Jinn Imam Ali Conquers Jinn Unknown artist Ahsan-ol-Kobar 1568 Golestan Palace. Together, the jinn, humans and angels make up the three sapient creations of God. Like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will like humans and unlike angels.[3] Etymology and definitions[edit] Jinn is a noun of the collective number in Arabic literally meaning "hidden from sight", and it derives from the Arabic root j-n-n (pronounced: jann/ junn جَنّ / جُنّ) meaning "to hide" or "be hidden". In Arabic, the word jinn is in the collective number, translated in English as plural (e.g., "several genies"); jinnī is in the singulative number, used to refer to one individual, which is translated by the singular in English (e.g., "one genie"). In the pre-Islamic era[edit] Inscriptions found in Northwestern Arabia seem to indicate the worship of jinn, or at least their tributary status, hundreds of years before Islam. In Islam[edit] Classifications and characteristics[edit]
Klabautermann A Klabautermann on a ship, from Buch Zur See, 1885. A Klabautermann is a water kobold (or nix) who assists sailors and fishermen on the Baltic and North Sea in their duties. He is a merry and diligent creature, with an expert understanding of most watercraft, and an unsupressable musical talent. His image is of a small sailor in yellow with a tobacco pipe and woollen sailor's cap, often wearing a caulking hammer. Despite the positive attributes, there is one omen associated with his presence: no member of a ship blessed by his presence shall ever set eyes on him. More recently, the Klabautermann is sometimes described as having more sinister attributes, and blamed for things that go wrong on the ship. Klabautermann in fiction[edit] References[edit] Melville, F The Book of Faeries 2002 Quarto Publishing Jump up ^ Leander Petzoldt, Kleines Lexikon der Dämonen und Elementargeister, Becksche Reihe, 1990, p. 109.
Shamanism The earliest known depiction of a Siberian shaman, produced by the Dutch explorer Nicolaes Witsen, who authored an account of his travels among Samoyedic- and Tungusic-speaking peoples in 1692. Witsen labelled the illustration as a "Priest of the Devil" and gave this figure clawed feet to highlight what Witsen perceived as demonic qualities.[1] Shamanism (/ˈʃɑːmən/ SHAH-mən or /ˈʃeɪmən/ SHAY-mən) is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world.[2] A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.[3] The term "shamanism" was first applied to the ancient religion of the Turks and Mongols, as well as those of the neighboring Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking peoples. Terminology[edit]
Gargoyle Gargoyles of Notre-Dame de Paris Etymology[edit] The term originates from the French gargouille, which in English is likely to mean "throat" or is otherwise known as the "gullet";[2] cf. Latin gurgulio, gula, gargula ("gullet" or "throat") and similar words derived from the root gar, "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water (e.g., Portuguese garganta, "throat"; gárgola, "gargoyle"). It is also connected to the French verb gargariser, which means "to gargle Legend of La Gargouille[edit] A French legend that sprang up around the name of St. History[edit] Many medieval cathedrals included gargoyles and chimeras. Both ornamented and unornamented water spouts projecting from roofs at parapet level were a common device used to shed rainwater from buildings until the early eighteenth century. Gargoyles and the Catholic Church[edit] Gargoyle representing a comical demon at the base of a pinnacle with two smaller gargoyles, Visby, Sweden Animal gargoyles[edit] Gallery[edit] Notes
TheFreeDictionary.com The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. shaman (ˈʃæmən) n 1. 2. [C17: from Russian shaman, from Tungusian ̆saman, from Pali samana Buddhist monk, ultimately from Sanskrit śrama religious exercise] shamanicadj Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003 sha•man (ˈʃɑ mən, ˈʃeɪ-, ˈʃæm ən) n. (esp. among certain tribal peoples) a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc. [1690–1700; < German Schamane < Russian shamán, probably < Evenki šamān, samān] sha•man•ic (ʃəˈmæn ɪk) adj. Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms shaman Translations shaman[ˈʃæmən]N → chamán m n. curandero.
Basilisk Accounts[edit] The basilisk is called "king" because it is reputed to have on its head a mitre- or crown-shaped crest. Stories of the basilisk show that it is not completely distinguished from the cockatrice. "There is the same power also in the serpent called the basilisk. Isidore of Seville defined the basilisk as the king of snakes, due to its killing glare and its poisonous breath. Theophilus Presbyter gives a long recipe in his book for creating a basilisk to convert copper into "Spanish gold" (De auro hyspanico). Albertus Magnus in the De animalibus wrote about the killing gaze of the basilisk, but he denied other legends, such as the rooster hatching the egg. Geoffrey Chaucer featured a basilicok (as he called it) in his Canterbury Tales. Stories gradually added to the basilisk's deadly capabilities, such as describing it as a larger beast, capable of breathing fire and killing with the sound of its voice. Origin[edit] Literary references[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
Shamanism:: Foundation for Shamanic Studies founded by Michael Harner Norse funeral Norse funerals, or the burial customs of Viking Age North Germanic Norsemen (early medieval Scandinavians), are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas, Old Norse poetry, and notably from the account of Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Throughout Scandinavia, there are many remaining tumuli in honour of Viking kings and chieftains, in addition to runestones and other memorials. Some of the most notable of them are at the Borre mound cemetery, in Norway, at Birka in Sweden and Lindholm Høje and Jelling in Denmark. A prominent tradition is that of the ship burial, where the deceased was laid in a boat, or a stone ship, and given grave offerings in accordance with his earthly status and profession, sometimes including sacrificed slaves. Afterwards, piles of stone and soil were usually laid on top of the remains in order to create a tumulus. Grave goods[edit] It was common to leave gifts with the deceased. Funerary monuments[edit] Rituals[edit] Human sacrifice[edit]
8 Government Conspiracy Theories (And How They Could Be Right) Grab your tinfoil hats. It’s time to get paranoid. Conspiracy #1: The government is trying to control my mind. The Truth: The government has invested millions in mind control technologies. Who doesn’t want a telepathic ray gun? In 2002, the Air Force Research laboratory patented a similar microwave device. The mind games don’t stop there. “Can we get control of an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against fundamental laws of nature, such as self-preservation?” In April 1953, the CIA decided to find out. That lack of test subjects drove the CIA to wander off the ethical deep-end, leading the Agency to experiment on unwitting Americans. About 80 institutions—44 of them colleges—housed MKUltra labs. The CIA tried its hand at erasing people’s memories, too. In the wake of the Watergate scandal, the CIA destroyed hundreds of thousands of MKUltra documents. Conspiracy #2: The government is poisoning me. Library of Congress Wikimedia Commons Getty Images