Magic Man ?


Were you one of the hundreds of thousands...or maybe millions who watched magician David Blaine do his week-long drowining man thing on ABC network this past week? If you did, or if you heard about it, then of course you've got lots and lots of company. But I've been wondering just what this means. I mean the fact that so many of us have paid attention to what is at the very least, a completely obvious stunt designed to get us to watch even more of the Alphabet Network, really suprises me.Are we that hungry for entertainment?
Blaine's stunt went something like this: beginning last Monday, May first, Blaine lowered himself into a large, globe shaped tank of salt water, and allowed himself to be suspended under water for the entire week. He used a breathing aparatus. He took in no food, just liquids. He was on public display outside ABC studios for the entire week, while the netowork's morning show, Good Morning America, blathered on about the impending stunt every morning leading up to the final day. The stunt, or magic act, was supposed to take place on May 8th, when Blaine would remove his oxygen supply and hold his breath underwater for longer than 8 minutes and 58 seconds.
Anyway, after a week of televised hype, the moment of truth came, featured in a two hour long tv special on the night of May 8th. Blaine removed his oxygen supply, and managed to hold his breath for just over 7 minutes. After a few very dramatic moments when it appeared that Blaine might actually drown himself while attempting the record, his crew members pulled him from the tank, gave him first aid and wrapped him in warm towels. What followed was ( for his fans present at the event ) a hear-warming speech puntuated by "thank-yous" and other expressions of gratitude. I know this sounds corny- it is- but it made GREAT tv.
Here's the thing: Blaine suspended himeslf in a big transparent tank of water, with an oxygen supply , out in the open, for a whole week. When the moment of truth came, preceeded by days of network TV coverage, the magician couldn't even hold his breath for as long as he'd claimed he would. If he'd sold us a car, we'd want our money back! But people loved his little show. Hundreds of thousands of viewers watched. Why?
I can think of lots of answers for this, and none of them say anything good about us, the viewing public.
But here's what I think is at work here. I think most of us watched, because we like magic. And we were subjected to magic. I mean the real thing. Real magic.
My friend Ryan says, magic doesn't have to be supernatural, necessarily. It just has to manipulate others enough so that they believe a certain set of ideas, or so that they behave in the desired fashion. Magic not only subjects us to the illusion, it makes us buy the illusion. I'm willing to buy that definition of magic, and boy, do I think most of us got a snootfull this week. I'm not an advocate of magic. And I believe it can have a spiritual aspect. still,
consider this: Blaine is terrific at what he does. I've seen televised specials of this man where he performs some extremely mind-bending feats. The first that comes to mind is where he causes himself to levitate before the very eyes of people on the street. They were terrified as they watched. I've also seen him perform other magic feats which left his audience frightended and bewildered.
Consider this as well: Blaine's ' Drowned Alive ' stunt was begun on the morning of May 1st. Many people call this mayday. Witches and Wiccans call this the first day of Beltaine. Beltaine or Beltane means " Bel's Fire". It's a spring fertility festival which honors Bel, the nature god. Check your Celtic or Wiccan traditions.
The following several days are of course the Week of Beltaine. If Blaine is an actual practitioner of magic, wouldn't Beltaine be the perfect time to work an act of magic on millions of willing viewers? Of course it would. In fact, there couldn't be a better time.

David Blaine uses the week of Beltaine to cast a massive spell over the whole country, to get them to join him in his act. Those who are affected are drawn to their televisions, or to his actual location to watch him work his magic, and when the stunt is completed, they feel attached to him. They hope he'll achieve his goal. They send warm thoughts and feelings his way. They become his fans. Have you seen them? Even those who aren't so deeply affected are still curious enough to watch to see what's going to happen. Millions tune in to see this stunt through to the end. When he was finally removed from that tank, the massive crowd cheered and applauded. When he spoke to them afterward, they hung on every word. You're probably still seeing snippets of tv interviews with him right now.
Congratualtions. You've been bewitched.
The awesome power of tv has allowed a powerful magician to capture your attention and hold you spellbound... even though you didn't realize it was happening.
Now. Who else has betwitched you? Who else has used the tremendous power of modern media to capture your eyes and ears and make you sympathise with their cause?
Have you ever really hated a pop song, but still you kept hearing that song play in your head? Do you keep seeing the image of someone you despise, like Paris Hilton or Tom Cruise, over and over again, whether you want to or not? Is it magic that eventually makes you soften and decide "well, they're not really that bad. Maybe I will go see that movie after all!"
For sure, David Blaine isn't the only skillful magician out there. No doubt there are many others, some of them in high places. We can't really help the fact that they're there. But it's up to us whether we fall under thier spell.

Themis, Part II

Just a couple of additional interesting facts about the Chrome goddess.
Montgomery's sculpture of Themis features her head only, which hovers above an oval reflecting pool. In the arena of the occult, ovals represent the feminine principal, and sheets of mirrored glass and pools are important. They represent the spirit realm, or other dimensions or realities.
If you stand directly in front of the sculpture, and look at Themis with that in mind, you notice a close association between her gleaming head and the water of the pool. She hangs just above the reflecting pool....engaged in deep meditation. What could she be meditating on? Also when viewed head on, a massive eagle perched above the main door in the background appears to crown her head.
The Chrome diety stands guard outside of the Federal Courthouse of the Middle District of Alabama in the city of Montgomery.
As I mentioned in the last entry, that building was dedicated on September 13, 2002.
In occult numerology, that date is significant. The 13 is obvious. And if you add September, which equals 9 ( the ninth month ) to 13, you get 22. 22 is of course, 2 x 11. You're left with 11 and 13. The numbers 11 and 13 are important occult numbers which symbolize destruction and rebellion.
These all go to the point of the blog...that what appears to be coincidental usually is not, and that we should look with care at the objects and symbols all around us. Artists often speak in a hidden language. Our Federal government seems well versed in this hidden language, and never engages in major activities, makes policy, goes to war, or even dedicates a building without carefully studying how and when to do it. To go and see the chrome goddess as she stands watch over the Federal courthouse in Montgomery is to watch the hidden world in action.

THEMIS

She is perhaps the brightest and boldest of Alabama's goddesses.....

She is called Themis.

I first heard about Themis on another website several months ago when I was doing a little research on the presence of goddess figures in public places. I was looking up Blind Justice, I think, when I came upon the name of Themis, and found the website of someone who was VERY unhappy with an homage to the goddess on one of Alabama's public buildings.. This is that website.

There's a very unusual sculpture of the goddess at the Federal courthouse in Montgomery Alabama.
It's highly stylized, and while it is supposed to represent Lady Justice, on close inspection, it's overall appearnce is to me, quite ominous. I'm not the only one strangely moved by
this shining image. The author of the afore-mentioned website entitles her brief essay "Pagan Religion at the Federal Courthouse". This statue of course, is in the very same city where Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was suspended because he refused to take down a monument featuring the Ten Commandments back in 2003. For people following that chain of events, Themis seems to create a bit of a conundrum, to say the least.
I was in Nashville when I came upon the site. I knew I'd have to make the trip to Montgomery to see this thing. The other day I did. My pics are featured here. The goddess sculpture at the Federal Courthouse features a large Chrome feminine head, with a blindfold
that is melded into the face. It's mounted on a marble wall, with several bands of chrome running behind it. Turns out, that wall is actually a flag; it features thirteen stripes, and beneath it, are three pentagrams.
One either side of the head are large bowls with water continually flowing out. I read recently that the bowls
are meant to represent the scales of " Lady Justice " as seen in more traditional figures.

Themis is:
..."the Titan Goddess of divine law and order - those rules of conduct first established by the gods. She was also a prophetic goddess who presided over the most ancient of the earthly oracles, including the shrine of Delphoi. In this role, she was the divine voice who first instructed mankind in the primal laws of justice and morality, such as the precepts of piety, the rules of hospitality, good governance, conduct of assembly, and pious offerings to the gods. Themis was the prime counsellor of Zeus in heaven, where she was seated beside his throne to advise him on the precepts of divine law..":

Warding Off Evil?

When you see it first hand, the sculpture is very striking, and reminds me a lot more of a kind of gargoyle than a ' statue'. And I think it's purpose may be the same. A little research on the gargoyle tells us that the horrific images of bats, dragons, monsters and human heads which adorn gothic churches and other buildings once served the mystic purpose of protecting the building from evil, by warding off evil spirits. True, the gargoyles often served the dual purpose of waterspout, so that rainwater could be channeled away from the building. Of course, the image of Themis serves no such purpose. She really is more of a traditional gargoyle....a spirit image designed to protect the Federal edifice.
Themis is a classic example of the goddess in America ( or is that the goddess of America?) In other words, she's but another representation of Lady Justice, who is Lady Liberty, who is Columbia, who is Athena, who is also Diana, who is also Ceres who is The Eternal Virgin who is Isis. Amazing. A massive, modern building erected by the government on September 13, 2002, still pays homage to an ancient pagan diety who must be one of the most powerful objects of worship of all time. Who says the Old gods are dead?