Odin - Nordic - Arctic - Superman - Ice - Valhalla -
metallic moon - our DIGITAL 4.9 contrail
on this 77 GOOD FRIDAY - Freyja/Venus day in our U.N.
Meditation Room. Seamless architecture.
NARNIA - the Frozen World speaks one of our key Boarding Passes
was titled "Kings of the North
arise.." - getting our cool head together above the abyss -
solve
and coagula - complete.
We embrace the Luciferian Creative Cosmic Cycle with understanding.
13 is the NUMER OF HEAVEN!
13
*The fear of the number 13 is known to medical science as
Triskedekaphobia. Although many modern day folk would deny that they
believe in 'silly superstitions', the identifier for 13 is still
commonly removed from hotels and street addresses. The superstitious
fear of 13 extends way back into more ancient times. During the
medieval
ages, the rich forbad 13 people to sit at the table. English folk
belief
holds that if a nosegay holds less then 13 flowers it must be protected
by violets or else it is unlucky. However it is fortunate should a hen
lay 13 eggs. In the UK, a set of 13 baked items is called a "Devils'
Dozen", while here in the US, 13 is a "Baker's Dozen" containing one
item "extra". And of course everyone has heard the warnings about
Friday the 13th" being especially fey.
Many believe that the fear of the number 13 began in a taboo long ago,
perhaps relating to the days when calendars were widely calculated
according to the moon. Over time, the moon was found to be a less
accurate calendar system and was abandoned in favor of a solar
calendar.
The lunar cycle is 354 days, 11 days short of a solar year. The 355th
day starts on the 13th month. Modern pagans still refer to these old
lunar calendars when they use "a year and a day" as a way of keeping
track of time. There are 13 lunar months of 28 days which has 1 day
left
over, hence a "year and a day".
The number 13 often appears in folklore and myths, suspiciously with
authoritative overtones. In English heraldry the College of Heraldry
has
13 members. In the US, 13 form the legal jury system. In Rome, the city
founder Romulus had 12 companions, while King Arthur had his 12
knights,
Odin and 12 deities reigned over Norse Valhalla, Zeus and 12 deities
over Greek Olympus, Robin Hood had 11 merry men and Maid Marian, the
Danish Hrolf had 12 berserkers, and by tradition, 13 members are
considered the ideal for a witch coven.
The Egyptians featured a
calendar of 12 months, with a 13th smaller month
representing the time
out of time when the gods were born. In Babylon, the god Marduk
struggled against the chaos monster Tiamat to bring order into the
universe. She was assisted by 11 minor deities. Not to be undone, the
Hebrew Jahweh had his 12 tribes, and even Jesus had his 12 disciples.
Although some researchers may attest that the modern fear of 13 stems
from such Biblical myths as Judas the 13th member of the disciples
betraying the Christos, as happens in many cases, scratching the
surface
of the Christian veneer reveals a thin mask covering a far older belief
system.
Tracing the myth of 13 back in time, we find a folkloric tale from NY
in the Berkshire Hills area, circa 1796. One Francis Woolcott was said
to be a tall dark man who rode around with his 12 "Night Riders". This
nocturnal gang played tricks on the neighborhood "every night when the
moon was growing old." He tied horses tails into knots, made pigs walk
upright, and spoiled milk from cows. They met in a grove of ash and
chestnut trees. In 1662 we find a record from the witch trial of Isobel
Gowdie which states that she belonged to a coven of 13. Chaucer even
uses the word "convent" in Canterbury Tales to refer to an "assembly of
13". Coven is a variation of the word convent, and by association, the
words Covent, and Coventry. A poem from 14th century England mentions a
"coveyne" as a gathering of 13 people.
The 12 days of Christmas (originally Yule) was first recorded by
Christians at the end of 4th cent, at a time when Europeans were being
systematically converted from paganism to Christianity. The Christians
declared 12 days as the time between Christmas Eve and Epiphany Eve,
deserving of a holiday. Epiphany itself is the 13th, and in Europe is
still sometimes celebrated for 13 days and referred to as "the 13." In
France the Yule log is called "souche de Noel".
In Provence on Christmas
Eve the whole family goes out solemnly to bring
in the log. A carol is
sung for blessings on the house, the women carry children,
goats, and
ewes in the procession, corn, flour and wine. The youngest child pours
the wine, and the log is lit. Some locals continue to burn the log for
all 13 nights, reflecting the habit of a far older custom. Memoirs from
French immigrants in the US also refer to an old country custom of
lighting 13 fires outdoors during the Yule season. A large fire is said
to stand for Christ, while a smaller 13th is said to represent Judas.
At
the highlight of the event, the townsfolk converge on the smaller fire
and stomp it out.
According to Christian missionaries who chronicled the exploits of the
pagan Vikings, Freyja was the Norse goddess of love, marriage and the
dead, wife of Odin. Her day was Friday, the luckiest day of the week,
often used by the Anglo-Saxons as a wedding day. In an act of vehement
suppression, the Christian church declared this most fortunate of days
to be "unlucky", and hence unavailable for pagan marriages. Mandatory
fasting, abstinence, and self denial reinforced the suppression of this
day of joy. The rumor was started that Freyja was number 13 of the
Norse
deities to rule on Valhalla, and she herself led a troupe of 12 demons.
After the conversion of the locals to Christianity, it was said that
Freyja would pursue her former followers on each Friday the 13th to
bring them ill will in revenge for the abandonment of her rites.
Going back even farther, we find that Roman wedding ceremonies for the
upper class required a party of 13 to establish the proceedings as
legal. The happy couple would consume salt, water, and flour infront of
10 witnesses and a priest known as the Pontifex Maximus. February 13th
is also the Roman holiday of the Lupercalia, Christianized to St.
Valentines Day and the celebration moved to the 14th. On this eve, the
Romans would choose lots for all single people so that they might have
a
partner for the next year and a day. The ancient Norse Frisians
believed
in a council of 12 wise elders called the Asegir. Once, the story goes,
they wished to collect all the local laws of the land in order to
establish a comprehensive legal code. Completed, they journeyed by boat
to find a place to establish the new center for their future legal
moots. Caught in a storm, they called upon Forseti, the son of Balder
who appeared and led them safely to an island with a sacred spring. As
the leader and 13th, he assisted them in establishing the new legal
center then disappeared. This island became holy ground, where the
Frisans met thrice a year to dispense justice.
Another record mentions that Eudoxus the Greek went to Egypt and spent
13 years studying in their temples to learn math, science and
astronomy,
referring to the 13 years of study as a relevant number. In some
ancient
texts, the number 13 does indeed play a role as a 'significant' number.
The Egyptian temple of Ammon Ra was constructed in such a way as to
force the pilgrim into a 12 day journey, arriving at the temple on the
13th. In the Hindu Reg Veda, there are 13 mentions of the war god Indra
and his band of accompanying Maruts.
In the Tarot deck, 13 is the number
of the Death card. In Genesis, the 13th chapter contains the
foreshadowing of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the Hebrew
Exodus tale, the tribes camped around the central tabernacle in 4
groups
of 3, making the 13th feature the tabernacle itself.
December 13th in Sweden is St Lucia's (light) day, also called "Little
Yule". The youngest girl in the house is dressed in white, with a
whortleberry wreath and candles placed on her head. She proceeds
through
the house giving sleepers sweet drinks or coffee in bed.
In Lower
Austria, Christians believe that this day is a time of witchcraft, and
that the procession is done to ward off evil. Originally a Norse
holiday
devoted to the sun, the Christians tried to take over the pagan holiday
on the 13th by claiming Lucia carried church candles rather then a fire
brand representing the sun. A lingering folk belief in Sweden belies
it's pagan origins by saying that the 13th was the shortest day of
year,
literally the demise of the old sun before renewal. The legend of King
Arthur proclaims the fabled king fought 12 battles against the Saxons
before succumbing on the 13th and making his journey to Avalon the Isle
of Immortality.
English King William Rufus was mysteriously slain in New
Forest in 1100, during the 13th year of his reign at the harvest
festival Lammas. It has long been rumored that this was related to
ancient pagan practices concerning the length of kingship in the area.
The Greek champion Heracules performed 12 labors before dying at the
hands of trickery, where after he was taken to Olympus and reborn as a
god.
But the real significance for the number 13 may lie farther back still.
Unbeknownst to many, even modern astrology enthusiasts, is that there
was, and still is a 13th sign of the zodiac known as Ophiuchus
Serpentarius, the Serpent Holder. This constellation lies between
Sagittarius and Libra, somewhat over Scorpio, and infact the sun spends
more time in Ophiuchus (16 days) then it does Scorpio. (9 days) In
16-17th century this constellation was called Alpheichius, or
variations
thereof.
Known as the "God of Invocation" in Greek, this starry asterism
was named after a legendary healer who was said to have the ability to
raise the very dead. Ophiuchus holds 2 serpents in his hands, the same
serpents which would later be used as the medical symbol in the US. A
statement made by Plato seems to nail the matter right on the head, as
he calls this 13th sign "the god of the underworld", and insisted even
in his time that it be included in the cycle of the zodiac. "The law
will say that there are 12 feats dedicated to the 12 gods...Pluto is to
have his feast in the 12th month and not be excluded as a denizen of
the
underworld, for warlike men should realize that he is the best friend
of
man". Unfortunately, Christians too attempted to suppress this 13th
sign
during the medieval ages, changing it into the figure of St Paul
holding
a viper, before dropping it altogether.
This Great Starry Symbol of death and transformation is still
valid in our Supra Conscious Mind.
Winifred G. Barton, Philo Prof.
UN _ University of the Air.
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