Psalm 104: O Lord My God, Thou Art Very Great (The Creation Psalm) - King James Version (KJV)

Psalm 104: O Lord My God, Thou Art Very Great (The Creation Psalm) - King James Version (KJV)

1. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

2. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

4. Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

5. Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

6. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

7. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

8. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

9. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

11. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

12. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

13. He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

15. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

16. The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

17. Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.

19. He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

20. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

21. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

22. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

23. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

24. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

25. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

26. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

27. These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

28. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

29. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

31. The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.

32. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

33. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

34. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.

35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

Has this chapter inspired or impacted you in any way? Please let us know in the comments!

Donate to our Patreon account with a monthly subscription:

https://www.patreon.com/spiritualquestionsandanswers

Tip the author (or buy us a cup of coffee!) on Kofi:

https://ko-fi.com/spiritualquestionsanswers

Please donate to our Patreon or Kofi accounts, so that we can continue to write and publish great blog content! Every dollar counts! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

Welsh Fairy Folklore of Swansea and Carmarthenshire: Golden Treasure, Faery Passwords, Changelings, and the Mermaid (Lady of the Lake)

Welsh Fairy Folklore of Swansea and Carmarthenshire: Golden Treasure, Faery Passwords, Changelings, and the Mermaid (Lady of the Lake)

The following interesting story is from the book Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx by John Rhys (1901):

"Mr. Richard L. Davies, teacher of the Board School at Ystalyfera, in the Tawe Valley [or Swansea Valley], has been kind enough to write out for me a budget of ideas about the Cwm Tawe Fairies, as retailed to him by a native who took great delight in the traditions of his neighbourhood - John Davies (Shon o'r Bont), who was a storekeeper at Ystalyfera. He died an old man about three years ago. I give his stories as transmitted to me by Mr. Davies, but the reader will find them a little hazy now and then, as when the fairies are made into ordinary conjurer's devils:

"That is a wonderful thing, that old castle there, he would say, pointing to the Ynys Geinon Rock [near Craig Y Nos Castle, now in the Brecon Beacons National Park near Glyntawe, in Powys, Wales]. I remember a time when people would be terrified to go near it, especially at night. There was considerable danger that one might be taken to Bendith y Mamau [or Tylwyth Teg, the fairy folk]. It is said that there are a great many of them there, though I know not where they abide. The old folks used to say that there was a pit somewhere about the middle of the Castle, about a yard wide and some five or six yards deep, with a stone about three tons in weight over the mouth of it, and that they had a passage underground from that pit all the way to the cave of Tan yr Ogof near the top of the Cwm [or valley], that is, near Adelina Patti's residence at Craig y Nos Castle: 

"There [in the cave], it was said, they spent their time during the day, while they came down here to play their tricks at night. They have, they say, a gold ladder of one or two and twenty rungs, and it is along that they pass up and down. They have a little word ; and it suffices if the foremost on the ladder merely utters that word, for the stone to rise of itself; while there is another word, which it suffices the hindmost in going down to utter so that the stone shuts behind him. 

"It is said that a servant from one of the neighbouring farms, when looking for rabbits in the rock, happened to say the word as he stood near the stone, that it opened for him, and that he went down the ladder; but that because he was ignorant of the word to make it shut behind him, the fairies discovered by the draught putting out their candles that there was something wrong. So they found him out and took him with them. He remained living with them for seven years, but at the end of the seven years he escaped with his hat full of guineas [gold coins]. He had by this time learnt the two words, and got to know a good deal about the hiding places of their treasures. He told everything to a farmer in the neighbourhood, so the latter likewise went down, and some used to say that he brought thence thrice the fill of a salt-chest of guineas, half guineas, and seven-and-sixpenny pieces in one day. But he got too greedy, and like many a greedy one before him his crime proved his death; for he went down the fourth time in the dusk of the evening, when the fairies came upon him, and he was never seen any more. It is said that his four quarters [as in "drawn and quartered"] hang in a room under the Castle but who has been there to see them I know not. It is true enough that the above-mentioned farmer got lost, and that nothing was heard respecting him; and it is equally true that his family became very well to do almost at once at that time. 

"You know as well as I do that they say, that the fairies have underground passages to the caves of Ystradfellte, near Penderyn. There is the Garn Goch [Y Garn Goch Iron Age Fort, with a history of settlement dating back to the Neolithic] also on the Drum (now called the village of Onllwyn); they say there are hundreds of tons of gold accumulated by them there, and you have heard the story about one of the Gethings going thither to dig in the Garn, and how he [sic] was transformed by the fairies into a wheel of fire, and that he could get no quiet from them until he sent them to manufacture a rope of sand!"

— A more intelligible version of this story has been given at pp. 19-20 above. "There was formerly an old woman living in a small house near Ynys Geinon; and she had the power of bewitching, people used to say: there was a rumour that she spent seven days, seven hours, and seven minutes with the fairies every year in the cave at the Castle. It was a pretty general belief that she got such and such a quantity of gold for every child she could steal for them, and that she put one of those old urchins of theirs in its place: the latter never grew at all. The way she used to do it was to enter people's houses with the excuse of asking for alms, having a large dark-grey old cloak on her back, and the cloak concealed one of the children of Bendith y Mamau. Whenever she found the little child of the good woman of the house in its cradle, she would take upon herself to rock the cradle, so that if the mother only turned her back for a minute or two, she would throw the sham child into the cradle and hurry away as fast as she could with the baby. 

"A man in the neighbourhood had a child lingering for years without growing at all, and it was the opinion of all that it had been changed by the old woman. The father at length threatened to call in the aid of "the wise man," when the old woman came there for seven days, pretending that it was in order to bathe the little boy in cold water; and on the seventh day she got permission to take him, before it was light, under a certain spout of water: so she said, but the neighbours said it was to change him. However that was, the boy from that time forth got on as fast as a gosling. But the mother had all but to take an oath to the old woman, that she would duck him in cold water every morning for three months, and by the end of that time there was no finer infant in the Cwm."

Mr. Davies has given me some account also of the annual pilgrimage to the Fan mountains [Carmarthen Fans] to see the Lake Lady: these are his words on the subject — they recall pp. 15-16 above:

— "It has been the yearly custom (for generations, as far as I can find) for young as well as many people further advanced in years to make a general excursion in carts, gambos, and all kinds of vehicles, to ILyn y Fan [Llyn y Fan Fach], in order to see the water nymph (who appeared on one day only, viz. the first Sunday in August). This nymph was said to have the lower part of her body resembling that of a dolphin, while the upper part was that of a beautiful lady: this anomalous form appeared on the first Sunday in August (if the lake should be without a ripple) and combed her tresses on the reflecting surface of the lake. The yearly peregrination to the abode of the Fan deity is still kept up in this valley — Cwmtawe; but not to the extent that it used to formerly."

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

Has this post inspired or impacted you in any way? Please let us know in the comments!

Donate to our Patreon account with a monthly subscription:

https://www.patreon.com/spiritualquestionsandanswers

Tip the author (or buy us a cup of coffee!) on Kofi:

https://ko-fi.com/spiritualquestionsanswers

Please donate to our Patreon or Kofi accounts, so that we can continue to write and publish great blog content! Every dollar counts! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

A Simple Yet Effective Grounding Meditation Exercise

A Simple Yet Effective Grounding Meditation Exercise

1. Sit or stand in a comfortable position, with your back straight but not rigid.

2. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. When you are ready, breathe out through your nose, and relax.

3. Proceed to let your breath flow slowly and naturally without pause - in and out. Breathe calmly and without restriction.

4. Gently focus your attention on your root chakra at the base of your spine.

5. Imagine a connection opening up between your root chakra and the Earth. This connection can take many forms and can be different each time you practice. Some like to visualize it as a tree trunk or roots, a hollow bamboo stalk, a silver tube, a beam of light, a flow of menstrual blood, and so on.

6. Visualize this energetic connection extending from your root chakra down into Mother Earth, passing through the crust and bedrock, deep into the planet's molten mantle or metallic core.

7. Once you have formed this connection, allow any overwhelming emotional sensations or negative energies - such as fear, anger, lethargy, panic, hyperactivity, grief, shame, guilt, or anxiety - to flow through your connection down into the center of Mother Earth. 

8. There, in a fiery blast, see the energy purified and returned back to you as a safe, loving, peaceful, accepting, and comforting Life Force.

9. Take your time to maintain this flowing connection - overwhelming energy down, soothing energy back up.

10. Practice your grounding meditation regularly. As you move through your day, consciously remind yourself to ground, and then perform this meditation again. Notice the difference that it makes in your mood, stability, and calmness. Whenever you feel off-balance or fearful, continue to perform this meditation and you will see positive results.

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

Has this meditation inspired or impacted you in any way? Please let us know in the comments!

Donate to our Patreon account with a monthly subscription:

https://www.patreon.com/spiritualquestionsandanswers

Tip the author (or buy us a cup of coffee!) on Kofi:

https://ko-fi.com/spiritualquestionsanswers

Please donate to our Patreon or Kofi accounts, so that we can continue to write and publish great blog content! Every dollar counts! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

Amber as Divine Tears

Amber as Divine Tears

Helios was the ancient Greek god of the Sun, who drove the solar chariot across the sky. When his son, Phaëthon, attempted to drive the chariot without his father's permission, he lost control of the horses and drove the sun towards the Earth. Zeus had to strike down the chariot with a lightning bolt in order to save the Earth from burning up. The Milky Way was thus formed by the scorched path of the Sun across the sky.

Phaëthon fell to his death, and his sisters, the seven Heliades, grieved and mourned for four months. The gods turned the sisters into poplar trees, and their tears into amber, which often washes up on the Baltic shores. According to Apollonius of Rhodes, in his Argonautica, the Celts said that the amber drops are the tears of Apollo himself, after his banishment by Zeus to the land of the Hyperboreans. Among the Norse and Vikings, amber was believed to be the tears of Freyja, the goddess of love and beauty.

In the Middle Ages, amber was also known as glaes, glas, or glass. The "amber islands" of the Frisian archipelago, or Glaesariae, were named after these terms. When the Greek geographer Pytheas of Massalia wrote about the origin of amber, he referred to the north Frisian island of Abalus - a name which may have been distantly related to "apple" or "Apollo".

Apollo and his amber-glass tears may have also lent their names to the English region of Glastonbury, the former Isle of Avalon, where the sword Excalibur was forged, and where King Arthur was taken to heal after being gravely wounded at the Battle of Camlann.

Baltic amber is often believed to have pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, and to have a calming, relaxing effect. Some healers also believe that amber helps to balance the chakras, cleanse the aura, and protect the energy body. Have you ever tried wearing amber for pain, inflammation, or anxiety, and if so, how did it work for you? Please leave a comment below!

(This blog does not constitute medical advice and the author is not liable for any loss or damages that may occur. Please consult your medical professional before starting or stopping any treatment, supplement, exercise, or therapy.)

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

Has this post inspired or impacted you in any way? Please let us know in the comments!

Donate to our Patreon account with a monthly subscription:

https://www.patreon.com/spiritualquestionsandanswers

Tip the author (or buy us a cup of coffee!) on Kofi:

https://ko-fi.com/spiritualquestionsanswers

Please donate to our Patreon or Kofi accounts, so that we can continue to write and publish great blog content! Every dollar counts! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

 

Hosea 2:19-23 (KJV) - Betrothed to the LORD

Hosea 2:19-23  -  Betrothed to the LORD

19. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

20. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

21. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

22. And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel (God Plants).

23. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

- Hosea 2:19-23 KJV (King James Version)

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

Has this passage inspired or impacted you in any way? Please let us know in the comments!

Donate to our Patreon account with a monthly subscription:

https://www.patreon.com/spiritualquestionsandanswers

Tip the author (or buy us a cup of coffee!) on Kofi:

https://ko-fi.com/spiritualquestionsanswers

Please donate to our Patreon or Kofi accounts, so that we can continue to write and publish great blog content! Every dollar counts! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

 

A Theosophical and Esoteric Interpretation of the Zoroastrian Karshipta Bird

A Theosophical and Esoteric Interpretation of the Zoroastrian Karshipta Bird

The ancient Zoroastrian scripture named Vendidad or Vidēvdād (“The Law Repudiating the Demons”) mentions a holy bird sent to humanity by God (Ahura Mazda), for the purpose of bringing to them the true religion of Mazda. This holy bird was named Karshipta (sometimes spelled Karshipt, Karshift, or Karšift, from the Avestan Karšiptar).

"O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! 

Who is he who brought the Religion of Mazda into the Vara (Enclosure) which Yima made?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It was the bird Karshipta, O holy Zarathushtra!’"

- Vendidad 2:42

According to the Bundahishn, chapters 19 and 24, "The bird Karshipta dwells in the heavens: were he living on the earth, he would be the king of birds... He brought the Religion into the Vara of Yima, and recites the Avesta in the language of the birds."

Theosophist H.P. Blavatsky, in Volume 2 of her Secret Doctrine, offers an esoteric interpretation: "Karshipta is the human mind-soul, and the deity thereof, symbolized in ancient Magianism by a bird, as the Greeks symbolized it by a butterfly. No sooner had Karshipta entered the Vara or man, than he understood the law of Mazda, or Divine Wisdom."

A literal translation of the Avestan "karšiptar" would be “the black-winged” - from karši- “black” and -ptar “wing”. This name possibly hints at the bird's identity as the raven, who played the role of divine messenger in many Indo-European legends. Interestingly, karši- “black” comes from the same root word as Sanskrit kṛṣṇa, or "black" - from which comes the name of Vishnu's Avatar, Lord Krishna. In Middle Persian, another word for raven was warāɣ, which was also related to the Avestan vārǝɣna- “falcon”.

A commentary on the Vendidad associates the Karshipta with the Chakravaka or ruddy shelduck (Anas casarca), also known as the Brahmany duck of India, with its black flight feathers. It may be likewise related to the Hamsa, the goose or swan of Brahma. From a theological standpoint, one may also notice the close resemblance of the Karshipta to the dove of the Holy Spirit from Christianity, as well as to the various sacred birds of ancient Egypt, such as the Horus falcon - and to the Persian Simurgh, which has its nest in the Tree of Life or Tree of Knowledge.

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

Has this post inspired or impacted you in any way? Please let us know in the comments!

Donate to our Patreon account with a monthly subscription:

https://www.patreon.com/spiritualquestionsandanswers

Tip the author (or buy us a cup of coffee!) on Kofi:

https://ko-fi.com/spiritualquestionsanswers

Please donate to our Patreon or Kofi accounts, so that we can continue to write and publish great blog content! Every dollar counts! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

 

Magickal Correspondences for Beltane (Wiccan Sabbat Holiday on May 1)

Magickal Correspondences for Beltane (Wiccan Sabbat Holiday on May 1)

Incense and Oils: Passion flower, frankincense, tuberose, vanilla, lilac, rose

Colors: Red and white (symbolizing God and Goddess), dark green, dark yellow, rainbow, blue, pastels

Animals: White cow or bull, goat, rabbit, hare, honeybees, horse, cat, snake, swan, crane, deer and stag

Mythical Creatures: Faeries, satyrs, giants, Pegasus

Gemstones and Crystals: Emerald, orange carnelian, sapphire, rose quartz, lapis lazuli, sapphire, yellow agate, bloodstone

Herbs: Almond, angelica, damiana, hawthorn, hibiscus, saffron, ash tree, bluebells, cinquefoil, daisy, frankincense, hawthorn, ivy, lilac, marsh marigold, meadowsweet, primrose, roses, woodruff, yellow cowslip, yarrow

Element: Air

Gods: May King, Jack in the Green, Horned God, Herne, Cernunnos, Green Man (European), Bel (Celtic), Baal (Phoenician and Canaanite), Cupid, Bacchus (Greek), Dionysus (Roman), Gods of the Hunt

Goddesses: May Queen, Flora, Maia, Flower Goddesses, Lady of the Greenwood, Aphrodite (Greek), Venus (Roman), Artemis (Greek), Diana (Roman), Blodeuwedd (Welsh), Lady Erzulie (Voudun), Baubo (Greek), Rhea (Greek and Cretan), Prithvi (Hindu), Divine Couples, Goddesses of the Hunt

Foods: Dairy, honey, oats, red or pink fruits, herbal salads, red or pink wine punch, round oatmeal or barley cakes or cookies, sweets

Symbols and Decorations: Maypole and ribbons, flower crowns, fires, bowers, fields, May baskets, white flowers and ribbons, daisy chains, flower chaplet, white wine in clear crystal glass, chalice, butter churn, blackthorn and hawthorn branches, seasonal fruit

Essential Ideas: Fertility, romance, sensuality, prosperity, compassion, youthful play, exuberance, pleasure, positive action, spring growth, new beginnings

Celebratory Meaning: Sacred Marriage of the Lord and Lady, arrival of the Tuatha de Danaan in Ireland

Magick and Ritual: The Great Rite, love, romance and fertility magick, elf and faery power, offerings to elementals, crop blessings, lighting sacred fires, divination, building shrines, altar set-up, fire-calling, honoring house guardians, snake dancing, bathing faces in the May morning dew to retain youthful beauty

Customs: Raising the Maypole, dancing around the Maypole, bonfires, jumping fire, mating, picking flowers, making flower baskets, frolicking through the countryside, archery tournaments, sword dances, feasting, drinking and music, moving the herds to high pasture

Time: Dawn

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

Has this post inspired or impacted you in any way? Please let us know in the comments!

Donate to our Patreon account with a monthly subscription:

https://www.patreon.com/spiritualquestionsandanswers

Tip the author (or buy us a cup of coffee!) on Kofi:

https://ko-fi.com/spiritualquestionsanswers

Please donate to our Patreon or Kofi accounts, so that we can continue to write and publish great blog content! Every dollar counts! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!