From the Land Down Under: “China Wants Our Donkeys Dead or Alive!” | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

OpEd by Andrea Jenkins – Donkeys of Australia

Over the past few months I have read many articles about donkeys. There was one article I read a couple of weeks ago though that really hit a nerve.

The article included a stunning picture of a donkey, gazing out from his paddock. The barb wire that cut across in front of him indicated that he stood just behind a fence. It led me to imagine a stranger stopping road side with camera in hand, readying the exposure for the autumn sunlight and the yellow daisies. He waits, aware that the donkey has his ears pricked and stands attentive to this new energy invading his home. Curious, this gentle, wise creature meanders over to say hello. The stranger shoots and then is gone, taking a moment in time with him to use as he wishes.

I don’t know this donkey personally. Perhaps he is your donkey? Or someone you know? I imagine other photos he stands in, cuddled by the grandkids, lazing in the sun, a beloved family member that sits in frames on the mantelpiece for the world to see.

I’d love to own this donkey, yet I’m happy I don’t. I don’t think I could bare it. The stranger has not taken this particular photo to show how cherished and adored this donkey is. Mortified, I read the caption: good enough to export.

Yes, sadly, this donkey has become the latest face for donkey export to China. He is pitted next to the words of Barnaby Joyce as a creature with a price tag, an economic commodity, an edible product worthy of export. The nerve it struck was raw. It rocked me to my core. How can we be asked to look at this magnificent creature and see it as a dead product being shovelled into the mouths of those that search for a miracle elixir for eternal youth and vitality?

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Like I said, I’ve read many articles about donkeys over the past few months. In fact, I’ve read, watched, spoken on the phone and data analysed the horrors the ‘insatiable’ appetite for Ejiao brings crashing to our shores.

It’s been extremely challenging for me to witness the creature I love more than anything get decimated in such a brutal way, but I feel I must walk with them through this struggle as they have walked with us through constant struggles throughout time. I must stand with them now and help their voices be heard. It is with their characteristic traits of love, compassion and humility that I proceed to further my education and, hopefully, the education of others, with regard to the issues facing Australian donkeys.

I am sure many of you have read the horrors that are linked with the donkey skin trade. I’m sure you have read that what is, essentially, donkey poaching, has become a regular occurrence in some parts of Africa. I’m sure you have read about the exorbitant prices donkeys are now selling for and the fact that those living in rural villages can no longer afford to replace their donkeys, leaving them without a means to collect their water or send their children to school. I’m sure you’ve heard of the donkey slaughter houses, the string of animal welfare concerns and the shocking statistics that draw many to believe our beloved donkeys are vanishing from this world. I am not sure, however, that you have been able to find much information on the current Australian situation and what it means for Australian donkeys.

So here I am, writing this article for you. It is my aim in writing that I am able to summarise what I have learned, to date, on Ejiao and how this skin trade is expected to affect our Australian donkeys . I am by no means claiming to be an expert on the matter. I am simply one girl who uses Google and the telephone and has been willing to dive into the hay stack, so to speak, and try and find some answers. This brings me to the second aim in writing this article. It is also a desperate cry for help. It is my wish that we may come up with a structure for research and action together as we venture forward with, and for, our beloved donkeys. What I write now details the journey Ejiao has taken me on so far.

When I first heard whispers that China wanted our donkeys, I wrapped myself in the safety net I, and many others, naively believed we had. It seemed that we did not have the numbers of donkeys required to make the idea of donkey export viable. That teamed with the vast and unforgiving landmass the donkeys inhabited seemed to make the cost too much for a return that was far too small. It still seemed that culling was the preferred method of eradication.

Yet, as time passed, donkey populations in China—and globally—started to dwindle, demand for Ejiao skyrocketed, pressure on global markets to supply the increase in demand grew exponentially and the viability of exporting donkeys to China suddenly changed as the price tag kept rising. Pressured with ongoing enquiries the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Resources (NTDPIR) compiled a report into the potential of donkey farming in the Northern Territory (September 2016).

Again, even though the report ultimately found that donkey farming was viable, either as a stand- alone venture or complimentary to the cattle industry, I thought we had a safety net. The safety net seemed to be that there was no Tier 2 processing facility and no operational export protocols to China. Reading that the capital outlay required for such a facility would be somewhere between the $50-$100 million mark and knowing there were no operational protocols for export to China made it sound, again, that the donkeys were to stay on Australian shores.

Yet, as I researched further and talked to more people on the phone I began to understand the saying ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ really does apply to the situation here. Everywhere I turned looking for the next piece of the puzzle I got offered a piece that didn’t fit. I found that when I stopped allowing myself to get distracted by the technical jargon of protocols I, instead, found a big picture with most of the puzzle already in place. Like I say, I am only one girl and I am fully aware that I have more research to go, yet this is how I have come to see the big picture so far.

China wants our donkeys. The Australian agribusiness sector wants to expand export opportunities and make as much money as possible. Station owners want the feral donkeys gone. Farmers want ways to diversify their stock to get them through tough times. Multi-species abattoirs are being built with heavy Chinese investment. Chinese investment in Australian agribusiness is seen as desirable. Trial kills of donkeys are currently happening. More wild donkeys are already being rounded up. The Coalition Government has recently signed a Joint Statement with China to hugely expand market access for Australia’s red meat and live animal export industries to China. Barnaby Joyce is publicly announcing that Australia will be providing edible donkey skins to China and pushing it as a big, new market. Tariffs on hides and skins exported to China are being eliminated between 1st January 2017 and 1st of January 2022. The price of wild donkeys being rounded up and sold has already drastically increased.

So what does this all mean? Yes, China will be getting our donkeys. There may be a few little things to sort out in terms of protocols but it is happening. No one is standing in the way and stopping things from progressing forward. Most of the information I have read indicates that wild donkeys will be rounded up and breed as livestock for the Ejiao trade. Edible donkey skins will be exported to China. Some of the donkey meat will be sold within Australia as pet meat. Some of the meat will be sold internationally for human consumption. It also seems that, as the export market to China opens up under these new trade agreements, donkeys could potentially be live exported to China as well.

Even as I write that last sentence, my heart breaks a new. Not only will I be living in a country that potentially has no wild donkeys left. Not only will I be living in a country with fields of donkeys tagged and fattened ready for the slaughterhouse truck. I will also be living in a country that makes the conscious choice to send sensitive, emotional, smart, alive creatures on a ship, destined for a place of unfathomable animal cruelty. Do you think you can live in the country I describe? Unfortunately, this is what we are facing.

Of course there are obvious animal welfare concerns as are always evident with creatures subjected to the tortures of live export, yet there are more subtle and insidious concerns at play too. One thing I am concerned about is that wild donkeys are to be rounded up and sold as breeding stock. Will the breeding jennies have any much needed maintenance and care? Will their hooves be trimmed? Will their health be attended to? An ongoing animal welfare issue with the Ejiao trade is the lack of donkey healthcare as it is only the skin that is deemed valuable making money spent on overall health a waste of finances.

Another concern is the distances donkeys will be transported to abattoirs. The multispecies abattoir being built in Charleville will apparently be transporting donkeys from the Northern Territory and perhaps even South Australia. Will these donkeys be given the required rests, food and water? How tightly will they be packed in? If rounded up from the wild and trucked, how are foals and pregnant jennies going to be cared for? How will they be treated as they are rounded up, trucked and, ultimately, slaughtered? As ‘pests’ donkeys are not given the same protective rights as other animals in Australia. I will admit that I don’t know how far their protective rights are striped due to their classification as pests yet it is important to ensure that their welfare is adhered to at all stages of transport and processing.

Yet another concern I have is how will this big, new market be regulated? Can anyone start farming donkeys? How is the government going to monitor who is involved in this trade and how this trade is carried out on a day-to-day basis? As the avenues for export open up, there needs to be regulation on this trade, right from the small, hobby farms to the largest stations in the country, along with any wild stock that are mustered and sent straight to slaughter. Many of the people who are going to be involved are experienced in the needs of cattle and are not educated when it comes to donkeys. It is my desire that, for those joining this industry, they are required to gain further donkey specific education.

Now I write about my biggest concern: that our wild donkeys will become extinct and we will either be left with donkeys stuck in a horrific cycle of breeding and slaughter or with no donkeys left at all. This concern comes from a couple of factors. One factor is that no one knows how many donkeys we have to start with. There has been no accurate headcount of donkeys in Australia ever. Yet those, like Barnaby Joyce, who are pushing donkey skins as the next big industry, claim on a very public platform that Australia has millions of wild donkeys. This is simply not the case. The NTDPIR has a far more realistic estimate of the number of wild donkeys, stating that they believe there are roughly 50 thousand donkeys in the Northern Territory—although this figure is thought to be about ten years old and is not considered reliable. If we don’t know how many donkeys we have in the first place, how can we know if this trade, and the way it is to be carried out, will be sustainable?

Another factor is that, with the current Ejiao demand, upwards of 4 million donkeys are already believed to be slaughtered each year and the global donkey population literally cannot keep up. This is being reported with the dwindling of numbers in different parts of the world. It is believed donkey populations in China have halved, Mexican donkeys are considered endangered and some are predicting that, if things don’t change, the African donkey could be extinct in as little as five years If indeed our donkey population is somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 our donkeys could be wiped out be Ejiao demand in a matter of weeks. Even if farming does occur in the near future, stock numbers will need to be built up and stabilised. This will take time as donkeys have a long gestation period and do not breed well in stressful situations. If export opens up as we expect it could under these new trade agreements and wild donkeys are sent straight to multi-species abattoirs for processing it might not be long before they are all gone.

In conclusion, I would like to ask that we unite in action going forward. I know it might seem too big an issue to tackle or too graphic an issue to engage with. This does not have to be the case. No action towards this cause will be wasted. Everything counts. I know signing petitions may seem pointless but they are not. One petition to help Australian donkeys, that has over 5,000 signatures, has been mentioned in a news articles that details Barnaby Joyce and his new donkey skin trade desires. It is important that we continue to make our voices heard.

Another suggestion for action is to research a small part of the situation here and report it back to the various donkey societies, or to the facebook page I have created. An area for research might be to keep an eye on how many donkeys are being rounded up, record prices of donkeys at auctions and who is buying, figuring out if the abattoirs near you are exporting donkeys, monitor the news for further information etc. If you are happy to engage with media you could look for news reporters and TV hosts that are willing to run a section on Ejiao (in a respectful manner). You could apply pressure on different organisations to get an accurate population count so that we have more reliable information on the sustainability of the skin trade. You could help change the classification of donkeys as ‘pests’ so they are granted more protective rights.

There are so many ways you can help. Even if it means simply sharing your own donkeys with the wider public more and more in an effort to alter common misconceptions associated with donkeys, perpetrated by the Australian media. It is important that more people come to realise how smart, sensitive and loving these creatures are. The more that people connect with the donkeys, the more of a movement we will be able to create to support them through this crisis.

I thank you so much for taking the time to read the article I have put together and I hope it is has been informative. Below, I have added links to information I have collected and the points that have been touched on through this article. I have also attached the ‘Under the Skin’ campaign by the Donkey Sanctuary UK. If you would like to stay updated on the Ejiao trade, please sign up. Lastly, I would like to say feel free to follow my new Facebook page ‘Donkeys of Australia’. I have set it up with the aim of creating an information hub. Thank you once again for reading and I look forward to working with you to ensure a bright and sustainable future for our donkeys.

Links:

Under the Skin https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/under-the-skin

Donkeys of Australia https://www.facebook.com/Donkeys-of-Australia-1088323071303237/

Petitions:

https://www.change.org/p/australian-donkeys-face-being-bludgeoned-to-death-with- sledgehammers-if-live-exported-to-china

https://www.change.org/p/adam-giles-please-don-t-allow-china-to-export-our-australian-wild- donkeys

Barnaby Joyce http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/barnaby-joyce-eyes- potential-new-market-exporting-donkey-skins-to-china/news- story/0d2b690a54e020368b939192d97f5526

New Trade Agreements http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/24/donkey-meat-beef- agriculture-australia-china-trade-wider-ever

New Trade Agreements http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2017/03/24/china-talks- trade–prosperity-with-turnbull.html

Donkey Farming Report https://dpir.nt.gov.au/primary-industry/agricultural-developments/donkey- farming

Multi-Species Abattoir Charleville http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-08/charleville-processing- plant-set-to-open-2017/8004938

AACo Abatoir becomes multi-species abattoir http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-11/aaco- darwin-abattoir-buffalo-slaughter/8012144

Application to export to China under new trade agreements http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04- 07/aust-agricultural-company-applies-access-china-beef-market/8417796

Old article indicating the tone of the media when commenting on donkeys-

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-to-become-the-ass-end-of-australia- 20090621-csw6.html

AusTrade-Information on Tariffs http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/chafta/fact- sheets/Pages/chafta-opening-new-opportunities-for-australian-products-in-china.aspx

Source: From the Land Down Under: “China Wants Our Donkeys Dead or Alive!” | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

Wolves can be shot on sight in most of Wyoming after state takes over management | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

by Christine Peterson as published at the Casper Star Tribune

Wyoming assumed management once again of wolves within its borders on Tuesday, and those apex predators wandering outside the northwest corner of the state can be shot on sight.

The Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., entered its final order in favor of Wyoming in a lawsuit that landed wolves back on the endangered species list in 2014. The court announced in early March that it had upheld the state’s plan but had not issued its final order.

Tuesday’s decision is what Wyoming wolf managers hope is the last legal battle in a roller-coaster legal process.

No changes were made to Wyoming’s wolf management plan from when the state oversaw the carnivores between 2012 and 2014, Nesvik said.

That means Wyoming will manage the 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Reservation.

Wolves in 85 percent of the state are considered a predator and can be shot on sight, similar to coyotes. They are classified as a trophy animal in the northwest corner of the state and subject to fall hunting seasons. Those seasons have not yet been set, Nesvik said, adding that wolves in those areas cannot be hunted right now. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will set those seasons after a public comment period…(CONTINUED)

http://trib.com/lifestyles/recreation/wolves-can-be-shot-on-sight-in-most-of-wyoming/article_b22f00b2-cc8e-50d0-99eb-fd2b24f8608d.html

Source: Wolves can be shot on sight in most of Wyoming after state takes over management | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

Ozark Encyclopedia – B – Boneset – Mountain Man Traditional Healing

Author: MMH

Boneset – Eupatorium perfoliatum

Parts used: leaf, flower

Traditional uses: Used as a purgative. Infusion taken for colds. Used as a tonic, sudorific, stimulant, emetic and antiseptic. Infusion taken for “ague,” colds and flu. Used as a stimulant. Infusion taken for sore throat. Decoction of plant used as a gentle emetic. Plant used as a fever medicine.

“Stimulant, febrifuge and laxative. It acts slowly and persistently, and its greatest power is manifested upon the stomach, liver, bowels and uterus. It is regarded as a mild tonic in moderate doses, and is also diaphoretic, more especially when taken as a warm infusion, in which form it is used in attacks of muscular rheumatism and general cold. In large doses it is emetic and purgative. Many of the earlier works allude to this species as a diuretic, and therefore of use in dropsy, but this is an error, this property being possessed by Eupatorium purpureum, the purple-flowered Boneset, or Gravel Root. It has been much esteemed as a popular febrifuge, especially in intermittent fever, and has been employed, though less successfully, in typhoid and yellow fevers. It is largely used by the negroes of the Southern United States as a remedy in all cases of fever, as well as for its tonic effects. As a mild tonic it is useful in dyspepsia and general debility, and particularly serviceable in the indigestion of old people. The infusion of 1 OZ of the dried herb to 1 pint of boiling water may be taken in wineglassful doses, hot or cold: for colds and to produce perspiration, it is given hot; as a tonic, cold. As a remedy in catarrh, more especially in influenza, it has been extensively used and with the best effects, given in doses of a wineglassful, warm every half hour, the patient remaining in bed the whole time; after four or five doses, profuse perspiration is caused and relief is obtained. It is stated that the popular name Boneset is derived from the great value of this remedy in the treatment of a species of influenza which had much prevailed in the United States, and which from the pain attending it was commonly called Break-Bone Fever. This species of Eupatorium has also been employed in cutaneous diseases, and in the expulsion of tapeworm.” ~Grieve MH

*** Cautions: Contains trace amounts of the toxin pyrrolizidine. Caution should be taken when using internally. Large doses emetic. ***

Tea for fevers and chills – “Boneset tea is a favorite remedy for chills, fever, and ague.” ~Randolph OMF 107

Root tea for colds – “My mother says as a child she had malaria with chills every other day and fever. An old aunt of her mothers came to visit and told her brothers to go into the woods and get the root of a certain plant called ‘bone set’. She took the roots, washed them, and boiled them, and made a tea. This my mother had to drink, and it cured her, and she has never had a chill to this day.” ~Parler FBA II 1767

Applied to body for malaria – “A cure for malaria is to take the oil from a plant called a bone set (Eupatorium) and apply to the person with malaria.” ~Parler FBA III 2676

Grieve, Margaret A Modern Herbal (MH)

Moerman, Daniel E. Native American Ethnobotany (NAE)

Parler, Mary Celestia Folk Beliefs from Arkansas (FBA)

Randolph, Vance Ozark Magic and Folklore (OMF)

Source: Ozark Encyclopedia – B – Boneset – Mountain Man Traditional Healing

Cactus Fire Threatening AZ Salt River Wild Horses | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

By Catherine Holland as posted on AZFamily.com

photo courtesy of Salt River Wild Horse Management Group

EAST VALLEY (3TV/CBS 5) –The Cactus Fire burning along the Bush Highway near the Salt River is threatening the herd of wild horses living in that area of the Tonto National Forest.[ORIGINAL STORY: Brush fire breaks out along Bush Highway near Salt River]The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group says it is “in emergency mode and is on standby with [a] veterinarian.”

The SRWHMG is a nonprofit that monitors the herd, documenting births and deaths, as well as details about each horse.

The fire broke out Tuesday near the Salt River tubing area and has already burned about 25 acres on both sides of the Bush Highway and as of Wednesday morning, there was no containment.

“Immediately after the fire broke out, the SRWHMG, after making sure their people were all accounted for, gathered at the Tubing parking lot to be ready and available for any type of horse emergency,” according to a news release from the organization.

The groups had volunteers keeping an eye on the fire, which is burning in the middle of the horses’ habitat, overnight and into the early morning hours.

“If this fire gets out of hand it will be our worst nightmare,” Simone Netherlands, SRWHMG president, said the news release. “[W]e immediately spoke to the Forest Supervisor and he promised to take this fire very seriously even while it is not threatening any structures right now.”

Netherlands said the biggest concern is that a horse might injure itself while running from the smoke and flames.

“[Horses] can panic,” the news released explained. “The river terrain is treacherous and anything can happen when they are in a panic, they can break their legs, get entangled in fencing or babies can possibly [lose] their bands while they are running away.”

Netherlands said the SRWHMG will be checking on the horses as best it can. Anyone who sees an injured wild horse can call the group’s emergency hotline at 480-868-9301. Click or tap the phone number to call from this story on your mobile device.

Comprised of several family bands, the 80-140 Salt River horses that call the Tonto National Forest home are known all over the country, particularly after a 2015 proposal by the U.S. Forest Service to round them up and relocate them.

[WATCH: Salt River horses (and little foal!) take a dip]

[SLIDESHOW: Salt River wild horses]

After a public outcry, the U.S. Forest Service backed off on that plan, allowing the horses to stay put.

Gov. Doug Ducey in May signed a bill protecting the Salt River horses, which he described as “beautiful, majestic and a treasure to our state.”

The herd’s first baby of 2017, a colt, was named in Ducey’s honor.

The horses made headlines again in October after a foal was shot, killed and mutilated. Two adult horses were wounded but recovered.

Volunteers monitored the heard while the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office scoured the scene of evidence.

Click (HERE) to view Videos

http://www.azfamily.com/story/35252870/cactus-fire-threatening-salt-river-wild-horses

Source: Cactus Fire Threatening AZ Salt River Wild Horses | Straight from the Horse’s Heart

Astrorisa MINI Moon Blast – April 26,2017 Taurus New Moon

Source: Astrorisa

Written by Iya Olusoga ~ Bisi Ade

For Astrorisa Moon Forecaster

April 26, 2017

Taurus New Moon 6° in House 12

Taurus Sun 6° in House 12

8:17 AM EST

Planetary Energies

Moon (Osupa / Yemoja),Sun (Orun / Orunmila, Olofi), Mercury (Esu-Elegbara), Jupiter (Obatala), Saturn (Obaluaiye), Neptune (Olokun), Uranus (Sango), and Venus (Oshun).

Themes:

Family, personal values, personal self-worth, loss and gains. Creative inspirations, freedom vs confinement, temptations, and stubbornness.

Welcome to the Taurus new moon! This moon portends a specific time for our consciousness to express strong desires for freedom, self-assuredness which can become stubbornness if not careful. We’ll be confronting many forms of temptations because the Taurus (earthy expression) is about our environment both physical and emotional and what those aspects of ourselves desire or feel secure. Hence, we on a collective level will be observing and discerning if our personal space is secure or perhaps we’re indeed trapped, closed in like a Bull. Only to be “let out” at the leisure of someone else’s pleasure or we’re subservient to some type of addiction. The 12th house, the house of solitude and confinement accentuates this energy field of being enclosed, being removed from the day-to-day realities of life. Like a patient who only watches TV not socializing; are we protecting ourselves from something or avoiding what’s really going on around us? Are we the Bull who eats by someone else’s diet plan and standards in a small stall instead of grazing on its own in a wider open space? This new moon time encourages our collective consciousness to identify how free or trapped we are and if anything, what can or should be done about it? This moon marks a time of ”boundaries.”

Orange Essential Oil May Improve Symptoms of PTSD, Say Researchers – Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Source: Orange Essential Oil May Improve Symptoms of PTSD, Say Researchers – Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Post-traumatic stress disorder affects around 8 million adults in the United States, but treatments for the condition are still limited. Orange essential oil may offer a nonpharmaceutical option to help reduce the stress and fear associated with the disorder, suggests research carried out by scientists at George Washington University.

Early indications show that orange essential plant oil could help to diminish symptoms associated with PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder often triggered by exposure to stressful, distressing, or frightening events, or the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one.

The person with the disorder tends to relive the traumatic experience through flashbacks and nightmares. The severe anxiety caused by PTSD may last months or even years, and it can have a significant impact on the person’s life.

Chronic stress is thought to play a role in activating and exacerbating inflammation in the peripheral immune system. Research has suggested that peripherally circulating immune cells may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier and cause inflammation in the central nervous system, which may contribute to mental health disorders, including PTSD. However, the link between fear memory and the immune system is not entirely understood.

Furthermore, treatment for PTSD is currently limited to two FDA-approved medications and psychotherapy practices, including cognitive and exposure therapies.

Cassandra Moshfegh, a research assistant in Paul Marvar’s laboratory at the George Washington University, and colleagues sought to investigate the effect of orange essential plant oil on PTSD symptoms. Previous studies have shown that orange essential oil may have a depressant-like effect on the central nervous system.

The team presented the research at the American Physiological Society’s annual meeting during the Experimental Biology 2017 conference, held in Chicago, IL.

Essential oils are naturally produced by plants and can be used for therapeutic purposes. The aromatic compounds of orange essential oil are usually extracted from the peel of the orange. Essential oils can be inhaled, applied to the skin, or ingested in foods or beverages.

Orange essential oil significantly reduced fear-associated behavior

Orange essential oil was tested in mice to determine the impact of the compound on fear memory and immune cell activation. The researchers used Pavlovian Fear Conditioning – a behavioral mouse model – “to study the formation, storage, and expression of fear memories as a model for PTSD.”

Pavlovian Fear Conditioning pairs a tone with a negative stimulus, such as a shock to the foot, which provokes fear as a response in the mice. The mice form an associative memory between the tone and the stimulus. When presented with the tone alone, the mice exhibit a fear response and typically freeze. This response diminishes slowly as time goes on.

Moshfegh and team divided the mice into three groups. The first group of 12 mice was exposed to the audio tone alone, 12 mice received water and fear conditioning, and the remaining 12 mice were exposed to orange essential oil by inhalation 40 minutes prior to and after the fear conditioning.

The researchers found that the mice exposed to orange essential oil were significantly less likely to exhibit freezing behavior and stopped freezing altogether earlier than the mice that received water and fear conditioning. Moreover, the mice exposed to orange essential oil experienced a significant decrease in the immune cells linked to the “biochemical pathways” associated with PTSD.

The mechanism behind the differences in behavior between the two groups could be explained by the variations found in gene expression in their brains.

“Relative to pharmaceuticals, essential oils are much more economical and do not have adverse side effects. The orange essential plant oil showed a significant effect on the behavioral response in our study mice. This is promising because it shows that passively inhaling this essential oil could potentially assuage PTSD symptoms in humans.”

Cassandra Moshfegh

Further studies are needed to unravel the specific effects of orange essential oil on the brain and nervous system, says Moshfegh, and to uncover how these effects reduce “stress and fear in people with PTSD.”

Snow White and the Huntsman – secretsoftheserpent

By gserpent

Source: Snow White and the Huntsman – secretsoftheserpent

Snow White and the Huntsman is a spin-off the Brothers Grimm ‘Snow White’. What most people don’t know is that the Brothers Grimm got this story from Egypt. The original story was based on astronomy, Snow White being the moon and the seven dwarves being the seven known planets following the moon in the sky. The creators of this movie knew this and they put a sly little part in the movie to show the original meaning. It also was a slight jab at science.

Like all good movies the characters in this story are aspects of yourself. This movie was covertly showing true history, but what I really like about it is that it’s a story of ‘waking up’ for the feminine. Most movies are showing you the masculine and its wake up process, but this one flips roles. The reason why they have an evil Queen and Snow White being all things good and pure is because they represent Nature. Nature is the sacred feminine. She can be pure and beautiful, but also very destructive. Two expressions of a single reality, Yin Yang. These are summed up into two paths that you can take:
Ascetic- suppression of natural, control or want to be controlled, filter everything.
or
Ecstatic- Open up, learn to cooperate with nature, constructing, expanding.

Right at the very beginning the creators of this movie are showing who their allegiances are with, but also are showing it is a story of the sacred feminine. The rose is a symbol of Goddess worship and has to do with the Goddess Rosemerth. The red rose is symbolizing the red crown of Lower Egypt. Those that know their history know the Lancastrians took the red rose as their symbol because they were of the Lower Egyptian bloodline. The red crown of Lower Egypt. The Yorkists took the white rose as their symbol for the white crown of Upper Egypt. The English Civil War was called the War of the Roses for this reason. That is all that this opening scene is doing. The western world is Egypt and the Upper and Lower crowns are still fighting each other.

Snow White’s mother dies while she is young. The people love Snow White for her strong and defiant heart. Her father’s name is King Magnus. If I had any doubts about the creators of this movie being in the know, they just vanished. If you have read my His Royal Jesus post, you know this is the real name of the biblical Jesus. He was from the bloodline of Lower Egypt. King Magnus is tricked into a battle where he finds Ravenna. He falls in love with her beauty and makes her is Queen. In the Brothers Grimm stories of the princess’, the wicked step mother and sisters symbolize the sister religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They are jealous of the princess in the stories because the princess represents Mary or Mary Magellan. Ravenna is symbolizing all three religions. In God(s) I showed you that all three of these religions are secretly worshipping Thoth, the moon-god of Egypt. The Raven is the symbol of the Moon. Her killing Magnus is symbolizing the killing of the true history of the biblical Jesus, real name King Magnus.

Snow White’s father being killed is the chaos needed to begin the wake up process. Her being put in prison is symbolizing the self-made prison of your mind. Can you be alone with your thoughts? Your mind will create problems, you have to overcome. Self love and self forgiveness is the key to going forward. When Snow White escapes she gets on a white horse and makes it to the Dark Forest. Horses usually always represent the goddess and forests are the underworld. The Queen hires Eric the Huntsman to go after Snow White. The Huntsman is the sacred masculine. His wife died and he is lost without her. The masculine is lost without the sacred feminine. That is why this world is so screwed up! Everyone is in the masculine and the sacred feminine is nowhere to be found. What we think of as feminine in the world is a messed up version of what the masculine thinks it should be. This world is in is all negative aspects of the masculine. We think the masculine is some sports fanatic that makes a ton of money or some idiot that goes and kills animals for fun. This ‘look at me world’ is sickening! How can it be anything else when this world is built on lies and no man is willing or able to stand up to them?

Snow White and the Huntsman make it through the Dark Forest by working together. As they are exiting the forest they encounter a giant Troll. Trolls are things in your subconscious that need to be dealt with(see Troll). The Huntsman tells Snow White to run and he tries to fight the Troll off. He gets his ass kicked. Snow White steps in and calms the Troll. The Troll seems to give up and walks off. The Huntsman tells Snow White “ I thought I told you to run”. Snow White replies “If I did you would be dead”. This is symbolizing that you have to deal with your Trolls. Anything in your past that makes you feel bad or something you haven’t forgiven yourself for. Again, self-love and self forgiveness is the key. Don’t feed the Trolls. Get rid of the Trolls.

Snow White and the Huntsman make their way to a village of all women who have disfigured themselves, so the Queen will find them useless. The Queen needing the beauty of young women is symbolizing that these patriarch religions need women to keep the lie going. In the past they burned women for not converting, today they shame them. This village is symbolizing the women that have ‘woken up’. Patriarch religions can’t claim their minds, so they have no use for them. Right on cue, the Queens thugs attack.

Snow White and the Huntsman escape and they meet a group of 8 dwarfs. I found this very witty. As I said, the original Snow White is an astronomical tale. The seven dwarfs were the seven known planets following the moon in the sky. The ancients knew about the planets. We did not discover them, we rediscovered them. Once we rediscovered Pluto there were 8 planets following the moon. The extra dwarf sacrifices himself to save Snow White. This is symbolizing Pluto losing it’s planet status. I know I’m right on this because the dwarf’s name was Gus. Right after science dropped Pluto as a planet, a show called Psych came out with a character named Gus who would say to people “Have you heard about Pluto? That’s messed up right”. This was a slight slam on science dropping Pluto as a Planet.

Snow White sees some faeries and she follows them. They eventually lead her to Cernunnos. Cernunnos represents untamed nature. He is the male protector or the sacred masculine of the Goddess. He bows to Snow White(the sacred feminine) showing what I have been saying all along. The sacred feminine is the key! She is the Alpha and Omega! In come the Queen’s thugs again and they shoot Cernunnos causing him to disappear. This is showing that the patriarch religions have no respect for nature or the Goddess for that matter. At this time William, Snow White’s friend from childhood, reveals himself and helps defeat the Queen’s thugs. Now Snow White has two men that represent the sacred masculine. Queen Ravenna disguises herself as William and gives Snow White a poison apple. She takes a bite and falls into a deep sleep making everyone think she is dead. Apples always represent knowledge and a poisoned apples represent false knowledge. That is just what religion gives you, false knowledge. It has put the masses and the sacred feminine to sleep for more than 2,000 years.

William thinking she was dead kisses her then they take her to Duke Hammond’s castle. Here the Huntsman regrets not saving her and kisses her too. I think they did this because of the dual symbolism of astronomy and consciousness. The astronomy is the sun and moon in an eclipse and the consciousness is the working together of the sacred masculine with the sacred feminine. She wakes up, representing her ‘awakening’ or rebirth. She rally’s the Dukes army and they set out to attack Queen Ravenna’s castle. They infiltrate the castle and Snow White confronts Ravenna. Through out the story they keep saying that Snow White is the only one that can kill Queen Ravenna. This is the same as the Lord of the Rings with the Witch-king of Angmar. No man could kill him, but a woman(sacred feminine) could(see The Rings). These are symbolizing it takes the sacred feminine to kill patriarch religions. Snow White gets over powered by Ravenna. Ravenna is about to kill her and take her heart, but Snow White uses a move the Huntsman taught her to kill Ravenna. With Ravenna defeated, the kingdom returns to peace and harmony as Snow White is crowned Queen. You will find peace and harmony when you have the sacred feminine in your life and this world will find peace and harmony when the unadulterated sacred feminine returns. Just like it was in the Golden Age thousands of years ago.

Queen of Sheba – secretsoftheserpent

By gserpent

Source: Queen of Sheba – secretsoftheserpent

The tale of the Queen of Sheba has been embellished by several groups of people or religions that try to claim her as their own Queen. It is not enough to just reject the lie. Everyone has to make up their own version of the lie to get in on the money train. The Queen of Sheba was the title for several ladies in history, but not one of them is outside of Egypt. I’m going to show you who the Queen of Sheba was and why there were other ladies with this title.

If you have read my Patriarch Pharaohs post, you already know who the Queen of Sheba was. In this post I will go into more detail and give a few surprises. Again all the credit to finding Queen of Sheba goes to Ralph Ellis. This post will use his research with some of my own interpretations. We can’t talk about the Queen of Sheba without mentioning King David or King Solomon. King David and King Solomon were identified as Lower Egyptian Pharaohs. King David was Pharaoh Psusennes and King Solomon was Pharaoh Sheshonq(See Patriarch Pharaohs).

King David’s official title was Pa-seba-khen-nuit and it means “My Star Appears or Shines in His City”. King David is known for the Star of David, but what was this star? Researchers will tell you it is the morning star and had to do with the rising of Venus or the sun. Jesus was said to be of the line of David and he has a star in his story too. What is up with all the stars? Just like Pharaohs in Egypt had several names, so did the royal females. The Pharaoh had to have a wife from the bloodline in order to rule. Just like the Pharaohs were considered gods on earth, all royal ladies were considered a version of Isis. Isis was the Queen of the Heavens or Queen of the Stars. The royal wives were considered God’s wife and when they had a son that would become ruler, they were considered God’s mother. In somewhat the same manner, when a daughter was born of the bloodline, one of her titles was Bathsheba. Bathsheba means ‘daughter of Sheba’ or ‘daughter of the star’. When she became Queen she was known as ‘Queen of the Stars’ or ‘Queen of Sheba’. The Star of Isis is the Star of David.

Why would all these ladies be considered to be a star? The lower Egyptians were considered the watchers of the Pyramids. This didn’t mean they literally watched the pyramids themselves. It was astronomical. They watched the stars or heavens from them. That is what the platform on the top of the Great Pyramid was for. What the patriarchs don’t want you to know is that it was a priestess who did the observing. Whether is was the actual Queen or a priestess that represented her, it is hard to tell. I think that on really important occasions it was the Queen herself and maybe on lesser important events it was a priestess representing her. Another title the Queen had been was ‘Mother of the Breasts’. The breasts were the Great Pyramid and the Second Pyramid. The Pyramids were the breasts of Isis. The Pyramids were seen to cause the flooding of the Nile and it brought them nourishment. Sheba or Seba in Egyptian had four different meanings: star, oath,seven and door. Every seven days the BathSheba or a priestess would open the door to the Great Pyramid then goto the top. This ceremony was called the Shabbath or Sabbath. Why is a Queen or priestess on top of the Great Pyramid leading the ceremony? Because the sacred feminine is the capstone to the Universal Temple. Even though King David and King Solomon are heroes to the patriarchs, they did these ceremonies. They also built temples to several gods. A priestess or Queen of the Stars on top of the Pyramid is why people put a star on top of a Christmas tree. The tree is the Great Pyramid. It used to have a lighted walkway that spiraled all the way to the top. Just like Christmas tree lights. The star the wise men were following at Jesus’ birth was Mary. She was Egyptian, so she was a Queen of the Stars or a Queen of Sheba.

In Patriarch Pharaohs I showed you the famous Queen of Sheba was the daughter of King David. Her real name was Maakhah Tamar. King David raped this daughter and got her pregnant, so he married her. Her mother must have been too old to have anymore children or maybe something happened to where she couldn’t have anymore kids. The texts only say she became a widow. This is usually what happens when the Queen gets to old to have kids and the Pharaoh takes on another wife of the bloodline, usually one of his daughters. Maakhah Tamar went from Bathsheba(daughter) to Queen of Sheba, just like the legends and texts say. She had a boy and they named him Sheshoq or Solomon. Fourteen years later King David was on his death-bed. They brought a prostitute in named Abishag to try to screw him out of his death, literally. Abishag means ‘to ravish my father’. This is where the term ‘to shag someone’ comes from. They brought another daughter or maybe a son in to do this. Maybe it was Maakhah Tamar herself, the texts are vague. When it was obvious that sex wasn’t going to work, Maakhah Tamar brings Solomon in to King David and pleads for him to make Solomon Pharaoh of Egypt. David agrees and calls for the priests. The priests and family make him King Solomon at age 14. They bring Naamah in from Upper Egypt to be his bloodline Queen. At this time Maakhah Tamar goes back to Upper Egypt to rule at the age of 32 or 33.

This is where the legends of the Queen of Sheba begin. It is said that she was the Queen of the South and she was a dark or dusky maiden. Upper Egypt is south of Lower Egypt. She was coming from Thebes and going to Tanis. So she was the Queen of the South. Being dark or dusky is the same as calling Mary the black Madonna. It is code for the black or dark lands of Egypt. It had to do with the Nile flooding and making the land black or dark(fertile soil) after it receded. Saying that she came from Ethiopia is because of the Kebra Negast. When this book was found the patriarch George had to bring it in line with the Bible. Couldn’t let this book give away all the lies of the last 1300 years. So he made everything that had to do with Upper Egypt into Ethiopia. Ethiopia was a province of Egypt, so he was being loose with the truth. In this manner she was the Queen of Ethiopia.

By now you understand that Maakhah Tamar is the Queen of Sheba. In the legends she wanted to meet this wise king and bring him gifts. It had been seven years since she had seen her son. He was given the crown at 14 and she went back to Thebes. She had heard how well he was doing and wanted to go see for herself. I have a little trouble excepting this because in the Egyptian texts it says that all the gold, silver and spices she was bringing was to pay tribute, so he wouldn’t attack Upper Egypt. I don’t doubt she wanted to see her son, but she wasn’t bringing all the treasures just because he was wise. He wanted to rule all of Egypt and she was in charge of the south. She brought all the treasures to calm him down and seal the deal by marrying him and having sexual relations with him. And people wonder where incest came from. She had a son from this encounter and named him Menelek. Once he was old enough he wanted to go see his father. While he was there he decides to steal the Ark of the Covenant. I showed in the Ark of the Covenant post what the Ark actually was. All Pharaohs had one and Menelek had a right to be the next Pharaoh. Problem was that Solomon had sons all over the place. Menelek stole it and took it back to Upper Egypt to show everyone he was the rightful heir to the throne.

Mainstream archeologist will say that the Queen of Sheba came from Saba in modern Yemen. They have it wrong. It is the other way around. The story of Jeremiah in the bible is how the people got to Saba. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Israel and Judaea in 597 BCE. A group of people left Judea and headed toward modern Yemen to a town they called Marib. Marib means wisdom of Maakhah. It was not named Saba till much later. Jeremiah was blaming this group of people for the fall of Jerusalem. They worshipped the Queen of Heaven, Maakhah Tamar or Isis. All are the same. When they got to Yemen they built the Marib damn, so they could grow their spices and became very rich. Spices in these ancients texts usually refers to hemp or marijuana. They got rich off of the left-handed cigarette. This group of people had the Tanakh with them. The Tanakh was an ancient book that Joseph Flavius couldn’t get his hands on because it had left Jerusalem with these Sheba worshippers. About 630 CE the Marib damn breaks and this group of goddess worshippers head back to Jerusalem. They are met by Mohammed and his thugs. He kills all of them and takes the Tanakh. He uses it to write the Koran. Mohammed, real name Lothar Schmalfus, was a pope reject. All he wanted was revenge on Christianity. He took the Tanakh and filled it with hate to get people to fight for him. This is why there is historical truth in the Koran. Other than that it is a book of hate to get people to fight a war. Make no mistake, I am not taking up for Christianity. As far as I am concerned, this planet would be better off if all religions were thrown off of it.

The rulers of this world make sure the masses stay in ignorance, superstition and fear. All this history was hidden and lost. Very few people know the true history of this world. That is why I started this blog. If people can be shown the truth, ignorance goes away and hopefully superstitions will follow. Getting rid of fear is up to you. Realize the power that you have as an individual. I have found that knowledge is power. Ignorance is the darkness of chaos and knowledge is the light of the Cosmos.