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B
Ba: The Egyptian conception of the soul, which in the form of a man-headed bird left the body after death and winged its flight to the gods. It returned at intervals to the mummy for the purpose of comforting it and reassuring it concerning immortality. Sometimes it grasps the ankh and the nrf and is occasionally represented as flying down the tomb-shaft to the deceased, or perched on the breast of the mummy. It was sometimes cared on the lid of the mummy cases. In the Book of the Dead a chapter promises abundance of food to the Ba, so that the conception does not appear to have been entirely spiritual.
Baalberith: A demon of the second order; master of the Infernal Alliance. He is said to be secretary and keeper of the archives of Hell.
Baalzephon: Captain of the guard and sentinels of Hell, according to Wierius.
Babau: A species of ogre with which the nurses in the central parts of France used to frighten their charges. He was supposed to devour naughty children in salad.
Baby soul: From the Michael teachings, someone in the second of the five main physical-plane soul ages, which emphasizes lessons about working with the structure of civilization.
Babylonia: The conservative element in the religion of Babylonia was one of its most marked and interesting features. All the deities retained, even after they reached their highest development, traces of their primitive demonic characters, and magic was never divorced from religion. The most outstanding gods were Ea, Anu, and Enlil, the eider Bel. These formed a triad at the dawn of history, and appear to have developed from an animistic group of world spirits. Although Ea became specialized as a god of the deep, Anu as a god of the sky, and EnLil as an earth god, each also had titles which emphasized that they had attributes overlapping those of the others. Thus Eua was Enki, earth lord, and as Aa was a lunar deity, and he also had solar attributes. In the legend of Etana and the Eagle, his heaven is stated to be in the sky. Anu and Enlil as deities of thunder, rain and fertility, linked closely with Ea, as Dagon, of the flooding and fertilizing Euphrates. Each of these deities were accompanied by demon groups.
Bachelor: The name given to his satanic majesty, when he appeared in he guise of a great he-goat, for the purpose of sexual intercourse with the witches.
Dr. Edward Bach (1886 – 1936): was a British physician who believed that illness is the effect of disharmony between body and mind and that symptoms of an illness are the external expression of negative emotional states. The term flower remedies refers to a set of preparations developed by Dr. Bach. Flower essences are also products derived from Dr. Bach's work.
Dr. Bach asserted that harmful emotions are the main cause of disease, and he classified various emotions into seven principal categories. These categories were then divided further into 38 negative feelings, each of which was associated with a particular therapeutic plant. He also developed a compound of five flowers called Rescue Remedy to be used in emergency situations for trauma.
Bach flower remedies are usually consumed as alcohol-based preparations, but they are also available as creams. Australian bush remedies, Alaskan flower remedies and treatments made from Brazilian rain forest plants are believed by some to be therapeutically similar to Bach flower remedies.Bach Flower Remedies: comprise a therapeutic system that uses specially prepared plant infusions to balance physical and emotional disturbances. It is believed that every Bach flower remedy is related to an area on the surface of the body. Negative moods change energetic structure in these places, which may be accompanied by pain and disturbing sensations. A flower diagnosis may be obtained by pinpointing the appropriate area on the body map.
The production of Bach flower remedies is handled in two ways: Using the "sun method," flowers are picked on a warm summer day in full sunshine. The flowers are placed in a glass bowl with fresh water, preferably taken from a spring close to the location of the flower. The bowl is then placed in the sun for two to four hours. According to Dr. Bach, the sun transfers the vibration of the flowers into the medium of the water, which in this way becomes energetically infused. The flowers are then removed from the water, and an equal portion of alcohol is added for preservation (Bach originally used brandy). This solution is stored in a stock bottle. During treatment, the remedy is usually diluted with water and is consumed as an alcohol-based preparation, although it may also be available as a cream.The second method of preparation is the "cooking method." Because not all flowers, shrubs, bushes and trees bloom at a time of year with plenty of sunshine, this approach is considered necessary. In the cooking method, flowers and buds are picked according to the sun method and boiled down. The extract is filtered several times and then mixed with an equal portion of alcohol as a preservative.
Bacon, (Roger):
was born near Ilchester in Somerset, in 1214. In his
boyhood he displayed remarkable precocity, and in due
time, having entered the order of St. Francis, he studied
mathematics and medicine in Oxford and Paris. Returning to
England, he devoted attention to philosophy and also wrote
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew Grammars. He was a pioneer of
astronomy and was acquainted with the properties of
lenses, so that he may have foreshadowed the telescope. In
the region of the mechanical sciences, his prophecies are
noteworthy since he not only speaks of boats which may be
propelled without oars, but of cars which may move without
horses, and even of machines to fly in the air. To him we
are indebted for important discoveries in the science of
pure chemistry. His name is for ever associated with the
making of gunpowder, and if the honor cannot be wholly
afforded him, his experiments with nitre were at least a
far step towards the discovery. His study of alchemical
subjects led him, as was natural, to a belief in the
philosopher's stone by which gold might be purified to a
degree impossible by any other means, and also to a belief
in the elixir of life whereby on similar principles of
purification, the human body might be fortified against
death itself.
[Read the full article]
Badger: To bury the foot of badger underneath one's sleeping place is believed by Voodoo worshippers and certain Gypsy tribes to excite or awaken love.
Bael: A demon cited in the Grand Grimoire, and head of the infernal powers. It is with him that Wierius commences his inventory of the famous Peudonomarchia Daemonum. He alludes to Bael as the first monarch of hell, and says that his estates are situated on the eastern region thereof. He has three heads, one, that of a crab, another that of a cat, and the third that of a man. Sixty-six legions obey him.
Bagoe: A pythoness, who is believed to have been the Erithryean sibyl. She is said to have been the first woman to have practiced the diviner's art. She practised in Tuscany, and judged all events by the sound of thunder.
Bahir: A mystical Hebrew treatise of the twelfth or thirteenth century, the work of a French rabbi, by name Isaac ben Abraham of Posquieres, commonly called "Isaac the Blind." [See Kabbala]
Bailey, (Alice): was a prolific author on occultism and founded an international esoteric movement. Her writings gave rise to many aspects of contemporary New Age belief.
Balan: A monarch great and terrible among the infernal powers, according to Wierius. He has three heads, those of a bull, a man, and a ram. Joined to these is the tail of a serpent, the eyes of which burn with fire. He bestrides an enormous bear. He commands forty of the infernal legions, and rules over finesse, ruses and middle courses.
Ballou, Adin: A Universalist minister who in 1842 formed the Hopedale Community (q.v.). He was one of those whose doctrines prepared the way for spiritualism in America, and who, after that movement had been inaugurated, became one of its most enthusiastic protagonists [See America]
Baphomet: The goat-idol of the Templars (q.v.) and the deity of the sorcerers' Sabbath. The name is composed of three abbreviations: Tem. ohp. Ab, Templi omnium hominum pacis abhas, "the father of the temple of universal peace among men." Some authorities hold that the Baphomet was a monstrous head, others that it was a demon in the form of a goat. An account of a veritable Baphometic idol is as follows: "A pantheistic and magical figure of the Absolute. The torch placed between the two horns, represents the equilibrating intelligence of the triad. The goat's head, which is synthetic, and unites some characteristics of the dog, bull, and ass, represents the exclusive responsibility of matter and the expiation of bodily sins in the body. The hands are human, to exhibit the sanctity of labor; they make the sign of esotericism above and below, to impress mystery on initiates, and they point at two lunar crescents, the upper being white and the lower black, to explain the correspondences of good and evil, mercy and justice. The lower part of the body is veiled, portraying the mysteries of universal generation, which is expressed solely by the symbol of the caduceus. The belly of the goat is scaled, and should be colored green, the semicircle above should be blue; the plumage, reaching to the breast, should be of various hues. The goat has female breasts, and thus its only human characteristics are those of maternity and toil, otherwise the signs of redemption. On its forehead, between the horns and beneath the torch, is the sign of the microcosm, or the pentagram with one beam in the ascendant, symbol of human intelligence, which, placed thus below the torch, makes the flame of the latter an image of divine revelation. This Pantheos should be seated on a cube, and its footstool should be a single ball, or a ball and a triangular stool."
Wright (Narratives of Sorcery and Magic), writing on the Baphomet says: - "Another charge in the accusation of the Templars seems to have been to a great degree proved by the depositions of witnesses; the idol or head which they are said to have worshipped, but the real character or meaning of which we are totally unable to explain. Many Templars confessed to having seen this idol, but as they described it differently, we must suppose that it was not in all cases represented under the same form. Some said it was a frightful head, with long beard and sparkling eyes; others said it was a man's skull; some described it as having three faces; some said it was of wood, and others of metal; one witness described it as a painting (tabula picta) representing the image a man (imago hominis) and said that when it was shown to him, he was ordered to 'adore the Christ, his creator.' According to some it was a gilt figure, either of wood or metal; while others described it as painted black and white. According to another deposition, the idol had four feet, two before and two behind; the one belonging to the order at Paris, was said to be a silver head, with two faces and a beard. The novices of the order were told always to regard this idol as their savior. Deodatus Jaffet, a knight from the south of France, who had been received at Pedenat, deposed that the person who in his case performed the ceremonies of reception, showed him a head or idol, which appeared to have three faces, and said, 'You must adore this as your savior, and the savior of the order of the Temple' and that he was made to worship the idol, saying, 'Blessed be he who shall save my soul.' Cettus Ragonis, a knight received at Rome in a chamber of the palace of the Lateran, gave a somewhat similar account. Many other witnesses spoke of having seen these heads, which, however, were, perhaps, not shown to everybody, for the greatest number of those who spoke on this subject, said that they had heard speak of the head, but that they had never seen it themselves; and many of them deposed in England that an English Templar had assured him that in that country the order had four principal idols, one at London, in the Sacristy of the Temple, another at Bristelham, a third at Brueria (Bruern in Lincolnshire), and a fourth beyond the Humber.
"Some of the knights from the south added another circumstance in their confessions relating to this head. A templar of Florence, declared that, in the secret meetings of the chapters, one brother said to the others, showing them the idol, 'Adore this head. This head is your God and your Mahomet.' Another, Gauserand de Montpesant, said that the idol was made in the figure of Baffomet (in figuram Baffometi); and another, Raymond Rubei, described it as a wooden head, on which was painted the figure of Baphomet, and he adds, 'that he worshipped it by kissing its feet, and exclaiming Xalla,' which he describes as 'a word of the Saracens' (verbum Saracenorum). This has been seized upon by some as a proof that the Templars had secretly embraced Mahometanism, as Baffomet or Baphomet is evidently a corruption of Mahomet; but it must not be forgotten that the Christians of the West constantly used the word Mahomst in the mere signification of an idol, and that it was the desire of those who conducted the prosecution against the Templars to show their intimate intercourse with the Saracens. Others, especially Von Hammer, gave a Greek derivation of the word, and assumed it as a proof that Gnosticism was the secret doctrine of the temple..."
Baptism: It was said that at the witches Sabbath children and toads were baptized with certain horrible rites. This was called the baptism of the devil.
Bar-Lgura: (Semitic demon): Sits on the roofs of houses and leaps on the inhabitants. People so afflicted are called d'baregara.
Barqu: A demon in whose keeping was the secret of the Philosopher's stone.
The Barguest: A goblin or phantom of a mischievous character, so named from his habit of sitting on bars or gates. It is said that he can make himself visible in the day time. Rich in the Encyclopedia Melropolitana relates a story of a lady, whom he knew, who had been brought up in the country. She had been passing through the fields one morning, when a girl, and saw, as she thought someone sitting on a stile: however, as she drew near, it vanished.
Bashar: A being of extraterrestrial origin, channeled for over 20 years by Darryl Anka. Bashar teaches about how the universe works and how each person creates the reality they experience. The concepts are in alignment with the conscious creation philosophy taught by Jane Roberts and Seth, but with more focus on the multi-dimensional aspects of the self.
Bat: There is an asian belief that the bat is specially adapted to occult uses.
Bathym: also called Marthim, a duke of the Infernal Regions. He has the appearance of a robust man, says Wierius, but his body ends in a serpent's tail. He bestrides a steed of livid color. He is well versed in the virtues of herbs and precious stones. He is able to transport men from one place to another with wonderous speed. Thirty legions obey his behests.
Bayemon: The grimoire of Pope Honorius gives this name as that of a powerful demon whom it addresses as monarch of the western parts of the Infernal Regions.
Bearded Demon: The demon who teaches the secret of the Philosopher's Stone. He is but little known. The demon barbu is not to be confused with Barbatos, a great and powerful demon who is a duke in Hades, though not a philosopher; nor with Barbas, who is interested in mechanics. It is said that the bearded demon is so called on account of his remarkable beard.
Bechard: A demon alluded to in the Key of Solomon as having power over the winds and the tempests. He makes hail, thunder, and rain.
Bell, Art: an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as the founder and a longtime host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland.
Belomancy: The method of divination by arrows, dates as far back as the age of the Chaldeans. It existed among the Greeks, and still- later among the Arabians. The manner in which the latter practiced it is described elsewhere, and they continued its use though forbidden by the Koran. Another method deserves mention. This was to throw a certain number of arrows into the air, and the direction in which the arrow inclined as it fell, pointed out the course to be taken by the inquirer. Divination by arrows is the same in principle as Rhabdomancy
Belief Systems: are psychological filters used to shape our perception of ourselves and the world. Identifying negative beliefs is an essential tool in creating a personal reality that better reflects our core aspirations and desires. Issues with self-esteem, self-worth, and feelings of victimization can often be resolved by exploring and revealing negative beliefs trapped in the sub-conscious.
Belphegori: The demon of discoveries and ingenious inventions. He appears always in the shape of a young woman. The Moabites, who called him Baalphegor, adored him on Mount Phegor. He it is who bestows riches.
Beness: A term coined by Theosophists to render more accurately the essential meaning of the untranslatable word Sat. The latter word does not mean Being, for the term Being presupposes a sentient consciousness of existence. But as the term Sat is applied solely to the absolute principle, that universal, unknown, and ever unknowable principle which philosophical Pantheism postulates, calling it the basic root of Kosmos and Kosmos itself, it could not be translated by the simple term Being. Sat, indeed, is not even, as translated by some Orientalists, "the incomprehensible Entity," for it is no more an "Entity" than a non-entity, but both. It is as said absolute Beness-not "Being"-the one, secondless, undivided and indivisible All-the root of nature both visible and invisible, objective and subjective, comprehensible and-never to be fully comprehended.
Beowulf:
an Anglo-Saxon saga of great interest. The
events in this poem probably took place about
the fifth century. Beowulf, himself, was most
likely one of the Sons of Light or Men of the
Sun, whose business it was to fight the powers
of darkness until they themselves fell.
It is related in this legend how Beowulf fought
the monster, Grendel, and succeeded in defeating
him—the giant escaping only by leaving his arm
in Beowulf's grip. But Grendel's mother, a mer-woman,
came to revenge him and slew many people.
Beowulf, hearing of this, took up the quarrel,
and diving to the bottom of the sea, where her
palace lay, killed her after a fierce fight.
Later on Beowulf was made regent of Gothland,
and afterwards king, and he reigned for about
forty years. He was poisoned by the fangs of a
dragon during a mighty struggle, and died from
the effects. He was buried on a hill named
Hronesnas, and was deeply mourned by his people.
Bereschith: Universal Genesis, one of the two parts into which the Kabala was divided by the rabbins.
Bermuda Triangle: Sometimes called the Devil's Triangle, is an area in the Atlantic Ocean where the disappearance of people and their aircraft and surface vessels has been attributed by some to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of physics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings. Abundant documentation, though, points to more logical explanations, but the mysterious lore of the region continues to fascinate the imagination.
Besant, Annie (1847-1933): a prominent Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator. She devoted much of her energy not only to the Theosophical Society, but also to India's freedom and progress.
Betty Books, The: A popular book by Edward Stewart White, written in 1939, that documented the spiritual excursions of his wife, the psychic medium, Betty White.
Bhagavad-Gita (Sans.) Lit., "the Lord's Song," a portion of The Mahabharata, the great epic poem of India. It contains a dialogue wherein Krisha (the "Charioteer") and Arjuna (his Chela) have a discussion upon the highest spiritual philosophy. The work is preeminently occult or esoteric.
Bible of the Devil: This war without doubt a grimoire (q.v.) or some such work. But Delancre says that the Devil informed sorcerers that he possessed a bible consisting of sacred books, having a theology of its own, which was dilated upon by various professors. One great magician, continues Delancre, who was brought before the Parliament of Paris, avowed that there dwelt at Toledo sixty-three masters in the faculty of Magic who took for their text-book the Devil's Bible.
Bibliomancy: A method of discovering whether or not a person was innocent of sorcery, by weighing him against the great Bible in the Church. If the person weighed less than the Bible, he was innocent. There are many variants of the term, however. Bibliomancy is sometimes associated with a form of divination that seeks knowledge of the future by randomly selecting passages from a book, usually a sacred text. (See Stichomancy and Libromancy)
Biffant: A little-known demon, chief of a legion who entered the body of one Denise de la Caille (q.v.) and who was obliged to sign with his claws the proces verbal of exorcisms.
Bifrons: A demon of monstrous guise who, according to Wierius, often took the form of a man well versed in Astrology and planetary influences. He excels in geometry, is acquainted with the virtues of herbs, precious stones and plants, and it is said that he is able to transport corpses from one place to another. He it is also who lights the strange corpse-lights above the tombs of the dead. Twenty six of the infernal regions obey his behests.
Bigfoot: Also known as Sasquatch, Bigfoot is a supposed large primate-like creature reported to live in the Pacific Northwest. Most mainstream scientists and experts consider current evidence of the creature's existence to be unpersuasive, and the result of hoaxes, legend, or misidentification of mundane creatures. Still, sightings of Bigfoot continue to be reported.
One theory about the creature speculates that Bigfoot could be a descendant of the Gigantopithecus, a genus of ape that existed from as long ago as 5 million years to as recently as 100 thousand years ago. Paleontologists speculate that Gigantopithecus had an adult standing height of over three meters (ten feet) and a weight of 550 kg (1200 lb).
Bilberry: popular with herbalists, Bilberry is a small branched shrub with wiry angular branches, rarely over a foot high, bearing globular wax-like flowers and black berries, which are covered when quite ripe with a delicate grey bloom, hence its name in Scotland, 'Blea-berry,' from an old North Countryword, 'blae,' meaning livid or bluish. The name Bilberry (by some old writers 'Bulberry') is derived from the Danish 'bollebar,' meaning dark berry. There is a variety with white fruits.
Bilberry may help in the treatment of: Atherosclerosis, Bruising, Cataracts, Circulation, Diabetes, Macular degeneration, Night blindness, Retinopathy, and Varicose veins. [See Herbs]
Binah: In the supreme triangle of the Kabala the three sides are reason, which they name Kether; necessity, Chochmah ; and liberty, Binah.
Biofeedback: is a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) which involves measuring a subject's bodily processes such as blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, galvanic skin response (sweating), and muscle tension and conveying such information to him or her in real-time in order to raise his or her awareness and conscious control of the related physiological activities.
Birds: It is a common belief among savage tribes that the souls of the dead are conveyed to the land of the hereafter by birds. Among some West African peoples, for instance, a bird is bound to the body of the deceased and then sacrificed, so that it may carry the man's soul to the after-world. The Bagos also offer up a bird on the corpse of a deceased person for the same reason. The South Sea Islanders, again, bury their dead in coffins shaped like the bird which is to bear away their spirits, while the natives of Borneo represent Tempon-Telon's Ship of the Dead (q.v.) as having the form of a bird. The Indian tribes of North-West America have rattles shaped like ravens, with a large face painted on the breast. The probable significance is that the raven is to carry the disembodied soul to the region of the sun.
Bitru: Otherwise called Sytry, a great Prince of Hell, according to the demonographer Wierius. He appeared in the form of a leopard with the wings of a griffin. But when he adopted a human appearance for the nonce it was invariably one of great beauty. It is he who awakes lust in the human heart. Seventy legions obey his commands.
Black Magic: Middle Ages. Black Magic as
practiced in medieval times may be defined as the use of
supernatural knowledge for the purposes of evil, the
invocation of diabolic and infernal powers that they may
become the slaves and emissaries of man's will; in short,
a perversion of legitimate mystic science. This art and
its attendant practices can be traced from the time of the
ancient Egyptians and Persians, from the Greeks and
Hebrews to the period when it reached its apogee in the
Middle Ages, thus forming an unbroken chain; for in
mediaeval magic may be found the perpetuation of the
popular rites of paganism—the ancient gods had become
devils, their mysteries orgies, their worship sorcery.
Some historians have tried to trace the areas in Europe
most affected by these devilish practices. Spain is said
to have excelled all in infamy, to have plumbed the depths
of the abyss. The south of France next became a hotbed of
sorcery, whence it branched northwards to Paris and the
countries and islands beyond, southward to Italy, finally
extending into the Tyrol and Germany.
In Black Magic human perversity found the means of
ministering to its most terrible demands and the possible
attainment of its darkest imaginings. To gain limitless
power over god, demon and man; for personal
aggrandizement and glorification; to cheat, trick and
mock; to gratify base appetites-; to aid religious bigotry
and jealousies ; to satisfy private and public enmities;
to further political intrigue; to encompass disease,
calamity and death—these were the ends and aims of Black
Magic and its followers.
So widespread, so intense was the belief in the Powers of
Evil that it may truly be said the Devil reigned supreme,
if the strength and fervor of a universal fear be weighed
against the weak and wavering manifestations of love and
goodwill, peace and charity enjoined by religion in the
worship of God.
[Read the full article]
Black Mass: It is known from the confessions of witches sorcerers that the devil also has mass at his Sabbath. Poerre Aupetit, an apostate priest of the village of Fossas, in Limousine, was burned for having celebrated the mysteries of the Devil's mass. Instead of speaking the holy words of consecration the frequenters of the Sabbath said: "Beelzebub, Beelzebub, Beelzebub." The devil in the shape of a butterfly, flew around those who were celebrating the mass, and who ate a black host, which they were obliged to chew before swallowing.
Blackwell, (Anna): At the turn of the century, the most prominent disciple of Allen Kardec, and the ablest exponent of his views. Miss Blackwell herself had psychic experiences -- she had seen visions, and spirit forms had appeared on her photographs.
Blake, (William): (1757—1827) Poet, Mystic,
Painter and Engraver, is one of the most curious and
significant figures a the whole history of English
literature, and a man who has likewise exerted a wide
influence on the graphic arts. He was born in London on
the 28th of November, 1757. It would seem that his parents
and other relatives were bumble folk, but little is known
definitely about the family while their ancestry is a
matter of discussion. Mr. W. B. Yeats, who is an ardent
devotee of Blake, and has edited Ms writings, would have
it that the poet was of Irish descent but though it is
true that the name Blake is common in Ireland to this day,
especially in Galway, Mr. Yeat's contention is not
supported by much trustworthy evidence, and it is
contradicted by Mr. Martin J. Blake in his genealogical
work, Blake Family Records...
[Read the full article]
Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna: was born at Ekaterinoslav Russia, on the 31st of July, 1831. She was the daughter of Colonel Peter Hahn, a member of a Mecklenburg family settled in Russia. She married, at the age of seventeen Nicephore Blavatsky, a Russian official in Caucasia, a man very much older than herself. Her married life was short duration as she separated from her husband in a few months. The next year or so she occupied chiefly in traveling. Texas, Mexico, Canada, and India, were each in turn the scene of her wanderings, and she twice attempted to enter Tibet, on one occasion she managed to cross its frontier in disguise but lost her way, and after various adventures was found by a body of horseman and escorted homewards. The period between 1848 and 1858, she described as the "veiled" time of her life, refusing to divulge anything that happened to her in those ten years, save stray allusions to a seven year stay in Little and Great Tibet, or in a Himalayan retreat. In 1858 she returned to Russia, where she soon achieved distinction as a spiritualistic medium. Later on she went to the United States where she remained for six years, and became a naturalized citizen. She became prominent in spiritualistic circles in America about 1870. It was there that she founded her school of Theosophy. The idea occurred to her of combining her spiritualistic "control" with Buddhistic legends about Tibetan sages, and she professed to have direct "astral" communication with two Tibetan mahatmas.
With the aid of Col. Henry Olcott, she founded in New York, in 1875, the Theosophical Society with a threefold aim: (1) to form a universal brotherhood of man; (2) to study and make known the ancient religions, philosophies and sciences; (3) to investigate the laws of nature and develop the divine powers latent in man. In order to gain converts to Theosophy she was obliged to appear to perform miracles. This she did with a large measure of success, but her "methods" were on several occasions detected as fraudulent. Nevertheless her commanding personality secured for her a large following, and when she died, in 1891, she was head of a large body of believers in her teaching, numbering about 100,000 persons.
[See Theosophy]
A common Wiccan greeting. The phrase is taken from a traditional Wiccan ritual practice called the "five-fold kiss."
Blindfolding a Corpse: The Afritans of the Shari River in Central America were wont to blindfold a corpse before burying it, to prevent it from returning to haunt the survivors.
Bodhisattva: is the official in the theosophical hierachy who has charge of the religion, instituting these either directly or through one of his messengers, and after a faith has been founded, he puts it in charge of a Master, though he still continues the direction of it.
: From the Michael teachings, physical and psychological traits resulting from the influence of the celestial bodies upon a person's physical body. Everyone has a primary body type, and from one to three secondary body-type influences. The seven main body types are lunar, saturnian, jovial, mercurial, venusian, martial, and solar. A person can also have neptunian, uranian, and plutonian influences.
Bodywork: Employs the use of physical therapy methods such as massage, yoga, exercise, and relaxation techniques for the purpose of promoting physical and emotional well-being.
[See Alternative Medicine]
Bogey: Perhaps derived from the slavonic bog, god. Other forms of the name of this ancient sprite, spectre or goblin are bug-a-boo, boo, boggart, bogle, bar-guest, boman, bock, and the ever popular bogey man. Bull-beggar is probably a form of bu ad bogey allied to boll, an apparition.
Book of the Dead: An arbitrary title given to an Egyptian funerary work called perl em hru, the proper translation of which is: "coming forth by day," or "manifested in the light." There are several versions or recensions of this work, namely those of Heliopolis, Thebes, and Sais, these editions differing only inasmuch as they were edited by the colleges of priests founded at these centers. Many papyri of the work have been discovered, and passages from it have been inscribed upon the walls of tombs and pyramids, and on sarcophagi and mummy-wrappings. It is undoubtedly of extremely early date: how early it would indeed be difficult to say with any exactness, but in the course of centuries it was greatly added to and modified. In al but 200 chapters exist, but no papyrus has been found containing all these. The chapters are quite independent of one another, and were probably al composed at different times. The main subject of the whole is the beautification of the dead, ho were supposed to recite the chapters in order that they might gain power ad enjoy the privileges of the new life.
The book abounds in magical references, and it is its magical side alone which we can consider here. The whole trend of the Book of the Dead is thaumatmagic, as its purpose is to guard the dead against the dangers which they have to face in reaching the other world. As in most mythologies, the dead Egyptian had to encounter malignant spirits, and was threatened by many dangers before reaching his haven of rest. He had also to undergo judgment by Osiris, and to justify himself before being permitted to enter the realm of bliss. This he imagined he could in great part accomplish by the recitation of various magical formula, and spells, which would ward off the evil influences opposed to him. To this end every Egyptian of means had buried with him a papyrus of the Book of the Dead, in which it was contained at least all the chapters necessary to his encounter with such formidable adversaries as he would meet at the gates of Amenti, the Egyptian Hades, and which would assist him in making replies during his ceremony of justification. First amongst these spells were the "words of power" (See "Egypt"). The Egyptians believed that to discover the "secret" name of a god was to gain complete ascendancy over him. Sympathetic magic was in vogue in Egyptian burial practice, for we find in Egyptian tombs of the better sort, paintings of tables laden with viands of several descriptions, the inscriptions attached to which convey the idea of boundless liberality. Inscriptions like the following are extremely common -" To the Ka or soul of so-and-so, 5,000 loaves of bread, 500 geese, and 5,000 jugs of beer." Those dedications cost the generous donors little, as they merely had the objects named painted upon the wall of the tomb, imagining that their kas or astral counterparts would be eatable and drinkable by the deceased. This of course is merely an extension of the Neolithic savage conception that articles buried with a man had their astral counterparts and would be of use to him in another world.
Pictorial representation played a considerable part in the magical ritual of the Book of the Dead. One of the pleasures of the dead was to sail over Heaven in the boat of Ra, and to secure this for the deceased one must paint certain pictures and mutter over them words of power. On this, "Budge in his "Egyptian Magic" says: "On a piece of clean papyrus a boat is to be drawn with ink made of green abut mixed with anti water, and in it are to be figures of Isis, Thoth, Shu, and Khepera, and the deceased; when this had been done the papyrus must be fastened to the breast of the deceased, care being taken that it does not actually touch his body. Then shall his spirit enter into the boat of Ra each day, and the god Thoth shall take heed to him, and he shall sail about with him into any place that he wisheth. Elsewhere it is ordered that the boat of Ra be painted 'in a pure place,' and in the bows is to be painted a figure of the deceased; but Ra was supposed to travel in one boat (called Atet) until noon, and another (called Sektet) until sunset, and provision had to be made for the deceased in both boats. How was this to be done? On one side of the picture of the boat figure of the morning boat of Ra was to be drawn, and on the other a figure of the afternoon boat; thus the one picture was capable of becoming two boats. And, provided the proper offerings were made for the deceased on the birthday of Osiris, his soul would live for ever, and he would not die a second time. According to the rubric to the chapter in which these directions are given, the text of it is as old, at least, as the time of Hesepti, the fifth king of the Ist dynasty, who reigned about B.C. 4350, and the custom of painting the boat upon papyrus is probably contemporaneous. The two following rubrics from Chapters CXXXIII. and CXXXIV., respectively, will explain still further the importance of such pictures: -"I. 'This chapter shall be recited over a boat four cubits in length, and made of green porcelain (on which have been painted) the divine sovereign chiefs of the cities; and a figure of heaven with its stars shall be made also, and this thou shalt have made ceremonially pure by means of natron and incense. And behold, thou shalt make an image of Ra in yellow color upon a new plaque and set it at the bows of the boat. And behold, thou shalt make an image of the spirit which thou dost wish to make perfect (and place it) in this boat, and thou shalt make it to travel about in the boat (which shall be made in the form of the boat) of Ra; and he shall see the form of the god Ra himself therein. Let not the eye of any man whatsoever look upon it, with the exception of thine own self, or thy father, or thy son, and guard (this) with great care. Then shall the spirit be perfect in the heart of Ra, and it shall give unto him power with the company of the gods; and the gods shall look upon him as a divine being like unto themselves; and mankind and the dead shall fall down upon their faces and he shall be seen in the underworld in the form of the radiance of Ra.'
"2. 'This chapter shall be recited over a hawk standing and having the white crown upon his head, (and over figures of) the gods Tem, Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Suti, and Nepthys, painted in yellow color upon a new plaque, which shall be placed in (a model of) the boat (of Ra), along with a figure of the spirit whom thou wouldst make perfect. These thou shalt anoint with cedar oil, and incense shall be offered up to them on the fire, and feathered fowl shall be roasted. It is an act of praise to Ra as he journeyeth, and it shall cause a man to have his being along with Ra day by day, whithersoever the god vayageth; and it shall destroy the enemies of Ra in very truth regularly and continually.'"
It was understood that the words of power were not to be spoken until after death. They were "a great mystery" but "the eye of no man whatsoever must see it, for it is a thing of abomination for every man to know it. Hide it, therefore; the Book of the Lady of the Hidden Temple is its name." This would seem to refer to some spell uttered by Isis-Hathor which delivered the god Ra or Horus from trouble, or was of benefit to him, and it is concluded that it may be equally efficacious in the case of the deceased.
Many spells were included in the Book of the Dead for the purpose of preserving the mummy against moldering, for assisting the owner of the papyrus to become as a god and to be able to transform himself into any shape he desired. Painted offerings were also provided for him in order that he might give gifts to the gods. Thus we see that the Book of the Dead was undoubtedly magical in its character, consisting as it did of a series of spells or words of power, which enabled the speaker to have perfect control over all the powers of Amenti. The only moment in which the dead man is not master of his fate is when his heart is weighed by Thoth before Osiris. If it does not conform to the standard required for justification, he is cast out; but this excepted, an absolute knowledge of the Book of the Dead safeguarded the deceased in every way from the danger of damnation. So numerous are the spells and charms for the use of the deceased, that to merely enumerate them would be to take up a good deal of space. A number of the chapters consist of prayers and hymns to the gods, but the directions as to the magical uses of the book are equally numerous, and the conception of supplication is mingled with the idea of circumvention by sorcery in the most extraordinary manner.
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Book of the Keys: An ancient Kabbalistic work. The original is no longer extant, though there may be spurious and disfigured copies and forgeries of it.
Coined by Wiccan founder Gerald Gardner, the term "Book of Shadows" is another name for "Grimoire," which is a book where rituals and spells were secretly recorded. Many of these books were hand written and are often elaborately decorated.
Book Tests: Created during the Spiritualism movement, book tests are experiments to exclude the working of telepathy in mediumistic communications. In answer to questions or for reasons of personal relevance the communicator indicates a certain book upon a certain shelf in the home of the sitter and gives the text on a certain page. In such experiments far more successes were registered than chance would justify.
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Borley Rectory: Destroyed by a fire in 1939, the rectory, which was located in the village of Borley, Essex, UK, was once reputed to be the "most haunted house in England."
Bors, Bohors or Boort: One of King Arthur's knights. He was associated with Sir Galahad and Lancelot in their search for the Holy Grail. He is the hero of many magical adventures, one of which we relate. During the quest for the Holy Grail, a damsel offers him her love, which he refuses ; and she, with twelve other damsels, thereupon threatens to throw herself from a tower. Bors, though of a kindly disposition, thinks they had better lose their souls than his. They fall from the tower, Bors crosses himself, and the whole vanishes, being a deceit of the devil. After the quest is ended Bors comes to Camelot; he relates his adventures, which it is said were written down and kept in the Abbey of Salisbury.
Botanomancy: A method of divination by means of burning the branches of vervein and brier, upon which were carved the questions of the practitioner.
Bottle Imps: A class of German spirits, similar in many ways to Familiars. The following is the prescription of an old alchemist, given by the Bishop of Dromore in his Relics of Ancient Poetry, for the purpose of securing one of these fairies. First, take a broad square crystal or Venetian glass, about three inches in breadth and length. Lay it in the blood of a white hen on three Wednesdays or three Fridays. Then take it and wash it with holy water and fumigate it. Then take three hazel sticks a year old; take the bark off them ; make them long enough to write on them the name of the fairy or spirit whom you may desire three times on each stick, which must be flat on one side. Bury them under some hill haunted by fairies on the Wednesday before you call her; and on the Friday following dig them out, and call her at eight, or three, or ten o'clock, which are good times for this purpose. In order to do so successfully one must be pure, and face toward- the East. When you get her, tie her to the glass.
Bowen Technique: is a technique that involves gentle but precise soft tissue manipulation. Bowen therapists use their thumbs or fingers to make subtle rolling maneuvers. Bowen therapy aims to trigger a response from the body rather than to physically alter the body. Only minimal force is thought to be necessary.
In general, Bowen therapy does not aim to fix specific health problems, but rather to help the body reach a more harmonious state in which it can better cure itself. Short-term benefits are said to include a sense of relaxation. Longer-term effects may include better overall well-being or improvements in disease states.Bowen sessions may last from 30 to 90 minutes and are often customized to the individual. Sessions are usually spaced several days apart, and three or four sessions may be recommended initially. During a Bowen session, practitioners occasionally leave the treatment room, with the aim to allow the patient's body to absorb messages that have been transmitted by the practitioner via bodywork. Many Bowen practitioners see this approach as being complementary to other medical treatments, such as prescription drugs or surgery, rather than as a replacement for other treatments.
This technique was originally developed in the 1960s by Thomas Bowen, an Australian, based on his sense of what types of bodywork would be effective for good health, rather than on any particular scientific theory or finding. The approach was initially developed to treat musculoskeletal disorders, but was later expanded to treat other health conditions such as asthma. The technique is most commonly used in Australia, but it has recently gained popularity in England and North America.In recent years, several practitioners and instructors have developed training courses specifically for small animals.
Braccesco, Jean: A canon and alchemist of Brescia, who flourished in the seventeenth century He gave much study to the hermetic philosophy, and commented upon the work of Geber. His most curious work is The Tree of Life a dissertation upon the uses of the Philosophers' Stone in medicine. (Rome. 1542.)
Bragadini, Mark Antony: An alchemist of Venice, beheaded in I595 because he boasted that he had made some gold from a recipe which he had received from a demon. He was tried at Munich, by order of Duke William II. Two black dogs which accompanied him were also arrested, charged with being familiars, and duly tried. They were-shot with an arquebuse in the public square.
Brahma: (Sans.) The student must distinguish between the neuter Brahma, and the male Creator of the Indian Pantheon, Brahmâ . The former Brahma or Brahman is the impersonal, Supreme, and uncognizable Soul of the Universe, from the essence of which all emanates, and into which all returns; which is incorporeal, immaterial, unborn, eternal, beginningless, and endless. It is all-pervading, animating the highest god as well as the smallest mineral atom. Brahmâ, on the other hand, the male and the alleged Creator, exists in his manifestation periodically only, and passes into pralaya, i.e., disappears and is annihilated as periodically. (see below)
Brahmâ's Day: A period of 2,160,000,000 years, during which Brahmâ, having emerged out of his Golden Egg (Hiranyagarbha), creates and fashions the material world (for he is simply the fertilizing and creative force in Nature). After this period the worlds being destroyed in turn by fire and water, he vanishes with objective nature; and then comes the Night of Brahmâ (see below).
Brahmâ's Night: A period of equal duration to Brahmâ's Day, in which Brahmâ is said to be asleep. Upon awakening he recommences the process, and this goes on for an age of Brahmâ composed of alternate "Days" and "Nights," and lasting for 100 years of 2,160,000,000 each. It requires fifteen figures to express the duration of such an age, after the expiration of which the Maha-Pralaya or Great Dissolution sets in, and lasts in its turn for the same space of fifteen figures.
Brahma-Vidya: (Sans.) The knowledge or Esoteric Science about the true nature of Brahma and Brahmâ.
Briah: In the Kabbala, the third of the three stages of spirit progress, the three original ranks or classes. Men are called upon to proceed from the lower to the higher. In the Apocalypse Briah is represented as the feet of "the mighty angel with the face of the sun."
Bridge of Souls: The superstition that the souls of the dead sought the other world by means of a bridge is pretty widely disseminated. The Rev. S. Baring Gould in his Book of Folklore says: "As peoples became more civilized and thought more deeply of the mystery of death, they conceived of a place where the souls lived on, and being puzzled to account for the rainbow, came to the conclusion that it was a bridge by means of which spirits mounted to their abode above the clouds. The Milky Way was called variously the Road of the Gods or the Road of Souls. Among the Norsemen, after Odin had constructed his heavenly palace, aided by the dwarfs, he reared the bridge Bifrost, which men call the rainbow, by which it could be reached. It is of three colors: that in the middle is red, and is of fire, to consume any unworthy souls that would venture up the bridge. In connection with this idea of a bridge uniting heaven and earth, up which souls ascended, arose the custom of persons constructing bridges for the good souls of their kinsfolk. On runic grave-stones in Denmark and Sweden we find such inscriptions as these: 'Nageilfr had this bridge built for Anund, his good son.' 'The mother built the bridge for her only son.' 'Holdfast that the bridge constructed for Hame, his father, who lived in Viby.' 'Holdfast had the road made for Igul and for Ura, his dear wife.' At Sundbystein, in the Uplands, is an inscription showing that three brothers and sisters erected a bridge over a ford for their father.
The bridge as a means of passage for the soul from this earth to eternity must have been known also to the Ancients for in the cult of Demeter, the goddess of Death, at Eleusis, where her mysteries were gone through, in order to pass at once after death into Elysium, there was an order of Bridge priestesses; and the goddess bore the name of the Lady of the Bridge. In Rome also the priest was a bridge-builder pontifex, as he undertook the charge of souls. In Austria and parts of Germany it is still supposed that children's souls are led up the rainbow to heaven. Both in England and among the Chinese it is regarded as a sin to point with the finger at the bow. With us no trace of the idea that it is a Bridge of Souls remains. Probably this was thought to be a heathen belief and was accordingly forbidden, for children in the North of England to this day when a rainbow appears, make a cross on the ground with a couple of twigs or straws, "to cross out the bow." The West Riding recipe for driving away a rainbow is: "Make a cross of two sticks and lay four pebbles on it, one at each end."
Brimstone: Pliny says that houses were formerly hallowed against evil spirits by the use of Brimstone.
Browne, (Sylvia): a New York Times best-selling author and psychic who appears regularly on the Montel Williams Show and Larry King Live, as well as making countless other media and public appearances.
Brownie: From Scottish folklore, brownies were small sprites thought to do helpful work at night.
Buddha: (Sans.) "The enlightened." Generally known as the title of Gautama Buddha, the Prince of Kapilavastu, the founder of modern Buddhism. The highest degree of knowledge and holiness. To become a Buddha one has to break through the bondage of sense and personality; to acquire a complete perception of the real Self, and learn not to separate it from all the other Selves; to learn by experience the utter unreality of all phenomena, foremost of all the visible Kosmos; to attain a complete detachment from all that is evanescent and finite, and to live while yet on earth only in the immortal and everlasting.
Buddhaic plane: The highest plane of creation. Its medium is pure or abstract kinetic energy. We experience the buddhaic plane just before fully refocusing our awareness in the Tao. The infinite soul who incarnated as Buddha taught from this plane.
Buddhi: (Sans.) Universal Soul or Mind. Maha -Buddhi is a name of Mahat; also the Spiritual Soul in man (the sixth principle exoterically), the vehicle of atma, the seventh, according to the exoteric enumeration.
Buddhism: the religious philosophy taught by Gautama Buddha. It is now split into two distinct churches: the Southern and Northern. The former is said to be the purer, as having preserved more religiously the original teachings of the Lord Buddha. The Northern Buddhism is confined to Tibet, China, and Nepal. But this distinction is incorrect. If the Southern Church is nearer, and has not, in fact, departed, except perhaps in trifling dogmas, due to the many councils held after the death of the Master, from the public or exoteric teachings of Sakyamuni, the Northern Church is the outcome of Siddhartha Buddha's esoteric teachings which he confined to his elect Bhikshus and Arhats. Buddhism, in fact, cannot be justly judged in our age either by one or the other of its exoteric popular forms. Real Buddhism can be appreciated only by blending the philosophy of the Southern Church and the metaphysics of the Northern Schools. If one seems too iconoclastic and stern, and the other too metaphysical and transcendental, events being overcharged with the weeds of Indian exotericism-many of the gods of its Pantheon having been transplanted under new names into Tibetan soil-it is due to the popular expression of Buddhism in both churches. Correspondentially, they stand in their relation to each other as Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. Both err by an excess of zeal and erroneous interpretations, though neither the Southern nor the Northern Buddhist clergy have ever departed from Truth consciously, still less have they acted under the dictates of priestocracy, ambition, or an eye to personal gain and power, as the later churches have.
Buddhi-Taijas: (Sans.) A very mystic term, capable of several interpretations. In Occultism, however, and in relation to the human principles (exoterically), it is a term to express the state of our dual Manas, when, reunited during a man's life, it bathes in the radiance of Buddhi, the Spiritual Soul. For Taijas means the radiant, and Manas, becoming radiant in consequence of its union with Buddhi, and being, so to speak, merged into it, is identified with the latter; the trinity has become one; and, as the element of Buddhi is the highest, it becomes Buddhi-Taijas . In short, it is the human soul illuminated by the radiance of the divine soul, the human reason lit by the light of the Spirit or Divine Self-Consciousness.
Buer: According to Wierius, a demon of the second class. He has naturally the form of a star, and is gifted with a knowledge of philosophy and of the virtues of medicinal herbs. He gives domestic felicity and health to the sick. He has charge over fifteen legions.
Bune: According to Wierius a most powerful demon, and one of the Grand Dukes of the Infernal Region. His form is that of a man. He does not speak save by signs only. He removes corpses, haunts cemeteries, and marshals the demons around tombs and places of the dead. He enriches eloquent those who serve him. Thirty legions of the infernal army obey his cal. The demons who own his sway called Bunis, are regarded by the Tartars as exceedingly evil. Their power is great and their number immense. But their sorcerers are ever in communication with these demons by means of whom they carry on their dark practices.
Burial with Feet to the East: It was formerly the custom among Christians to bury their dead with the feet towards the east and head towards the west. Various reasons are given for this practice, some authorities stating that the corpse was placed thus in preparation for the resurrection, when the dead will rise with their faces towards the east. Others think this mode of burial is practiced in imitation of the posture of prayer.
Burma (Occult in): A country east of India and south of China, and a province of British India, inhabited by an indigenous stock of Indo-Chinese type which originally migrated from Western China, at different periods, and which is now represented by three principal divisions, the Talaings, the Shans, and the Bama, or Burmese proper, although groups of several other allied races are found in the more remote portions of the country. The civilized part of the community, which, roughly speaking, is perhaps one half of the population, recognizes a religion of the constituents of which are animism and Indian Brahmanic demonolatry, modified to some extent by Buddhistic influences, and this cult is steadily making progress in the less enlightened and outlying tribes. We have here to do only with that portion of the popular belief which deals with the more directly occult and with superstition, and we shall refrain from any description of Burmese religion proper which presents similar features to those cults from which it takes its origin, and which are fully described elsewhere.
The Burmese believe the soul immaterial and independent of the body, to which it is only bound by special attraction. It can quit and return to the body at will, but can also be captured and kept from returning to it. After death the soul hovers near the corpse as an invisible butterfly, known as leippya. A witch or demon may capture the leippya while it wanders during the hours of sleep, when sickness is sure to result. Offerings are made to the magician or devil to induce him to release the soul. The Kachins of the Northern Hills of Burma believe that persons having the evil eye possess two souls, the secondary soul being the cause of the malign influence.
Belief in Spirits. - Belief in spirits, mostly malign, is very general in Burma, and takes a prominent place in the religious belief of the people. The spirits of rain, wind and the heavenly bodies are in that condition of evolution which usually results in their becoming full-fledged deities, with whom placation gives place to worship. But the spirits of the forest are true demons with well-marked animistic characteristics. Thus the nat or seiktha dwells in every tree or grove. His nature is usually malign, but occasionally we find him the tutelar or guardian of a village. In any case he possesses a shrine where he may be propitiated by gifts of food and drink. Several of these demoniac figures have almost achieved godhead, so widespread have their cults become, and Hmin Nat, Chiton, and Wannein Nat, may be instanced as fiends of power, the dread of which has spread across extensive district. The nats are probably of Indian origin, and although now quite animistic in character may at one time have been members of the Hindu pantheon. Many spirit families such as the Seikkaso, Akathaso, and Bommaso, who inhabit various parts of the jungle trees, are of Indian origin. The fulfillment of every wish depends upon the nats or spirits, who are all powerful as far as man is concerned. They are innumerable. Every house has its complement, who swarm in its several rooms and take up their abode in its hearth, door-posts, verandahs, and corners. The nats also inhabit or inspire wild beasts, and all misfortune is supposed to emanate from them. The Burmans believe that the more materialistic dead haunt the living with a malign purpose. The people have a great dread of their newly deceased ancestors, whom they imagine to haunt the vicinity of their dwellings for the purpose of ambushing them. No dead body may be carried to a cemetery except by the shortest route, even should this necessitate the cutting a hole in the wall of the house. The spirits of those who have died a violent death haunt the scene of their fatality. Like the ancient Mexicans (See Ciupipiltin), the Burmans have a great dread of the ghosts of women who have died in childbed. The Kachins believe such women to turn into vampires (swawmx) who are accompanied by their children when these die with them. The spirits of children are often supposed to inhabit the bodies of cats and dogs. The Burmans are extremely circumspect as to how they speak and act towards the inhabitants of the spirit-world, as they believe that disrespect or mockery will at once bring down upon them misfortune or disease. An infinite number of guardian spirits is included in the Burman demonological system, and these are chiefly supposed to be Brahmanic importations. These dwell in the houses like the evil nats, and are the tutelars of village communities, and even of clans. They are duly propitiated, at which ceremonies rice, beer, and tea-salad are offered to them. Women are employed as exorcists in a case of driving out the evil nats, but at the festivals connected with the guardian nats they are not permitted to officiate.
Necromancy and Occult Medicine. - Necromancy is of general occurrence among the Burmese. The weza or wizards are of two kinds, good and evil, and these are again each subdivided into four classes, according to the materials which they employ, as, for example, magic squares, mercury or iron. The native doctors profess to cure the diseases caused by witchcraft, and often specialise in various ailments. Besides being necromantic, medicine is largely astrological. There is said to be in Lower Burma a town of wizards at Kale Thaungtot on the Chindwin River, and many journey thence to have the effects of bewitchment neutralized by its chief. Sympathetic magic is employed to render an enemy sick. Indian and native alchemy and cheiromancy are exceedingly rife. Noise is the universal method of exorcism, and in cases of illness the patient is often severely beaten, the idea being that the fiend which possesses him is the sufferer.
Mediums and Exorcists. - The tumsa or natsaw are magicians, diviners, or "wise" men and women who practice their arts in a private and not in a hierophantic capacity among the rural Burmans. The wise man physician who works in iron (than weza) is at the head of his profession, and sells amulets which guard the purchasers from injury, female mediums profess to be the spouses of certain nats, and can only retain their supernatural connection with a certain spirit so long as they are wed to him. With the exorcists training is voluntary and even perfunctory. But with the mediums it is severe and prolonged. Among the civilized Burmans a much more exhaustive apprenticeship is demanded. Indeed a thorough and intricate knowledge of some departments of magical and astrological practice is necessary to recognition by the brotherhood, the entire art of which is medico-magical, consisting of the exorcism of evil spirits from human beings and animals. The methods employed are such as usually accompany exorcism among all semi-civilized peoples, that is, dancing, flagellation of the afflicted person, induction of ecstasy, oblation to the fiend in possession, and noise.
Prophecy and Divination. - These are purely popular in Burma, and not hierophantic, and in some measure are controlled by the use of the Deitton, an astrological book of Indian origin. The direction in which the blood of a sacrificed animal flows, the knots in torn leaves, the length of a split bamboo pole, and the whiteness or otherwise of a hard-boiled egg, serve among others as methods of augury. But by far the most important mode of divination in use in Burma is that by means of the bones of fowls. It is indeed universal as deciding all the difficulties of Burmese existence. Those wing or thigh bones in which the holes exhibit regularity are chosen. Pieces of bamboo are inserted into these holes, and the resulting slant of the stick defines the augury. If the stick slants outwards it decides in favor of the measure under test. If it slants inwards, the omen is unfavorable. Other methods of divination are by the entrails of animals and by the contents of blown eggs.
Astrology. - Burmese astrology derives both from Indian and Chinese sources, and powerfully affects the entire people. Every Burman is fully aware from his private astrologer, of the trend of his horoscope regarding the near future, and while active and enterprising on his lucky days, nothing will induce him to undertake any form of work should the day be pyatthadane or ominous. The Bedinsaya, or astrologers proper, practice a fully developed Hindu astrology, but they are few in number, and are practically neglected for the rural soothsayers, who follow the Chinese system known as Hpewan, almost identical with the Taoist astrological tables of Chinese diviners. From this system are derived horoscopes, fortunes, happy marriages, and prognostications regarding business affairs. But in practice the system is often confounded with the Buddhist calendar and much confusion results. The Buddhist calendar is in popular use, whilst the Hpewan is purely astrological. Therefore the Burman who is ignorant of the latter must perforce consult an astrologer who is able to collate the two regarding his lucky and unlucky days. The chief horoscopic influences are day of birth, day of the week, which is represented by the symbol of a certain animal, and the position of the dragon's mouth to the terminal syllables of the day-names.
Magic. - Burmese magic consists in the making of charms, the manufacture of occult medicine which will cause hallucination, second sight, the prophetic state, invisibility, or invulnerability. It is frequently "sympathetic." (See Magic) and overlaps into necromancy and astrology. It does not appear to be at all ceremonial, and is to a great extent unsophisticated, save where it has been influenced by Indian and Buddhist monks, who also draw on native sources to enlarge their own knowledge.
Burning Times: A modern Neopagan phrase referring to the historical period when witches and heretics were tried and executed during the Catholic Inquisition. The term "witch hunt" also originated from this era.
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