Religion, Philosophy, and/or Science?
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Visitors as of 05/11/2023
It is from expressed patterns of the Earth, Moon, Sun and Stars that we get the influential basic cognitive patterns numerically noted as "1, 2, 3, Many" that serve as the fundamental building blocks upon which all later complex ideologies are built. Such numbers and associated inter-mingled patterns may alternatively be expressed with words and or symbols or in constructed placements of appearance, whose sequences may not occur successively at the same moment, but at a later time and place from within a different culture, gender, and over-all different socio-economic and demography... as well as inter-species-ly, such as for example the development of the 3 Germ layers.
In many of the mystery cults, there was a marked tendency toward henotheism—the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods. Thus:
- Isis was the essence of all pagan goddesses;
- Serapis was the name uniting the gods Zeus, Pluto, Dionysus, Asclepius, Helios, and even the Jewish god YHWH (Yahweh).
- In the religion of Sol (solar worship), an elaborate syncretistic theology was developed to show that all known gods of all nations were nothing but provisional names for the sun god.
("mystery religion." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.)
It is for these basic patterns common to all religious ideologies that Aldous Huxley in his Perennial Philosophy had searched for, as well as various others from their own perspectives. Individual attempts to understand the ancient Prisca Theologia that is interpreted (by men) as representing a corpus of ancient theologically-linked ideas, do not also indicate if they were the ideas of either men or women. Indeed, let us ask who constructed the ideas harvested as a compendium of the hidden mysteries called the Occult... though it was men who may have been the principle recorders of such information. It is a rather curious fact to denote that it is not the records of women writers that have been passed down through the ages, but the assumed work of men who might well have been written about ideas generated by women, but took the credit of such women as we have seen taken place in different subjects in later times of history because of the often arrogant, self-righteous, and self-aggrandizing male Ego that billions of women have had to put up with.
(By the way, one can read the word "Prisca" as the name of a woman named "Priscilla" and thus interpret the "Prisca Theologia" as an ancient theology created by women who were active in the Early Christian church and actually came to dominate theological considerations... which created the mood (in men) by which women were no longer able to hold a high priestly (priestess/prophetess) position. The phrase "Prisca Theologia" is a later century add-on reference to earlier occult writings such as the Hermetic tradition. I other words it is just another Christian imposed point of view that wants to dominate a culture of thought by labeling it with a reference to some Christian tradition. The male ego is worse than the female ego only because men have had the physical strength upper hand of dominance which permitted the male ego to be practiced. If the female ego is given the same opportunity, a similar succession of historical nonsense will unfold so log as they perpetuate the old ideologies and not reinterpret reality according to a standard of greater simple truth. Humanity doe s not need women leaders who are striving to show themselves as being "as good as" a man, we need them to be much, much, much better. This is something they can not achieve if they simply perpetuate old ideas refashioned with a female style of psychic embroidery.
Christianity did not bring revolutionary social change to the position of women, but it made possible a new position in the family and congregation. In the ancient Mediterranean world, women were often held in low esteem, and this was the basis for divorce practices that put women practically at men's complete disposal. By preaching to women and prohibiting divorce, Jesus himself did away with this low estimation of women. The decisive turning point came in connection with the understanding of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. In fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel 2:28—according to Peter in his sermon on Pentecost (Acts 2:17)—the Holy Spirit was poured out over the female disciples of Jesus, as well.
This created a complete change in the position of women in the congregation: in the synagogue the women were inactive participants in the worship service and sat veiled on the women's side, usually separated from the rest by an opaque lattice. In the Christian congregation, however, women appeared as members with full rights, who used their charismatic gifts within the congregation. In the letters of Paul, women are mentioned as Christians of full value. Paul addresses Prisca (Priscilla) in Romans 16:3 as his fellow worker. The four daughters of Philip were active as prophets in the congregation. Pagan critics of the church, such as Porphyry (c. 234–c. 305), maintained that the church was ruled by women. During the periods of Christian persecution, women as well as men showed great courage in their suffering. The fact that they were honored as martyrs demonstrates their well-known active roles in the congregations.
The attitude toward women in the early church, however, was ambivalent at best. Paul, on the one hand, included women in his instruction, "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19), but, on the other hand, carried over the rule of the synagogue into the Christian congregation that "women should keep silence in the churches" (1 Corinthians 14:34). Although women were respected for their piety and could hold the office of deaconess, they were excluded from the priesthood. In the early 21st century the Roman Catholic Church still refused to ordain women as priests. ("Christianity." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.)
The foregoing is important for those who think that the dominant membership of the WW3 is female, and it is they who are setting the stage and script of the overall WW3 orientation. If it is true that humanity's indulgence in theology are in part (large or small) due to the esoteric traditions of the female psyche and the female physiology of perceptibility in which there may or may not be a conscientiously driven sensitivity enabling subtleties of nature to be reviewed symbolically or otherwise; then one might argue that this is why the human tradition of religion has been wrought with so many problems. Then again, one could argue that it is because there remains a presence of the male psyche that the history of religion is so messed up with conflict. Then again, a 3re position is to assert that both of them may be at fault not because of a specified model of analysis, but because that which they are analyzing is the core of their problems. It is not the equation, but what the values of the equation are representing, and (one might assume) it is the fault of misperceptions on the part of ancient humans which continues to plague us, because too many in every age relies on old ideas instead of formulating new ones from scratch... and not the scratch marks of old which later humans come to misinterpret to serve some biased predisposition... or let me be generous and say preference.
Let us take an example from the Tradition of Anthropology where an external subject such as mathematic's is applied to make an interpretation of an Artefact. In the present case we see the markings on a bone that have been interpreted to represent what one investigator claims to be a deliberate grouping of lines that state the carver's intention was to create a reference to a mathematical series which is called the Prime numbers, which centers around the value of "one":
Any positive integer greater than 1 that is divisible only by itself and 1; e.g., 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23... In the 20th century, with the help of computers, prime numbers with more than two million digits were discovered. Like efforts to generate ever more digits of π, such number theory research was thought to have no possible application—that is, until cryptographers discovered how large primes could be used to make nearly unbreakable codes. ("prime." Encyclopædia Britannica,2013. )
Ancient Greek mathematicians were the first to study the mathematical properties of prime numbers. Earlier, many people had studied such numbers for their supposed mystical or spiritual qualities. ("prime number theorem." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.)
Let me note that Mathematicians are the first to discount any number as having some significance when it is used as a reference to catalog multiple different ideas. They will call it Numerology. However, when they work at creating a catalog of numbers such as the primes, they eagerly seek out (or wait for) an application such as using primes for cryptography. Interestingly, no one seems to notice that a pattern-of-two idea had been adopted, as if it were some astounding break-through:
Two-key Cryptography:
In 1976, in one of the most inspired insights in the history of cryptology, Sun Microsystems, Inc., computer engineer Whitfield Diffie and Stanford University electrical engineer Martin Hellman realized that the key distribution problem could be almost completely solved if a cryptosystem, T (and perhaps an inverse system, T?), could be devised that used two keys and satisfied 4 conditions... ("cryptology." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.)
As Naturalists (those who study or claim a close affinity with Nature), Witches, Wiccans, Pagans (whom I join together as a 3 -in- 1 entity and label as "WW3" as their Monogrammed insignia); should be cognizant of the patterns and effects of Nature to have a better grasp of that which they hold as sacred. To do otherwise in a declared practice of Natural phenomena is either the profession of a child-like innocence some might call ignorance, or is the providence of hypocrisy. Maintaining practitional doctrines which no longer fit the landscape of reality is misguided and harmful to the overall reception of the practices as viable alternatives to the larger public who have grown distrustful of established conventional ideologies. Hence, a new interpretation is required, based on increased educational standards, life experiences and a greater depth of experimental proficiency.
This new doctrine asserts that Aldous Huxley's "Perennial Philosophy" is the beginning of an equation which strives to unravel fundamental patterns to be found in all religions and philosophies. While he began with his "Highest Common Factor" (HCF) mathematical notion, he failed to continue the equation, much less complete it. To do so requires that a person has some comprehension of fundamental patterns to be found in Mathematics, Philosophy, Language, Physiology, Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, as well as Astronomy and other subjects. One need not have a Master's or Doctorate level interest, since in many cases such erudite knowledge can create a blindness referenced in the 3-part phrase "An Educated Idiot" or 2-part phrase "Educated Idiocy". You must however be able to not only recognized basic patterns, but understand any developmental trend occurring with such in terms of an underlying enumeration or geometry. For example, Aldous Husley's HCF cited god or the domain of (a) god, but failed to explicitly enumerate it as a pattern-of-"1", in order to create a distinction between it as a recurring cognitive pattern seen in all religions and philosophies, with those ideas advancing a pattern-of-two, or other-than pattern-of-1.
While some readers have no doubt paid witness to a serialization of number related to different ideas and may have in fact created a written and/or mental list of different examples, they may have not made a concerted study of enumeration in different subjects because it is so uncommon to do so, a person might not ever encounter anyone speaking about such a topic or task.
From humanity's early efforts to develop or discover a counting system, to development of computers and Artificial intelligence, we see the same underlying cognitive patterns being used to arrange materials, topics and advancing propositions. Indeed, if one takes a survey of what are called favorite numbers, one may quickly find that only a very few numbers (out of the existing infinity of numbers) are being used. The human mind is engaging in a Conservation of Number that is being forced on it. So too do we find this same Conservation of Number in Nature such as the triplet code in DNA, the frequency of 2s and 3s in the realm of particle physics, and even the octet rule in chemistry is an expression of conservation. Also, the fact that there are only 118 Elements in the Periodic Table suggests that an even larger imposition of quantity conservation is taking place. No less, when one speaks of the Fibonacci sequence one needs to realize that although a sequence can be written to express a state of infinity or endlessness by using three dots after a small sequence (...), there is no actual representation of the larger numbers. In other words, though you and I might be able to count to a million or thousand, how many people have actually done so? And why does Nature use only 118 elements and not 50 billion? Why use a limitation? Because something is imposing limitation on humans and this something, with respect to human life, is the incremental deteriorations of the Sun, Moon, and Earth... the originating influences of the 1, 2, 3-patterns with which all ideas are indebted.
Let me provide an excerpt about the Fibonacci sequence because the reader might be too lazy on their own to do so. It also is important to realize that the origination of numbers used in mysticism are still being used today, which acts as a sometimes subtle influence. In other words, mystical numbers can arise by way of subtle impressions and need not be vocalized or printed, In very many cases we can see the usage of a contrast to describe a pattern-of-two that others may label as a duality, dichotomy, opposite, etc...
Nature's numbers
Many aspects of the natural world display strong numerical patterns, and these may have been the source of some number mysticism. For example, crystals can have rotational symmetries that are twofold, threefold, fourfold, and sixfold but not fivefold—a curious exception that was recognized empirically by the ancient Greeks and proved mathematically in the 19th century.
An especially significant number is the golden ratio, usually symbolized by the Greek letter Φ. It goes back to early Greek mathematics under the name "extreme and mean ratio" and refers to a division of a line segment in such a manner that the ratio of the whole to the larger part is the same as that of the larger part to the smaller. This ratio is precisely (1 + √5)/2, or approximately 1.618034. The popular name golden ratio, or golden number, appears to have been introduced by the German mathematician Martin Ohm in Die reine Elementarmathematik (1835; "Pure Elementary Mathematics"). If not, the term is not much older and certainly does not go back to ancient Greece as is often claimed.
In art and architecture the golden number is often said to be associated with elegance of proportion; some claim that it was used by the Greeks in the design of the Parthenon. There is little evidence for these claims. Any building has so many different lengths that some ratios are bound to be close to the golden number or for that matter to any other ratio that is not too large or small. The golden number is also often cited in connection with the shell of the nautilus, but this too is a misunderstanding. The nautilus shell has a beautiful mathematical form, a so-called logarithmic (or equiangular) spiral. In such a spiral each successive turn is magnified in size by a fixed amount. There is a logarithmic spiral associated with the golden number, and in this case the fixed amount is precisely ?. However, the spiral of the nautilus does not have the ratio ?. Logarithmic spirals exist with any given number as their ratio, and the nautilus ratio has no special significance in mathematics.
The golden number is, however, legitimately associated with plants. This connection involves the Fibonacci numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144,...), in which each number, starting with 2, is the sum of the previous two numbers. These numbers were first discussed in 1202 by the Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano, who seems to have been given the nickname Fibonacci (son of Bonaccio) in the 19th century. The ratio of successive Fibonacci numbers, such as 34/21 or 55/34, gets closer and closer to ? as the size of the numbers increases. As a result, Fibonacci numbers and ? enjoy an intimate mathematical connection.
Fibonacci numbers are very common in the plant kingdom. Many flowers have 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, or 34 petals. Other numbers occur less commonly; typically they are twice a Fibonacci number, or they belong to the "anomalous series" 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29,..., with the same rule of formation as the Fibonacci numbers but different initial values. Moreover, Fibonacci numbers occur in the seed heads of sunflowers and daisies. These are arranged as two families of interpenetrating spirals, and they typically contain, say, 55 clockwise spirals and 89 counterclockwise ones or some other pair of Fibonacci numbers.
This numerology is genuine, and it is related to the growth pattern of the plants. As the growing tip sprouts, new primordia–clumps of cells that will become special features such as seeds–arise along a generative spiral at successive multiples of a fixed angle. This angle is the one that produces the closest packing of primordia, and for sound mathematical reasons it is the golden angle: a fraction (1 - 1/?) of a full circle, or roughly 137.5 degrees. ("number symbolism." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.)
While putting three dots (...) may suggest that the series goes on forever, we do not see an actual material representation of this in the Natural world. And if the reader comes across one, it is likely to be an isolated instance. In other words, it is not a consistent and widespread repetition.
The basics of Mathematics is similar to the basics of the Yin and Yang philosophy. Both Eastern and Western ideological realms exhibit the same underlying schemes, albeit occurring at different periods of history and the Chinese using a tonal system of language while the West uses (for the most part) a non-tonal formulation. However, unless you see the two ideologies side by side, you do not get the actual picture of what is being described:
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Source: Threesology.org
As I think about it, one might want to reference the present day WW3 as Neo-Witches, Neo-Wiccans and Neo-Pagans, since they most likely do not resemble their former selves of decades or centuries ago.
For those who are interested in Witch, Wiccan and Pagan ideology, there is no established tradition or educational forum which treats the subject matter of these three practices within an institutional setting such as a University. University curriculums have not mature enough to realize that the topic of Witches, Wiccans, and Pagans is a recurring exercise of a repetitive cognitive activity whose basic formula is embellished and therefore gives the false impression of being a lie, and not worthy of advanced study as a cognitive pattern which can be enumerated and thus enabling it to be scrutinized with various applications of accepted intellectual formulas seen in Mathematics, Philosophy, Psychology, etc...
In very many cases we see those who are interested in formulating some knowledge about the origination of "Occult" (hidden/secret) views to bring their mysteries to the light of day for a closer examination so as to better determine lies, truth, misunderstanding, unique insight, etc., becoming a take taken up by those with a bias for a given religion or philosophy or a bias against a religion or philosophy; and may simply be referenced as anything that was created by a Western influence is bad... or good, and anything not created by Western influence is good... or bad. If research by a given researcher points to ancient Egypt as a prime source for the original inspirations of all later religions and philosophies, then an Egyptian or someone studying ancient Egypt in this regard tends to hold center stage and garner respective accolades of distinction. If instead someone instead says that China was the primary source for the original inspirations, then one or more Chinese assume center state to reap whatever social profit might be forthcoming. The same goes for those who suggest one or more ideas originated in Meso-America, or Africa, or some Island, or with a woman... black, white, brown, red, yellow, or mixed. While many people want to have a piece of the action or even control it, doing so often requires that they make up their own rules, which is quite easy for ideas whose underlying fundamental patterns are not distinguished and thus enabled to be brought to the fore for a greater examination and explication.
Those who refuse to adopt a methodology by which their views can be more closely examined are doing so in order to conceal the presence of ignorance, incompleteness, or ineptness of any pretended logical, rational, and methodological design. They don't want their experimentation or their ceremony or their ideology put under a microscope of examination because any one of the criteria by be met with a perception which results in deducing a wrong answer. Much like children who won't show their work in conducting a math problem or keeping a record of their science experiment or writing a poem, song or story... preferring to keep it to themselves, mostly in their model of memorization which is not accessible to anyone to either hinder or assist them in their efforts. Far too many in the WW3 community(s) conduct their activities in secret either as a precaution against someone who would then adopt and perhaps improve the practice, or be someone who might point out some fault or hypocrisy. Only the initiated, only the believers are permitted to partake of the secrecy because of some assumed power in the form of being designated a sacred practice, or that due to exposure, somehow becomes diluted in its presumed efficacy.
Typically, the subject(s) of the occult... (hidden knowledge/mysteries... that which is not interpreted through the perceptions of those referring to themselves as Witches, Wiccans or Pagans or Magicians, Sorcerers, etc...) might be glossed over in a philosophy, history or cultural anthropology course, as well in the Medical arena for those studying psychology and psychiatry; albeit generally being viewed as a recurring aberration of thought processing because it is commonly indulged in by those who lack or defy some labeled normalized social orientation. What a person is subjected to is a piece-meal assortment of present day interpretations of past and/or current ideas created by practitioners who generally are more interested in perpetuating one or more of these persuasions as a product to be hawked... to be sold to the gullible and impressionable, thereby creating a livelihood for themselves by indulging in various fairy tale characterizations of ideas meant to establish and perpetuate an aura of mystique and intrigue (much like a mystery or soap opera story).
The colloquial misunderstandings become used as flea market, yard sale or garage sale curios meant to make money and provide some modicum of social participation, instead of being realized as junk by which one can not seek a definitive truth for the purpose of advancing any purposeful knowledge; other than the memorization of a script to be used in a makeshift ceremonial practice akin to a group of children converging in some selected spot in which a secret club house effect is affected. Although these are most often adults who might well argue that their activities are serious, sincere and perhaps even sensitively expressed... so too do children playing "secret" clubhouse or "secret" fort (with a blanket thrown over chairs or large cardboard box)— think their activities are serious and meant for special members only... just as does a child playing dress up with paper dolls to be positioned in a make-believe setting. Similarly, we see this same secretive inclination being played out in Corporate, Government, and Educational settings, with the usage of passwords, name tags, whispered confidences, etc...
Because a study of the persistence in an interest in that called Witch-craft, Magic and Divination persist in different cultures and eras with different age groups is most likely to occur with individual and not collective efforts, it is difficult for a person to determine the value of validity for one view or another; and simply bases their truth on what ideas are encountered most often. The repetition of a given idea becomes the typical measurement by which individuals assess their embraced value of truth... a truth that they think can be substantiated by making reference to a given magazine or book article. And yet, it does not dawn on most to think that maybe all of these reports are merely repetitions of like-minded others and that the originating source is invalid. They don't know because they don't know how to seek out a greater level of truth so that if they do choose to practice one or more of the "occult" (alternative to conventional) ideas, they might advance in their knowledge by an informed participation to dispense with nonsense and wade through all the personalized preoccupations of practitioners who actually don't know why they are doing what they are doing, other than as some semblance of mimicry and not advanced study. In many cases we have adults practicing a grade school, junior high (middle) school, or high school level of Witch, Wiccan, and/or Pagan ceremonialism based on misinformation and a misconstruction of old ideas that have long since been identified as nonsensical or foolish, such as for example the old practices of animal and human sacrifice; but that even though these aren't practiced, similar forms of idiocy remain intact.
For some, they argue against any... if not all encyclopedic and other textual commentary which does not confirm their beliefs, claiming they are not to be trusted: and yet if you ask them how they have thus made their own belief system... they may say the use encyclopedic and other textual commentary (disregarding any and all information which disagrees with their inclinations)! They are those who practice Witch-ery, Wiccan-ery and/or Pagan-ery as a fairy tale promoting pseudo-religion and not as an attempted truth-seeking science. And though some may say they reject science, it is the concepts established by different sciences with which they feel confident in practicing their ideology, otherwise they might believe in old ideas about Nature and Natural events.
It should be understood that there were those in the ancient past who practiced non-conventional means and methods in search of a greater truth, because some conventional view was thought to be wrong or it was promoted by those who engaged in hypocrisy, and therefore what they said could not be trusted. These individualized alternative ideas were later termed (in many cases) to be "Occult" practices but during the past some other word or words were no doubt used but lost in time because they were not recorded. (Lots of people coin (make up) words and ideas which are not used enough to warrant inclusion by those who establish and maintain dictionaries.) Much later in history some of the unconventional ideas became standard ways of thinking which have come to us as accepted sciences, businesses, politics and religions... to the point they may be taught in Universities. In understanding Occult practices in the past as alternative ways of thinking by those who rejected standards of thought in a given era, let us take a look at a short excerpt... keeping in mind that it reflects a source of "Occultism" on a figure whose name references a visible "three" pattern; thus establishing itself as a possible core number for the origin of "alternative ideas" such as Witch-ery, Wiccan-ery, Pagan-ery (the latter in some instances being seen as a Sorcerer or Druid Priest or some other student-of-Nature's forces).
And let me stress that just because something is old doesn't automatically make it valuable nor some repository of greater truth. The writings of old often represent instances in which established ideas were misinterpretations that were made into repetitions, and in many cases effected a mindset like that seen when someone is gambling, but losing, yet instead of changing their tactic they "double down" (bet the same way or use even more money). This occurs in all practices and can be seen in those who have devised some Witch, Wiccan, Pagan practice that serves no other purpose but providing someone with an excuse, a rationale for continuing behavior analogical to a dog chasing their own tail or a dog chasing after a vehicle's tire or dog barking at the noise of a vacuum cleaner.
Date of Origination: Wednesday 15th February, 2023... 2:15 AM
Initial Posting Date: Thursday 11th May, 2023... 8:21 AM