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History
Fernando Pessoa’s papers up for sale
The legacy of one of the finest poets and Thelemites of the 20th Century, Fernando Pessoa, is being put up for sale by his nephews. After his death Pessoa left a huge trunk full of papers behind, many of which have still never seen the light of day, including an unfinished novel featuring Aleister Crowley [...]
Pagan tomb under St. Peter’s Basilica reopened
The Vatican unveiled the largest and most luxurious of the pagan tombs in the necropolis under St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday after nearly a year of restoration work.
A section of the pagan Valeri tomb built during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
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A family of former slaves built the Valeri Mausoleum [...]
Vandals damage Stonehenge
The night-time attack by two men last week involved the central megalith in the 5,000-year-old ring of standing stones, with English Heritage saying the vandals could have been looking for a souvenir.
A chip of stone about the size of a large coin was removed, while a 2.5-inch long scratch was left on the Heel Stone, [...]
Occult Secret Service
New Dawn magazine has an excellent overview of occult links to the British Secret Service, including snippets about Dr. Dee, Sir Francis Dashwood (pictured right), and the Rudolph Hess plot. Fascinating reading for anyone interested in occult history.
17th Century pagan remnants turn up in Cornwall
Evidence of pagan rituals involving swans and other birds in the Cornish countryside in the 17th century has been uncovered by archaeologists.
Since 2003, 35 pits at the site in a valley near Truro have been excavated containing swan pelts, dead magpies, unhatched eggs, quartz pebbles, human hair, fingernails and part of an iron cauldron.
The finds [...]
Climate change to bring more witchhunts?
There is evidence that European witch-burnings in past centuries may also have resulted from climate variations and the resulting crop failures, economic distress and search for scapegoats. Emily Oster, a University of Chicago economist, tracked witchcraft trials and weather in Western Europe between 1520 and 1770 and found a close correlation: colder weather led to [...]
Druid grave found?
Writing in this month’s British Archaeology magazine, the team of excavators from Colchester Archaeological Trust say: “It is hard to avoid the conclusion that he belonged to the stratum of late Iron Age society that comprised druids, diviners and healers. It is conceivable that this grave was the final resting place of a British druid.”
More [...]
The real M
The MI6 fan website (yes, they do have fans!) has an interesting article about Ian Fleming (who was also a British spy in real life) and his relationships with the Secret Service. Most interesting is the section dealing with Maxwell Knight, former MI5 boss and allegedly also member of Crowley’s magical Order A.A.
Another contender as [...]
Roman altar found in Manchester rubbish tip
“To the mother goddesses Hananeftis and Ollototis, Aelius Victor willingly and deservedly fulfils a vow.”
Details in the Manchester Evening News
Newton’s Alchemy
Science historians have be trying to play down Isaac Newton’s interest in alchemy and the occult for centuries, but over at NOVA there’s an amazing interactive version of one of his alchemical notebooks which is facinating viewing. Highly recommended.
For those who aren’t aware of just what a god-like genius Newton was, there’s also a nice [...]
