name of the contractor for the Teterville Off Range Pasture (ORP) in Kansas. (And, also note that the BLM doesn’t disclose the names of ALL of the ORP contractors for the public anywhere on the Wild Horse & Burro Program website.)
While omitting so many important facts for the public in their “news,” the BLM managed to hone in on a couple of mistakes in our article. We corrected these immediately. However, we didn’t kill 213 wild horses and the BLM can’t “undo” what they did.
The real issue is that 213 wild horses (that we know of), died on this feedlot, no matter what the time frame, and the BLM didn’t issue a promised report to the public until now.
If the BLM would give more information to the public, there would be no mistakes. We request that the BLM, in the spirit of transparency, post the spreadsheet containing the freezemark numbers of the horses that died, the dates of deaths and causes of death, and all of the veterinary, necropsy and blood pathology reports of the Scott City wild mares on the Wild Horse & Burro Program website.
We can only hope the BLM will apply some focus to noticing and correcting their mistakes in their own statistics and data, and in their management of the Wild Horse & Burro Program.
In the US, it seems that the first question people ask is, “what do you do?” When they say that, of course, they are not talking about how you spend your leisure time, but rather, the work that you do for pay. This is the most defining characteristic of modern lives–because this is tied to the thing our culture holds as most sacred: money. Money is the only metric that has any real value and the pursuit of money drives all else. If you aren’t working in the workforce earning pay, either the work are doing is devalued (as any stay-at-home parent can attest) or there is something very wrong with you (as in, why aren’t you out there earning money?). This current economic system, driven by industrial mindsets surrounding profit and efficiency, gives us a rather poor metric through which to measure ourselves and our value. …
Source: Slowing Down the Druid Way, Part II: Relationships of Work and Time | The Druid’s Garden
The besom, or broom, is one of the main ritual tools of the witch and is sacred to both the Goddess and God. The God – through its symbolic phallic shape, the Goddess – through its three-piece makeup, the shaft, the bristles and the binding cord, three being the triform aspect of the Goddess. While besom and broom are two names used interchangeably, there is a small difference in their definition. The brush of a besom is usually made of twigs and is, therefore, more rounded in shape, whereas the brush of a broom is primarily made of straw, which is flatter in shape.
Traditionally a besom was made from three different kinds of wood, Ash for the shaft, Birch twigs for the bristles and Willow strands for the binding cord. Ash is protective and has command over the four elements, Birch is purifying and draws spirits to one’s service, while Willow is sacred to the Goddess and binds them all together. In modern witchcraft today, while the traditional besom still takes pride of place, other woods are used for special purposes: Oak for added power and protection, Pine for luck and health, Redwood for longevity, Maple for love and money, Walnut for health and wisdom, and Cinnamon for spirituality.
Magically, a besom is used for a variety of purposes, but more generally they are used to purify and protect. In ritual, they are used to cleanse sacred space before magick is performed by visually sweeping away negative energies and astral build up. Before casting the circle, the Priest or Priestess will walk clockwise (deosil) around the circle space, and hold the besom a few inches off the ground sweep outward from the center while chanting the Besom Chant:
Besom Chant
“Besom, besom, sacred broom
Sweep out darkness, sweep out gloom
Rid this sacred hallowed ground
Of demons, imps and hell bent hounds;
Then set ye down on Her green earth
By running stream or Mistress’ hearth,
Till called once more on Sabbath night
To cleanse once more this sacred site.”
(Author unknown)
Sweeping the area with a besom can be done in addition to or in place of incense, to purify ritual space, and is often used for such when rituals are conducted in smoke-free areas. When not being used in ritual, place your magical besom by the door to protect the home from evil spirits and negative energies. When standing a besom, always place the bristles up, with the shaft on the floor. This not only makes the bristles last longer, it will also bring you good luck. Another old custom was to place a besom outside the door, this as an indication to other witches that the occupants are out, or working, and didn’t wish to be disturbed.
To make your own traditional besom you will need the following:
A length of Ash approximately 4ft long and about 1in
thick for the shaft.
Birch twigs (about 1-2 ft. in length) to act as the bristles.
Several strands of Willow for binding the bristles to the
end of the shaft.
A pair of Scissors.
Water and salt.
Soak the Birch twigs and Willow strands overnight in warm lightly salted water (to make them pliable) and allow them to dry slightly before using. They need to be damp and pliable before binding them to the Ash shaft. Arrange the twigs alongside the shaft about 3-6 inches from the bottom, larger twigs form the center of the brush with shorter ones around the outside, then bind them with the Willow strands. Be sure to tie them very securely. Use as many layers of twigs as you like depending on how full you want the brush to be. Leave overnight to dry.
Whether you make your own besom in the traditional way “as above,” or purchase a ready made one, you may then wish to decorate is it with a magickal name or other meaningful symbols or sigils. Once decorated, the besom should then be consecrated ready for use in your magickal workings. To do this anoint the besom with oil while reciting the following chant:
Consecration Chant
“Besom of birch and willow tied,
Be my companion and my guide.
On ashen shaft by moonlight pale
My spirit rides the windy gale
To magickal realms beyond both space and time.
To magickal lands, my soul will sail.
In the company of the crone, I’ll ride
This besom of birch with willow tied
So do I consecrate this magickal tree.
As I will it, so mote it be.”
(Author unknown)
Once consecrated for use in the magick circle, it should not be used for any other purpose. When making a besom for normal household usage, it can still be magically charged for that use. On one side of the shaft (from the bristles traveling upwards) carve the following words while visualizing your intent: “I sweep out evil and poverty.” On the opposite side of the shaft (from the top traveling down to the bristles, carve “I sweep in money and luck.” When sweeping, visualize the same intent, but sweep towards the fireplace if you have one. If not sweep in any direction except towards the front door, so as not sweep out and lose your good luck.
Myths and Folklore
Most people identify the besom with the old wedding ceremonies performed by Gypsies and early American slaves when couples “Jumped the Broom” to cross the threshold of their new homes ensuring fertility, domestic harmony, and longevity. This custom continues today in modern handfasting rituals when as part of the ceremony, the bridal couple will jump across a decorated besom as confirmation of their commitment to each other. Should the marriage not work, or end in divorce, jumping the broom backward will break that commitment.
The age-old image of witches flying around on broomsticks casting baneful spells is believed to have come from old fertility rites associated with nature and agricultural. As part of the seasonal Spring rites to aid the growth of newly planted crops, women from local villages would gather around fields with their besoms. Placed between their legs as they circled the field, much like riding on a hobby horse, the idea was the higher they leaped, the higher the crop would grow.
In renaissance times, according to the demonologists, the Devil himself presented brooms and flying ointment to newly initiated witches so they could fly to the Sabbats. Often they carried with them familiars in the shape of demons or animals. They were also said to fly across fields blasting their neighbor’s crops or ride out to sea in order to rise up storms. However, such concocted myths were generally forced from the poor tortured victims of the persecutions, and should not be taken seriously.
Other Magickal Uses
Placing a broom across a doorway allows your departed friends and family to speak to you if they so choose. As long as the broom remains, they can communicate freely. To bring rain, stand outside and swing a broom in the air over your head. If lightning blows your way put a broom on your porch to act as a lightening rod. Electricity and lightning are thought to be attracted to brooms. Another way to safeguard a house against lightning strikes is to cross a spade and a broom outside the main entrance.
A besom placed under the bed or beneath the pillows at night, will protect the sleeper from nightmares and ensure a peacefully sleep. Similarly, it is not wise to leave a bed empty for too long. If you are going away for any length of time, place a besom in your bed, laying the bristles on the pillow. This will guard the bed against evil spirits until you return.
Two crossed besoms hung on a wall or the back of a door will protect the house from unwanted influences. With the exception of those used exclusively for magickal purposes, moving an old besom into a new house will result in bad luck.
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