Madam Lichtenstein's Cosmic World

The Copiale Cipher

There are many secret societies around - most hearkening back to the early times of science and philosophy. Some of these societies are still around today like the FreeMasons but many are lost in time. And some are buried deep within other secret societies creating even more mystery and intrigue. Take for example the Copiale Cipher which is one of those secret societies (called the Ocultists) within a secret society. Interestingly the Oculists’ insignia show cats watching over mice. It could be an Oculist joke — or a sign that they were spies.

If you want to learn more about Freemasons, check out this fascinating book 101 Secrets of the Freemasons: The Truth Behind the World's Most Mysterious Society

Here is a link to the full article on the Copiale Cipher which tells the story of how the full translation unfolded. And for those who prefer video, check out this overview:

 

Related articles

Translation as cryptography as translation

Nick Marsh: They Cracked This 250 Year-Old Code, And Found a Secret Society Inside | Danger Room | Wired.com

Real Secret History

The Sun. One of My Favorite Tarot Cards

When I get my cards read (because I cannot read my own cards...) there are a couple of cards that I love to see pop up. One is The Sun. The Sun is your big wish. That which drives us to happiness and success. Depending on where the Sun pops up in your reading spread and whether it is upright or reversed indicates where we can achieve our big dream.In Astrology, our Sun sign is our basic personality. It also represents our mission in life. So the Sun card inthe Tarot deck also indicates where we feel most like our true selves and where we strive for happiness and fulfillment.

Here are some of the glorious versions of the sun tarot card - 8 from me today because 8 is the number of luck and prosperity. Use this post as a lucky talisman for all of your hopes and dreams today.

 

Tarot readers tend to have various meaning for the same tarot card which is why readings can vary from reader to reader - based on different card interpretations.

The Aeclectic Tarot website has meanings for all the cards, some of which I agree with and some that I have different interpretations. But check out their site and see what you think.

New Shrine in New Jersey?

From the New York Times specifically but reported in several places --

Apparantly a vision of the Virgin Mary has been discerned in a in New Jersey tree trunk. From what I have seen from photos, it looks like a stretch. And yet this knot is drawing religious pilgrims from all over .. and causing a bit of controversy in the process. 

This from the NY Times website --WEST NEW YORK, N.J. — Dante Domenech held his leather-bound Bible in front of him on Sunday morning and shouted at the throng of people kneeling, making the sign of the cross and weeping at the base of a Ginkgo biloba tree with a strange knot that they believe resembles the Virgin Mary.

“This is witchcraft; you are worshiping devils!” bellowed Mr. Domenech, 50, of North Bergen, N.J.

That remark prompted Maria Cole, one of dozens of people from West New York and nearby who had come to pray and lay flowers and votive candles by the tree, to charge at Mr. Domenech.

“We don’t want Satan!” Ms. Cole, 57, shouted in Spanish as a 90-year-old woman with a long-stemmed white rose walked up and hit Mr. Domenech on the head and shoulders with the flower until three police officers asked him to move along. (The flower-wielder gave her age, but not her name.)

At the site of what some believe is a miracle, prayers of the faithful and shouts of the skeptical have grown louder as word of the tree’s distinctive knot has spread since its discovery this month. Mayor Felix Roque said the town was spending $1,000 a day for police officers to prevent vandalism of the tree, defuse confrontations and keep traffic moving on the busy strip of Bergenline Avenue between 60th and 61st Streets.

Those gathered at the tree on Sunday say that the passion over the knot, which is about four feet up on the flagpole-size trunk, comes from its resemblance to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Roman Catholics in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America believe that the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Catholicism, in the 16th century. According to tradition, she filled his cloak with roses and left an image of herself on it. That image — the name Guadalupe comes from a shrine — has long been a powerful religious and cultural symbol that resonates among immigrants and children of immigrants in the United States. Many say that a dark outline around the edge of the knot depicts the cloak the Virgin Mary wore when she first appeared in the New World.

Sometimes A Crystal is Just Another Rock... Unless It is Not

Amy Cappellazzo, according to the New York Times, is Christies capitalistic curator who turns art into dollars. But in her recent interview, I see something a bit more spiritual in her personality. Why would she have a big crystal on her desk that she holds when on the phone or in a state of contemplation?

Here is a short excerpt of the crystal parts (of most interest to me....) of this interview:

“I believe in the power of objects,” she said, stating the credo of what may someday come to be down as Cappellazzism. “I am a pretty earthly creature myself, and I don’t have a lot of spiritual yearnings or distractions.”

Appropriately for someone so grounded in the material world, Ms. Cappellazzo has on her desk a hunk of terra firma itself: an attractive fist-size formation of quartz crystal. It is, as she will frankly admit, nothing special.

The crystal was given to her as a casual gift by an acquaintance; it has no sentimental value. She holds no beliefs that it channels new-age energy from the universe to her chakras. Clear quartz is a very common crystal, and her specimen has no marked trait to make it special: it’s not huge, or strikingly shaped, or colored, or perfectly clear. It does not have any facet that imbues quartz with value.

“It’s pretty modest,” she said. “In a way, it is a dumb rock. But that is sweet. I kind of like that. So the thing is, it is totally phenomenological. Like, it is something if I think so: this dumb rock could actually be imbued with tremendous power if I wanted it to be.”

Not that it doesn’t have its assets.

“It’s a good nervous fetish toy,” she said. “Sometimes I hold it when I am on the phone doing a deal or I have to really think about something long and hard. You kind of rub it. You wear it down a bit. It is also a little sharp, so it stings back at you, puts you in your place. And it never disappoints in terms of the way it looks. It is weighty and has presence, and it never gets dusty or fingerprinty. It requires nothing from me.”

So, mundane or not, the crystal is literally a touchstone for Ms. Cappellazzo’s brand of materialism: the belief that, simply put, only matter matters. Still, she went so far as to liken it to a rosary or mezuza, insofar as she is drawn to things that represent bigger ideas.

 

Tax the Witch ?

Every country is looking for ways to increase revenues nowadays. Some say tax the rich. Others say tax the witch. But if you fear reprisals, go with taxing the rich and leave the witch alone.

 

Romanian senators rejected a proposal to tax witches and fortune tellers because of the fear of being cursed by that constituency. Lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Liberal Party drafted a law where witches and fortune tellers would have to produce receipts, and would also be held liable for wrong predictions, a measure which was part of the government's drive to increase revenue. But the Senate voted down the proposal because lawmakers were frightened of being cursed.

That actually gives me an idea.....