Jennifer's Alternative Religions Blog

Today is the birthday of legendary wizard john Dee. Who was John Dee? He is virtually unknown in modern times, although he has had a profound influence on popular culture- without John Dee, there would be no Harry Potter, no Gandalf, no archetypal storybook wizard bearing a crystal ball...

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This week's issue of Time magazine carries a story of enormous import in the religious world (meaning it will likely be ignored for another decade). The piece is written by David Van Biema and concerns an unassuming looking stone tablet thought to be related to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The tablet, which dates to a period just before the birth of Christ, contains an apocalyptic narrative in the voice of the angel Gabriel, and mentioning a messiah who will die and be resurrect in three day's time- a concept often believed to be unique to the Christian faith and the life narrative of Jesus. What is to come of this interesting artifact remains to be seen.

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A Satanist in Indiana may have to defend his religion in court, where his ex-wife will argue to restrict his visitation time with his children so that they may attend a Christian Church. The article lets a few obvious questions slide, as when it mentions a remark from the Mother's lawyer defending "his client’s right to shape the religious upbringing of the children." (He doesn't? Why not?) A linked commentary by the same columnist also uncritically promotes a comment questioning a religion that "openly taught contempt" for another. It's been years since I've been to a Christian service, but I'm pretty sure they haven't begun any campaigns of tolerance for Satanism in the intervening time.

An Australian government minister has been defended by her peers after visiting an anti-Scientology protest, where she questioned the organization's tax-exempt status: "They should be taxed, the bastards. They shouldn't be tax-free; we're subsidizing them. I like your masks." The conversation was subsequently uploaded to Youtube, resulting in much public complaining. Of course, this might come off hypocritical in light of regulations passed in Sydney that prohibit would-be religion protesters from "annoying" Catholics who turn up to greet the Pope on his Australian tour. What "annoys" is wholly given to the police to interpret, an ill-omen for free expression.

The professional hysterics at the American Family Association had their own silliness come back to haunt them- seems the auto-replace script they used on site to convert any instances of the word 'gay' to the less pc 'homosexual' in AP stories they ran resulted in some very strange Olympic coverage.

A man in Knoxville is suing his church for millions, claiming he got so spiritually enraptured during a service that he fell and injured himself. He's not suing over the fall, which he attributes to the Holy Spirit, but because nobody caught him before he hit his head.

Cernunnos is the mysterious horned deity worshipped by Iron age Celts across Europe until the end of the first century. Very little is known about Cernunnos except his name and his image, which appears on numerous stonecarvings and other artifacts throughout Europe. He appears crowned with stag's antlers, is often seated in a meditative position, and is almost always depicted with images of wild animals.

His original Celtic name is unknown, although he may be associated with Derg Corra, the early Celtic "Man in the Tree."

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Both "green language" and the "language of the Birds" refer to the oblique writing styles used by alchemists, magicians, and other mystical initiates to communicate with one another publicly while 'concealing' the information from the hostile or unworthy.

In short, it is a method of symbolic writing which appears opaque or unintelligible unless one has the necessary understanding of its symbolism to interpret it.

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The Tree of Life is an important symbol in nearly every culture. With its branches reaching into the sky, and roots deep in the earth, it dwells in three worlds- a link between heaven, the earth, and the underworld, uniting above and below. It is both a feminine symbol, bearing sustenance, and a masculine, visibly phallic symbol- another union.

In Jewish and Christian mythology, a tree sits at the center of both the Heavenly and Earthly Edens. The Norse cosmic World Ash, Ygdrassil, has its roots in the underworld while its branches support the abode of the Gods. The Egyptian's Holy Sycamore stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the worlds. To the Mayas, it is Yaxche, whose branches support the heavens.

Continue reading: The Tree of Life

The word abracadabra is known universally as the "magic word" of stage conjurers. What little know is that it is a word of ancient origin, used by genuine magicians from about the third century.

The word abracadabra is derived from a Aramaic phrase (Avarah K'Davarah) meaning, "I will create as I speak." (Harry Potter fans might recognize this spelling; however, it is not a curse.) It has appeared in Kabbalistic and Gnostic texts alike.

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This is cute- it seems a particular Shinto shrine in Kyoto has earned a particular reputation for aiding adherents in severing ties with unpleasant people, especially exes. The Mainichi Daily News reports that the shrine ios so popular it has hundreds of thousands of prayers plastered to it- so many, in fact, that it resembles an igloo.

See also: Shinto

The UK's Telegraph asks following a poll in which half of all Britons believe the religion, along with Judaism, will have disappeared from the country in a century's time. The article also cites a decline in the church attendance. Obviously, the US would likely show more confidence in religion, but polls show similar slips in religious affiliation and church attendance. The question is, will this be a permanent effect, or is it simply a post-millennial slump? (One clue might be found in the increasing interest in Buddhism, a religion that focuses more on humanism and awareness than on faith in a deity.)

	Today is Midsummer, the Feast of John the Baptist, who in Christian tradition was the initiator of Christ. According to other traditions, such as the Gnostic Mandaean sect, John was the true Messiah (and Jesus a false prophet who misused John's secret teachings).
John's feast day is unusual in the Church, which usually honors Saints on their day of death; John's day is considered his nativity. Many have pointed out that the assignment of John's nativity to the Summer Solstice and Jesus' to the Winter Solstice are not coincidental, but a link to ancient sun worship.

A curious reference to this solar symbolism can be found in the NT gospel of John, where the Baptists says, "He must increase, but I must decrease." This is seen as a reference to the waning summer sun.

The Feast of John is also an important Holy Day in the Voodoo religion. John's feast is also a major day of celebration in Freemasonry.