Earth Goddess

The history of the worship of "earth goddess" and the mythology related to it can be seen in many forms in many of the ancient tribes and societies. Some of the examples are the Aztecs who worshiped goddess Tlalteuctli, the Greeks who worshiped Goddess Demeter and the ancient tribes of the northern Germany who worshiped the Germanic tribal goddess Ertha. These are just few examples to name but the worship of earth goddess was a prominent phenomenon in most of the ancient societies. These societies strongly believed in the universal truth of nature's supreme power. They respected "Mother Nature" and believed in the principle of living in sync with the nature. Another aspect of the goddess worship was seen in the form of the "triple goddess" phenomenon which was again a very widespread belief across the world and is strongly seen in various forms in numerous societies even today. The triple goddess represents the feminine force behind nature and the life itself.

Earth Goddess: Native American Legends of the Aztec

The Native American legends of Aztec speak about the creation of earth from the earth goddess Tlalteuctli. As per the legends the creative force representing the bright and dark aspects of creation brings goddess Tlalteuctli down from the high and her one half with shoulder becomes the earth. Further she is assigned the power of creation of all things on earth. From her hair come the trees, flowers and grass; from her skin, very fine grass and tiny flowers; from her eyes, wells and fountains, and small caves; from her mouth, rivers and large caves; from her nose, valleys and mountains; from her shoulders, mountains. She is a goddess who also demands sacrifice in the form of human heart for all her creative activities. She wails in the night if she does not get her traditional offerings and does not bear fruits until her demands are met.

Earth Goddess: Demeter the Greek earth goddess par excellence

The earth goddess of the Greek is called as Demeter. She is the one who is the goddess of planned society and she is also identified as the fertility goddess. She is also linked to other prominent fertility goddesses of the Greek that is Rhea and Gaia. She is the mother of Persephone and when Persephone was abducted by the lord of the underworld "Hades", Demeter roamed in search of Persephone. This was the time when the earth became barren and did not bear any grain. Later though Persephone was united with her mother Demeter, she would spend a third of a year with her husband Hades in the underworld. The remaining time Persephone comes back and is united with her mother Demeter. During the time of unification Demeter lets things grow and this is identified with the summer season. The dying and blossoming of nature is thus connected with Goddess Demeter. Further Demeter is the goddess who taught humanity the art of sowing and ploughing the earth for cultivation of grains. By this Demeter had laid the foundation for a planned society for humanity rather than the nomadic existence that they were living till then. She was worshiped also as the auspicious goddess of marriage and in Demeter's honor as a goddess of marriage, women in Athens, and other centers in Greece, celebrated the feast of Thesmophoria. In ancient art, Demeter was often portrayed sitting as a solemn woman, often wearing a wreath of braided ears of corn. Well-known is the statue made by Knidos from mid forth century BCE. Her usual symbolic attributes are the fruits of the earth and the torch, the latter presumably referring to her search for Persephone. Her sacred animals were the snake an earth creature and the pig another symbol of fertility. The Romans equated her with the goddess Ceres.

Earth Goddess: Ertha, the Germanic Earth Goddess

On the lines of the earth goddess of other societies, tribes and sects the north German tribes venerated Ertha, the Germanic earth goddess. These tribes would unite in a particular time of the year in celebration and worship of Ertha or mother earth. It was believed that during this particular time of the year the goddess would visit the mortal world of their different nations in her chariot. For her visits an unviolated sacred grove would be ready in the ocean sands and a priest would play host to the visiting goddess. The priest would wait near the chariot and the goddess would rest in the groove undisturbed. From here the goddess would take a trip and visit all the places where she was worshiped and venerated. This becomes a season of joy and festivity among the tribes as everybody would wait for the goddess visit. During this particular period there would be a universal ceasefire to all the hostilities among the tribes or with the outsiders and no hostile weapon would be taken up. As the festive season would near the end the same priest would make preparations for the return journey of the goddess to her other worldly aboard. These preparations included necessary sacrifices. Finally the goddess leaves for her abode through a secret lake and the ritual is performed with the help of slaves who are also believed to be consumed by the lake as human sacrifices. The belief was that if the Goddess returned happy after her sojourn she would ensure a bountiful season for the next one year.

Earth Goddess: The triple goddess

The worship of the triple goddess has been seen in various societies from the ancient to the modern times. Various cultural mythologies across the world celebrate the existence of the triple goddess. Examples of the triple goddess are the three Norms of the Norse, the Moria and Erinnyes of the Greek mythologies, the goddess of sovereignty of the Irish myth namely Bandha, Eriu and Fodha, the great Goddess of Hinduism the Mahadevi and her three manifestations Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali. The other prominent example is the three goddess of modern paganism corresponding to the three of the four phases of the moon namely the youthful Virgin or Maiden Goddess representing the waxing moon, the mother goddess the full moon and the Crone or Hag representing the waning phase of the moon. The Greek Goddess Artemis is often perceived as the Virginal huntress who is associated with the Waxing Moon, and who rules the Earth. Selene is the Mother aspect of the Goddess who is associated with the Full Moon and who rules the sky. Finally completing the triplicity is Hecate, the Crone, who is associated with the Waning and Dark Moon, and rules the Underworld.

It is interesting to note that when these "three Greek Goddess" are mentioned in this manner, they are not only perceived as Lunar Goddess but also the ruler of the three worlds- the Heavens, Earth and the Underworld. This aspect of representing the heavens, earth and underworld is also seen by the portrayal of Diana, Luna and Persephone. In modern Paganism, one reason for the possible popularity of the Triple Goddess is that she represents all aspects of the female life cycle. The Triple Goddess is often depicted as sexual, fertile and as a mother. The problem of the mainstream western thinking is the dissociation of the sexual aspect and the role as the mother. This can be seen in the closest Western equivalent to the Goddess, that of the Virgin Mary of the Catholic Church. This leads to great confusion as the natural process of sexuality and fertility are disconnected from the process of motherhood. This kind of denigration of the life forces and suppression of sexuality and fertility can be physically and psychologically damaging for both women and men.

Earth Goddess: The "virgin aspect" of the triple goddess

In fact the real problem has been the misinterpretation of the original meaning of the word "virgin". The real meaning of "virgin" has been grossly manipulated to suit vested interests. In the original sense "the virgin" when attached to the goddess referred to a "sense of not being owned" and it depicted independent minded goddesses who were necessarily not attached to a consort. It is this original meaning that was "really meant" in reference to the Virgin Goddess of the ancient societies and cultures. But later the concept of virginity was linked to sexual chastity and this connotation completely denigrated the bodily manifestation of sexuality and fertility which is so much part of our "being" and which was so much venerated in the ancient societies for its creative and generative powers. We need to understand that without nature's intervention nothing can manifest in this universe and sexuality and fertility is the prominent way of propagating "nature's purpose" in the living. The "goddess cult" of the ancient world had actually recognized the power of nature's creative and generative forces in the form of sexuality and fertility and it is heartening to see a rekindling of these forces in the modern times.

Earth Goddess: The "mother aspect" of the triple goddess

When we move from the "virgin aspect" to the "mother aspect" of the triple goddess we need to recognize that without sexuality we cannot have fertility and without fertility there is no question of motherhood. The Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess is represented by the Full Moon or the Earth. Often this aspect of the goddess is seen as Gaea the Earth and is thought of as the great mother and the divine feminine who had given birth to us, who nourishes and sustains us and in whom we finally find our rest and rebirth. The mother aspect of the goddess celebrates the "sexuality and fertility" of the Mother Nature. The irony of the whole situation is that the "virgin aspect" of the triple goddess was distorted by the Christian Church in the past and the "sexual and fertile mother aspect of the great goddess" was totally suppressed by the Christian Church in the medieval times. For the early Christian church it was very difficult to reconcile with a female goddess who was "sexual and fertile" and who was the reason for the birth of everything in the universe.

On the other hand the good news is that though the manifestation of the goddess celebrating her sexuality, fertility and motherhood was suppressed in the Christian period it persisted throughout the medieval times amongst scholars and others who were still orientated to the ways of ancient Paganism. The persistence of a few in the past has today become a widespread movement which espouses the creative and generative powers of the nature.

Earth Goddess: English herbal of the 12th century

The proof of the existence and veneration of the "sexual and fertile" form of mother goddess even in the highly suppressed conditions of the past can be seen in the a 12th century English herbal whose hymns worship and praise the "mother goddess" with the following sentiments.

"Goddess is divine, she is earth and she is the all prevailing Mother Nature. She is the generator of everything including the sun, moon and the universe. She is the guardian of the sky, sea and all Gods and their powers. The mother goddess controls all the manifestations of the nature including the sleep, the rising, the birth, the nurturing and the death. The human spirit came from her and will go back to her. Without the great mother goddess no power can manifest and no god can exist. She is the queen of all gods and all mortals. Her name has to be evoked and she has to be thanked for the splendour of her manifestations. She is the supreme primordial goddess who existed before existence and who shall exist even after the end of existence. Nothing can escape her will and her way. "

The actual 12th century English herbal which is hymned in praise of the Goddess goes like this...

Earth, Divine Goddess, Mother Nature,
Who dost generate all things
And bringest forth ever anew the Sun
Which Thou hast given to the nation;
Guardian of sky and sea and of all Gods and powers;
Through thy influence all Nature is hushed and sinks to sleep
Again, when it pleases Thee,
Thou sendest forth the glad daylight
And nurturest life with Thine eternal surety;
And when the spirit of humankind passes,
To Thee it returns.
Thou indeed art rightly named Great Mother of the Gods;
Victory is Thy Divine name.
Thou art the source of the strength of peoples and Gods;
Without Thee nothing can either be born or made perfect;
Thou art mighty, Queen of the Gods.
Goddess, I adore Thee as Divine,
I invoke Thy name;
Vouchsafe to grant that which I ask of Three,
So shall I in return give thank to Thy Godhead,
With the faith that is Thy due.

Earth Goddess: The "last aspect" of the triple goddess

The last aspect of the triple Goddess is the Wise Woman, the Crone or Hag, who is the keeper of the Mysteries. The Crone Goddess symbolises our own inner wisdom, but also the elders who, in a tribal society, were the living repositories of the history and lore of that tribe. Their role was essential to the successful functioning of society and age had an honoured place.

Earth Goddess: The wisdom of the Crone

In fact the wisdom of the Crone or Hag says that we should not look at the manifestations of triple goddess with the age prescribed gender roles of the society. It was never meant to be that way. Nature is dynamic and nature's manifestations cannot be tied in a prescribed order. The triple manifestations of the goddess exist in the outer universe as well as in our inner universe in the conscious, the subconscious and the superconscious mind. Which form will manifest in us and when it will manifest cannot be decided by manmade rules. It's nature's interplay and our choices made through awakening which decides our transition through the different manifestations or aspects of the goddess. One common error that people often tend to make when first coming across the triple goddess is relating human years to the various aspects. This is absolutely wrong. While the Virgin aspect of the goddess is depicted as a youthful young woman, it does not mean that someone of a more mature age cannot associate with this youthfulness. Similarly it is not necessary that you have to be an old women by age to gain the wisdom of the crone. The truth is that the different aspects of the triple goddess can be experienced "at whatever age we are" provided we genuinely put efforts to translate the manifestations into our lives.

Earth Goddess: Back to nature with the goddess cult

The goddess cult in the form of nature's manifestations has seen a great revival in the modern times. The concepts of earth goddess, mother goddess and the triple goddess are actually helping us to understand the universal truth that how we are in fact connected to nature. The earth goddess and mother goddess manifestation makes us aware about the absolute power of nature. Further through the phases of the Moon and the cycles of our own lives depicted by birth, growth and death we can see the three distinct aspects of the great goddess in our own life. To know the great goddess in these different ways allows us a deeper insight into the divine feminine as a whole and helps us to become aware of our life's purpose. We may look into her many faces and identify the messages for us in those manifestations and in this way we just get connected to the will and way of mother nature with a absolute awareness of the universal truth and a free choice to follow that universal truth.

Earth Goddess: Paganism and the Earth Goddess

Further to understand the earth goddess phenomenon and mother goddess worship we need to look in detail the following topics related to Paganism and its revival in today's world.

1. Paganism redefined
2. The earth goddess
3. Polytheism
4. Paganism and the Transpersonal Soul
5. The Gaia Hypothesis and the Mother Goddess

For free information and advice on topics and issues related to women, visit http://www.rise-of-womanhood.org

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Somewhere we have to make a beginning and it's always better if we make the initiation at our own self. We can strengthen this mass movement for the "rise of womanhood" by bringing about the necessary changes in our own life as felt by our inner self. Further we can transmit the new thinking to others who care to listen. A small step today will definitely lead to a giant leap tomorrow.

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In cultures throughout human history people have believed that some part of themselves continued to exist after they died. Part of that belief is that living can influence what happens to the dead in the afterlife, and the dead can return from the afterlife to affect the living. Death Gods: An Encyclopedia of the Rulers, Evil Spirits, and Geographies of the Dead describes the many ways the afterlife—especially that part of the afterlife commonly known as Hell—has been characterized in myths from around the world. The hundreds of entries provide readers with a guide to the afterlife as portrayed in these myths - its geography, its rulers, its inhabitants, how they got there, and what happens after their arrival. While the Devil is a prominent resident and ruler of the afterworld in many religions, especially Christianity, this book examines many other versions of Hell whether presided over by the Devil, Hades, or one of the many other rulers of the dead.

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In this extraordinary two-part study—first presented as lectures at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich—Edgar Herzog exhumes from fairytale and folklore macabre variations of the archaic Death Image. Death is revealed in its original form in the guise of an animal: as Wolf, Horse, Dog, Snake, or Bird. Today Death takes similar forms, appearing to the human consciousness mainly through dreams. Herzog then focuses on the dreams of patients in psychotherapy and glosses those dreams with remarkable interpretations that link their persons, scenes, and drama to the symbolic images and rites of the ancient past.

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The Abduction of Persephone // Hades + [ Jasmin ]

JASMIN = PERSEPHONE. K good. I do not own these movies or this song. The movies are Aladdin and Hercules, both copyrighted to Disney. The song is Spooky by Imogen Heap. Mkauh! So this vid is based of the Greek Myth of the abdction of the Greek goddess Persephone, by Hades. x 3 PLOT: She sees him from balcony on mount Olympus, as he came to talk to Zeus, but instead he sees her, and falls in love. But being Hades, living in the underworld surrounded by dead people, she tries to be uninterested, but has difficulty because she can't help his charm. And also Greek gods are eternally horny. xD Hades convinces her to join him for the evening, and during dinner, he gives her a fruit with twelve seeds inside, one for each month of the year. She eats half of it before realising what she's eating, and eats six of the seeds. In doing so she must spend six months out of every year with hades in the underworld. So, you know. Oh crap for Perseophone. xD In the real version of the story Persephone's mother Demeter, the goddess of harvest, was crushed by the six months away from her daughter, so the six months Persephone was away, nothing would grow, aka. winter. :D It's one of my favorite stories, if you haven't heard it, you should definitely look it up.^ ^ But yuuh. Comment, like? And enjoyye. ^ ^

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This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of Religion, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses. The length of the article is 3312 words. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. The second edition of this highly regarded encyclopedia, preserving the best of the first edition's cross-cultural approach, while emphasizing religion's role within everyday life and as a unique experience from culture to culture, this new edition is the definitive work in the field for the 21st century. An international team of scholars and contributors have reviewed, revised and added to every word of the classic work, making it relevant to the questions and interests of all researchers.

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Ghosts, Authentic or Mystical: A Review

Ghost is an expression adequate to make anybody plug up with a manifestation of fear. Many inhabitants often have live encounters with them and whenever they commit to their memories about their experience with ghosts they quiver in terror. Diverse group of people have unusual viewpoints about ghosts. If we spotlight on the customary views, a ghost is typically outlined as a spirit or soul or a person or animal that is departed and can also materialize in the perceptible form or may bear resemblance to any living thing. The depictions of ghosts vary extensively ranging from translucent to visible shadows or even facade of any living individual. Many persons in the past or even today crack to ascertain touch with the spirit of a deceased individual and these intentional efforts are elected as necromancy. Literature throws light on many such shots for instance, the funeral rites, exorcisms and certain practices of spiritualism and ritual magic are the customs to make contact with the souls of dead.

Ghosts are normally pain staked to reside in meticulous settings and are allied with fussy stuffs and such spots share the group of haunted. These haunted buildings or haunted houses are themselves enough to startle anyone. The paranormal activities going inside such haunted places are commonly coupled with some tragedies like murder, suicide or any other violent actions. It is also promising that all such places may not allocate category of haunted. Many religions and cultures also believe that the souls prolong to exist forevermore in the haunted places.

The English word ghost is whispered to have advanced from the Old English word gast which in general is thought to have progressed from the Common Germanic theoretical word gaistaz. Apart from being used for epitomizing the spirits, the word gast is also used as a synonym for a Latin word spiritus meaning blast. Gast can be used to specify the souls of good and the evil. In Holy Bible the word gast is used to signify the demonic possession especially in the gospel of Matthew 12:43. During the Old English period this word was used to designate the spirit of God as Holy Ghost. The Dutch synonym spook has penetrated the English language of United States during the nineteenth century. The word shade portrays spirits of the underworld in the ancient Greek mythology. Haint is a synonym used for ghost in the regional language of the southern United States and haint tale is a regular attribute coupled with their literature and traditions. A German word poltergeist is often used for a spirit which bears the supremacy of swaying objects as well as screening its indiscernible charisma by movements. The word wraith is assumed to have originated in Scotland from the Scottish Romanticist literature during the eighteenth and nineteenth century that also embodies spirits. The same word was also used to indicate the aquatic spirits during the olden times in Scotland.

A very eminent Scottish poet John Mayne has used the term Bogie in his distinguished poem Halloween in 1780. The term revenant is used for a lifeless person who is thought to have revisited from dead to irk the living individuals and this word can be interrelated with the phrase fetch which is identified as a perceptible ghost. Gallup Poll News Service reports that the number of haunted houses, ghosts, communication with the dead and witches has amplified in the United States by the end of 1990. A topical report of Gallup poll in 2005 propounded that 32 percent of the Americans believe on the reality of ghosts.
The stature of ghosts and demons in the form of transparent and paranormal entities is a universal cultural conviction and it is often believed to be involved with the ancestor worship. Ancestor worship is associated with rituals to thwart the revenants and other rancorous souls from antagonizing the existing folks.

Such sacraments were often concerned with sacrifices in the form of giving food or drink to the souls of the dead or even using magical banishment. The ceremonies of feeding the spirits of dead are still in practice in the Chinese culture and even the western world today exults the All Souls Day for the spirit of deceased. The magical banishment is still a part of burial customs of many cultures even today. An anthropologist James Frazer during the nineteenth century has also avowed about the existence of souls as vivacious glooms in his classical work entitled The Golden Bough. Ancient literature also corresponds to human souls as birds or some other animals and even the verifications also advocate that human souls are having the strict body structure like that of the dead creature and also wear the equivalent clothing that they wore at the time of their death. A book entitled Egyptian Book of the Dead illustrates life of the souls after death and symbolizes that the souls have the similar dressing sense as well as the hair style which they had when they were alive.

According to one of the well-liked ideas ghosts are made up of airy and murky material. Anthropologists deem that ghosts, accurately talking are the souls of dead persons very prominent in the ancient history as white mists. Many conventional beliefs report, ghosts as souls of the dead lodging on earth either for taking vengeance or incarcerated for the bad things they did during their existence. Sometimes ghosts are also evaluated with appalling omens leading to death. In rural areas souls of dead ladies dressed in white have been noticed and it is said that they have died due to calamity or something bad had transpired with them. The obsessed tales of such white ladies are admired all over the globe. These white ladies are believed to have been deceived either by their husbands or fiancé and are believed as heralds of death who take retribution from the family of coupled persons. If any one of the linked person's family sees them he or she is at the jeopardy of being dead. The myths of ghost ships are very popular during the eighteenth century as depicted in the Flying Dutchman. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge also gives a picture of ghost ships.

The Mesopotamian religions explicitly the religions of Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and other early states in Mesopotamia are encumbered with the citations of ghosts. The traces of beliefs of these religions even got continuation in the Abrahamic religions. These religions believed that ghosts are created at the time of death of any individual and these beliefs later on traveled towards Netherlands where people started believing that ghosts have figures akin to the living entities. The relatives of the dead persons started giving food and drinks to the souls in order to set them free. It was also believed that the ghosts can bring infirmity of any individual. Ancient Egyptian literature also believes that ghosts are the souls of dead which bear the prospective to harm anyone and there is also a leeway of second death. The Egyptian culture believed for more than 2,500 years about the consequences of afterlife. The Egyptian Book of the Dead accentuates some of the beliefs of different periods of ancient Egyptian history. Even in the modern world people believe that the mummies also materialize in the form of ghosts and take reprisal and these facts are often shown in the horror movies also.

The Bible and the Hebrew Torah also demonstrate some of the quotations about spirits and some supernatural behaviuors. The first book of Samuel in the Holy Bible expresses about King Saul who visited the Witch of Endor to talk with the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel. The New Testament of Bible also describes about the statement of Jesus where he tells his disciples that he will be in present in the form of spirit after resurrection. The disciples of Jesus thought that Jesus is a ghost when he came to them by walking on water. Christian belief is in opposition to the act of communicating with the souls of dead.

Even the book of first Timothy also describes that some souls are evil and engross living individuals from God. The Book of second Corinthians also represents that Satan himself predicts that he is the Light of the World. The people of ancient Rome believed that ghosts take revenge from people and impair them by scuffing their body and even chuck them in the graves. Plutarch has represented about the ghost of an executed man at Chaeronea during the first century AD. The appalling and strident thuds produced by the ghost made people of the town to shut the doors of the building and houses.

Pliny Younger also describes about a haunted house in Athens where a chained ghost shrieks in pain. These sounds ruined when the skeleton of the man was given reburial. Plautus and Lucian have also described about haunted houses. Lucian of Samosata was the first person during the second century AD who expressed his incredulity in spirits. A Christian priest, Constantius of Lyon, during the fifth century AD documented about the case of a ghost who was reprehensively buried. The haunting wrecked when the skeleton was recovered and given reburial. Homer has defined ghosts in his creation Odyssey and Iliad as a white coloured vapour. He states that ghosts have very diminutive interface with the living world and in general do not panic humans and often emerge in the form that escorted them to death. By the end of the fifth century BC the ghosts of the ancient Greek literature have been noticed to scare humans and were also accountable for evil or good works. The spirits were reflected to linger around cemeteries, haunted houses so humans avoided lodging near such places. The ancient Greeks celebrated festivals in which the dead souls were requested for food and drink and then they were called again next year for the same purpose. A play entitled Oresteia was the first act in which ghosts first appeared in the world of fiction.

Medieval Europe believed on two types of ghosts namely the souls of the dead and demons. The souls of dead were thought to have crossed the threshold after death in order to solve an unambiguous problem while the demons existed to entice or terrify humans only. The souls of dead could spell out their rationale through living and can leave the body of living with the help of Jesus Christ while the demons can be banished through Holy name. The ghosts were dispensed in the category of Purgatory where they were castigated for the crimes they have done during their lifetime. Ghosts have been discerned to ask the livings to pray for them so that their anguish may come to an end and they have also been seen praying to God to set them free. The ghosts of the medieval Europe predominantly those of the Victorian age were more alarming and often have been observed to wrestle with the living persons unless and until a priest comes for their rescue. They have been described as misty shadows and often dressed in grey rags. Most of the ghosts have been found to be the spirits of males. Ghostly armies have been heard to fight in a battle during night in a forest at Wandlebury, near Cambridge, England. Arabian Nights also features haunted houses during the ninth century.

Renaissance magic has penetrated the tradition of necromancy. A Swiss reformed Pastor Ludwig Lavater has focused about this act in his book entitled Ghosts and Spirits Walking by Night. Child ballad Sweet William's Ghost states the story of a ghost who returns to beg a woman to set him free from the pledge of marrying her so that his soul may rest in peace. He also states that if the woman will rebuff the promise his soul will moan in pain forever. This imitates a popular British belief that the dead haunted their lovers if they got committed with a new love without their consent. The Unquiet Grave expresses a more convoluted nature of ghosts. It underscores that ghosts can be provoked by the heartache and bereavement of their loved ones for them.

Spiritualism can be measured as a monotheistic belief or a part of religion converging humans to rely on God but data of haunting by the ghosts or spirits and without exchanging a few words with them it is not feasible to get knowledge of what happens after life. Spiritualism is believed to have instigated in the United States which attained its crest during the 1840 and 1920s principally in the English nations. By the end of 1897 there were more than eight million cohorts of spiritualism in the United States as well as in Europe. Spiritism is essentially based on five books of Spiritist Codification written by French educator Hypolite Léon Denizard Rivail. His work was based on both scientific as well as philosophical truths which were later on liked by a number of authors. The number of supporters of spiritism was in a great deal in Spain, United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, England, Argentina, Portugal and especially Brazil.

The scientific principles affirm something bizarre about the subsistence of ghosts. Joe Nickell, a spokesperson of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry recommends that there is no scientific confirmation for the survival of ghosts and spirits. Mundane corporal elucidations and precincts of human philosophy can account for configuration of obscure metaphors which we judge as ghost for instance, conversions in air pressure inside a room are liable for the banging of door and lights from a momentary car when smack the window of a home can result in creation of redundant images. Skeptics believe that pareidolia is a property of a person to be acquainted with some of the blueprints while kept in dim light condition is what we consider as ghost. Nickell advocates that ghost is nothing but simply misleading of vision especially at night when brain is exhausted and is more prone to misconstrue sounds and sights. We can say that the sensitivity of human peripheral vision is responsible for construction of typical descriptions that we consider ghost. Another researcher, Michael Persinger of Laurentian University, Canada states that the changes in the geomagnetic fields of earth bring amendments in the temporal lobes of brain which are coupled with the imagination of something haunted. Sound can also be responsible for something extraordinary for example, Richard Wiseman wraps up that infrasound in a room can bring a human to fill with anxiety, extreme sorrow, a feeling of being watched, or even the chills. Carbon monoxide poisoning also impedes the auditory and visual alertness of brain so ensuing in unusual imagination.

Gigantic numerals of Malay ghost myths are admired which are still customary in the contemporary states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei which have been later on fashioned by Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist beliefs. The tales of women in the form of women like Pontianak and Penanggalan are still in the reminiscence of people of some regions. Ghosts are still an accepted theme in the Malaysian and Indonesian movies. The beliefs on the ghosts are still in practice in Polynesian culture. Chinese culture is also loaded with testimonials of ghosts and Confucius even states that people must admire God and Ghosts and must keep themselves away from them. Many of the beliefs about ghosts in the Chinese culture are also alleged in the neighbouring countries like Japan and south-east Asia. These beliefs are frequently based on ancestor worship known as Taoism. Later on these beliefs got prejudiced by Buddhism and are now popular as Chinese Buddhist beliefs. Many Chinese people today celebrate a festival where they believe that it is probable to get in touch with the souls of their adored ones. Ghosts are critical elements of Chinese literature and movies at the moment.

The literature of the Indian subcontinent promotes the subsistence of ghosts as mystic images of a dead person bearing the prospective to impair someone. These uncanny creatures are dubbed as bhoot. The soul of person who has been a spectator of brutal death or death due to some unsettled affairs or unacceptable rituals of funeral is predisposed to alter into a ghost. Hindu mythology believes on an evil spirit known as Baital which takes demonic tenure of corpses and Pishacha is a tissue eating evil spirit. The Mexican culture is also not unharmed by the stories of ghosts. Ghosts ought to have an exceptional declaration in the Tibetan Buddhist religion which forecasts that a human after death enters the world of ghosts. A famished ghost has a petite throat and a hefty stomach which on no account fills so the ghost can never be contented. Ghosts can be exterminated by some rituals. Dalai Lama envisages that the spirit of a Tibetan monk of the seventeenth century, Dorje Shugden is a malevolence spirit which is conscientious for the gash in the Tibetan émigré community.

Ghosts are very imperative essence of literature as well as mythologies of approximately all nations. In English literature, Shakespeare's story entitled The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark also spotlights on ghosts. In The Tragical History of Hamlet the ghost requests Prince Hamlet to take the reprisal of his assassination from his uncle King Claudius. In another conception of Shakespeare, Macbeth, a man named Banquo was massacred and became a ghost. Ghosts have been a vital part of British ballads during the sixteenth and seventeenth century principally in the Border Ballads. Ballads of this type usually embrace The Unquiet Grave, The Wife of Usher's Well and Sweet William's Ghost which depict about the ghosts who are interested in returning back to their lovers or children. In the ballad King Henry, a ravenous ghost demolishes king's horse and forces him into bed and the king rouses from sleep and investigates for the ghost which renovates into a gorgeous woman. Harry Price, Peter Underwood were most well-liked professional parapsychologists during 1920s and 1950s who had shared their incidents as well as a number of anecdotes about ghost encounters. Children's most popular ghost story for example, Casper the Friendly Ghost was also animated in the form of a movie in 1995. A very trendy Indian movie, Mahal became one of the prime box office hit in 1949 starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala. The movie was directed by Kamal Amrohi and was based on reincarnation. The movie unbolted a new track for Indian gothic fiction.

We can terminate by saying the imprints that we scrutinize in our day-to-day life are in fact not ghosts because the imprints like ships, trains are all inanimate objects. Here we can ask how they came into action? Well the researchers advocate that they move due to some sort of energy stockpiled in finicky locations. Now another question comes into mind is that what sort of energy? Some say electromagnetic fields and electrostatic forces are to be blamed for such actions. Researchers imply that human body safeguards electromagnetic energy and ghosts caught by the EMF detectors support this analysis. Duncan McDougall performed an experiment to verify that ghosts have some body mass. He calculated the body weight of five patients before and after death and accomplished that the patients have lost some ounces before death but what happens after death no one knows. The science falls short to remark on afterlife possessions and ghosts are still a subject matter of anonymity. Research is going on and in the coming years we anticipate that we will accomplish something to know about it.

Navodita Maurice

Swallow Tattoos - Exploring the Symbolic Meaning of Swallow Tattoo Designs

Swallow tattoos have played a special symbolic part among various world cultures for thousands of years. Nowadays, these tattoos are still immensely popular and are often considered merely for the fashion and beauty aspect of swallow art. However, some of these designs have a deeper personal meaning as well.

Meaning of Swallow Tattoos

Since swallow tattoos have been an incredibly popular choice for body art fans, it naturally lends the question: What swallow tattoo meaning could apply to you?

The historic designs of swallow tattoos goes back hundreds of years and begins with the plight of sailors. When a crew was sailing a long distance on the ocean, typically 5,000 nautical miles or across the equator, the travels were often full of hardship, sickness, starvation, and quite commonly, death. One sign that their travels were nearing an end was the appearance of swallows. Because these birds never traveled far out to sea, their sighting meant that land was near and the long voyage was coming to an end. This fact led many sailors to start adopting swallow tattoo designs as a symbol of hope and a successful finish to a long journey. As a followup to this story, having a tattoo depicting 2 swallows indicated going on a very long journey (10,000 nautical miles or more) and a swallow tattoo with a dagger through its heart symbolized a memorial for a friend lost at sea.

A different anecdote describes swallow tattoos as a symbol of a mutiny that occurred on a ship called 'The Swallow'. Each of the 7 sailors described in this story had a swallow bird design on their chest to show their support for the mutiny.

As time passed, swallow tattoos have come to symbolize different meanings to different people. Some see the swallow art as a symbol of success or triumph. Others decide to get swallow bird tattoos to signify the return home after a long departure, such as a soldier coming back from war. Another popular meaning is that of freedom, as some people released from prison have chosen this bird tattoo as a sign of their entrance back into society. Yet another interpretation is for an everlasting love and loyalty, related to the fact that swallows mate for life.

Swallow Tattoos - Learn About Early Swallow Art and Culture

When it came to the artistic depictions of swallow tattoos, it is interesting to note that for centuries humans bestowed upon these birds a symbolism of both good luck as well as bad. Therefore, by learning the origins of swallow art history, you can rest assured that the exact symbolic meaning you wish to convey is indeed the one that gets tattooed. Here are some examples of swallow art depictions from various cultures:

• In ancient times, prior to swallow tattoos gaining prominence, the birds themselves were associated with the all-powerful gods, as well as the souls of the dead. For instance, according to Greek and Roman mythology, deities were able to change their form into a swallow. On the other hand, grieving mothers considered the bird to be sacred, as it was thought to carry the soul of their deceased children. Consequently, killing a swallow was deemed unlucky.


• Similarly, an ancient Egyptian artwork depicts a swallow as it enters the underworld, however, Egyptian poetry made a departure to a more positive tone, describing the swallow as bringing the first sign of a new love.


• The expression "one swallow does not make a summer" is derived from a fable by Aesop and is intended as an advice for being cautious and deliberative.


• During the yearly pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, the swallow was considered to be the symbol of faith and steadiness.


• In classical Chinese paintings, the swallow represented happiness and the arrival of spring, and was often depicted as part of the flowering peach branch. Additional portrayals show the bird as: daring, risk-seeking, and a symbol of change for good in the future.


• Despite a mostly favorable characterization of swallows as representing lifelong partnership, in Japan, swallows symbolized unfaithfulness and were described in legends as flying through the house while carrying tidings of displeasure and bad luck from the gods.

All in all, the meaning conveyed by swallow art is that of a region-specific symbolism, which you may wish to further consider for your own swallow tattoos.
Swallow Tattoos - Get to Know the Species

There are literally thousands of bird species, so what makes the swallow a popular bird to ink? Notably, to make sure you get the right tattoo, it is useful to know that the swallow is sometimes mistaken for the bluebird. The eastern Bluebird and the Barn Swallow have similar coloring, with bright accents of orange and blue, converging on both yellow and red. Therefore, you and your tattoo artist should know the right colors and patterns needed to ink an accurate and attractive swallow tattoo. Additionally, the sheer fact that the swallow bird species makes its appearance most prominently during spring can be applied to swallow tattoos as a representation of fertility, hope, and happiness.

These are the main reasons for getting this particular body art, as it seems each new generation and culture finds its own symbolic meaning of the time-honored, simple yet beautiful, swallow tattoos.

Ben Silver, an expert tattoo artist and the author of this article, invites you to visit his tattoo design resource site at http://www.tattoo-designs.dk to gain additional useful insights about swallow tattoos and discover FREE practical tips and knowledge on how to best obtain and maintain your tattoo art.

Best Psyche and Death: Death-Demons in Folklore, Myths, and Modern Dreams for $20.57

Psyche and Death: Death-Demons in Folklore, Myths, and Modern Dreams Review

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Psyche and Death: Death-Demons in Folklore, Myths, and Modern Dreams Overview

In this extraordinary two-part study—first presented as lectures at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich—Edgar Herzog exhumes from fairytale and folklore macabre variations of the archaic Death Image. Death is revealed in its original form in the guise of an animal: as Wolf, Horse, Dog, Snake, or Bird. Today Death takes similar forms, appearing to the human consciousness mainly through dreams. Herzog then focuses on the dreams of patients in psychotherapy and glosses those dreams with remarkable interpretations that link their persons, scenes, and drama to the symbolic images and rites of the ancient past.

Psyche and Death is divided into two parts. Part I deals with ethnological and mythological material consisting of reports and traditions from all parts of the world. Part II is mainly concerned with the dreams of contemporary men and women, and shows how these dreams reflect the processes in the development and maturation of modern individuals, in and through dreams.

Check Out The Fourth Dimension for $29.92

The Fourth Dimension Review

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The Fourth Dimension Overview

In the dramatic monologues that make up The Fourth Dimension--especially those based on the grim history of Mycenae and its royal protagonists--the celebrated modern Greek poet Yannis Ritsos presents a timeless poetic paradigm of the condition of Greece, past and present. The volume also contains a group of modern narratives, including the famous, and much-anthologized, "Moonlight Sonata." Ritsos, rightly, regarded the The Fourth Dimension as his finest achievement. It is now presented to English- speaking readers for the first time in its entirety.

From "Philoctetes"

All the speeches of great men, about the dead and about heroes.

Astonishing, awesome words, pursued us even in our sleep,

slipping beneath closed doors, from the banqueting hall

where glasses and voices sparkled, and the veil

of an unseen dancer rippled silently

like a diaphanous, whirling wall

between life and death. This throbbing

our childhood nights, lightening the shadows of shields

etched on white walls by slow moonlight.

Couple Fantasy Costuming, Be Trendy, Hot and Greek!

What is more fun than masquerading? Ok, maybe masquerading as a couple! Nevertheless, you need some new ideas because everyone wears the same old costumes every year and this year you want to turn heads and look fabulous. Therefore, a couple costume idea -Dress like a Greek God and Goddess! Remember how popular "300" and "Sparta" were? Nothing says elegance and romance than those amazing Greek outfits that look incredible on almost anybody! Ah, the descriptions from Homer's Odyssey of silver and gold threaded garments, the mythological tales of antiquity, the Muses, the God and Goddesses of Greece, Rome and Olympus! There is a reason why they are still so popular!

You can go online and search out the perfect pair of costumes that will compliment each other but let us look at a few tips and ideas first. Half the fun of Greek costuming is all the cool accessories that pull the basic outfit together. Greek and Roman Deities had not only special names assigned to them but also animals and sacred symbols as well, known as "attributes". For instance Hermes, the cunning God of trade, is often seen with winged sandals. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love was assigned a Dove as her "animal attribute", so you can add all sorts of ultra cool extras to define exactly who your character is by putting "Greek Gods" into a search engine and then picking your favorite after reading a bit about each one.

In addition, each one had a spouse or significant other making them the perfect choice for couples. Moreover, they all had children, or a Muse, or a sidekick, so you can find any combination for two or more in your crowd that want to go as a related team. Have a look at Poseidon, the moody God of the sea; Apollo, the God of the Sun and of Music; Athena, Goddess of the arts; Hades, the malevolent God of the Underworld; and Artemis, the Goddess of the hunt, and that is to name but a few! If you play a musical instrument, check out the Gods and Goddesses of music and display your talents along with your costume.

Even better, Gods and Goddesses existed in all ages and sizes so no matter your years or your girth, you can find one who is your perfect doppelganger! Wigs, makeup, swords, shields, hair wreaths, crowns, and jewelry are also available to make your costume as authentic as possible and put you in award winning mode! Do not get the idea that all those Greeks wore was white either, that is just the color of the statutes! Those elegant gowns, togas, and soldier attire were colorful, comfortable and oh so attractive!

Now you know the key to being trendy, looking hot, feeling comfortable, and upstaging all your friends! Find your favorite ancient hero or heroine and start making memories!

Go out and have fun this year for Halloween. Shop online for greek costumes or spice it up with an greek goddess costume

Perseus Costume From &quot;Clash of the Titans&quot;

Released by Warner Brothers on April 2, 2010, Clash of the Titans tells the perilous tale of Perseus, the half-mortal son of the Greek God Zeus who embarks on a journey to fulfill his fate. For years, movies with mythological themes have been popular with action-seeking audiences, not only for the exciting storyline but for the elaborate costuming bringing the characters to life. In Clash of the Titans, Academy Award winning costume designer Lindy Hemming brings her finesses for detail to the elaborate clothing worn in this epic film.

Thanks to Clash of the Titians, Greek god, goddess and monster costumes are sure to see a revival for Halloween this year. The protagonist, Perseus, will be a favorite character to emulate due to his handsome and heroic efforts to stop the underworld and its minions from ruining the heavens and Earth alike - and of course, to get the girl of his dreams, Andromedia.

An old-school Perseus costume can be created with a basic Greek God costume consisting of a scarlet toga, sword and shaggy brown hair similar to the look actor Harry Hamlin brought to the character back in the 1981 film version of the myth. However, the Perseus costume in the recent movie remake has a much different style. Actor Sam Worthington sports an almost shaved head and wears a costume that more resembles the garments worn by Roman Gladiators, not Greek Gods.

Those looking to put together Clash of the Titan or Perseus Halloween costumes, a metal skirt topped with breastplate armor should be paired with a sword and oversized shield for the big screen silhouette. Metal and leather arm cuffs and sandals with shin guards complete the battle-ready look. While there are not currently licensed Clash of the Titan's costumes on the market as of yet, a Gladiator costume similar to the costumes worn in the movie 300 will suffice. Oh, and the severed, snake-haired head of the evil Medusa will make a gruesome costume accessory!

Todd Denning
Costume Machine
Costume Machine is a costume search engine and costume idea generator. Find your perfect costume today at Costume Machine
http://www.costumemachine.com

Cheap The Complete Dictionary of Symbols for $18.50

The Complete Dictionary of Symbols Review

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The Complete Dictionary of Symbols Overview

The Complete Dictionary of Symbols is an engaging and accessible guide to more than 2,000 major themes, figures, and symbols that are commonly found in myth, art, and literature. Drawing on classical mythologies, Biblical themes, and traditional symbols from cultures worldwide, this user-friendly, attractively priced reference has comprehensive entries on everything from individual animals, plants, and objects to gods, goddesses, supernatural creatures, heroes, heroines, mythical episodes, prophets, saints, miracles, and myriad other subjects. Whether the topic at hand is Mercury or Merlin, the Egyptian ankh or the humble ant, engaging text reveals the origins and meaning of each symbol. Interspersed with the main entries are short articles on themes of special interest, such as the Sun, Moon, and stars, or common vices. Three hundred illustrations, an intuitive system of cross-referencing, and authoritative research make The Complete Dictionary of Symbols a reliable resource for school, home, or library.

Helping Others Deal With Unresolved Issues and Buried Feelings

Is Life Preparing You for Radical Transformation? If you have a Pluto star or other type of marking in that area, then you may be in that process already.

The Pluto Star

"Pluto's function is to mercilessly bring to the surface and eliminate anything that stands in your way of positive development. Many times you will be faced with going through obstacles that bring to the surface whatever you resist looking at in order to move forward, dredging up things from the depths." -Pamelah Landers, A Complete Guide to Gift Markings

Its Purpose

Why does this happen again and again and again in your life? Because you are meant to be an agent of change for others. You are meant to take everything you have learned from all of that painful experience and share it with others who need it.

Because you have faced the depths within yourself that you had wanted to avoid, you will help others on the journey who are dealing with their own scary or devastating truths. Deep down, you want transformation if you have this gift, and so will they.

Phoenix

The symbol for this gift marking is the phoenix, who rises triumphantly from the ashes. Facing and dealing with pain, bringing it into the light, transmuting and healing it, and emerging victorious.

The Underworld

You may remember from learning about Greek mythology in school that Pluto is the god of the underworld. For us this means the unconscious.

This includes thoughts and feelings, repressed memories and other things buried beneath the surface. The promise of facing the unacceptable is transformation. The fact that you have a gift marking in this area means that you have unresolved issues that you are not giving your full attention. The reward, if you dare to do it, is healing and resolution.

And if this gift is in your hands, then doing this work is part of your life purpose.

Challenge

The challenge, with this gift, is to explore what has been hidden, to bring deep feelings to the surface, to experience the depths, but not get stuck there. If this energy in your hands is trying to get your attention, trying to direct your attention, and you are subconsciously resisting that, it may feel like you get stuck in the negative feelings or experiences that come your way.

So one way to approach this is to take a look at what seems to be hanging on forever in your life, and ask yourself if it is meant to get your attention. Is there anything you are resisting?

For a free eBook on meditation and information about energy healing and other spiritual techniques you can use for healing emotional wounds, clearing limiting beliefs, and accessing intuition go to Heal and Grow and complete the form. For a free audio clip that will help you clarify whether or not you are meant to be a healer and a Healers Manifesto report, go to [http://www.holistichealingbusiness.net]. Jeanine Byers Hoag is a certified holistic healing practitioner, certified spiritual story practitioner, ordained LGBT minister and author of the forthcoming The Life That's Waiting for You: Four Simple Steps to Identifying and Living Your Life Purpose.

Tributo a Pandora

Pandora, le hermana mayor de Hades, quien sirve fielmente a su señor. A pesar de haber tenido una dura infancia, trata de olvidar el pasado y seguir al lado de Hades. Tema: "Cross my heart and hope to die" Grupo: Sentenced Saludosss ya la "hermandad:hijos del Inframundo" tambien¡¡¡ :D

Great Price for The Underworld in Myth, Magic and Mystery

The Underworld in Myth, Magic and Mystery Review

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The Underworld in Myth, Magic and Mystery Overview

"The Underworld in Myth, Magic and Mystery" reveals that throughout time, rituals were held in underground spaces, these Mystery ceremonies & myths teach us about how to live & of life after death.

Great Price for $2.99 Persephone Returns: Victims, Heroes and the Journey from the Underworld

Persephone Returns: Victims, Heroes and the Journey from the Underworld Review

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Persephone Returns: Victims, Heroes and the Journey from the Underworld Overview

Jungian psychologist Tanya Wilkinson takes a balanced and compassionate look at the issue of victimization. In an engaging and entertaining style, she explore myths and fairy tales involving victims and heroes and encourages individuals to reach a new level of spiritual and emotional maturity.

Contest Entry for MissChievous - Persephone

Hi ! Explaination about my choice of make - up that is inspired on Persephone or in latin Proserpina. I used a dark green (almost black) in the crease and outter corner to represent the darkness of the underworld, winter and autumn. And I used the gold glitters (and glitters who go on the fake lashes) to represent te spring, hope, life and summer. The deep rosered stands for the pomegranate who played a major role in the part and stands also for love. And the dramatic lashes stands for her goddesness (or something like that...) Greek gods are gorgeously over the top ! I hope you like it :) Short history : Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, the godess of agriculture and fertility. One day Persephone was playing around in the woods with some friends when the earth tore apart and she was taken/kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld. To make a long story short, Demeter was sad so she neglected where work, and the whole nature was looking like shit ( that explains the winter and autumn). Demeter went to Zeus to get a consensus with Hades, at first Persephone had to go back to earth, but she was kind of in love with Hades cause he fed here six seeds of the pomegranate, and everyone who eats in the underworld stays in the underworld. So they agreed that half a year she stayed with her mom and the other half (six seeds = six months) she stayed with her beloved Hades in the underworld.

Best Dictionary of Images and Symbols in Counselling for $40.95

Dictionary of Images and Symbols in Counselling Review

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Dictionary of Images and Symbols in Counselling Overview

This A-Z analyzes and explains numerous symbols and images and makes them specific to their use in counselling. Many are developed by the addition of possible psychological interpretations. The categorization of the schematic structure of the symbols aims to provide an easy reference. This book is intended for counsellors, nurses, social workers, occupational health practitioners and speech therapists.

Check Out Go to Hell: A Heated History of the Underworld for $3.99

Go to Hell: A Heated History of the Underworld Review

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Go to Hell: A Heated History of the Underworld Overview

Close your eyes and picture -- just for a moment -- hell. Fire? Demons? Eternal torment?

Well, yes -- that's the place, in one very hot nutshell. But that's not all there is to the forbidding world beneath us. For a few millennia now, we mortals have imagined and reimagined hell in countless ways: as a realm of damnation, as an inspiration for highest art, as a setting for the lowest of lowbrow comedy. One might conclude that for all our good intentions to enter para- dise, we can't seem to get enough vivid details of its counterpart, hell.

Provocative, colorful, and damned entertaining, Go to Hell takes readers on a tour of the underworld that is both darkly comical and seriously informative. From the frozen hell of the Vikings to the sun-drenched Cayman Islands' town of Hell (where tourists line up to have their postcards aptly postmarked), from Dante's circles of hell to Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Hellmouth, Go to Hell embraces our evolving relationship with the sinner's final destination, revealing how we truly think of ourselves in this world.

What's down below?

Meet HEL, the hideous, half-rotting goddess of the Viking underworld.

Beware the Egyptians' AM-MUT, an unsightly mix of lion, crocodile, and hippo parts, and insatiably hungry for wicked souls.

Visit JIGOKU, a Buddhist realm of eight fiery hells and eight icy hells: an all-you-can-suffer hot-and-cold buffet.

Step into the INFERNO for a tour of Dante's nine circles of the damned...

Weather Gods and Ancient Meteorology

The first meteorologists were the priests and shamans of early civilisations. They were tasked with appeasing the gods who, it was believed, controlled the climate and all natural phenomena. This was no mean feat as you can imagine, and sometimes their very lives depended upon favourable weather.

By 3500 BC Egyptian communities were well established along the Nile where the weather was warm and sunny, and water was abundant. However as this early cradle of civilisation was totally dependent on the Nile for its prosperity the Egyptians tried to use the movement of the stars as a guide to the annual rise and fall of the Nile and to the extent of its flooding.

This dependence on the Nile led to the belief in two powerful gods. Osiris and Ra (or Re). Osiris was considered the ruler of the dead and the source of fertility to the living, controlling the sprouting of vegetation and the flooding of the river Nile. Ra was the sun god who controlled the movement of heavenly bodies, travelling across the sky each day in his solar boat.

Other early civilisations emerging at that time also depended on the weather. The flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia and the Indus valley were key for the survival and prosperity of the local communities. The chief god of the Babylonians was Marduk. Marduk was originally the god of thunderstorms but eventually became the god of the atmosphere. One of the most important gods of the Vedic religion of ancient India was Indra, the god of rain and storms.

In Northern Europe the Norse god Thor, whose name originates from the Germanic word for thunder, was considered to be all powerful, and was represented carrying a hammer which symbolised a thunderbolt. People would appeal to Thor for protection and he became a symbol of Norse paganism. Over time the growing influence of Christian missionaries demonized Thor and drove his believers underground, where belief remained until modern times.

Ancient Greek mythology included many climatic controlling gods. Zeus, the ruler of the heavens, controlled the clouds, rain and thunder. The brother of Zeus was Poseidon, and he was the god of the sea and shores. And yet another brother, Hades (aka Pluto) ruled the underworld. The sun god was Helios, and wind god was Aeolus. The Greeks had a more casual approach to religion and this allowed the Greek philosophers, who sought more rational explanations for natural phenomena, to flourish.

Thales of Miletus (624-547 BC) collected records from Babylonian astronomers and successfully predicted a solar eclipse in 585BC. Empedocles (495-435 BC) theorised that all matter was composed from four elements: Fire, air, water and earth.

Although these scholars made very few significant physical discoveries their work did initiate a practice of investigation and analysis for all natural phenomena, including, of course, the climate.

Mark Boardman BSc dip.hyp is a leading author and expert on The Weather For more information about World Weather, feel free to visit these sites.