I Think I was a Tree...

In a former life.  All my life I have adored trees. They have always been there for me - to listen to my thoughts, to laugh and sing with my joys and to comfort my sorrows. My first tree friend was an enormous spruce tree which stood sentinel outside the house where I grew up. Birds would call his limbs home knowing they were safe and secure even if they would wave to and fro in the winds. My mother and I would gather his cones in the summer months for use later in the year in crafts. He was a dear friend and it saddened me to find out that he had died after our family left the house.

Over the years I have come to know many types of trees, as one would get to know a variety of people. They all had their own quirks, their own personalities. I got to know two distinguished Live Oaks in Louisiana. There age was old - about 150-200 years. They spoke in a slow and deliberate manner - imparting the wisdom gained over the centuries to those who would slow down long enough to listen.

I have met many magnificent Cottonwoods. Their trunks would curve and arch and bend, translating the energies their roots absorbed from deep underground water sources. This is a reason the Hopi like to make their Kachina dolls from Cottonwood roots, because of the trees ability to find water. To the Hopi, the Cottonwood is a spiritual link to water, the life giving essence in a very arid land. 

The woods of Arkansas was a heavily populated area. Sweetgum, Sassafras, Black Walnut, Magnolia, Dogwood, and Oaks were abundant. Their ability to live together was a lesson for us all. Together they were an impenetrable force to many outsiders.

Many ancient cultures and indigenous peoples believe that trees have souls.  The ancient Celts believed that the spirit (soul) of a deceased person could inhabit a tree (or a plant or a place or even a rock). Cultures all across ancient Europe had customs and beliefs which involved trees. In the Americas, many Indigenous People believed that every living thing had a spirit and trees were revered as being wise  and knowledgeable. Trees were often consulted by Shaman on matters of seriousness.

I recently ran across an article about a group of people in Russia who revere Nature. To them a tree contains a soul in a transitional process of evolution. To intentionally fell a tree is to destroy a living being. Check out this article and accompanying photos for an insightful look at the Mari People.

I, too feel this way. Trees do so much for us. They give us shade and air to breathe. They will listen to our woes and give us the calm to quiet our frazzled nerves. Trees have knowledge. Take a walk at your local park or open space and get to know a tree.  Make a new friend.

The Round Towers of Ireland

The Round Towers of Ireland have been an enigma for centuries. Many researchers have mused that the towers were built by early Christian monks to be used for a variety of purposes; relic storage, belfries, lookout towers or even sanctuaries from raiders. While Christian monks may have utilized these towers for their own intents and purposes, the towers' true purpose may have been far from what modern day researchers believe.

Let's begin by looking at their construction. The round towers are built using a double wall method. This building style was common in ancient Rome but the Romans never made it to Ireland. At least no evidence has been found of Roman habitation in Ireland. The mortar used to hold the stones together is also of Roman design - a mixture of sand, lime, horsehair, and oxblood. A recipe not far from modern day mortar mixes but much stronger.

The stones are not always from local sources. All the towers which have been studied are constructed from paramagnetic stone.

Be sure to check out the February issue of Alternate Perceptions magazine to read the complete article!

It's in the Blood

Hemochromatosis is also known as iron overload disorder. It's a genetic mutation which causes the body to absorb too much iron from a person's diet. The iron is stored in the body's tissues, joints, and
organs (heart, liver, skin). This blood disorder afflicts people of European origin - most specifically Northern European origins. If left untreated, the excess iron will damage organs and lead to death.

image source

The mutation is believed to have originated because of an iron poor diet. If iron is hard to come by, then a body will eventually create a way to glean more iron from the food which is consumed or a way to absorb and store excess iron. Iron is a necessary component for life - aiding in metabolism and oxygen transport.

A common phrase for this disorder is "Celtic Curse" because the majority of the people suffering (see dna chart here!) from it are of Celtic origins. But the disorder goes much further then just Ireland and Great Britain. The Celtic Curse is also common among the people from the countries bordering the oceans and seas by the British Isles. This finding has led some researchers to believe the mutation disorder originated within the Viking communities of Scandinavia. But as more and more research is done, the true origins may be discovered further to the southeast.

image source

Because iron is magnetic, could the excess iron in the body or even the tendency to retain more iron give a person a greater ability to navigate the seas or voyage across a wilderness using the Earth's magnetic field? Much like a flock of birds is able to find their way across an ocean during migration. Did this genetic mutation give the Viking and Celtic explorers an edge when it came to locating new lands and then returning home? Did these people have some sort of internal compass unbeknownst to them?

Would this excess iron also give these cultures an edge when it came to interacting with the Earth's geomagnetic fields of energy? Making them better dowsers? 

For more information about hemochromatosis and its genetic origins, see the links below!

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/hereditary-hemochromatosis

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/the-iron-in-our-blood-that-keeps-and-kills-us/266936/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142605/

http://www.hemochromatosisdna.com/about-the-disease/viking-ancestry#.VpK9vPkrLIU

http://genefacts.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=159%3Ahereditary-hemochromatosis&catid=111%3Ahemochromatosis&limitstart=5

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000292970763170X

Old World Graffiti ~ part 2

The man who did so much for these enigmatic sites was William McGlone who lived in the La Junta area. He was a retired engineer who served in the Navy. McGlone was a very scientific man who always wanted his discoveries and theories verified by outside sources. He enlisted the aid of many fellow engineers and scientists in deciphering the Ogham.  To McGlone, some of these rock carvings appeared to be much more than mere doodles in stone, or the graffiti of Native Americans. He saw writing, with letters and repeated symbols. Over the years, McGlone had attempted to identify these letters and, shortly before his death in 1999, he had made a reasonable argument that some of the petroglyphs were from an Arabic alphabet which would have been used by Turkish sailors around 500 BC. 

Sunrise at Crack Cave

Crack Cave is located just north of the Colorado/Oklahoma state line. The area where it is found is called Picture Canyon. The abundance of petroglyphs here gave rise to the name Picture Canyon. Inside one of the many crevasses that might be called a cave is an archaeo-astronomical site that is only observable on the Spring & Autumn Equinoxes. 3 sets of Ogham inscriptions are found inside - the first which is located at the back of the cave, translates to the Celtic Sun God. On the South wall the inscription reads, People of the Sun.

On the north wall is the third inscription - The Sun Strikes Here on the Day of Bel (Bel is short for Belenus, the Celtic Sun God's name). This last glyph is the one illuminated at sunrise on the Equinoxes. Above this last glyph are count marks which tell how many days to the Equinox. The morning of the Equinox, all the marks are illuminated. Today, the cave opening is protected with a metal grate to prevent vandalism but the gate is opened on the equinoxes by the park rangers to allow the public to view the alignment.

Sun Temple is located to the NW of Crack Cave (about halfway to La Junta from Springfield). It consists of a small cave with the majority of its glyphs on the roof of the cave. Here is the inscription of a rare triple planetary alignment of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn that occurred within the constellation of Gemini. The words NOBLE TWINS has been translated from Ogham script. This alignment occurred on a cross-quarter day - August 471 AD. A cross-quarter day is one which occurs halfway between an equinox and solstice. Another archaeo-astronomical alignment is here. One which only occurs at the Spring & Autumn cross quarter days. Near it are the words Season for Reaping. Because the Sun Temple wasn't discovered until 1982, the patina on the petroglyphs had been preserved. In 1987, a man who is now a Prof. of Geology at Arizona State University sampled the patina or rock varnish that was embedded in the grooves of various petroglyphs. His results showed that some dated back to 2700BC

Rock varnish accumulates on the outside of rocks.  Rock varnish is made up of a coating of approximately 70% clay particles combined with mineral deposits of iron and manganese oxides - - all probably wind-blown material that settled on the surface of rock. Other minerals mixed into the varnish composition include hydroxides plus silica and calcium carbonate. These ingredients are cemented to the rock surface by living bacteria. The bacteria reside within and beneath the microscopic layers of varnish, and are usually absent from the exposed surfaces. Exactly how rock varnish is formed is not completely known, but one theory is that varnish formation is a means by which these microbes protect themselves in their exposed, extreme environments. Manganese oxides in rock varnish block the transmission of ultraviolet radiation. Rock varnish forms very slowly and becomes thicker and darker as it ages. Many older deposits become almost black. By closely examining and measuring the varnish coat, geologists are able to measure how long the rock's surface has been undisturbed. Radio carbon dating can be used to date the petroglyphs to give a ballpark age. The science of dating petroglyphs by using the rock varnish is still in the formative stages.

Pathfinder Site

The Pathfinder site is located high above the Purgatoire River valley South of La Junta, Colorado. It was originally discovered in 1996. McGlone and a colleague recognized that Pathfinder had the potential for being a calendar site because it receives direct sunlight at the moment of first light. On Pathfinder's rock face, a distinct shadow is cast from an adjacent rock onto a prominent and unique target-like petroglyph indicating the potential for marking time. 

Pathfinder is a 40 X 12 foot slab of sandstone rock with a flat, East facing surface covered with petroglyphs. A large boulder to the East leans onto the southern half of the Pathfinder, creating a cave. The extended northern part of the Pathfinder panel is exposed to the direct sunlight at sunrise with a distinct shadow cast by the adjoining boulder.

The Pathfinder site has a vast array of images. The most noticeable is the howling dog petroglyph which has an interesting stream of symbolic figures emanating from its mouth. 

To the South of Dog, more petroglyphs are distinguishable. Most notable is a large wing-like or sail-like image with horizontal lines. This is the equinox Target for the shadow created by the adjacent boulder to the East. The Target and the Dog glyphs are the largest and most prominent petroglyphs on Pathfinder. Below the Target are a series of petroglyphs including a human figure, abstract and representational animal glyphs.

Equinox Shadow representation

At sunrise on the day of the equinox, the Dog glyph is illuminated by the first light. The shadow created by the adjacent boulder emerges at dawn and begins to engulf the Target. As the sun rises, the shadow edge fits the northern outline of the Target. Because of the cave-like conditions for much of the rock face, it wasn’t possible to observe or photograph Pathfinder in its entirety. Only by drawing details of the photos taken was the panel able to be re-created. At least two different styles of petroglyphs can be seen: earlier abstract characters and figures and later representational petroglyphs. There are also unique sequences of parallel lines, but they were too worn to be distinguishable.

A Native American archaeo-astronomical petroglyph was also found at Pathfinder. It is believed to be of Changing Woman, a person found in many Native Tribal Stories. Changing Woman is crossed with a dagger of light on the Equinoxes.

Many scientists feel that there should be physical evidence or artifacts to support the claim that the grooves are Ogham writing. There probably were artifacts at one time but repeated flash flooding through the centuries has washed away or covered up any artifacts that may have been there. The fact that most of the petroglyph panels are 10ft or more above the bottom level of the canyons and arroyos supports this theory of flash flooding stripping away the soils found in the bottom of the canyons.

Old World Graffiti Along the Arkansas River

***This is a presentation which I recently gave. I have not yet visited these sites.***

My interest in petroglyphs began when I was a child growing up in the San Luis Valley where petroglyphs seemed to be everywhere. As I aged and began to delve into art, my interest in petroglyphs continued. I found it interesting to see how ancient peoples viewed their world and described it in the artwork they left behind.

The majority of the petroglyphs found in the southeast corner of Colorado are in and around the Comanche National Grasslands and they are quite unique. They're believed to be Pre-Columbian and of European Origin. SE Colorado is an area of short-grass prairie with canyons and hoo doos carved out by the waterways which bring the essence of life to the area. The Arkansas River flows through here on its way to the Mississippi. But the Arkansas isn't alone - the Purgatoire River & Apishapa River along with numerous smaller waterways feed the Arkansas. This area was frequented by various people through the eons. Some might have been nomads, simply following the herds. Others could have been explorers, looking for ore to mine or new land to populate.

The mesa tops provided a place to scan the plains for buffalo or antelope while the canyons offered shelter from the unrelenting sun or sudden storms. The river bottoms provided fertile land for agriculture. It is amongst these caves and other niches that the people who visited this area left their mark. Graffiti of sorts. At least that is what it would be called today. But this Graffiti wasn't made with cans of paint but rather by scraping and carving the rock, leaving behind Rock Art. These people were determined to record events, thoughts, ideas for posterity. 

pecked petroglyph

carved petroglyph

Rock art can be petroglyphs or pictographs. Petroglyphs are symbols which have been carved into stone - they can be pecked resulting in round indentations as well as scraped or carved into the rock resulting in a more defined glyph. Carved glyphs last longer. When creating a glyph, the patina or rock varnish, is scraped off leaving the bare rock face exposed. Depending on where the glyph is located - area of the country, location on the rock - a glyph may remain readable for centuries. Petroglyphs should not be confused with pictographs - pictographs are painted on.

SE Colorado map
C - Crack cave   S - Sun Temple   P - Pathfinder

There is an abundance of rock art here but there are three specific sites of interest. Crack Cave, Sun Temple and the Pathfinder Site. These sites have the typical rock art attributed to the Native Peoples of Colorado but they also have some unusual markings which have been determined to be an ancient form of writing found in the British Isles and Iberia - all locations where the ancient Celts lived. This writing is called Ogham. 

Ogham writing on rock in Ireland

Ogham is the oldest form of writing in Ireland and Scotland. It can still be seen inscribed on hundreds of large and small stones, on the walls of some caves, but also on bone, ivory, bronze and silver objects. The Ogham script was especially well adapted for use on sticks. And sticks were always in ready supply and easier to carve on than rocks. Ogham writing has been discovered at Stonehenge dating to 2200BCE.

The true origin of Ogham is unknown. A 7th century Irish text states that the origins of Ogham should be sought in the Near East. It may have originated in Libya.  It is believed that the Phoenicians came from the region which encompasses Libya and they settled the areas of Spain where the early Celts lived. The Phoenician later expanded their journeys to include Ireland and later Scotland and England. As these skilled seamen settled in new areas, they brought their customs, knowledge and beliefs with them. The Ogham found in Europe is usually written vertically while the Ogham carvings here are written horizontally. This may be because it was easier to find long uninterrupted horizontal surfaces on the rock walls. Irish monks, centuries ago, translated Ogham into Gaelic which has enabled Ogham to be translated into English.

Stonehenge - the most well known Archaeo-astronomical site

All three of the sites I’m going to tell you about are archaeo-astronomical sites. Archaeo-astronomy is the study of how sky watchers of the past understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultures. Often the people relied on sunlight and shadow plays striking and passing across targets and designs which were aligned with Equinox, Solstice and Cross Quarter sunrises and sunsets. The celestial cycles of the moon, Venus and Mars captivated their attention, as well. Knowing seasonal durations and transitions was vital to their success in hunting migratory prey and planting and harvesting crops. Archaeoastronomy draws on several scientific disciplines, primarily astronomy, archaeology, anthropology, psychology and epigraphy (the decoding of ancient inscriptions).

***Part 2 tomorrow!***

All Hallow's Eve

Halloween is a celebration of Spooks and Goblins, Spirits and Witches, Mysteries and Magick. What we now call Halloween actually evolved from an ancient European holiday known as All Hollow's Eve. This was the day supernatural spirits were known to wander the earth. It began as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain marked the moment when the veil between the living and the dead was lifted and the inhabitants of the two worlds could commune. For about 2000 years, October 31st meant bidding goodbye to summer, welcoming winter and remembering the dead. Samhain marked the death of the old year and the birth of the next. It was a day of the dead, a night of magick and mystery, a time when ghosts and lost souls roamed the land. According to legend, every Samhain the souls of the dead were set free by the Lord of the Dead. It was believed that many of these spirits then roamed the natural world searching for bodies to possess. Families began dressing in scary disguises and noisily marching around their neighborhoods to scare away these immortal souls. This practice became the origin of the modern Halloween tradition of wearing costumes. So the next time you are choosing what to be for Halloween, remember all those spirits looking for a strong healthy body to inhabit, and pick a costume that is truly terrifying!