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MAG E-zine #74

Communicating with Intangible Targets
or
So Who Do You Think is Connecting You
With the Other Side?


First of all, there is no correct answer to the above question.  It depends upon how YOU visualize this transaction happening. 

Moses


Moses on Sinai by Gustav Doré

If you are a Christian, perhaps as Moses on Mount Sinai, it was God who gave him the Ten Commandments. (Note: At least six of the present Republican candidates for President of the United States said that God had told them to run.) But most connections we have come through some other source.  With the exception of my messenger of choice, Hermes/Mercury, I would like to examine how birds in different cultures are seen as messengers.

Let's begin by going back to the Bible.  After several attempts, Noah sent out a dove who told him that there was dry land by returning with an olive leaf in its beak.
 
Also, there are a number of different explanations in non-Christian /Judaic cultures.  Here are several examples:

Hermes
 

  Hermes by Giovanni Da Bologna

Hermes/Mercury, who had wings on his ankles, was seen as the Messenger of the Gods.  He was one of the last additions to the pantheon of the Twelve Olympians in Greek mythology.  In addition, Hermes did not always transmit messages correctly.  (He was also the God of liars and thieves!) 
 
 What accounts for this lack of reliability?  I feel it is that same reason why dowsers do not always hit 100%.  And it isn’t Hermes’ fault; it is ours.  As dowsers, after asking the question, we do not always remain open to any answer, but we allow our unconscious desire for a specific answer to influence this process.  “Will I get this job I’ve applied for in California?”  If you really want that job, your unconscious will give you the answer that you want - "Yes"- rather than what might be the truth.  The same with Hermes.  You hear what YOU want to hear.
 
My good Glastafarian friend Tony Kennish begins any dowsing search with, “Excluding my own conscious and unconscious thoughts and beliefs, show me . . .”

Pallas Athens


Athena and her Owl
(The little bird who spoke in her ear)


Athena, was a Greek Deity who came long before Hermes and who is also associated with bringing to the Greeks non-rational  information. 

She is the virgin patroness of Athens. The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens (Athena Parthenos), in her honor.  Some authors believe that, in early times, Athena was either an owl herself or a bird goddess in general.  I believe that she is the source of “a little bird told me.”
 

The fact that Athena came before Hermes.  I have written extensively that Goddess reigned supreme in European cultures before God, and was many times symbolized as a bird – Matrifocal before Patriarchal.  I feel it might be reasonable to suggest that the Gods spoke to the Greeks first through a woman - Athena, and then later, through a man - Hermes.

Odin

Odin (from Old Norse Óðinn) and was also known in Old English as Woden.  Odin pursues knowledge throughout the worlds. In an act of self-sacrifice, Odin was described as having hanged himself on the cosmological tree Yggdrasil to gain knowledge of the runic alphabet, which he passed on to humanity, and is associated closely with death, wisdom, and poetry.
 
In Norse mythology, Huginn (from Old Norse "thought” (Orchard (1997:92) and Muninn, Old Norse "memory" or "mind" (Lindow 2000:186), are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard or Middle Earth, and bring information to Odin.  In the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, and the Third Grammatical Treatise, the two ravens are described as perching on Odin's shoulders. Heimskringla details that Odin gave Huginn and Muninn the ability to speak.

          Odin Odin and his two Ravens Huginn and Muinn

The ravens tell Odin everything they see and hear. Odin sends Huginn and Muninn out at dawn, and the birds fly all over the world before returning at dinner-time. As a result, Odin is kept informed of many events.

The Heliand  (Mierke 3-37) , an Old Saxon adaptation of the New Testament from the 9th century, differs from the New Testament in that an explicit reference is made to a dove sitting on the shoulder of Christ. Regarding this, G. Ronald Murphy says "In placing the powerful white dove not just above Christ, but right on his shoulder, the Heliand author has portrayed Christ, not only as the Son of the All-Ruler, but also as a new Woden. This deliberate image of Christ triumphantly astride the land with the magnificent bird on his shoulders (the author is perhaps a bit embarrassed that the bird is an unwarlike dove!) is an image intended to calm the fears and longings of those who mourn the loss of Woden and who want to return to the old religion's symbols and ways. With this image, Christ becomes a Germanic god, one into whose ears the Spirit of the Almighty whispers". (Murphy. 1989:79-80).
 
Many different cultures at different time periods had different ways of describing and understanding how they could receive messages “from the other side.”  How you see yourself getting words from on high is up to you.
 
 
 
Works Cited
 
Lindow, John (2001). Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-515382-0
 
Mierke, Gesine (2008). Memoria als Kulturtransfer: Der altsächsische 'Heiland' zwischen Spätantike und Frühmittelalter. Cologne: Böhlau. ISBN 978-3-412-20090-9.
 
Murphy, G. Ronald. 1989. The Saxon SaviorOxford University PressISBN 0-19-506042-3
 
Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and LegendCassellISBN 0-304-34520-2
 
With Thanks to Wikipedia for thoughts and valuable ideas concerning Pallas Athena and Odin.
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{Please note, this Spring, Karin and I have moved from Glastonbury, England to Enkhuizen, The Netherlands.  Our old SunnyBank website (link below) will give non-Dutch speaking information about what I have on offer.  Otherwise, our <avalon.co.nl> site has our latest information.}


This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

http://avalon.co.nl 
Post: Avalon
Eiland 2
1601 KZ Enkhuizen
Nederlands
Phone:
Home: (0031) (0)228 527 639
Cell: (0031) (0)623 189 474

Upcoming Events


Sig's New Book:

Memoirs of a Geomancer - On Gnowing: Rational or Irrational?  No Both!  .2015. Published by Penwith Press, Cornwall, United Kingdom. (Available only from the publisher. Use link above.)

Basic Dowsing
with
Sig Lonegren
9:30 to 12:00 and 13::30 to 16:30, Saturday, 3 October 2015.
If you have never dowsed before or consider yourself a beginner, this is the course for you!  Sig has been teaching dowsers for over thirty-five years, and now is your chance to improve one way to access your intuition on demand (read: Dowsing). 
Sig will provide any tools that you might need, but do bring dowsing tools you might already be using.

We will meet at Sig and Karin's home:  Avalon, EIland 2, 1601 KZ  Enkhuizen
The Netherlands.   Tea, coffee, and a small snack are provided, but not Lunch.  (Bring your own, or walk to one of our local cafes. Fee (including 21% VAT/BTW) €97. Non-refundable deposit of €25.  If you are interested, please secure a place by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


Other Teachings
Individual teachings in Dowsing, Labyrinths, Geomancy. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Tarot Readings - by appointment. Again, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. directly.


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