Temples typically facilitate organized worship, and thus bring the community together. They provide a sense of fellowship (to borrow a Christian term) for members of the religion and provide education for those wanting to practice the religion (both members and curious outsiders). Temples provide a place for regular worship, as well as events significant to the religion itself (such as feast days) and to the individuals practicing the religion (such as rites of passage).

While regular get-togethers are important for networking and fostering a sense of community, having a temple allows for a build-up of energy which becomes quite tangible after a sufficient period of time. Such an energy build-up allows for powerful spiritual experiences. Those who practice ceremonial magick are very aware of the benefits in having a dedicated personal space / temple for private practice. Working within a space repeatedly, perhaps by first tracing a magick circle, enhances the containment and concentration of energy which invariably arises within rituals. A public temple theoretically allows for a much greater build-up of energy as long as the participants are sufficiently dedicated.

Historically, pagans have had the most beautiful temples ever built – the temples of Egypt, Greece and Rome stand as eloquent testimony. While contemporary pagans don’t have anything rivaling the temples of our ancestors, steps are being taken to redress the issue.

A recent announcement from Minnesota declared that a Celtic Pagan temple called the Irish Cottage Building, in Northeast Minneapolis, will be opening to the public on September 18, 2010.

This is by no means the only pagan temple in the US. There are doubtless many on private property which are made available to a select few, but there are also a few public ones.

The Kemetic Orthodoxy community have Tawy House in Southwest Michigan, which is a former convent featuring a full-size temple chapel and library. There is also The Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet in Nevada, which is used for various events.

The Dianic community have their Goddess Temple of Orange County as well as a number of other temples.

ADF have their Cedarlight Grove, in Baltimore Maryland, which is available for various events and education.

Probably the most spectacular temple we have had in the US was the Nuwaubian Temple in Athens, Georgia. It was set up by the Nuwaubian sect, but was eventually abandoned and sold after their founder was imprisoned for money laundering and child molestation. It’s a shame that the site wasn’t purchased by a pagan or Kemetic group and preserved. There are short films on YouTube which show what the site used to look like from the front and while driving by, and what it looks like now – a plantation.

For the truly magnificent, we have to look overseas to a modern Hellenic temple in Thessaloniki, Greece. While it can be difficult to conclusively tell from photos, this temple appears to come close to capturing the feel of an ancient Hellenic temple. Former marathon runner, Aristoteles Kakogeorgiou, has created an amazing legacy that is already being used for worship by YSEE (The Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes) – a contemporary group engaging in Hellenic revivalism.

It will be quite some time before pagans have access to the sort of money that various Christian groups have, such as the ambitious project by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, who will be building a replica of Jerusalem’s destroyed Temple of Solomon in eastern Sao Paulo, Brazil, in a four-year, 113-million dollar construction project. When completed, the temple will have a capacity for 10,000 people.

Every temple which we as pagans build fosters a sense of community and facilitates devotion to our deities. I look forward to the day when we have sufficient numbers of temples to require guidebooks for the pilgrimages which will doubtlessly ensue.

Tony Mierzwicki

Within a few days of this story, The Christian Science Monitor was declaring the find as a hoax. Dr Randall Price, a longtime searcher himself for the ark and former member of the Chinese-led team that announced the finding, stated that “… in the end, proper analysis may show this to be a hoax and negatively reflect how gullible Christians can be.”

A leaked email from Price – which he confirmed that he wrote – stated that a group of Kurdish workers “are said to have planted large wood beams taken from an old structure in the Black Sea area (where the photos were originally taken) at the Mt Ararat site. … During the summer of 2009 more wood was planted inside a cave at the site. The Chinese team went in the late summer of 2009 (I was there at the time and knew about the hoax) and was shown the cave with the wood and made their film.”

Those of us with long memories will remember previous claims of final definitive proof of the existence of Noah’s Ark. There have been at least half a dozen others — all of them funded by Christian organizations — who have claimed to have found Noah’s Ark. There have also been numerous earlier searches. So far all these claims have been spurious.

The story of Noah’s Ark, taken from the Book of Genesis (chapters 6-9) is one of the best known stories in the Bible, and is featured in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other traditions. God sends a great Flood to destroy the earth because of man’s wickedness. Noah, the only righteous man of his time, is told by God to build a large vessel, or Ark, to save his family and a representation of the world’s animals. [Incidentally, the word for Ark in Noah’s Ark and the Ark of the Covenant is the same, and literally means a vessel or box.] The Flood came and rose until all the mountains were covered. The waters abated, dry land reappeared and in the seventh month the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. This is uncertainty as to which actual mountain is meant, but currently most people identify the mountain as Mt Ararat. The previous main contender for the Ark’s final resting place was Mt Judi.

The story of Noah and the Ark was regarded as literal truth until the 19^th century, whereupon advances in science caused most people to abandon this belief. There are all sorts of logistical issues to be considered such as stopping the animals on the Ark from eating each other for the seven months that they’re on it. Also, there’s the matter of where did the water come from and where did it go?

What many people don’t realize is that the Biblical account of the Flood is based on a similar story in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is preserved in Sumerian and Akkadian versions. The earliest Sumerian versions of the epic date from as early as the Third Dynasty of Ur (2150-2000 BCE), while the earliest Akkadian versions are dated to the early second millennium. [It is important to note that it is not just the Flood story which is taken from earlier sources, but numerous other stories as well, including that of Creation and the Tower of Babel.]

By way of comparison, the oldest material in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) may date from the 13th century BCE, but did not reach its current form until the 5th century BCE. It is evident that the Sumerian version is centuries older than the Hebrew version.

In the Gilgamesh flood myth, the hero is Utnapishtim. The god, Ea (equivalent to the Sumerian Enki), warned Utnapishtim of the gods’ plan to destroy all life through a great flood and instructed him to build a vessel in which he could save his family, friends, possessions and cattle. In the earliest accounts, the flood was described as a local river event, but was later embellished to an ocean deluge. The boat eventually came to its resting place, which is usually translated as Mount Nisir (or Nimush). However, the word translated as mountain could also mean hill or country. Scholars chose “mountain” to bring the translation into line with Mt Ararat in the Bible. Utnapishtim made offerings to the gods, following which they repented of their action and made him immortal.

The Gilgamesh flood myth is a powerful story, but there was no reason given for the deluge. The Hebrews changed the names of the places and characters, added a moralizing tone, and made it their own.

Now, if you were interested in finding historical evidence for the Flood, would you look at derivative Biblical accounts or go to the original sources? I personally would go to the original sources, and hence hold little hope for ever finding Noah’s Ark on Mt Ararat, but would rather search for Utnapishtim’s boat on Mount Nisir (or Nimush). There is of course the remote possibility that there were two vessels in the Deluge!

Tony Mierzwicki

The delegation were on their way to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre, wherein almost 22,000 Polish officers and intelligentsia were executed by Soviet troops in 1940, burying the victims in the Katyn forest. Somewhat ironically the executions were discovered by Nazis in 1943, who used them as propaganda material against the Soviets. The Soviets denied the charges and blamed the Nazis. It was only in 1990 that Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the last head of state of the USSR before its collapse in 1991, admitted that the NKVD (the Soviet Secret Police) had executed the Poles. He also confirmed two other similar burial sites.

As often happens at disasters like these, one person missed the flight. Those who believe in fate will argue that it was not this person’s destiny to die. Perhaps this person still has an important mission to fulfill? Was this person’s guardian angel looking out for them? So what about the guardian angels who were supposed to be looking after the others? Are guardian angels not able to overcome fate?

Not only did the plane crash occur while the entourage were on their way to commemorate an anniversary of the Katyn massacre, but it was the 70^th anniversary. 70 is a very interesting number, being a product of 7 and 10. The number of planets known to the ancients was 7, while 10 was a number of completeness, thus 70 can be seen as a number of perfect spiritual order. It was also the number of disciples sent out by Jesus.

The next few weeks will see detailed investigations taking place. Some are already suspecting sabotage, but the presidential plane, was a Tupolev Tu-154, which has a rather poor safety record. Our prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims, as Katyn claims yet more Polish lives.

Tony Mierzwicki

Agora opened in October in Spain, topped the box-office raking in $8 million in its opening weekend, and then went on to gross $30 million, outperforming many Hollywood movies. Despite its success, it sat without a US buyer for six months. Finally, the US rights to Agora have been picked up by Newmarket Films and a release is planned for 2010. This is a movie that promises to be of great interest to all pagans with an interest in Egypt at the beginning of the Christian era.

I experienced my first Halloween in 2004 in a quiet residential suburb not far from Columbus, Ohio. I was impressed by the effort that many people went to in decking out their houses. I was stunned by the inventiveness of the children’s costumes and the obscene amounts of candy they accumulated. I found myself suspecting some sort of conspiracy involving a consortium of dentists hellbent on perpetuating their incomes by surreptitiously promoting tooth decay. Since then I have accompanied our ten year old Michaela when she goes out trick-or-treating here in Orange County and have seen the joy in her eyes as she scampers from house to house with maximum cuteness, scamming as much candy as possible. Next to Christmas and its presents, Halloween is the next most popular festival for the kids because of all the candy.

Halloween, celebrated on October 31, is based on the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain means “end of the warm season.” It was believed that the veil separating this world from the Otherworld (the realm of the dead), otherwise known as “Summerland,” was thinnest on Samhain, allowing spirits to enter. Ancestors were honoured and evil spirits were banished.

Today, Samhain is celebrated by many Neopagans including Celtic Reconstructionists and Wiccans. While the Celtic Reconstructionists focus on historical accuracy, Wiccans are more flexible and consider Samhain to be one of the eight annual festivals, or “Sabbats,” which make up the Wheel of the Year.

For Christians, Halloween occurs on the eve of All Saints Day (1 November), which in turn is followed by All Souls’ Day (2 November 2). Throughout much of the world, All Saints Day is celebrated by visiting the graves of relatives and offering prayers, flowers and candles. In much of Mexico (as well as in Mexican communities within the United States), on 1 November children and infants are honoured on 1 November, whereas on 2 November deceased adults are honoured (this is the Day of the Dead).

The unifying thread in the pagan and Christian celebrations of Halloween, Samhain, All Saints Day, and Day of the Dead is the potential for contact between the living and spirit entities. For those of us in the pagan community, spirit entities and the spirits of the dead are an everyday part of life. However, for a few days of the year around Halloween time, this facet of pagan life becomes part of the consciousness of mainstream society.

As an illustration of this, on 29 October 2009, Mark & Brian of Southern California’s KLOS-FM radio station, had their Halloween show which was broadcast the following day. Amongst the antics was a mock séance in which they contacted the dead, specifically Michael Jackson and Billy Mays. The segment was very tongue in cheek, but there was a serious undertone to it. While a gifted spirit medium should be able to contact the spirits of the dead at any time, the greatest chance of success would occur at Halloween. Mark & Brian’s huge listening audience found themselves listening to a parody of something that comparatively few of them would ever experience in real life.

There are some vocal Christians who maintain that Halloween is a pagan celebration and that children will be exposed to worshipping pagan gods and even the devil. The Pope recently called Halloween anti-Christian and dangerous. A voice of reason amidst Christian paranoia is Father Augustine Thompson, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, who asserts that Halloween as celebrated now is primarily Christian with numerous American influences.

So, are children being exposed to a pagan celebration on Halloween? Halloween celebrations have been modified and commercialized to the extent that they bear little if any resemblance to traditional Celtic or contemporary Neopagan (including Wiccan) celebrations. Halloween celebrations are pure fun. On a somewhat related note concerning just how much change commercialization can cause, it can be argued that Christmas is no longer Christian – Santa Claus and reindeers have no scriptural basis, while that of Christmas trees is questionable. The only genuine Christian aspect is the nativity scene.

While I think that exposing mainstream society to Halloween and its pseudo-occult trappings is a good thing, there is a definite problem with stereotyping. I know a lot of witches and not one of them looks like the stereotypical witch as seen during Halloween. Edmund M Kern, Lawrence University witch trial researcher and associate professor of history, as well as author of The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices, says that today’s depiction bears little, if any, semblance to the historic profile of witches.

Hollywood has a lot to answer for. Witches in movies were stereotyped as the sort of evil hags seen at Halloween, but this has been steadily changing with more realistic portrayals in recent years. As for the special effects, well they sell movies, but are certainly not an accurate representation of the powers of your average real witch. The pervasiveness of witches and witchcraft shows that it is not going away. While discrimination against pagans and witches continues, Halloween is always a good time to come out of the broom closet. Trick or treat?

Most of the reviews of Graeco-Egyptian Magick (GEM) are to be found on Amazon. At the time of writing, there are twelve reviews on Amazon.

Amongst the Amazon reviews is one by Peter Paddon, traditional witch and author, owner of Pendraig Publishing and host of the Crooked Path podcasts.

Mark Williams, Brother and Yonah Sophian Bishop of Magdalene Circle, wrote a review which has been uploaded onto their website, as well as onto Amazon.

The following reviews are not to be found on Amazon, and hence tend to be overlooked.

Sannion, founder of Neos Alexandria – a site dedicated to Greco-Egyptian polytheism, wrote a review for He Epistole (Issue Number 11, Winter 2006/7).

Writer and reviewer, Shade Oroboros, wrote a review for Silver Star Journal.

Michelle Mueller, who has a M.Div. degree and is a faculty member at Cherry Hill Seminary, wrote a review for Facing North.

Taylor Ellwood, who is an author, Acquisitions and Managing Non-Fiction Editor of Immanion Press, and lifecoach, gave a brief summary of GEM in an interview he did for SHALLA Magazine.

While not strictly speaking a review of GEM, Wiccan author Deborah Lipp commented on the effectiveness of Graeco-Egyptian Magick in a workshop situation.

Pagan author Frater Barrabbas, of the Order of the Gnostic Star, has had some kind words to say about GEM in his blog (on 23 October 2009).

Most recently, prolific reviewer, Mike Gleason, wrote a review that can be found in his review archive, JLA Forums and on a Google group.

If there are any reviews or comments on GEM or the GEM CD which I’ve missed, please let me know by leaving a comment.

By way of definition, an agora was initially an open “place of assembly” in ancient Greek city-states for free-born male land-owners to discuss politics, current events, and philosophize. Later, it served as a marketplace where merchants kept stalls or shops

The movie, Agora, was awarded the Alfred P Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize as it serves as a reminder of “why science and technology cut to the heart of the human enterprise.”

In the movie, the early church is shown violently oppressing other faiths, science and women in its bid for political power. The Christians are portrayed as more preoccupied with slaughtering than spirituality and the only truly principled character is Hypatia.

Just days before the release of the movie, civil rights organizations in Spain are denouncing the film for promoting hatred of Christians and reinforcing false clichés about the Catholic Church. According to some Spanish media, the film has yet to find a distributor in the United States because of its strong anti-Christian bias.

A common myth about early Christianity was that it spread through love to a pagan world pregnant with anticipation of the coming of the one truth. While there were undoubtedly some pagans who were quite happy to embrace Christianity, the reality is that quite often Christians were incredibly brutal and forcibly imposed their beliefs. A movie such as Agora should be commended as it increases public awareness of early Christian atrocities.

The CT scan revealed that Hapi-Men was adorned with numerous amulets. The amulets would have facilitated his passage into the afterlife.

The small bundle turned out to be the remains of a puppy. This is incredibly rare as Egyptians tended to focus on mummifying cats, birds and crocodiles, but not often dogs. The CT scan of the puppy indicated that he had “Jack Russell terrier-type legs, long head and individual toes.” The exact breed of the puppy is at this stage unknown, but scientists plan to determine it after further study.

The canine has been dubbed “Hapi-Puppy,” a pun which appears somewhat ironic in contemporary times given that he was most probably killed upon his master’s death. However, it is evident that Hapi-Men wanted to spend all of eternity with his puppy, and this was the best way to ensure that both of them would travel to the afterlife together. Hapi-Men is thus a man who really loved his puppy and wanted what was best for him, in accordance with the beliefs of the time.

YouTube has a short video of the two mummies being prepared for the CT scan.

6abc Action News has a short news report on the CT scan.

Most Egyptian representations of dogs are of a greyhound-type breed, known as the Tesem, which is estimated to have stood about 20 inches. The Egyptians also depicted a smaller dog. While there may be no modern breed that is an exact fit for ancient Egyptian dogs, there are a number of candidates which could well trace their lineage back sufficiently far. African candidates are the Saluki, Basenji, and the central African tribal dogs, the Niam-Niam, the Manboutou and the Shilluk Greyhound. Mediterranean candidates are the Ibizan, the Sicilian Greyhound and the Pharoah Hound.

Saluki

The Saluki, known as the royal dog of Egypt, is believed by many to be the oldest domesticated dog. Saluki-like animals appear on ancient Iranian ceramics of 3500 BCE and on Egyptian tombs of 2100 BCE. Salukis range in height from 23 to 28 inches at the top of the shoulder. Their coats can either be smooth (a short coat over the entire body) or feathered (with long hair on the ears, backs of the legs and tail).

Salukis are the dogs of the nomadic desert tribes and have roamed from Persia to Egypt. Muslim cultures normally view dogs as unclean. The Saluki, however, was declared to be a noble sacred dog sent to them by Allah. The Bedouin valued them for their beauty and hunting prowess. The salukis often slept in tents with their owners, protected from the elements.

Basenji

The Basenji, known as the “barkless dog,” is believed to be another of the most ancient dog breeds, having originated on the African continent. Their vocal folds are not shaped for barking, but rather for making a low ululation. Basenji-like dogs are depicted in paintings within the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), which was constructed about 2700 BCE, and in Libyan cave and rock drawings dating from about 6000 BCE. Basenjis typically weigh about 17 pounds, being about the size of a Fox Terrier, and are prized for their hunting ability, courage and speed.

Ibizan Hound

The Ibizan Hound resembles those portrayed in Egyptian tombs. It is claimed they are descended from Egyptian hounds brought by Phoenician and Libyan traders to what are now known as the Spanish Balearic Islands in the eighth century BCE. The islanders kept this breed pure and named them after the island of Ibiza. Ibizan Hounds range in height from 24 to 29 inches and weigh from 45 to 65 pounds. They are strong and resilient hunters, being particularly good at catching hare. They are agile and can jump great heights, as well as being able to work as scent hounds.

Pharaoh Hound

The Pharaoh Hound, known as the Kelb tal-Fenek, also resembles those portrayed in Egyptian tombs. It is claimed they are descended from Egyptian hounds brought to Gozo, Malta, and Sicily by Phoenician merchants. Pharaoh Hounds are skilled rabbit hunters, using both sight and scent. They stand between 21 and 25 tall and weigh between 40 and 60 lbs.

Sicilian Greyhound

The Sicilian Greyhound, known as the Cirneco, also resembles those portrayed in Egyptian tombs. It is claimed by some that some 3,000 years ago the Phoenicians brought Egyptian hounds to Sicily, which are the ancestors of the Sicilian Greyhound. It is now thought that the Sicilian Greyhound originated around the Sicilian volcano Mount Etna as early as the fourth century BCE. They are used to hunt rabbit and game birds on rough terrain. The Sicilian Greyhound, which stands at about 18 inches, looks like a smaller version of the Pharaoh Hound, which stands at about 23 inches.

Results of DNA testing

In May 2004, a genetic study of 85 dog breeds was reported on in Newsweek, on Australia’s ABC, and AZCentral. The study indentified an “ancient” group of fourteen breeds, meaning that they were among the first to diverge from wolves (which are the ancestors of all modern dog breeds). This ancient group included the Saluki and the Basenji. Somewhat surprisingly, the study indicated that the Ibizan hound and the Pharaoh hound, which were often referred to as ancient breeds, were actually bred within the past 200 years. Breeders of the Ibizan and the Pharaoh hounds, however, appear to be undeterred and are still claiming lineages going back to ancient Egypt.

A 2007 article argues that continued trait selective breeding, along with insufficient sampling of individual breeds from geographically diverse areas, may have skewed the results of the 2004 genetic study. Perhaps the Ibizan and the Pharaoh hounds will one day be added to the list of ancient breeds after further testing. Until then, the matter comes down to faith, given the lack of substantiating evidence.

As stated previously, ancient Egyptian representations of dogs were of two types. At this stage it is a reasonable assumption that the closest living relative of the larger dog is the smooth-coated Saluki, while that of the smaller dog is the Basenji. The description of Hapi-Puppy with its “Jack Russell terrier-type legs” implies a small breed, and hence is a closer match for the Basenji.