Tarot of the Twin Sun

Before you pull out the sword, make sure to come from a place of peace.

An image of a chain pump in a work of Ismail al-Jazari from 1206 depicts a Möbius strip configuration for its drive chain. Chain pump with a Möbius drive chain, by Ismail al-Jazari (1206).

Green flash on a Fata Morgana

Have you ever seen a green flash? ❇️

This features a peculiar flash of green just above a sunset at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile. Known as a green flash, they are an elusive meteorological phenomenon due to the refraction of sunlight in Earth’s atmosphere. However, there is another optical trick at play: the closer you look, the more you will notice a distinct layering. This is a Fata Morgana mirage taking place concurrently, displaying several green flashes stacked on top of each other.

Showcased as NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) on 28 March 2023, this rare image was craftily captured by two photographers from the recent National Science Foundation (NSF)’s NOIRLab 2022 Photo Expedition.

https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2313a/
Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Slovinský & P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava) Petr Horálek Photography

لو صحبك عسل متلحسهوش كله

"If your friend is honey, don't lick it all"

إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ,

The lion was said by the ancients to erase his footprints with his tail.

De Coelesti Hierarchia

modicum, n.

Pronunciation: Brit. Hear pronunciation/ˈmɒdᵻkəm/, U.S. pronunciation/ˈmɑdəkəm/
Forms: late Middle English– modicum, 1600s moddicom, 1600s moddicome, 1600s modicom...
Frequency (in current use): Show frequency band information
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin modicum.
Etymology: < classical Latin modicum...
1. A small quantity or portion; a moderate or limited amount. (Often modified by little, small, tiny.)

a. Of food, drink, or the like.
In quot. 1609 apparently a slang term for: something eaten in order to stimulate thirst.
c1400 (▸c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xviii. 215 For til modicum mete with vs..Wote no wiȝte..what is ynough to mene.
▸ ?a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Two Mice l. 236 in Poems (1981) 13 Ane modicum is mair ffor till allow, Swa that gude will be kerver at the dais, Than thrawin vult and mony spycit mais.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 336v As the mercatemenne..dooe bryng out a litle modicum of wheate..in a treen dishe for a saumple.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 15 Age seeketh rather a Modicum for sustenaunce, then feastes for surfets.
1605 R. Armin Foole vpon Foole (new ed.) sig. D2 There was no boote to bid runne for drams to driue downe this vndisgested moddicome.
1609 T. Dekker Guls Horne-bk. sig. B2v Lay open all thy secrets & ye mystical Hierogliphick of Rashers ath coales, Modicums & Shooing hornes.
a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) i. 74 Eat it up all, or not a whit, for a Modicum will Gripe the Belly.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Treacle Drink a small Modicum of good Wine upon it.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxviii. 193 ‘Well, Tom,’ said Ben, after he had finished the small modicum of beer left him by my father.
1859 A. Trollope West Indies (1860) iii. 42 With the cup of coffee comes a small modicum of dry toast.
1875 H. C. Wood Treat. Therapeutics (1879) 306 It is probable that but a modicum of the poison was absorbed.
1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist (U.K. ed.) ii. 28 The tiny modicum of water produced by breathing-combustion is..circulated round and round inside the powder-post beetles.
1992 B. Unsworth Sacred Hunger # # . 309 What I generally have at this time of afternoon..is a syllabub of cream and thin cider, sweetened with a modicum of honey.


b. Of money or other property.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. D3 v Whether it is better liuing contentedly with thy modicum, augmenting it with industry, or sette all on sice sinke, whether thou shalt haue thine owne or nothinge, iudge you.
1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest W***e i. ii. 22 Theres alittle modicum more porter for making thee stay.
1628 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 3) ii. iii. v. 316 As Alcumists spend that small modicum they haue to get gold.
1647 W. Lilly Christian Astrol. cl # # . 784 It may also import some parcell of Land or acquisition of some modicum by the decease of a Kinsman.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) i. iii. §123. 203 Upon Search of his Pockets, there was found his ordinary Modicum of Guineas.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. viii. 181 St. Paul hath taught me to be content with the little I have. Had the Modicum been less, I should have known my Duty. View more context for this quotation
1875 A. Maclaren Serm. 2nd Ser. i. 14 A true, lofty life may be lived with a very small modicum.
1990 Amer. Rifleman Feb. 61/1 Those DCM juniors we select can expect a travel allowance from their home to Fort Benning and back, housing and a modicum of spending money for meals.

c. gen. (chiefly of immaterial things).
1606 S. Hieron Truths Purchase in Wks. (1620) I. 59 So you must euen giue all, euen for one little modicum of hearty obedience to the truth.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida ii. i. 70 What modicums of wit he vtters. View more context for this quotation
1620 T. Venner Via Recta vii. 115 They are also cooling, notwithstanding the modicum of heate in them.
1676 J. Evelyn Philos. Disc. Earth 30 Such [Earth] as having a modicum of Loam naturally rising with it, to entertain the moisture, does neither defile the Fingers, nor cleave much to the Spade.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 212 Though nature weigh our talents, and dispense To ev'ry man his modicum of sense.
1836 Tait's Edinb. Mag. June 390a Though of a frush temper, he had a modicum of honesty about him.
1859 J. Bright Speeches 7 And no law can pass, not the smallest modicum of freedom or of justice come to you.
1878 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) III. xix. 371 The monastic and other schools placed some modicum of learning within reach of all.
1924 A. J. Small Frozen Gold xiii. 288 With a modicum of luck they might even be able to record every claim they had pegged—and then get rid of them at throw-away prices.
1951 Sport 27 Apr. 10/2 I expect that the club legislators will approach this question with a modicum of caution.
1988 Pract. Photogr. Mar. 15/1 Pictures taken with just a modicum of imagination.


†2. humorous. A person of small stature. Occasionally derogatory: a young woman (cf. piece n. 9b, bit n.2 7). Obsolete.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. B (init.) I haue culled out for him..a daintier bit or modicome then any lay vpon his trencher at dinner.
1623 P. Massinger Duke of Millaine ii. i. sig. E1v Marc. Where are you? You Modicum, you Dwarfe. Mari. Here, Giantesse, here.
1632 J. Shirley Changes v. 65 Heaven blesse your worship, and the sweet fac'd modicum in your company.

†3. slang. The female genitalia. Obsolete.
1660 Pract. Part of Love 67 There was no medium nor modicum like that between Helena's legs if good parts and..fine words could but rime to C***y.
1700 E. Ward Dancing School 3 Charming Bubbies, Plump Hips, Soft Bellies, Condescending Mo-Mo-Modicums.
1712 E. Ward Merry Observations in Misc. Writings III. 105 A Dutch-Woman, were she in England, would be glad, six Weeks before the time, to keep a Stove under her Petticoats, to keep her Modicum from freezing.
1732 Spiritual Fornication 21 Her Bum He kiss'd, and eke her modicum.

cœnobite | cenobite, n.

Pronunciation: Hear pronunciation/ˈsiːnəʊbʌɪt/Hear pronunciation/ˈsɛnəʊbʌɪt/

Frequency (in current use): Show frequency band information
Etymology: < late Latin coenobīta, < coenobium; see below. Compare French cénobite... (Show More)

A member of a religious order living in a community; opposed to an anchoret, who lives in solitude.

a1638 J. Mede Wks. (1672) iii. 688 Cœnobites which live in society.
1776–88 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall # # . (R.) The monks were divided into two classes: the cœnobites..and the anachorets.
1841 M. Elphinstone Hist. India I. ii. i. 109 The progress from single monks to cenobites.
1856 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine i. i. 50 The anchorites and cœnobites were drawn by the sight of these wild mountains.
attributive.
1819 Q. Rev. 22 63 The coenobite, it was argued, was preferable to the solitary life.
1876 C. M. Davies Unorthodox London (rev. ed.) 156 The cœnobite brethren.

supermundane, adj.

Pronunciation: Brit. Hear pronunciation/ˌsuːpəmʌnˈdeɪn/, Hear pronunciation/ˌsjuːpəmʌnˈdeɪn/, U.S. Hear pronunciation/ˈˌsupərˌmənˈˌdeɪn/
Frequency (in current use): Show frequency band information
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin supermundanus.
Etymology: < post-classical Latin supermundanus above the world, heavenly (6th cent.) < super- ...
1.

a. Of or relating to a region above or beyond the earthly world; otherworldly, divine. Also: above or superior to worldly affairs.
1623 S. Purchas Kings Towre 44 How then could they know that third Kingdome and World, meerely supernaturall, and supermundane?
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 546 The Platonists..had..several Distinctions amongst them concerning their Gods, as between..The Supermundane and the Mundane Gods.
1756 J. Penn Var. Tracts 263 A certain supermundane Soul, which was..the Opificer and Creator of the World.
1788 T. Taylor tr. Proclus Philos. & Math. Comm. I. 159 In a distribution of mundane and super-mundane figures, you will always find that the circle is of a diviner nature.
1818 T. Jefferson Writings (1830) IV. 309 Perhaps, in that super-mundane region, we may be amused with seeing the fallacy of our own guesses.
1855 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity VI. xiv. ii. 405 The triple and novene division ran throughout, and connected,..almost identified the mundane and supermundane Church.
1903 H. B. Swete Stud. Teaching Our Lord v. 144 Life in a Divine Kingdom must have a supermundane source.
1938 J. C. Powys Enjoyment of Lit. xviii. 436 Mindless and meaningless Chance..became..a supermundane Mischief, that with an ironic and goblinish malice persecutes the luckless children of its wanton creation.
2001 Econ. & Polit. Weekly 7 July 2556/2 Final causes and ultimate ends determined by a super-mundane power and accessible only to some through the grace of god.

b. In humorous or ironic use. Fanciful, fantastic, chimerical.
1851 Morning Chron. 17 July 4/3 Lord Chief Justice Campbell has mounted from the very utilitarian inquiry, ‘Shall we keep the Crystal Palace?’ to the most exalted and supermundane speculations in casuistry.
1878 N. Amer. Rev. May 489 According to this super-mundane argument, the rule of the Southern States was justly given over to the armed minority.
1919 Bakersfield Californian 30 Apr. ii. 6/3 He calls her [sc. England] a ‘usurper’, a ‘tyrant’... If this is not villifying a nation, then I lack the mental capacity to comprehend such supermundane logic.
1996 Computer Weekly 3 Oct. 6/1 I have long suspected that the most efficient district council is one that doesn't exist, or at least exists in a minimal form... Sadly, no council has reached such an economically-advanced state, though there are some that seem to have this as their supermundane goal.

†2. Situated or occurring above the ground or earth. Obsolete.
1833 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 21 Mar. The buoyant, yet hard frozen atoms of snow were suddenly converted into a moving and irresistible super-mundane torrent.
1867 North Amer. & U.S. Gaz. (Philadelphia) 14 May An aerial railroad is the latest suggestion..travellers and merchants will as readily exchange from the mundane cars to the supermundane as they did from the old stages to steam cars.
1883 P. Schaff et al. Relig. Encycl. II. 950 Heaven is in this case [i.e. Genesis 8:20] supermundane..distinct from the earth.

Shortlist solstice research!

Raouche in the 70s

Protective script and lion sigil

Trust in Allah
but tie your camel

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220630-the-norwegian-library-with-unreadable-books

The Norwegian library with unreadable books Some of the world's most celebrated authors have written manuscripts that won't be published for a century – why? Richard Fisher visits the Future Library in Oslo to find out.

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_vril07.htm

The Black Sun and The Vril Society

Contiscecant humanae voces, requiescant humanae cogitaniones; ad incomprehensible a non se extendant quasi comprehensuri, sed tamquam participaturi; participles enim erimus.

Let human voices keep silent, let human thoughts take their rest; they reach out to incomprehensible things not as if they could take them in their grasp, but only to share in them; and share in them we shall.

An excerpt on the Word Made Flesh

Teacher: In making these requests you seem to me to have painted a picture of an expert on the authors who, having a first-rate knowledge of the secular disciplines, is wont to use the key of knowledge to open the door to those who knock; a man whose lively memory never lets the most insignificant fact elude it, when he has to sort out great truths in terms of place, time and person. But all these powers are quite foreign to my intelligence. For I have no 'faculties trained by practice' to give solid food, but only a little milk to nourish the very young. Besides, when you lay upon me the task of expounding secular literature you forget the words of the prophet.

Pupil: What did he say?

Teacher: 'The Lord has destroyed the tongue of the sea of Egypt.' The tongue of the sea of Egypt represents the teachings of worldly knowledge, which is hardly ever, or perhaps not at all, without the obscurity which derives from sin or wordly vanity. The word made flesh has destroyed this because, once the mysteries of the scriptures had been opened up by the key of the divine wisdom, the vanity of worldy knowledge fell silent. Why, therefore, do you seek from me knowledge which may be pardoned in the pupil, but earns censure as a blemish in the character of the teacher?

Conrad of Hirsau

https://rubedo.press/propaganda/2020/12/22/saturn-and-the-age-of-gold?fbclid=IwAR3Ub5dtcyKXVuie_XBPUT-DKf3XUMlInIWC_d3bx2H4yOgV2-g6o2HD4Hk

On Saturn and the Age of Gold | Rubedo Press In the midst of winter, I finally realised that within me lies an invincible summer . —Albert Camus

Between 1952 and 1953, primatologists conducted a behavioral study of a troop of Macaca fuscata (Japanese monkeys) on the island of Kōjima. The researchers would supply these troops with such foods as sweet potatoes and wheat in open areas, often on beaches. An unanticipated byproduct of the study was that the scientists witnessed several innovative evolutionary behavioral changes by the troop, two of which were orchestrated by one young female, and the others by her sibling or contemporaries. The account of only one of these behavioral changes spread into a phenomenon (i.e., the 'hundredth monkey effect'), which Watson would then loosely publish as a story.

According to Watson, the scientists observed that some of the monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, initially through an 18-month-old female member (named "Imo" by the researchers) of the troop in 1953. Imo discovered that sand and grit could be removed from the potatoes by washing them in a stream or in the ocean. Gradually, this new potato-washing habit spread through the troop—in the usual fashion, through observation and repetition. (Unlike most food customs, this behavior was learned by the older generation of monkeys from younger ones.)

This behavior spread up until 1958, according to Watson, when a sort of group consciousness had suddenly developed among the monkeys, as a result of one last monkey learning potato washing by conventional means (rather than the one-monkey-at-a-time method prior). Watson concluded that the researchers observed that, once a critical number of monkeys was reached—i.e., the hundredth monkey—this previously learned behavior instantly spread across the water to monkeys on nearby islands.

Watson first published the story in a foreword to Lawrence Blair's Rhythms of Vision (1975); the story then spread with the appearance of Watson's 1979 book Lifetide: The Biology of the Unconscious.

The Cosmic Turtle and Mount Meru

The guru–shishya tradition, or parampara ("lineage"), denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Vedic culture and religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism (Tibetan and Zen tradition). Each parampara belongs to a specific sampradaya, and may have its own akharas and gurukulas. It is the tradition of spiritual relationship and mentoring where teachings are transmitted from a guru "teacher" (Sanskrit: गुरु) to a śiṣya "disciple" (Sanskrit: शिष्य) or chela(Hinduism)|agamic]], architectural, musical or spiritual, is imparted through the developing relationship between the guru and the disciple. It is considered that this relationship, based on the genuineness of the guru, and the respect which is not based on age or how old one looks, commitment, devotion and obedience of the student, is the best way for subtle or advanced knowledge to be conveyed. The student eventually masters the knowledge that the guru embodies.

Guru Purnima (Poornima) is a tradition dedicated to all the spiritual and academic Gurus, who are evolved or enlightened humans, ready to share their wisdom with no monetary expectation, based on Karma Yoga. It is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists. This festival is traditionally observed to honour one's chosen spiritual teachers or leaders. It is observed on the full moon day (Purnima) in the Hindu month of Ashadha (June–July) as it is known in the Hindu calendar. The festival was revived by Mahatma Gandhi to pay tribute to his spiritual guru, Shrimad Rajchandra. It is also known as Vyasa Purnima for it marks the birthday of Veda Vyasa, the sage who authored the Mahabharata and compiled the Vedas.

Darkness and light
गुशब्दस्त्वन्धकारः स्यात्‌ रुशब्दस्तन्निरोधकः।
अन्धकारनिरोधित्वात्‌ गुरुरित्यभिधीयते॥ १६॥

The syllable gu means darkness, the syllable ru, he who dispels them,
Because of the power to dispel darkness, the guru is thus named.

— Advayataraka Upanishad, Verse 16

Shastra (शास्त्र, IAST: Śāstra, IPA: [ʃaːst̪rə]) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense. The word is generally used as a suffix in the Indian literature context, for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice.

Shastra has a similar meaning to English -logy, e.g. ecology, psychology, meaning scientific and basic knowledge on particular subject. Examples in terms of modern neologisms include:

bhautikashastra "physics",
rasaayanashastra "chemistry",
jīvashāstra "biology",
vaastushastra "architectural science",
shilpashastra "science of mechanical arts and sculpture",
arthashastra "science of politics and economics" and
nitishastra "compendium of ethics or right policy".

In Western literature, Shastra is sometimes spelled as Sastra, reflecting a misunderstanding of the IAST symbol ‘ś’, which corresponds to the English ‘sh’.

According to Jain cosmology, Mount Meru (or Sumeru) is at the centre of the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, in form of a circle forming a diameter of 100,000 yojans. There are two sets of sun, moon and stars revolving around Mount Meru; while one set works, the other set rests behind Mount Meru.

The 24th and last Tirthankara, Lord Mahāvīra, was taken to the summit of Meru by Indra shortly after his birth, after putting his mother Queen Trishala into deep slumber. There, he was bathed and anointed with precious unctions. Indra and other Devas celebrated his birth.

Puruṣārtha (Sanskrit: पुरुषार्थ) literally means an "object of human pursuit". It is a key concept in Hinduism, and refers to the four proper goals or aims of a human life. The four puruṣārthas are Dharma (righteousness, moral values), Artha (prosperity, economic values), K**a (pleasure, love, psychological values) and Moksha (liberation, spiritual values).

All four Purusarthas are important, but in cases of conflict, Dharma is considered more important than Artha or K**a in Hindu philosophy. Moksha is considered the ultimate ideal of human life. At the same time, this is not a consensus among all Hindus, and many have different interpretations of the hierarchy, and even as to whether one should exist.

Historical Indian scholars recognized and debated the inherent tension between active pursuit of wealth (Artha) and pleasure (K**a), and renunciation of all wealth and pleasure for the sake of spiritual liberation (Moksha). They proposed "action with renunciation" or "craving-free, dharma-driven action", also called Nishkam Karma as a possible solution to the tension.

Ekapada refers to a one-footed aspect of the Hindu god Shiva. This aspect is primarily found in South India and Orissa, but also occasionally in Rajasthan and Nepal. The Ekapada is primarily represented in three iconographical forms. In the Ekapada-murti ("one-footed icon") form, he is depicted as one-legged and four-armed. In the Ekapada-Trimurti ("one-footed Trinity") form, he is depicted with the torsos of the deities Vishnu and Brahma, which together with Shiva form the Hindu Trinity (Trimurti) emanating from his sides, waist upwards and with one leg; however, sometimes, besides the central one leg of Shiva, two smaller legs of Vishnu and Brahma emerge from the sides. While some scriptures also call the latter configuration Ekapada-Trimurti, some refer it to as Tripada-Trimurti ("three-footed Trinity"). In Orissa, where Ekapada is considered an aspect of Bhairava—the fearsome aspect of Shiva—the iconography of Ekapada-murti becomes more fierce, with motifs of blood sacrifice. This aspect is called Ekapada Bhairava ("one-footed Bhairava" or "the one-footed fierce one").

The Ekapada form of Shiva originated from the Vedic deity Aja Ekapada or Ajaikapada, a name that Ekapada Bhairava still inherits. Ekapada represents the Axis Mundi (cosmic pillar of the universe) and portrays Shiva as the Supreme Lord, from whom Vishnu and Brahma originate. Ekapada is often accompanied by ascetic attendants, whose presence emphasizes his connection to severe penance.

Interesting take of Atlantean proportion