It is with Knightly honour that we are empowered to have great knowledge from within & without. With such knowledge comes power, a power that is naturally produced & requires no additional influences to achieve great things. Power is not about the control of others, it is about harnessing the inner strength & full understanding of one's purpose in this particular existence, such truth that can only be realised at a knightly level
THE PRIORY INVESTIGATES: QUEST NUMBER SIX PART ONE
ST ANDREW’S CHURCH: QUIDENHAM IN NORFOLK
BOUDICA’S CHAMBERS & RESTING PLACE
LORD ARBEMARLE
St Andrew Church <ckick to enlarge image>
So another fine day found us at the above locations seeking truths on the enduring legends that have surrounded these sites for many years. Tales of a mysterious headless horseman; a knight in fact of the realm, of whom his identity has always been shrouded in mystery. And the little know resting place of a fine Celtic warrior Queen, who was also a healer and teacher of alchemy and the further slotting together of lost royal bloodlines. The first port of call was to the interestingly named St Andrew Church (no ‘s’ at the end of Andrew) set amidst tranquil and idealic countryside in the village of Quidenham, Norfolk.
St Andrew Church at Quidenham has stood on the banks of the River Whittle for over 1000 years and there is evidence of the site being a place of worship before the present building was erected. The present church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries; the round tower is Saxon dating from between 950 and 1050 AD and over the years, as in many churches respectful renewal and restoration has taken place. On the outside buttresses are three very interesting carvings said to be the sacred mongram ICH, the three nails of the crucifixion and the crown of thorns with the letters MR (Maria Regina) Part of the churchyard is a conservation area with many old tombs and monuments, many to the Albermarle family.
Follow the link to our Youtube channel and let Alek introduce you to Queen Boudica, the Headless Horseman and Lord Arbemarle.
Inside St Andrew Church, we find that we are now very familiar with the fact that what may appear to be christian symbolism is in fact Knight Templar or Masonic Symbolism; yet one can still take this back even a step further…
Boudica’s Chambers: Just across the road from St Andrew Church is to be found Queen Boudica’s Chambers situated alongside the area which would have been the church’s large graveyard and which is now cut in two by the road at Quidenham. Sadly at this point in time there is not any access to Boudica’s Chambers, (her castle or fortress) and believe me we did try! Many secrets within the English landscape; secrets of the Old Ways and older times are not ready to emerge, yet there may still be remains here of the building used by Queen Boudica to be found amongst the green gown of nature…
The Chambers from the roadside
Just a short way along the road and on the left hand side, is the actual resting place and memorial statue to Queen Boudica, which sadly is well out of public reach these days, probably purposefully so. It is all very overgrown and well hidden and unaccesable, in its small wooded area; the public is not encouraged to pass that way; even to pay respects. It is all told, a beautiful and peaceful area and church, with Saxon and Viking mounds nearby and just to see where Boudica’s castle or fortress is situated at Quidenham is an amazing experience. However one can make out the statue on google maps which in a small way does make up for having no access.
Allow the Headless Horseman to introduce himself!
Detailed shot of the family crest and historic tomb record of the Knight Sir Thomas Holland; aka The Headless Horseman!
So many connections to be found here, to the other sites we have so far visited which will be revealed in time and why all the ‘happenings’ are at these sites; a pattern is emerging so as they say – stay tuned!
Please contact our team for more revelations and fun days out or join The Priory
THE PRIORY INVESTIGATES: QUEST NUMBER FIVE PART ONE
GHOSTLY HAPPENINGS. STABLE BLOCK MURDERS. EXPLORERS IN THE NIGHT.
For Quest Number Five we travelled almost all the way to the Norfolk coast to a small town called Little Plumstead, NR13 5FB, not far from Norwich, to investigate the old abandoned hospital; the old asylum which now stands derelict and has over the years gained a reputation for unusual happenings. Built in 1889, the hall and estate were under the ownership of a Major Ashley; the hall itself was built on the site of a previous building.
The Main Hall and one of the many other buildings on the landscaped estate
Some of the reports of the happenings that have been said to occur here include:
Noises through the halls and stairwells
People crying in the kitchen area
Poltergeist activity in Lower chambers (Hydrotherapy area / Kitchens)
General Information: Little Plumstead Hospital was originally Norfolk’s principle mental deficiency colony. It was opened in 1930 and closed in the 1990s. Since then it has mostly been flattened to make way for a mega housing development. Part of the site is still live and deals with sexual offenders and another part of the site is a primary school. which is a bit of a combination to say the lest… All that remains now is the main hall, 2 blocks for admin and workshops and 1 main admin block and a few smaller out-buildings.
In its boom Little Plumstead had 351 beds over 16 wards and a further 2 bungalows for children. Little Plumstead Hospital Colony opened in 1930 within the grounds of an 18th century estate, the buildings in situ were utilised and additional buildings were added up until the 1970’s. In 1941 the hospital was approved as a “Complete Training School for Nurses for Mental Defectives”. Partial closure came in the 1990’s with the demolition of part of the site for the construction of residential houses. Sleep studies have also been documented here, using patients admitted to the hospital.
The main hall was lived in by Major Ashley, before it was sold to the Government in 1929. Ashley was then employed as a Caretaker and when the hospital opened, he trained and became a Mental Nurse.
General view of the rear of the Main Hall, where Major Asley lived, showing just what a beautiful building it once was
Mr Allen Pratt was in charge of farming and his wife was in charge of the dairy. The Pratt’s lived in cottages in Water Lane. In 1951, the Government further purchased Blofield Hall, a mere 1 mile from the hospital, so to expand its operation.
The Main Hall 1930
Of further interest: In World War 2 some of the houses belonging to Joe Wiley on the green were hit by a bomb and one man was killed.
In November 2014 HRH The Earl of Wessex made a visit to Little Plumstead and spent time with Lord Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James.
James William Bartram 1732 – 1804, a Guardian of Secrets 1763 – 1804 had connections to this site.
On this paticular occasion we were sadly not able to gain access to the buildings which are now being redeveloped into apartments by a local person, and the whole area and buildings are now securely borded up, however ‘urban explorers’ have been able to access the building by ingenious means but very sadly much damage inside and theft have consequently taken place. Yet not to be detered we were able to find an entrance through the barriers that surrounded the Main Hall and do a little a filming directly outside the main hall.
Please follow the link below to our Youtube channel to find our more fascinating info on Little Plumstead Hall
Some of the renovation works now being carried out to the rear of the buildings where once the stableblock stood.
Mysterious Stable Block Murders: Just across the main entrance road, stood the original stables for the entire estate; there are reports of murders that actually occurred in the stables themselves, these murders happened quite some time before 1889; way back in 1613 to be precise, when the first murders occurred in the stables at Little Plumsted. Not much will be found anywhere about this sad event unless one digs into the archive records. Yet it is in the actual stables, situated across the road from the main hall where the murders of two farmhands occurred. Strangely no one was ever found or caught for the murders, but interesting to note that both victims were found to be laid out in a rather ritualistic way.
Since this occurrence, going back to the 1600’s and whilst the building was still a stable block, it was reported that every night the horses were heard to be frantically whinnying and neighing while inside the stables, in a very terrified fashion. There was seemingly no apparent reason why they should be terrified, for back in the 1700’s as it was, this was a very remote area. Yet when the local farm hands arrived to see what was wrong with the horses, the minute the door was opened the horses were amazingly calm again with no sign of any disturbance. This all went on for about five years until it was decided to smash the stables down and build anew there.
In addition to that, there is a further interesting story to what has happened at this site in the past; a past which has now been literally buried. We all know that the best way to hide something is to build something on top of it; the further reality as can be seen here, is that if buildings are not maintained thy go into dereliction and ruin and over time start to crumble and fall. It is interesting to note that there has been various planning permissions put forward in respect of Plumstead Hall, for turning it into residential housing, apartments and even at some point to turn it into some kind of community centre; yet every single planning application that has been made for Plumsted Hall in Little Plumsted has been refused; which only begs the question why?
Redevelopement and present day ‘explorers’: Our head investigator then managed to have a very interesting talk with a local guy named David who seemed curious as to what we were doing. David, as it turns out is a neighbour, he informed us, of the guy who has now actually bought the property here; ‘Cripps Development’ to be precise and who plan to turn the building here into apartments. It is infact Daniel Cripps, David’s said neighbour who now owns the building; a grade two listed building in fact, so obviously some great work is now being carried out on the site.
David went on to explain that almost every night the hall is besieged by break-ins, thefts and by whom are known as ‘urban explorers,’ who enter the building on a regular basis, He said it is very it is very difficult to keep them out. Sadly they and the thefts have caused a great deal of damage to the building and its fine fittings inside and have taken off a large part from the front stairwell; the bottom ten or twelve feet infact have been removed and thus it all hangs precariously….
Our head investgator went on to add that also a lot of people have visited the building due to the many myths and legends of various ghostly happenings and that many people do visit the site thinking that there is some kind of electric chair inside! Of course anyone who knows anything about electric therapy will know that it would have been conductors, attached to sponges, placed on either side of a patient’s temples, whilst they were lying down in bed here in the hospital; thus nothing whatsoever to do with an electric chair; so another bit of urban myth and legend, all adding to the mystery of the site. One can ot help but wonder how many of these strange happenings a re still going on today and what the new occupants of the swish apartments will make of it all….
Some of the beautiful architectural features of the main hall.
NB… Sadly since we visited we havebeen contacted by one of the Urban Explorers, who has seen this write up and informed us that this beautiful building due to be redeveloped has been mysteriously raized to the ground by fire. A sad event indeed which one can only speculate about but the photos here are a lasting testament to a once wonderful building.
Please join us for interesting and fun days out – great company to boot!
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At The Knights of the Red Order (Previously The Priory) Imbolc is not celebrated as a festival, although we do acknowledge that many religons of this earthy plane have been created from the one source and that mankind has adapted and changed the source over the centuries to suit many different earthly needs.
I wrote this article at a time when i was transitioning from a pagan path to a Craft path, so I have included aspects of a few paths i was familiar with at certain times on my journey, such as wicca, modern day druidry, gnosticism, traditional witchcraft, Templarism and the Serpent Priesthood, in an endevour to look through the veil to discover the real Imbolc. I was kind of fed up with all the modern-day whiteness, brightness and snowdrops etc and was searching for something darker, something much more real…
I have come a long way since i wrote this and indeed am still learning.
Imbolc is acknowledged and celebrated as a pagan festival and is associated with the heralding in of springtime in todays modern world. It is a time when the goddess is said to leave her footprints upon the cold, snowy land and each clump of sprouting snowdrops is said to trace the footprints of where she has walked upon this earth. There are many myths and legends that connect to Imbolc and each path has their own associations. Within my own path, I do not work with the wheel of the year or the Sabbats as such, for that is of the earthly plane teachings. (the eight-pointed wheel is something totally different and much older on my path) The path I follow pre-dates modern paganism and indeed the modern world, although it is very much of the modern world; my knowledge allows me also to view the celebration of the Sabbats from a universal perspective where a deeper meaning can be discovered. So here I have tried to share some alternative viewpoints on the season, also sharing some of my own experiences of paths I have followed. As always the paths and journeys trod aforetime by any of us will always lead us to where we are now in our current time line. It is said that we all endeavour to tread the path towards the Light, but will the Light actually choose to reveal to us that which we truly seek?
Imbolc is celebrated on the 1st of February and lies within the Gnostic Cycle of 21 festivals, and is known as a celebration and understanding of the Goddess, being celebrated on the eve and into the 1st February. At this time it is recognised that the Lilly Leaf will assist us upon our journey as the light begins to awaken. Praise is given to the light returning to the earth and to nature continuing its everlasting cycle of re-birth. The blessing of the union between two souls is at this time. Correspondences of the Serpent Priesthood for Imbolc are:
Strategy: Sulphur.
Stone: Obsidian.
Planet: Sun.
Tool: Sword/Amulug (goddess).
When one thinks of the Sabbats one naturally thinks of the ‘earthly cycles’ and of the earthly seasonal practices relating to the land, but they were also times when the practicing of magic was and is, most favoured. A small snippet from an ancient scripture concerning Imbolc/Candlemas sacred rites, states:
“Evoke the terrible Hastur (i.e. Safian) on Candlemas Night, when the Sun is in Aquarius and Mercury in row”
So I would suspect that in times gone by the celebrations were less about honouring the localised seasons and much more about the timing etc of rites, practices and merryment. One can therefore hazard a guess that the days of celebration and the sabbats do go way back, but were completly different than they are now, and connect to a time way before wiccaa and the modern-day wheel of the year.
Imbolc in some modern-day paths, is often known as being the ideal time of the year when folks cast out into the universe their dreams and hopes for the coming year; a good time for doing the spells and workings for that which they wish to materialise during the year; a kind of magical statement of intent; a time to let the universe know what they want, an ideal time for letting their gods know of their intentions for the burgeoning year.
For a few years I did follow a modern ‘druid’ path inspired by Bobcat (Emma Restall Orr). Druidry has been wrongly referred to by some who follow the path, as the indigenous priesthood of these lands, but that is mis-information and that title goes to other peoples entirely. To this day though a great many of the true rites still remain a mystery and actually lie embedded within oathbound Knights Templar and Craft bloodlines and rites. I did attend many open ‘Druid‘ rituals and the Imbolc rites often involved the honouring and welcoming of the burgeoning light. Personal challenges were often given that forced one out of ones comfort zones, together with the planting of metaphorical seeds that were imbued with whatever the individual needed for growth in the coming year. The rituals could be very profound and deep because these seeds contained within them the hopes and dreams of the individual’s future and were fleeting glimpses through a window into other people’s lives. But like real seeds, these dream seeds too had to be tended and fed in order for them to become reality and to manifest in the real world. If left alone unfed, they too would perish and die, as would real seeds left uncared for. Also as part of the druid path we would often plant seeds or saplings at Imbolc, or find other ways of nourishing the earth as a way of sustaining our connection to the natural world and giving back to the planet a much-needed resource.
So then, what about the real witches I thought? Would the real witches of old have acknowledged this Sabbat and if so just how would they have celebrated it? I like to think that those who followed “The Old Crooked Path” would no doubt have had an appropriate spell, curse or dark rite for this time of year and I would like to think that this would have been an ideal time for conversing with old Lucifer, the Light Bringer, himself. I can certainly imagine that they would have smeared their bodies with dubious herbal substances as they paid homage to “Old Horney” and planted their seeds in ways that I shall leave entirely up to your own imaginations. I was very keen myself to find a ‘real’ connection from the past that led me to this time of year. So after diligently sifting through various old books on witchcraft, I came across this fascinating and interesting account. It is a confession by a one Isobel Gowdie who lived at Auldearn in Scotland and I guess that some of you are probably already familiar with parts or all of the story. Of course we have no proof if she really was a disciple of Satan as she claimed or just a girl with an over vivid imagination or one who just buckled under pressure. But the tale does give one a sense of the period and beliefs of the times and gives account of the fact that Candlemas was indeed a time of a celebration that pre-dates the modern so-called ‘wheel of theyear’. It is written that she confessed freely, without torture and the part that is applicable here and I quote what is said to be part of Isobel’s confession at her trial in April 1662:
“We would go to several houses in the night time. We were at Candlemas last in Grangehill, where we got meat and drink enough. The Devil sat at the head of the table, and all the coven about. That night he desired Alexander Elder in Earlseat to say the grace before meat, which he did; and is this “We eat this meat in the Devils name” (etc). And then we began to eat. And when we had ended eating, we looked steadfastly to the Devil, and bowing ourselves to him, we said to the Devil. “We thank thee our Lord for this – we killed an ox, in Burgie, about the dawning of the day and we bought the ox with us home to Auldearn, an did eat all amongst us, in our house in Auldearn, and feasted on it”
and…
“Before Candlemas we went to the east of Kinloss, and there we yoked a plough drawn by frogs…John Young of Mebestown drove the plough, and the frogs pulled like oxen. Traces by which they were harnessed were made of dog grass. The blade in front of the plough-share was made from the horn of a ram. Twice round in a circle we went, praying to the devil that the fruits of the land be blighted, and that briars and thistles might grow there…”
Mmm….. so no kindly wishes of growth and fertility upon the neighbour’s land there then, and certainly no sign of any pretty little snowdrops! The whole article contains many gems and insights into a life very different from the modern kind of Wicca practised today; very different beliefs in fact. Some folks think we are sadly drifting too far away from the older practices….
For a few years I ran a Dark Moon Grove; we too did not celebrate Imbolc in the conventional sense either, as we worked with deities that connected to the Dark Moon and somehow Bride or Bridget, at that time, had no role for us within the grove. However, we did work together to establish an inner reconnection with our gods by sowing the seeds of growth deep within us. Thus we were accessing the dark recesses of our physic, fertilizing and nurturing those parts of our inner souls that lie beyond the reach of the mundane world. So via the guidance of our dark moon goddesses, any seeds we planted would have been the seeds of regeneration that at the time enabled us to open up the magical and subconscious spheres of this realm and beyond. So, it was still about planting and growth but very much from the deep and dark inner realms. Within the Dark Moon Grove we would kick start the year in the company of our dark sister Hecate, a later version of Inanna, in fact. Hecate is often depicted as a torch bearing moon goddess wearing a gleaming headdress of stars, bringing illumination to our subconscious realms. For those of us who follow a slightly unconventional path, who like to dive head first into the dark, it is Hecate or Inanna with their torches and stars of illumination, lighting the way for us deep into the Underworld, whom we turn to at this time of year, rather than Bride with her circlet of candles lighting up this earthly realm.
Within the early degrees of the Serpent Priesthood, it is Inanna in her pure white gown who is indeed the fore runner of Bride, Bridgette or Hecate, for the colour associated with Inanna is most certainly white. Inanna did indeed journey deep into the darkness of the underworld, to find the Light, to re-invent herself. Her tale is a wonderful tale of alchemical transformation and one we can all learn from, for it is within the acknowledging of our shadow side (our humanity) that we do find the ultimate light of truth. So the colour white associated with Imbolc can be traced way back to Inanna and it could be suggested that on a pagan and indeed on a Craft level, it is indeed Inanna wearing her beautiful white gown, who has always heralded in the light at Imbolc; the light of Spring on the earthly plain. Yet more importantly, it is also Inanna in her magnificent and wondrous battle attire who heralds in the Light of the great universal ‘Future Yet To Come’; the dawning of the new times, maybe even to herald in the rapidly arriving and foretold ‘End Times’. And like Inanna it is in the company of lions we stand with the healing nature of rebirth.
Candlemas is also said to be the day when Mary, the mother of Malak (The Jesus) presented him at the temple, forty days after given birth but the day would probably not have been known as Candlemas in those times. One must remember that Malak and the earthly family he was born into would have practiced an older religious Judaic tradition, for of course they were not Christian at all. Christianity had not come into being at this point in time and would not for many years hence, til way after the cruel murder of Malak. Malak himself, as an adult, was also a practitioner of the ‘Egyptian Mysteries’.
It was a custom of the times for women to be ‘purified’ after giving birth and it would have been very likely that it would have been by candles in the temple, but it was also customary for the wafting smoke of incense (frankincense) to be used during purification rituals. So one can imagine the cleansing taking place and Mary introducing her son; he who would become popularily known as the ‘Light of the World’ and indeed, among other things, a future messenger of G-d on this earthly plain. This is where the scriptures do get confusing though, as Makak (The Jesus) is now certainly known to have not been born in December at all, so who or what was presented at the temple at Candlemas; an older Malak maybe? I believe there are still lots more to be revealed here in respect of the meaning of this ‘Sabbat’ and more still related to metaphysical realms rather than those of the earthly square. The set times and days of the week would have been very different in those days in those eastern lands, from how they are perceived in the west today, so maybe the ‘events’ did run in a sequence but not from the perspective of our present day calendars. As always in the ‘tales of old’, much remains hidden and the true meanings remain an enigma; the scribes of old, especially those whom wrote the bible have left many clues but also many, many false trails, whether intentionally or not….
However we percieve our personal Gods and Goddesses though, is it not a fact that it is a higher power that we are tuning into and are perceiving? We are tuning into something that is beyond the understanding of the many; great universal laws, the laws of physics and binary code, the law of the ‘All’. Maybe somewhere buried in the dark underworld of our subconscious minds, as we embark on our own personal and wonderful journeys of the year, we instinctly know how to tread the cycle of the ‘seasons’. We still have the power and the knowledge to take hold of the spirit thread, that great universal energy that binds us all to the truths of the ‘Old Ways’, to our ‘kin’ and to our ‘gods’ and hence to all that has gone before. If only humans would open their inner eyes to this though.
The L.i.g.h.t. will indeed lead us into the future if we open up our inner eyes and allow it to; the ‘lantern’, the beacon shines for us, for all those who are enabled to see. Maybe the l.i.g.h.t. has a connection to the g.ra.i.l? Maybe one needs to take a small step back from the bonds of the earthly cycles that tie one inexplicably to the earthly plane, (not without reason) for it is only when one lets go from the bindings of the earthly plane that ones eyes will indeed begin to open…
‘Light of the World by William Holman Hunt
Article written and researched by yours truly
Isabel Gowdie’s Confession from
“Tales of Witches & Sorcery” by Ken Radford
The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, 1921, V.5.
Quoted in Margaret Alice Murray,
Scriptures of The Serpent Priesthood
Imbolc 2015/updated 2019
A Warrior of the Serpent Ways questing upon the temporal sphere; sharing the L.I.G.H.T. with those open to receive.
A time of recognition of the cycle of the Green Man, a time for sharing life with others.
The Winter Solstice or Yule marks the time of the shortest day; a time when the return or rebirth of the Light is acknowledged by cultures from all around the world. Folks gather together on this day to welcome in the Light from the aspects of their various traditions but yet in reality this has nothing to do with the actual birth of ‘Christ’…
Yule customs and History:
Yule Greenery: Way before modern times people would decorate their homes at Yule with beautiful greenery such as Holly, Ivy and boughs of Fir; bought in fresh from their gardens and today many people, especially followers of Pagan and Craft traditions, still acknowledge this yuletide custom. Bringing the greenery indoors can completely change and uplift the energies inside one’s home, taking one back to a timeless place beyond the bright tinsel, gaudy baubles and glitz of today’s modern celebrations of yule; allowing people to find a much deeper and subtle connection to the season. The greenery we bring indoors at Yule has many connections to traditions and cultures all over the globe; both ancient and modern and throughout all time there have been many myths and legends associated with our Yule customs.
The bright red berries and sharp thorns of the Holly are thought of as a tree traditionally sacred to the ‘God of Winter’ and yet interestingly within the Gnostic teachings Holly is aligned with the Goddess and in particular has close sacred associations with Mary Magdalene. Often wands were, and still are made of Holly and used in the recurring ritual battle between the Holly and Oak, the winter and summer tree kings. The Oak King, representing the light half of the year, rules from midwinter to midsummer and the Holly King, representing the dark half of the year, rules from midsummer to midwinter. Many pagans in their solstice/yule rites will re-enact this enduring tale and will take part in the retelling of the battle between these two mighty kings; the Oak King and the Holly King.
Before the Yule tree was born those of Craft would hang a large ball of evergreen and Holly within their homes at Yule. From the ball would be draped red, white and black ribbons and paper roses, apples and oranges.
The Ivy is known as a goddess tree, being also green in midwinter and so again is used for decorations; it was also used as a magical wand when twined around a suitable host.
The Holly and Ivy do have further symbolism associated with them, for they represent man and woman, going on forever; the Lord and the Lady and it is said that the true sexual implications of Holly and Ivy carols can be discovered in the many recreated pagan versions of the present day carols.
The Fir is also a goddess tree and is linked with twelfth night or Epiphany, when the three wise men (Magi) came, bearing gifts for Mary, Joseph and the tiny babe. In the pagan year however, this was when the young god now aged twelve was armed with his weapons and was sent forth by the goddess. The fir/pine cones carried by the priestess in many religious rites and also in many ancient carvings and paintings were said to be a masculine symbol and were said to endow the young god with virility and power. Yet also the pin cone is a metaphysical representation of the pineal gland; the third eye. Fir trees themselves were believed to be spirits of fertility, being evergreen and undying.
Just why do we kiss under the Mistletoe? Mistletoe is an ancient fertility symbol, it is the god tree of the winter solstice, green when many other trees are dead, its green and gold leaves indicate life and the sun and its pearly white berries are symbols of the seeds of the sun and the semen of men. It has strong Druid associations and was/is used for magical and healing purposes and was banned from all Christian purposes. So beware next time you steal a kiss under the mistletoe – you might just get more than you bargained for! From all these various customs and myths involving greenery, spring forth the familiar Yuletide tradition of ‘Decking our homes with boughs of Holly!’
Roman and Persian Connections: The Romans also celebrated their own festival of Saturnalia from December 17th to December 24th. It was a time of merry-making, feasting and the giving of gifts and they too would decorate their houses with greenery and lights. The Romans also practiced the Mithraic Mysteries and some sources say they celebrated the birthday of Mithras on the 25th December, although not everyone agrees with this. It is interesting to note that Azazel‘s cherub was known by the Persians as Mithras, the god of light and there are origins that confirm Mithraism was indeed of Persian origin. Firmicus Maternus tells us Mithraism was based on the Persian rituals of the Magi (See the Error of the Pagan Religions). The Magi, such as the three Magi (wise men) who sought Jesus at his birth, were Zoroastrians. The cult of Mithras was embraced by Roman Legionaries; it being a contemporary religion to the early Roman Catholic Church by whom was adopted the Mithraic Sacrament. The worship of Mithras (Azazel) in subterranean chambers was done to symbolise his entrapment within the earth. Mithras (aka Azazel‘s cherub Behemoth, the disk) was at times referred to under the religious title of Sol Invictus.
Return of the Light: The reason for lights and candles at Yule; the winter solstice is very apt, for we are welcoming in the return of the light; the return of the sun, heralding in the lighter days to come. The return of the sun, the birth of the Light, (the birth of the son), in themselves have given birth to many ancient myths and customs around the world. Again, as for the other sacred times and Sabbats of the year, the celebration is built around recognition of major and significant planetary alignments and magnetics which causes a shift in our energies and consciousness here on earth.
Connecting to the Light: At this time of year, at Yule; the winter solstice, the dark can seem even darker, the nights can seem even longer and the days can seem oh so cold, especially if we have had issues in our lives that are hard to come to terms with. It can be a time of being alone for so many people and because of loneliness, many folks simply hibernate during the dark months, awaiting the return of the light. So this welcome return of the Light can connect us to the Sun, Moon and Star of our past, present and future and in our Solstice prayers we can pray for inner guidance and request for the fire within our souls to be re-ignited as we ask that the Light will guide us through any challenging days that lie ahead. In connecting to the guiding Light, we are of course connecting to the Goddess whom the Knight Templars acknowledge as personified on earth as the Lady Mary Magdalene; known in ancient scriptures by her name of Kiam. For She may shine upon all who wish it and guide us to that inner place of peace and sanctuary, that special nous within our souls. She will bless all those who ask guidance of her, will bestow her blessings upon all, of whatever path or spirituality we are, for we are all blessed and divine in the eyes of the Goddess.
Gnostic and Templar Connections: Within the Knights Templar teachings, Yule is a celebration of Ilu or Nabu; a God festival. It is a time of recognition of the cycle of the Green Man, a time for sharing life with others. The future is developing within the womb of the earth, and the energy begins to shape and map the cycles of the future. It is a time to change habits and reduce negative thoughts around us. We give praise to the Light upon the Earth, in the knowledge that the lines of life will continue. The Crescent Moon of Ansar is featured in the Templar 21st degree, so could this crescent moon and its star have a direct connection to the holy star of Christian mythology; the ‘star’ that guided the three (the sacred 3) wise men or Magi towards the son of god? (son of the G.O.D. – son of the Universe?) Within the Templar path are further hidden meanings to this story and to the meaning of the moon and star and thinking along those lines one can now discover the sun, moon and star hidden in the well know story of the birth of Jesus.
Searching for Lucifer: Many people who have trod a pagan path over the years will have realised that there was and is so much more to the Jesus and Mary, and Mary and Joseph tellings than ever met the eye, or had previously been taught. You may like myself have held on long and hard for a truth, realising that it was there somewhere yet was not being taught; you knew that something was hidden, something was missing. Even though it is quite common knowledge these days to acknowledge that Jesus/Malak was not actually born in December and this particular date was ‘borrowed’ by those who deemed it necessary, to keep the people of planet earth forever in darkness. But never the less what a very clever way though, for the ‘weavers of dark webs’ of old to simply hide the real truths they knew, displaying them for the peoples of the Earth as riddles for all to see (should of course they choose too) hidded within the pagan mythologies. So they hid the real truths of the universe from the people and wove a new false story onto the old customs and tellings. Meanwhile the poor unquestioning ‘Christian’ folks went along with these false tellings and as we all know, the story endured for centuries but one only needs to take a tiny peak behind the veil of illusion to see the real telling of the birth of Jesus/Malak. So thus the ‘Christian’s’ have kind of been preserving Templar/Universal truths in a very well-know tale for hundreds of years without realising it. It’s all there hiding in all the riddles and codes, hidden in plain sight, reiterating once again that the seen really can become the unseen and in these current days more and more people are awakening to the truths and messages that the returning Light will thus bring forth….
The Truth of Christmas: So we acknowledge that the birth of Malak to be the manifestation of the Universe made flesh; ‘The Word made Flesh’ and we know the name of Messiah or Christ to mean the “anointed” and of course most people are now very familiar, in varying degrees with the story of Mary and Joseph journeying to Bethlehem; Mary almost full term pregnant with child. They were there to register in an empire-wide census decreed by Rome and of course when they arrived, they found that Bethlehem was jam packed full of visitors from all over the region, so henceforth no place to stay. Joseph however was very resourceful and found temporary shelter in the stable of the inn they were supposed to be staying at and it is said that the young mother supposedly gave birth to Jesus/Malak on December 25th.
The shepherds out in their fields and pastures now witnessed a stunning supernatural event; a great star in the heavens, a sign that the Christ Child was born. Also (and again supposedly) three ‘Wise Men’ from the east came to Bethlehem to honour Jesus. Herod, Rome’s client king over Judea, felt threatened by Jesus’ existence and since he could not find the child, Herod decided to massacre all baby boys that were estimated to be Jesus’ age.
And so the account grew over the centuries, weaving chapters from the Bible with Christmas myths originating from the Babylonian mystery religions practiced by idol worshippers since the tower of Babel! To understand the events surrounding Jesus Christ’s birth and his early years; fact must be separated from fiction; for despite what billions believe today Jesus was not born on Dec 25th, or even in winter. He was in all likelihood born in early autumn. To make this fact clearer , it states in the Adam Clark Commentary, volume 5, page 370 (New York Edition) that “It was customary among Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts about the Passover (early spring), and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain” The first rains began in early to mid-fall.
Continuing with the same quote “During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As… the first rain began early in the month of Heshaven, which answers to part of our October and November (begins sometime in October), we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And as these shepherds had not yet bought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that consequently our Lord was not born on the 25th December, when no flocks were out in the fields, nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the field by night. On this very ground, the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact… see the quotations from the Talmudists in Light-foot”
Luke 2:8 explains that when Christ was born “there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” Note that they were ‘abiding’ in the field. This could not have happened in December, or even close. Both Ezra 10:9-13 and the Song of Solomon 2:11 show that winter was the rainy season and the shepherds could not reside in cold, open fields at night. Numerous encyclopaedias plainly state that Jesus/Malak was not born on December 25. Even the Catholic Encyclopaedia confirms this! Then from where did the festival accounts associated with this date come from?
The following quote can be found in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, under ‘Christmas’; “In the Roman world, the Saturnalia (December 17th) was a time of merry making and exchanging of gifts. December 25th was also regarded as the birthdate of the Iranian mystery god, Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New Year (January 1st), houses were decorated with greenery and lights as mentioned previously, and gifts were given to children and the poor.
To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain and Central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights; symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian” (15th Edit. Vol. 11 p. 903). Next is a quote from the December 1984 Toronto Star article; “We owe a lot to Druids, Dutch”, by Alan Edmonds: “The Reformation cast a blight on Christmas. By then of course, clever ecclesiastical politicians had adapted the pagan mid-winter festival as the alleged birth-date of Jesus, of Nazareth and thrown in a few other pagan goodies to make their takeover more palatable.”
Why late December? Understand that December 25th was not selected because it was the birth of Jesus Christ or because it was near that date. It was selected entirely because the 25th of December coincided with the idolatrous pagan festival of Saturnalia! In any event we do not know the exact date of Jesus’ birth (though in all likelihood he was born in the fall). While God certainly could have made it clearly known, He chose to hide it from the world’s eyes.
For years the birth of Jesus has been shrouded in the pagan trappings of Christmas, whose traditions and practices predate Christ’s earthly ministry by thousands of years! Billions around the world exchange gifts with each other every December 25th, believing they are following the ‘three wise men’s’ custom of giving birthday gifts to Jesus. Yet the ‘three wise men’ of the Xmas myth are called ‘magi’ in the bible, magicians from the East. Scripture does not specify how many visited Jesus. Also, the magi gave gifts to the Christ Child out of respect and royal tradition. They acknowledged Him to be a king, and thus treated Him as such; practicing the custom of giving gifts to a royal ruler. These were in no sense birthday gifts, for by the time the magi visited Jesus, He and His parents were no longer in the stable; they were in a house, and the bible refers to Christ as a ‘young child’(Matt.2:8, 11), not a baby. Much time had passed since Jesus had been born!
When we separate fact from fiction – that is, biblical truth from sadly, the lies and deceits of the pagan myths and legend – we get a better, much clearer view of the true Jesus Christ and of his birth! Thus we see that it is the old pagan myths that are still being celebrated on the 25th, even by those professing to be followers of Christ, those who still buy into all the untruths and follow blindly. These days so many aspects of the Winter Festival, wrongly and sadly celebrated under the banner of the birth of Christ, do seem to be one huge festival of consumerism and consumption which so many folks just simply buy into without any question. So in essence if one breaks it all down and puts it simply; the Chistians are celebrating pagan myths on the 25th December whether they realise it or not! And the pagans are celebrating something from a fabricated past that never existed anyway!
Of course one can still celebrate the return of the Light on the 21st because that is a fact, the light will return. Yet celebrate in a much simpler, sacred, deeper and more profound way by honouring the earth and the cycles of the land and of our place in the universe; a time for sharing the ultimate, albeit fleeting joy of life, with others and in doing so one is also honouring the Christ and the true reality of His Word.
Gi be dag ma dara bi ar.
Night to be day and dark to be light.
Written by yours truly with exerts from the Templar Degree Scriptures, Priory Scriptures, my own thoughts and My Grand Priors invaluable guidance and teachings.
Yule in the Gregorian year of 2014/updated Yule 2015
(To discover more on the real truths of He who was/is known as Christ; the Word made Flesh, much more can be discovered within the teachings of The Priory) 🙂
Into darkness I will fade Into a night that man has made but through that gloom shall gleam the sun When I am lost; and again am won.
Release! Release! I call to thee In new lands across the sea Let another, on narrow pathways, come to me. Furthest and Highest, yet not beyond reach. Choose thou well a path that will teach: How the sunken is raised and emptiness is filled And a wandering heart can finally be stilled.
Seek the Great Stone! Mark it well, with a sign And those who see it shall know it is mine And seeing shall ponder and certainly know As the Ancients have writ “As above, so Below
And I shall guard the source of Greatness Waiting by a teardrop From neither joy nor sorrow born In silver bound, Beneath the ground, I am the Spiral Horn.
( a very old, stunningly beautiful and emotional piece of writing that contains many deep truths)
Come my love and meet me upon the lip of midnight.
Come my love and dance upon the edge of velvet night
And if you dare to dance my dance
I’ll take you into darkness true.
I promise I will not sup much
Or steal from you that precious thing of which you value so.
Come my love, come meet me when all mortal time runs out
And when the tides are running high
Come take my hand,
Come dance my dance,
Come waltz with me upon the land of precious time.
I’ll not sup much
I promise you.
I’ll let you dance your dance of dance while standing on the edge
And if you come to me with love,
I’ll maybe sup just one sup
As you whirl and spin upon the night times’ edge.
Come to me my love of love.
Come embrace my spell so pure.
We’ll dance till midnight claims your soul in a land I know so well.
Come close my love and kiss me sweet and then I’ll sup,
Just one sup;
A sup of life so true.
From an ancient place somewhere far off, to space deep within, I have always felt the pull of the Dark Mirror tugging me through into unknown mythical realms or was it infact the hidden truths speaking to my subconscious. The pull was at time as tangible as a magnetic force drawing me ever closer to where I wanted to be. Certain thoughts and perceptions known since childhood or even before, have always lingered within the dormant corners of my mind. Way before the current spate of vampire tellings becoming fashionable and long before the influences of the current modern-day media obsession, my heart always warmed, always beat fast to those deeply exquisite tales and the feelings they evoked within me. Over the years new experiences opened up to me and I enjoyed the exploration of my ‘inner dark side’. Whether it was in fact reality or not, made it none the less enjoyable, none the less compelling and real to me.
I thus began to discover in my subsequent explorations of myself, the essence of whom I truly was; my true lineage. Always learning, always exploring, always searching… Not for me as a child, the usual childhood reading; no schoolgirl novels or girly sugary tales. Right from the very start my choice of reading material was always of the dark kind and my head was usually to be found deep inside the darkest and most horrible of tales I could lay my little expectant hands upon; Edgar Alan Poe certainly being one of my faves. In my teen years my love and fascination of the shadow and indeed the magical side of life grew into the forbidden and very compelling sexuality that surrounds the many vampire tales, especially from the movies. I wanted to be drawn into a world other than that which I knew; I craved the hidden knowledge of the shadow realms where often only a fine line hangs like a veil between life and death and I was truly always on the side of the often mis-understood vampire. It always made me very angry when at the end of all the tales and movies, the only option ever for the vampire was death and within my own being I could never consolidate or accept this, for to me it was always the vampire who was in the right, who always held the truths and never ever the other way round. I always left the cinema feeing terribly short-changed and very sad. But was I even then trying to access the deeper side to myself or trying to discover another side to reality that no-one could enlighten me to? Even way back then, especially in the case of the movies, death for the one who treads the path not of the norm was the only way out and therefore with death, the truths also died and a false rightous truth survived. Was this struggle a metaphor for not allowing access to or for hiding the truths of the universe and beyond, and I even then was constantly pulling apart the veil of illusion.
Yet I always found myself in a place of learning, of understanding and of knowledge seeking; a place I chose to be in and one which I truly embraced. To want it and to be it was always such a deep yearning within me and of course I wondered just where it all came from or infact where it would end, if ever? Oh how I would have loved to be able to exist in such a reality and to be truly free, to find the real me and of course as it is so often said, are not the Vampire tales a kind of ‘coming of age’ rite anyway and perfectly placed within the mind of many a dreamy teenage girl at the onset of puberty? If that was the case then so be it, and a certain teenage girl would find herself embracing this reality time and time again.
Everything about the vampire tellings, within my own mind, was and is total perfection and I was captivated and bound by the powerful images portrayed of immortality, dark sexuality and of course of being very different. But more importantly it bought to life for me what was inside of my own soul anyway; always feeling a deep sense of love and compassion towards the vampire; the one who was different. Even from the point of view of the writers and movie directors from those times of my teenage years, loving the act of “siring” as portrayed in their movies, raising another of the kindred. This embodied, whether intended or not, many exquisite dark taboos, often romanticising the compelling relationship of sexuality, death and rebirth; the age-old cycle of many religions.
Of course in later years my writings and poetry began to reflect this; it was all a big facet of me, or whom i am and I have within my own writings and poems used phrases such as ‘the kiss of theblood rose’ or the ‘dark embrace’. The vampire’s kiss has been perceived as a sensual ritualistic act, a deliberate act shown in films, novels and poetry as something powerfully mesmerizing; one creature with a deep ancient desire and one creature, either willing or unwilling becoming the age-old provider of life and sustenance. Yet as I progressed in researching the subject further and learning more, a new world of understandings opened up before me and within me and to this very day continues to take me on a very fascinating voyage of discovery and knowledge as the veil falls and age-old truths are revealed; like the parting of ancient velvet, scarlet drapes; musty and mysterious.
Walking back and forth through the realms of the mysterious night-kin holds untold fears for many and yet further still, untold pleasures for a few. What will one find there in that shadowy world where one’s senses are honed to perfection and further still once one discovers that which one finds there, is one’s actual reality forever changed or is it the perceptions of reality that are altered? Once the taste of the ‘blood rose’ is figuratively upon ones lips can one ever let go of it, ever go back or has destiny changed for all time? How possible is it to walk a fine line between the known and the hidden, for when the hidden becomes the known every thing else will of course evolve too and thus become a way of life, become the norm. It is at this very point of realisation, of the unknowing becoming the norm and the norm becoming some distant past that used to be, that one realises one has accessed the hidden and that one is no longer the ‘someone’ that one used to be. It is an opening up, a letting go of everyday awareness, a true test of faith, a standing on the edge of the world and falling into the multiverse, into that which has always been.
Life, sex, death are all very natural and are all a part of the unending cycle of nature Herself; a story played out across time and tide many times over. Often some of the unusual experiences of life as seen from the context of the wider human world, are from a perspective of folks involved being a little mad or brave; people who push the boundaries. Yet do we not all wish to push the boundaries or is it only just the few? However one views it, maybe being different is a better description of these individual boundary pushers; different from the rest of human society and with a desire of wanting ‘something else’. To journey through to the deeper realms of truth one actually needs to be very sane indeed and in total control of ones life, ones mind and ones actions and to know exactly what one is doing and why. Good teachers and guides have always been here, always amongst us and always to be found, if one has the passion to follow one’s own desires. Part of a good and essential magical training usually taking many years of hard practice to perfect, yet will teach one how to allow oneself to open up to the universe, to let go of the ego. To also have control of the many aspects of the self and to have a heightened and knowledged sense of awareness and confidence when venturing in realms not of the mundane.
Rebirth, transformation and new life can come in many different guises; many spiritual paths perform rites of rebirth, often as initiatory ceremonies and then also on various stages of a path. These rites can be very deep and profound often involving a sacrifice or the death of ones self, the death of the ego; for the ego has no place at all in magical realms.
The telling of Innana’s descent into the underworld captures this portrayal of the death and rebirth process beautifully. It tells of the goddesses’ willing descent into the underworld and of her giving up all her worldly goods, of her being stripped bare, down to her very bones and almost left for dead, putrid, dying and alone. In the process of almost dying, of going through great and utter pain and of a giving up of all that was dear to her Inanna against all the odds survived the ordeal, experiencing her own death and rebirth and She, the goddess rebuilt herself. Rebirth, especially when on a magical path can be a long and challenging process and many ‘mini deaths’ occur as the ego is let go of in order to achieve transformation. Yet isn’t this exactly what the vampire stories are telling us, always of a giving up, often involving sacrifice leading to a complete letting go and then ultimate transformation and transcendence? Surely this captures the mythology of the vampire beautifully?
We all appreciate that the practices of the ancient peoples of these earthly lands, from many different cultural and religious backgrounds, often adhered to very different moral and ethical codes, far removed from anything practised today. Blood letting and blood offerings, sacrifice, sex and magic were often, it has been said, practiced in sacred rites overseen by the ancient priests in order to draw upon the deep forces of the universe on behalf of and for the gods; often for good, yet often not so good. The reasoning and morality were far removed from these present day times and thus who are we to judge, for judge we cannot. The various ritual uses of blood has been employed over many ages and by many cultures and was not deemed wrong; indeed was it was often essential for magic to work. It has been suggested that priests and priestesses, kings and queens too of ancient civilizations, were often carefully trained or chosen for very specific roles which were outside of the morality and understandings of our modern-day culture and religion. However it was all for a sacred, magical or religious purpose and so was not in any way wrong to the ancient peoples. Often deities were offered the precious gifts of a life force or sexual performance as part of a divine ritual with intent and purpose acceptable for the times. Of course it is more than acceptable these days, and always has been, to offer a few drops of one’s own sacred blood to the deities as part of personal sacred practices within prayer or ritual.
To me it has always seemed that these ancient peoples had a heightened sense of awareness, an increased ability to know of their place in the grand scheme of things; of their own mortality in fact and of the meaning of life and death so thus embraced what it truly meant to be alive. They never took anything for granted and accepted certain practices as a part of life; practices that many folks today would find distressing. Many accounts go way back in time and many truths are hidden within the tellings and tales of the Old Ways. The old rites have become distorted over so many years of retellings, yet maybe if one listens hard enough and long enough to the whispering of the winds and to the vibration of one’s inner being, then the truths will surely begin to reveal themselves.
At the end of the day there is no black or white, no dark and light, no right or wrong, no good or bad because it is all about balance; achieving the correct balance. Morals, ethics and perceptions change and evolve with each generation and within individuals too. Maybe my inner feelings do hark back to a much older time, maybe I feel the pull of the ancient threads within me, hence why today I walk my path within the company the Old Ones; the threads do bind firmly to kin yet do not imprison. There have always been Keepers, Observers and Watchers well within our midst; those whom can tell of the secrets, will relentlessly guard the secrets, yet share with only a few; they will tirelessly protect the secrets of the living alignments and further still protect all that has gone before and all that will ever be. They will be known to only a few, yet have a quiet strength and resilience way beyond their earthly years and carry the secrets forwards in time, in the safe hands of their earthly kin.
So who knows, maybe from somewhere afar or somewhere near, on one’s own doorstep or even in another universe, even just up the road around an urban street corner in the bright shiny middle of the day, one of the Old Ones will be watching, waiting just as they always did and just as they always will. Waiting for the sound of a passing heart-beat, and silently, undetected, unknown, will turn swifly on a sixpence, undetected hot in pursuit…
It is with Knightly honour that we are empowered to have great knowledge from within & without. With such knowledge comes power, a power that is naturally produced & requires no additional influences to achieve great things. Power is not about the control of others, it is about harnessing the inner strength & full understanding of one's purpose in this particular existence, such truth that can only be realised at a knightly level
