Issue date: Saturday, July 15, 2006
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P A R A N O R M A L I N S I D E R
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Hi, Paranormal Enthusiasts! Hope everyone is doing great
and enjoying the best life has to offer as we get into the
lazy, hazy and sometimes crazy days of mid-summer in the
northern hemisphere.
This sultry period of summer,
generally stretching from
July 3 until mid to late August, is
known as the '"dog
days". The dog days take their name from the
ancient
Egyptian and also Roman observation of the
constellations
and the relation of the stars' placements to
weather
patterns. It was observed that in late July, Sirius
(the
"dog star") rose and set with the sun. As the
brightest
star in the sky, Sirius (whose name also means
"scorching"
in Greek), was thought to add its heat to that
already
generated by the sun, thus causing the especially
hot
season which stretched from about 20 days before to
20
days after the conjunction of the two heavenly
bodies.
Both the ancient Romans and Egyptians looked at the
bright
Dog Star as a second sun and in ancient Rome,
perhaps
because the heat of the season naturally gave
opportunity
for disease and pestilence to increase in the heat,
the
"dog days" or "dies caniculares" in Latin,
became
associated with warnings of madness, disease, and
all
manner of superstitions. These include the proverb
that
if it rains on the first day of dog days, it will rain
all
forty days. According to ancient authors, when Sirius
rose
with the sun, the seas would boil, wine turned sour,
dogs
went mad and people would get bilious, febrile,
hysterical
and crazy, while animals grew languid. Snakes were
more
venomous and more apt bite then.
In
Welsh tradition, July is considered an uncertain month
for
weddings. Marry in July, you'll live to sigh. In July
the cuckoo
"prepares to fly." The dog days are unlucky for
new
undertakings. If there is rain on July 1, it will be a
rainy
month. If it rains on St. Swithin's Day (July 15) it
will rain
for forty days.
St. Swithin was an early Saxon Bishop of
Winchester. On
his death bed, he asked to be buried among the
poor in the
common churchyard, but later, after many miracles at
his
gravesite, the monks moved his body inside to a
splendid
shrine, whereupon the saint wept in protest, causing
a
continuous downpour for forty days. Thus he came to
be
associated with weather charms like this: "St
Swithin's
Day, if it does rain Full forty days, it will remain
St
Swithin's Day, if it be fair For forty days, twill
rain
no more"
Rain on St. Swithin's Day
blesses the apples which should
not be picked or eaten before
his feast. All apples growing
at this time will
ripen.
The Dog Star is called Loki's Brand in Norse
tradition.
Loki is the Norse god of strife, discord and evil. He
also
presides over tricks and practical jokes. In
Wiccan
tradition, July 15 is also the feast day of Rowana
(Rauni,
Goddess of the Sacred Rowan Tree). It is the feast day
of
Ti-Tsang (Chinese God of the Underworld) and marks
Chung
Yuan, festival of the dead, or the Taoist Ghost Day
in
China.
There are plenty of superstitions
and proverbs that
accompany this period, and as is often the
case, any
collection of such folklore contain both similarities
as
well as contradictions due to the time, place and
community
in which it originated. And the fears and warnings
about
the dog days have continued into even fairly modern
times.
Consider this:
"In these Dog Days it
is forbidden by Astronomy to all
Manner of People to be let
Blood or take Physic. Yea, it
is good to abstain all this time
from Women. For why, all
that time reigneth a Star that is
called Canicula Canis, a
Hound in English, and the kind of the
Star is broiling and
burning as Fire. All this time the Heat of
the Sun is so
fervent and violent that Men's bodies at Midnight
sweat as
at Midday: and if they be hurt, they be more sick than
at
any other time, yea very near Dead. In these days
all
venomous serpents creep, fly and gender, so that many
are
annoyed thereby; in these times a Fire is good night
and
day, and wholesome, seeth well your meals and take heed
of
feeding violently."
-The Husbandman's
Practice 1729
Well, they say that if you can't stand the
heat, you should
get out of the kitchen. In my personal opinion,
the perfect
antidote to dangers of the dog days is to spend as
many
hours as possible sitting on a shady patio with a
tall,
cold drink in hand, and okay, if we really need to
take
precautions, we can always put out a "No Trespassing"
sign
for venomous snakes and mad dogs. With the 15th falling
on
a Saturday this year, maybe we can all do likewise.
Well,
that's my visualization and I'm sticking to it. If you
have
any weird "dog day" experiences to share, please let
us
know. Now, on to this week's stories.
Carpe Diem!
Zsuzsana
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A Puzzling P.B.E.
Many years ago, as a young teenager, I
had traveled alone
to visit relatives in Europe. It was my first
trip there,
and the culmination of many years of wanting to meet
my
relatives and see the "old country" my parents spoke
about
so often.
One summer afternoon while
staying at my maternal grand-
father's house in a beautiful
ancient city, I decided to
take a walk around the neighborhood
and do a bit of explor-
ing on my own. I set out for my stroll
around the charming
area and was enjoying the chance to quietly
absorb the
sights and sounds of the elegant quarter. After only
a few
minutes of walking, I had an experience that I
remember
clearly to this day. I suddenly felt I had walked into
an
invisible wall and the energy drained out of me so
abruptly
I had to stop, and uncaring of what it looked like, I
sat
down on the edge of the sidewalk to avoid
collapsing
altogether. I had an unmistakable feeling of having
been
here before, on this very street, when in actual fact,
that
was impossible. The feeling was very similar to a 'deja
vu'
experience, but my rational mind kept telling me it
was
something more. Although I couldn't explain what
had
happened, I quickly pulled myself together, got back on
my
feet and got on with my day.
Many weeks
later when I finally returned home, I was tell-
ing my parents
about my experiences and of course I shared
this story with them
too. We were all amazed when my mom
was able to shed light on
the mystery. She told me that
when she was still pregnant with
me, she had paid a brief
visit to her father's home and had
spent time strolling on
the very street I mentioned, that being
one of her favorite
routes. There is no way I could have guessed
this and I
certainly hadn't heard the information
before.
I can't find any way to explain this other than
calling it
a P.B.E. or Pre-Birth Experience. A P.B.E. differs
from a
past life memory in that the spirit is not in a
different
body, but either already in this body about to be
born, or
in spirit form but waiting to assume the body they
will
born into in their current lifetime. Many people
believe
that P.B.E.s and N.D.E.s (near-death experiences)
are
closely related.
Studies have shown
about half of all P.B.E.s to occur
prior to conception, and half
to occur after conception
but before birth. I suppose in my
case, it could have been
either one as I would imagine my mom
had also walked those
streets in earlier times, prior to
becoming pregnant with
me. On a strictly physical level, I
suppose it is even
possible that I absorbed the sensation of
walking along
those streets through the womb, but I doubt if
that alone
would account for the oddly mystical and spiritual
feeling
of my "memory".
Early Christianity
taught of a pre-earthly life up until
the 6th century A.D.
Orthodox Jewish and Greek writings
prior to the 6th century also
discuss a premortal
existence, and life before physical birth is
spoken of in
the legends of Africa, in Native American belief,
and in
the legends of many other cultures.
There have been studies looking at accounts of children
who come to their future parents or siblings to announce
their upcoming arrival into this world. The same studies
say
that sometimes these unborn children can protect or
enlighten us
from the other side of the veil. Often,
children and adults who
remember their pre-birth
experience describe a spiritual
existence very similar
to those described in N.D.E.s. Some also
remember choosing
their parents and the type of challenges they
will face
here on earth, and some even choose their names. There
are
reports from those who have had a Near Death
Experience
that they have seen groups of souls assembled on the
other
side, waiting to be born here on earth. These would be
the
same souls who are believed to announce their
forthcoming
arrival from the other side, and possibly the
'observer'
souls who can recount their pre-birth experiences of
both
the spiritual and the physical worlds.
If you have any stories about P.B.E. experiences, please
write to me at
zsuzsana@arcanamatrix.com and I will be
happy to
share them in an upcoming column.
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Some Letters from Our Readers
Zsuzsana,
I have recently had an experience with a
walk in. Well,
not me personally but my best friend who is like
a second
mother to me. Her daughter's mother-in-law was
recently
rushed to hospital with what at first appeared to be
a
stroke. After several tests and CT scans it was
discovered
that she had a large brain tumor. Most of it was
removed
and it was found to be stage 3 cancer. Before the
surgery
she could not walk, talk or communicate in any way
other
than by blinking. After surgery she was able to walk
and
talk again. This past Canada Day long weekend, she
attended
a family barbecue. Normally when she attended family
events
she was a very shy person and usually just sat back
and
listened to the conversations around her. At the
barbecue
she was the center of attention and the life of the
party.
She was engaging everyone in conversations and my
friend
has said that every time they talk it is like she is
a
completely different person. Her personality has
changed
and she is much more outgoing and no longer shy. I do
not
believe that all walk ins are evil or dark; this one
seems
to be a very gentle spirit who needed to come to this
plane
for some purpose even if it is only for a short time.
She
has been given no more than 9 months with treatment,
as
they were not able to remove all of the cancer.
Thanks for letting me share my story.
Kahlest Tiger
Eye
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Hi,
I recently read Ruth Montgomery's book "Strangers
Among
Us" and I found it very interesting. However,
since it is now
more than 6 years past the time that
Mrs. Montgomery's spirit
guides indicated the shift of
the earth's axis would take place,
I am wondering if
you believe the book is merely a work of
fiction. I
have looked on the internet for a discussion group
on
the subject but since the book was written so long
ago
I have found none. I know the author had
somewhat
revised the date by a year or so after 2000 came
and
went and that she herself soon passed on so I
cannot
try to direct my questions to her directly. I
would
love to hear your opinion on this as I don't
know
anyone else who has read the book.
Thanks so much,
Cynthea Z.
Reply: Hi
Cynthea. I personally can't recall exactly what
Ruth Montgomery
said about the planet's shift so I don't
want to comment
specifically on that, but the dates
predicted for the axis shift
are many and varied. As I
understand it, the magnetic poles flip
much more often
than we think. If anyone has information for
Cynthea,
please send it along to
zsuzsana@arcanamatrix.com. Thanks!
See you all
next week!
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