“Our society tends to regard as a sickness any mode of thought or behaviour that is inconvenient for the system and this is plausible because when an individual doesn't fit into the system it causes pain to the individual as well as problems for the system. Thus the manipulation of an individual to adjust him to the system is seen as a cure for a sickness and therefore as good.”
― Theodore Kaczynski

Rest in Peace Uncle Ted (May 22nd 1942 - June 10th 2023)

Image: Landscape with a Wanderer by Thomas Fearnley

“Our indigenous mythologies…united man with nature and the universal laws to which we are eternally subject. Nature mirrored the people and the people mirrored nature, and the two participated in an existence where there was no sharp separation between them. Natural, untrained intelligence spontaneously moves towards the truth in all men who use their reason. Nature, wise in all her ways, bestows upon her creations the knowledge necessary for their survival.”
― Ron McVan

Image: La Dame Blanche by Greg Spalenka

Notes: "La Dame Blanche," also known as "The White Lady," embodies an archetypal adoration for the ethereal and the natural that transcends temporal and spatial boundaries. Symbolically, the stag serves as a guardian of the environment and is intricately linked to the protective Algiz Rune. From an alchemical perspective, it signifies the profound elevation of the Divine Feminine, as the Sacred Masculine harmoniously uplifts the essence of existence itself.

“The mystical life is the centre of all that I do and all that I think and all that I write… I have always considered myself a voice of what I believe to be a greater renaissance - the revolt of the soul against the intellect.”
― William Butler Yeats, Letters

Notes: William Butler Yeats, the renowned Irish poet, playwright, politician, Noble Prize winner and leader of the Irish literary renaissance, was born on this day in 1865. Despite his English and Protestant background, Yeats was actively involved with the Young Ireland movement, showing his affinity for the Irish rebellion and its heroic figures through much of his poetry. His contributions to literature transcend the boundaries of Romanticism and Modernism. Yeats steadfastly rejected modern rationalism, materialism, and egalitarianism, deeming them detrimental to the human spirit and incompatible with his aristocratic nature.

Image: Portrait of William Butler Yeats by John Butler Yeats

“The call to adventure signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of this society to a zone unknown. This fateful region of both treasure and danger may be variously represented: as a distant land, a forest, a kingdom underground, beneath the waves or above the sky, a secret island, lofty mountaintop, or profound dream state; but it is always a place of strangely fluid and polymorphous beings, unimaginable torments, superhuman deeds, and impossible delights.”
― Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Image: Prince Valiant by John Cullen Murphy

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
―Buckminster Fuller

Notes: Dissidents often unfortunately get trapped in a repetitive cycle of fighting against the system or hoping for a transformative political leader. This sense of learned helplessness is deeply ingrained in much of the population, afflicting even those who are aware of the system's many manipulations and deceits. For an excellent example of someone breaking free of this pattern and taking initiative to build a new model you should look no further than The Woodlander Initiative.

Image: Blue Wells by Benjamin Williams Leader

"True freedom can only exist in individuals who take personal responsibility for their own thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. It is not enough to simply claim freedom; one must actively live it by being aware of the consequences of their choices and the impact they have on themselves and others… True freedom is not a privilege or a right granted by any external authority; it is a state of being that can only be attained through self-awareness and self-governance.”
― Mark Passio

Image: Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell

“People take on the shapes of the songs and the stories that surround them, especially if they don't have their own song.”
― Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys

Notes: Stories play a pivotal role in shaping and informing our perception of reality. From a subjective standpoint, which constitutes the primary lens through which we engage with the world, it is more precise to assert that stories, rather than atoms, comprise the fundamental building blocks of reality. Stories serve as the lifeblood of any human civilisation, acting as vessels through which knowledge, culture, and wisdom are seamlessly transmitted from one generation to the next. If our stories are hi-jacked by external forces we are then shaped and moulded by their narratives rather than those of our folk.

Image: The Boyhood of Raleigh by John Everett Millais

The Sophianic Myth

“The most beautiful story on Earth, is the story of the Earth.”

Voice Credit: Asa

Discover the Home Story today here.

“People, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.”
― Charles Mackay

Image: Deserter by Tomasz Alen Kopera

“Mystery teachings do not carry apocalyptic predictions, but the plot of the Sophianic myth contains a key event called “correction” (Greek diorthosis), indicating a decisive moment in the human adventure when we as a species come to terms definitively with the archon problem, the alien presence on Earth. We would resolve and correct that problem through reaching an interactive connection to the wisdom goddess.”
―John Lamb Lash, Trickster Pack: At the End of Deception – A Gnostic View of Disclosure

Image: Where None Have Travelled by Pindurski

“To inspect the evidence of the existence of a conspiracy guiding our political destiny from behind the scenes would force many of these people to repudiate a lifetime of accumulated opinions. It takes a person with strong character indeed to face the facts and admit he has been wrong even if it was because he was uninformed.”
― Frederick Gary Allen, None Dare Call It Conspiracy

Image: The Allegory of Complacency by Mear One (Kalen Ockerman)

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”
― William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Image: Encontrar al contemplador by Tomás Sanchez

“Gnostic Sophia literature is essentially different from that of the Buddhist wisdom books. Assuming that man has fallen into this world from a more perfect condition, the Gnostics expended much ingenuity on trying to describe the process which brought about this fall. Classical Buddhism shows no interest in what may have preceded ignorance.”
—Edward Conze, Buddhism and Gnosis

Notes: Contrary to common misconceptions, Gnostics did not believe that humans fell into this world from a more perfect condition. Rather, according to Gnostic teachings, part of the Godhead - Sophia - fell into an unusual engagement with material evolution. This event is not a split in the Godhead, as in Persian duality, but rather part of an exceptional emanation that became our habitat. The idea that humanity suffers from a fallen state is not part of genuine Gnostic teaching instead, the Sophia mythos warns that our species may fall under the deviant influence of the Archons.

Image: 佛 (Buddha) by Xin Zia

"The Natural Law outlook views all of nature as possessing inherent worth and dignity. Both ontologically and energetically, nature is not merely a mechanistic material phenomenon, but is a living matrix of diverse vital biospheres, alive with personality, consciousness, will and the right to thrive. The Earth herself is a sentient being, a person. Nature, and all of nature's elements, are therefore as much an integral concern of the nation as are the nation's human citizens. As stewards of the Earth, it is incumbent upon all human beings to act as protectors of all of our natural resources."
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, The Dharma Manifesto

Image: Vishnu and Krishna by Shashank Mishra

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.”
― Cicero

Image: Ciceros Speech Attacking Catilina in the Roman Senate by Hans Werner Schmidt

I used to wonder what the Sanskrit word 'Tantra' meant. Only recently did I bother to look it up, to learn that it means 'loom' or 'weave'. In its proper context, Tantra means 'method' or 'doctrine'. It describes traditional wisdom and its application in various areas of life.

But as a Heathen of the Germanic tradition I cannot help but focus on the relatedness of the word 'weave', for that is a common metaphor for the Germanic concept of Wyrd (which is more rightly called 'Orlæg'). Orlæg refers to the intertwining pattern that weaves together the undulations of our individual lives.

The common ground between Tantra and Orlæg is that both refer to facts which are tried and tested; to established knowledge and its effect on the here-and-now. This shared concept basically says: Learn from your ancestors - Accept the reality they handed down to you - Use it to your advantage - Expand the collective wisdom of your folk with it.

“When the king can no longer tolerate his jester the tyrant is nigh.”
― Jordan B Peterson

Notes: Within classical society, the jester, while appearing to be a trivial figure, played a vital role in maintaining the proper functioning of the kingdom. The court environment of that era was such that few individuals could openly critique or speak out against the king's court, especially if it involved the lord or the king themselves. The jester, however, was one of the few individuals who had the liberty to speak their minds without fear of retribution. Jesters were not afraid of causing offence, and they often used humour to tease, mock, and joke about the nobility of the court.

Today, the role of the jester has evolved into that of the comedian, who holds the great responsibility of speaking truth to power and challenging the status quo, a role that for the most part they have completely neglected.

Image: Stańczyk by Jan Matejko

“Most civilisation is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame.”
― Frank Herbert, God Emperor of Dune

Image: Bene Gesserit by Mark Zug

“In unraveling the intricacies of a culture's myths, symbols, and archetypes, we embark on a journey of discovery that traverses the terrain of its collective soul. We navigate the labyrinth of meaning, unraveling the enigmas that define its identity. By deciphering these keys to understanding, we gain access to the inner sanctum where a culture's deepest reservoirs of values, fears, and aspirations converge, offering us a profound glimpse into the heart of humanity's ceaseless quest for meaning and belonging.”
― Mircea Eliade

Image: Theseus and Minotaur (Detail) by Maestro dei Cassoni Campana

“Monotheism mounted a two pronged attack on pagan cultures. It appealed to the rulers of societies as a superior means of social control and it appealed to the poor masses as it made a virtue of avoiding the sybaritic excesses that they could not usually afford to indulge."
― Peter J Carroll, Liber Kaos

Image: The Coronation of Charlemagne by Friedrich Kaulbach

Notes: Charlemagne, widely revered as the "saviour of Europe," engaged in a 32-year conflict of domination and spiritual transmutation against the pagan Saxons, from 772 to 804. His intention was to supplant the ancient beliefs and cultural foundations of the Saxons with the moral code and governance of Christianity.

The Charlemagne Prize continues to uphold the core values of its namesake, and was initially awarded to Richard von Codenhove-Kalergi. Subsequent recipients have included Tony Blair, Winston Churchill, Angela Merkel, Henry Kissinger and the current recipient, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Authority should be questioned, not blindly obeyed. Critical thinking is the antidote to manipulation and control. In a world where authority figures and institutions often claim unquestionable power, it is crucial to cultivate a mindset of critical thinking and skepticism. Blind obedience to authority can lead to the erosion of personal freedom and the perpetuation of harmful systems. By questioning and critically examining authority, we can discern between legitimate and illegitimate exercise of power. Critical thinking enables us to challenge assumptions, seek evidence, and make informed decisions based on our own reasoning and understanding.”
― Mark Passio

Image: John Nada / They Live by Dave Merrell