13th House Mystery School

My new publication from Cambridge Scholars Publishing, "Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts," is available now from the publisher, soon to be in bookstores. Read the summary, list of contributors, Table of Contents and Introduction at:

Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

"The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it." ― Sir David Attenborough

Countless scientists have sought to provide evidence for the realm of the sacred via scientific foundations and principles, from Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician Hypatia (c. 350–370--415 CE) to Newton, Goodall, Einstein, Capra, Talbot, Zukov and many, many others. The confluence is actually a vital part of the current radical world view paradigm shift and epistemological evolution.

From my Introduction to "Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts." ~

'Michael Talbot, who wrote about parallels between ancient mysticism and quantum mechanics, and espoused a theoretical model of reality that suggests the physical universe is akin to a hologram in works like Mysticism And The New Physics, Beyond The Quantum, and The Holographic Universe, such ideas are probably not that much of a stretch. Frifjof Capra, the physicist who wrote The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism in 1975, pioneered trans- disciplinary discourses that quested after the delicate line between science and sacrality, treating the mystical implications of subatomic physics and the connections between quantum theory and sacred ideas intrinsic to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Science enthusiast, Gary Zukav, wrote The Dancing Wu Li Masters in 1979, a book exploring modern physics and quantum phenomena, and was awarded the U.S. National Book Award in the category of Science the following year. An empowering paragraph in the first chapter illustrates why the work remains popular as a pedagogic text:

'“This is a book about physics. Therefore, all it contains is a description. It cannot contain the experience itself. This does not mean that you will not have the experience of physics by reading it; it only means that if you do, the experience is coming from you, and not from the book. Quantum mechanics, for example, shows us that we are not as separate from the rest of the world as we once thought. Particle physics shows us that the ‘rest of the world’ does not sit idly ‘out there.’ It is a sparkling realm of continual creation, transformation, and annihilation. The ideas of the new physics, when wholly grasped, can produce extraordinary experiences. The study of relativity theory, for example, can produce the remarkable experience that space and time are only mental constructions! Each of these different experiences is capable of changing us in such ways that we never again are able to view the world as we did before.”'

You can read my entire Introduction here:

Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Leonor Fini's Witches This lecture investigates the motif of the witch across surrealist artist Leonor Fini’s (1907–1996) oeuvre, focusing in particular on the central position th...

Michael Warren Davis’s “King of the Wild:” Getting everything wrong about Wicca is hard, but not impossible Academically, I am a Political Scientist and a Gardnerian Witch, in both cases for about 40 years. I encountered the Craft soon after gaining my Ph.D. at Berkeley.  I cut my ideological teeth …

Cambridge Scholars Publishing has put up a beautiful web page for the book, that is already being sold and shipped, with basically the same Front Matter pages I had been publicizing: Table of Contents, List of Illustrations, Acknowledgements, and my Introduction, but with an added page listing the Contributors:

Oluwatoyin V. Adepoju
Denita Benyshek
Nicole Clouston
John K. Grande
Nusrat Jahan
Lezlie Kinyon
Miles Lowry
Miriam Stein
Akasa Tseng
Cover art by Miles Lowry.

Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

(PDF) "Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts" Table of Contents and Introduction PDF | The radical change of perspective sweeping the Western world and the paradigm shift of our times challenges our most deeply held beliefs about... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

New Moon Update ~June 6, 2024 - The Power Path New Moon in Gemini is Thursday, June 6 at 6:37 AM Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) Dear Friends, This new moon supports relationships, beliefs and experiences that have to do with love in our lives, gratitude, and a hard look at where our support comes from. Where do you need more balance? Are your...

(PDF) The International Society for Academic Research on Shamanism (ISARS) Conference PDF | We invite scholars to reflect on the notion of traces (Ginzburg 2006) in relation to shamanism and other animistic/ecstatic practices1. In doing... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

Cover art by Miles Lowry, 1996.

REVIEWS

From the United States:

Violet
5.0 out of 5 stars I love it so much, I have two copies!
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2011

When I first purchased this amazing book, I used it like a pagan self-discovery calendar. I wrote notes all through it, and keep it by my bedside, like a companion! Now I have an unmarked copy I keep close by- making notes elsewhere if I feel so inclined. I really adore this book! The authors are generous with their information, and speak warmly in the text.

The book is set up in "tree months" which coincide with uk/european trees and woody plants as the months. i.e.: holly, reed, oak, vine, etc. At the beginning of each month is a chapter introducing the tree and it's spiritual story, as well as thoughts written by the witchy women who wrote it, sharing totem histories and personal pagan stories including those about collecting/making their own tools of the craft. Their information is feminist in vibe and words as well as enlightening in many ways.
The months therein are laid out, like a day-at-a-glance calendar, but with notes about historic women and goddesses and pagan/nature holidays which overlap the days.

Example:
Today's entry-
Oak month- May 7- It is time to name your personal Goddess.
Tomorrow's entry-
Oak month- May 8- Furry dance to honor Maid Marian as the female part of the Green Man. Feel your bare feet in the grass.

I hope that was helpful, and that you will enjoy this wonderful resource as much as I do-
Blessed Be!

Chris rardin
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to those starting the path of druidism
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2019

From other countries:

Nancy
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best Wiccan books I own.
Reviewed in Canada on October 28, 2018
This is a hard to find book written by three women, who have experience with the craft. I truly love how the book is divided into sections with the Celtic tree calendar in mind. There is history, rituals and a daily guide or meditation to follow. Good for the beginning witch or anyone interested in pagan culture and history.

"This is a really critical point, because this, then, loops back to the whole Asimov’s Foundation thing. Do we wait 30,000 years for the empire to rebuild, or can we do it in 1,000 years? That’s what we’re talking about. We have great confidence that the biosphere is going to restore itself, within — you know, no matter what we do, unless we make the whole planet a cinder, the biosphere’s going to “restore itself” within, you know, 10 million years. Whatever. That’s fine. And we — you know, some form of humanity — may be part of that, or may not. But the reality is that what we want to do, as human beings, is we want to tip the odds in our favor a little bit. We want to increase the odds that we’re going to be one of those lucky species that survives. And we know enough to be able to do that. We know now enough about evolution to be able to alter our behaviour in a way that’s going to increase the odds that we’ll survive. So the question is, are we going to do that? So this whole business of whether or not, you know, what’s going to happen in 3 million years — you’re right: That’s not important. But what happens tomorrow is not important either. What’s important is what happens in the first generation after 2050. That’s what’s important. That first generation after 2050 is going to determine whether or not technological humanity reemerges from an eclipse, or whether Homo sapiens becomes just another marginal primate species."

~ Daniel Brooks in conversation with Peter Watts, March 2024

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-0510-6

Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Most days, I still can’t really believe I live here.

One of the contributors to my edited anthology, "Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts," is artist, poet, performance artist and educator, Barbara Bickel. My jacket blurb for her book, "Art, Ritual, and Trance Inquiry:
Arational Learning in an Irrational World" (Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Movement across Education, the Arts and the Social Sciences, Springer: 2020), reads:

"Drawing its strength and evolutionary value from among Indigenous traditions and pantheistic modes of thought, Bickel’s study calls for the rematriation of human consciousness and realignment with the creative life force. This book provides an experiential process yet directs a critical eye upon the practices of education, the nature of creativity, and the arational as a valid epistemological realm. It supplies flexible analytical frameworks for thinking about art, survival and one’s own relationship to both.”

Her chapter ( #2) in the anthology is titled: "Matrixial Eco Gnosis: Restoring Reciprocal Relations Through Art, Ritual and Trance-Based Inquiry," and includes her poetry and ritual theatre documentation, with photographs of performance pieces and sacred sites.

Studio M* A research creation lab intersecting arts, culture & healing

The anthology can also be pre-purchased direct from the publisher, here:

Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing Trans-Disciplinary Migrations: Science, the Sacred and the Arts - Cambridge Scholars Publishing

The owner of this cow heard dogs barking at night; so he put down a camera and discovered this incredible sight. The leopard comes to greet the cow every night and licks the cow's head. The man talked to the previous owner of the cow; He later learned that the leopard's mother had died when he was 20 days old, and that the cow had fed the leopard with its milk. Since then, the leopard thinks it's the cow's mother. And every day he comes to see her at night. 🐄🐆 🤎
Source: Juan Ramon Vega

Credits goes to the respective author ~
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New book edited by 13th House co-Founder, Yvonne Owens, with contributors Denita Benyshek, Akasa Tseng, John Grande, Lezlie Kinyon, Nusrat Jahan, Oluwatoyin Adepoju, Nicole Clouston, Barbara Bickel, Miriam Stein and Miles Lowry (Forthcoming from Cambridge Scholars Publishing, U.K., 2024)

Cover Art: "Heartwood" (Detail), painting by Miles Lowry.

I'd like to introduce Dr. Lena Rodriguez, who--with a background in sociology and anthropology, tons of academic papers and publications, and a professorship at Newcastle University--yet reads Tarot on the fate and machinations of America because, being a sociologist, she rightly acknowledges that what happens in the post powerful economy, military state, ideological influence and media producer in the world profoundly, and often quite insidiously, effects the rest of us, no matter where we live on the globe.

Her bio on Amazon:
"Lena Rodriguez has a doctorate in sociology and anthropology. She was a university teacher and advocate for Indigenous Health in Australia. She has worked with diverse communities and is committed to expanding health and educational opportunities for all."

WHAT IS USA IN FOR IN JUNE? ENTERTAINMENT ONLYDONATIONS WELCOME: https://www.paypal.me/Lena174

The Hanging Gardens of Ancient Yemen ~ Biblical Sheba, also known as Saba In the remote desert highlands of southern Yemen, a team of archaeologists have discovered new evidence of ancient transitions from hunting and herding to irrigation agriculture 5,200 years ago. As part of a larger program of archaeological research, Michael Harrower from the University of Toront...

Misogynistic Abrahamic Religions Rooted in Cattle Cult Purity Laws’ Fear of Menstruation The image used for the meme above is a Neo-Classical Romantic-era painting of the New Testament narrative ‘Noli me Tangere’ (“Touch me not”), the Latin version of a phrase s…

Thanks Sean. (Stole it.)

Lord Beneath The Trees Prize-winning, original composition by Naomi Lester (Women in Music, New Composers series). Recorded by Leanan Sidhe Celtic and Early Music Ensemble. Harp: N...

The Holly Bears a Berry (Sans Day Carol) Medieval Christmas Carol, Yvonne Owens on Vocals with Leanan Sidhe

Summoning Carol Medieval Yule Carol sung by Yvonne Owens with Leanan Sidhe

“Yule” (Midwinter Festival, Winter Solstice, Alban Arthuin) by Yvonne Owens and Jessica North O’Connell (Excerpted from The Witches’ Wheel by Yvonne Owens and Jessica North O’Connell, Chapter 2. Image: Witch’s Wheel, Museum of Witchcraft, Boscastle, U.K.) Jessica: Winter solstice marks the longest night of the year, the heart of winter. At this time, we welcome the return of the sun, a theme app...

Yule Origin

The feasts of Yule (from the old Norse: Júl) are celebrated every winter solstice. This is a celebration of the Nordic peoples, related to Germanic mythology and Nordic paganism. The Yule originally lasted twelve days and Christianity assimilated it to Christmas.

The traditional Yule festival has its origins in pre-Christian Scandinavia. It was mostly a family party and was always dedicated to fertility, solstices and the family. It was a holiday where ancestors, absent friends were also remembered, and the table where the party was held was prepared with splendor and magnificence, before the tomb of deceased relatives and prioritizing hospitality towards outsiders.

In most European languages, whatever form is pronounced or translated, both Christmas and nativity, as well as yule, are understood as synonyms for the same celebration. Such is the case in the Spanish language, where any dictionary will translate the word Yule as Easter or Christmas, an appreciation that is somewhat vague.

The Romans also celebrated the winter solstice, when the sun conquers darkness and the days begin to lengthen. After the Edict of Milan, by which Constantine lifted the prohibition that weighed on Christianity, the Romans continued to celebrate their Winter Solstice feast. The Church decided to absorb that party, giving it a Christian sense, since until then the Nativity of the Lord was not celebrated. The Sun that overcomes darkness is Christ, and since then Christmas corresponds to the night of December 24 to 25 (just as the night of St. John is six months before, the time that Jesus of Nazareth and John of Ain Karim the Baptist; the night of June 24-25, when the Sun is the absolute victor over darkness: the summer solstice).

Currently in the Neopagan culture, this celebration has been rebuilt in many different groups, as in the case of the Ásatrú Religion with twelve days of celebrations; and the Wicca Religion, which some apply a way to celebrate these holidays through eight solar holidays, commonly called Sabbats of the annual wheel. The Yule festivities are celebrated in the winter solstice: in the northern hemisphere, around December 21, and in the southern hemisphere, around June 21.

Yule and Yuletide, like the Yalda Festival (an Iranian winter holiday), are archaic Indo-European terms used to refer to the ancient tradition that observes the natural changes caused by the rotation of the earth around the sun and its effects on the harvest food during the winter solstice. In the celebration of Yuletide, as in that one, it is customary to sing songs to provide a relaxed atmosphere.

People who are not familiar with Norse mythology and European paganism simply would not know how to distinguish between the words Yule (Joul), Christmas and the Nativity, which in some sense are synonymous and at the same time antonyms. This use or term still survives in many Christmas songs or Christmas carols, as well as in the making of a cake or cake called Yule log or Christmas log, in direct reference to a ritual trunk of this ancestral holiday.

The word yule still exists in some Scottish dialect, with the term Júl in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and with the term joulu in Finland. At present, the holiday period from Christmas Eve until after the first day of the year or, especially in England, until Kings Day is usually considered.

Rituals related to Yule:

Light the log of Yule, from the log of the previous year, and burn it for 12 hours. It is the version inside the bonfire of Litha. Then the ashes were scattered across the fields to make them fertile.

Decorate the houses with mistletoe, for being the one that grows in the oak.

Maintain a night vigil to wait for the sun.

Turn off all lights and turn them on one by one by rubbing.

Leave a candle burning in the window.

Going from wassail through the town, which was, in current language, asking for the bonus.

Hang wooden figures on the door of the house like the Yule Goat.

Beginning of the winter solstice December 21 until January 1, being 12 days of celebration. The solstice symbolized the end of darkness and the arrival of light, the triumph of life over death. As every great holiday began with a great Blot, or ceremony with sacrifices to all the gods.

One of the traditions of this holiday was to put in the houses a fir tree, which symbolized the sacred Yggdrasil. The great ash tree whose branches hung the 9 worlds, including Midgard, or the land of men, houses were decorated with mistletoe or holly, as it also symbolized the tree.

Source: Celts and Vikings