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But no man is likely to profound the ocean of that doctrine beyond that eminent example of industrious learning, Kircherus.
Sir Thomas Browne (1605 - '82) paying tribute to Anasathius Kircher as an Egyptologist and for his study of hieroglyphs

When the musters had been made, and duly reported, the young men, as was usual, were to mix in various sports, of which the chief was to shoot at the popinjay, an ancient game formerly practised with archery, but at this period with fire-arms.
Sir Walter Scott; Old Mortality

Trust yourself: You know more than you think you do.
Dr Benjamin Spock, American author of Baby and Child Care, born on May 2, 1903

I would say that the surest measure of a man's or a woman's maturity is the harmony, style, joy, and dignity he creates in his marriage, and the pleasure and inspiration he provides for his spouse.
Dr Benjamin Spock

Good-hearted parents who aren't afraid to be firm when it is necessary can get good results with either moderate strictness or moderate permissiveness. On the other hand, a strictness that comes from harsh feelings or a permissiveness that is timid or vacillating can each lead to poor results.
Dr Benjamin Spock

Don't take too seriously all that the neighbors say. Don't be overawed by what the experts say. Don't be afraid to trust your own common sense … You should not take too literally what is said in this book.
Dr Benjamin Spock

People have said, `You've turned your back on pediatrics.' I said, `No. It took me until I was in my 60s to realize that politics was a part of pediatrics.
Dr Benjamin Spock

Athanasius Kircher

Highly recommended:
Folklore of World Holidays
by Margaret Read MacDonald

Against All Enemies: Inside the White House's War on Terror – What Really Happened

The Pagan Prosperity

The Triumph of the Moon

The Celtic Dragon Tarot

Sabbat Entertaining

The Pagan Book of Days

The Rise of the Creative Class

Celebrate the Earth
A Year of Holidays in the Pagan Tradition

Wheel of the Year

The Trouble with Islam

Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits

The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq

Lady Godiva

Voynich Manuscript

Athanasius Kircher

The Ecstatic Journey
(re Kircher)

The Queen's Conjurer: The Science and Magic of Dr. John Dee

Alchemist's Handbook
Albertus

Internet Sacred Text Archive CD-ROM ...

The Great Art of Knowing
(re Kircher)

Activists Beyond Borders

The Book of Spells

Spellcraft

The Book of Saints

The Encyclopedia of Saints

Daily Everything

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

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What Would Jefferson Do?
By Thom Hartmann

Methods of Nonviolent Action

The Torture Debate in America

The Culture of the New Capitalism

Pagan Christianity

Waging Nonviolent Struggle

 

The Great War for Civilisation

By Robert Fisk

The God Who Wasn't There

A Question of Torture
By Alfred McCoy

When Corporations Rule the World

Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

The Corporation
Highly recommended DVD

Crimes Against Nature : How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
By Robert F Kennedy, Jr

The Skeptic's Dictionary

Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America
By Bruce Shapiro

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

365 Goddess

Adventures in a TV Nation
Michael Moore

Drawing Down the Moon

Globalization/Anti-Globalization


More books, calendars, T-shirts, mugs, music, posters, etc at  
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Rich Media, Poor Democracy
Robert McChesney

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The Loch Ness Monster

America's Loch Ness Monsters

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Mysterious Scotland

First Sunday in May, blessing of the cheeses, Randwick, UK (2004)

Prior to the next Saturday's ancient cheese-rolling ceremony/game, the 'Randwick Wap', the cheeses – usually three double Gloucesters – are rolled mystically and anticlockwise around the Church after being blessed.

The custom is said to ward off evil spirits, and it is noteworthy that the cheeses are rolled, ceremoniously, widdershins, 'against sin' or counter-clockwise, which has pre-Christian pagan connotations.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "'widdershins' comes from "Middle Low German weddersinnes, from Middle High German widersinnes : wider, back (from Old High German widar; see wi- in Appendix I) + sinnes, in the direction of (from sin, direction, from Old High German".

First Sunday morning of May (Old Style) at Craigie Well, Blackisle of Ross, Scotland

On the dating of items in the Almanac

"Among the many relics of superstition still extant in the Highlands of Scotland, one of the most remarkable is the veneration paid to certain wells, which are supposed to possess eminent virtues as charms against disease, witchcraft, fairies, and the like, when visited at stated times, and under what are considered favourable auspices.

"Craigie Well is situated in a nook of the parish of Avoch, which juts out to the south, and runs along the north shore of the Munlochy bay. The well is situated within a few yards of high-water mark. It springs out between two crags or boulders of trap rock, and immediately behind it the ground, thickly covered with furze, rises very abruptly to the height of about sixty feet. Probably the name of the well is suggested by the numerous masses of the same loose rock which are seen to protrude in so many places here and there through the gorse and broom which grow round about. There is a large briar bush growing quite near the two masses of rock mentioned, which is literally covered with small threads and patches of cloth, intended as offerings to the well. None, indeed, will dare go there on the day prescribed without bringing an offering, for such would be considered an insult to the 'healing waters!'

"For more than a week before the morning appointed for going upon this strange pilgrimage, there is scarcely a word heard among farm servants within five miles of the spot, but, among the English speaking people, 'Art thee no ganging to Craigack wall, to get thour health secured another year? ' and, among the Gaelic speaking population, 'Dol gu topar Chreckack?'

"Instigated more by curiosity than anything else, I determined to pay this well a visit, to see how the pilgrims passed the Sunday morning there. I arrived about an hour before sunrise; but long before crowds of lads and lasses from all quarters were fast pouring in. Some, indeed, were there at daybreak, who had journeyed more than seven miles! Before the sun made his appearance, the whole scene looked more like a fair than anything else. Acquaintances shook hands in true highland style; brother met brother, and sister sister; while laughter and all manner of country news and gossip were so freely indulged in, that a person could hardly hear what he himself said. Some of them spoke tolerable English, others spoke Gaelic, while a third party spoke Scotch, very quaint in the phraseology and broad in the pronunciation.

"Meantime crowds were eagerly pressing forward to get a tasting of the well before the sun should come in sight; for, once he made his appearance, there was no good to be derived from drinking of it. Some drank out of dishes, while others preferred stooping on their knees and hands to convey the water directly to their mouths, Those who adopted this latter mode of drinking had sometimes to submit to the inconvenience of being plunged in over head and ears by their companions. This practice was tried, however, once or twice by strangers, and gave rise to a quarrel, which did not end till some blows had been freely exchanged.

"The sun was now shooting up his first rays, when all eyes were directed to the top of the brae, attracted by a man coming in great haste, whom all recognised as Jock Forsyth, a very honest and pious, but eccentric individual. Scores of voices shouted,' You are too late, Jock: the sun is rising. Surely you have slept in this morning.' The new-comer, a middle-aged man, with a droll squint, perspiring profusely, and out of breath, pressed nevertheless through the crowd, and stopped not till he reached the well. Then, muttering a few inaudible words, he stooped on his knees, bent down, and took a large draught. He then rose up and said: 'O Lord! thou knowest that weel would it be for me this day an' I had stooped my knees and my heart before thee in spirit and in truth as often as I have stoopet them afore this well. But we maun keep the customs of our fathers.' So he stepped aside among the rest, and dedicated his offering to the briar-bush, which by this time could hardly be seen through the number of shreds which covered it.

"Thus ended the singular scene. Year after year the crowds going to Craigach are perceptibly lessening in numbers."
Robert Chambers, (Ed.), The Book of Days: A miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar, etc, W & R Chambers, London, 1881 (1879 Edition is online and 1869 edition here with CD-ROM available; See also The English Year: A Personal Selection from Chambers's Book of Days)

First Sunday in May, celebrations in Penzance, Cornwall, England

On the dating of items in the Almanac

On the  first Sunday after May Day, in Penzance, Cornwall, UK, people (usually two or three families together) used to visit Rose-hill, Poltier and other adjacent towns, for recreation. They would carry ingredients to make the 'country cake' or 'heavy cake' made from flour, cream, sugar, and currants. They also visited farmhouses where they ate junket and yoghurt cut in diamonds, and drank tea and punch. 

First Sunday in May, Liquefaction of the blood of St Januarius
St Januarius, Bishop of Benvenuto, is the patron saint of Naples (feast day September 19), martyred in the Diocletian persecution. His head and a glass phial of his blood are preserved in cathedral of Naples. Eighteen times a year the blood is shown publicly, having miraculously liquefied. The blood relic has been known since 1389, more than a millennium after the saint's death.

Days on which the liquefaction takes place, apart from his saint's day, include the first Sunday in May, and December 16.

First Sunday in May, Humane Sunday, USA
Dedicated to prevention of child abuse and cruelty to animals; sponsored by the American Humane Society. It is the beginning of Be Kind to Animals Week.

First Sunday in May, every three years, May running, Antdorf, Bavaria
In Antdorf (Bavaria), 'May running' (Mailaufen) still takes place every third year on the first Sunday in May. Local boys sit on a bench in meadow with two brooms and a lantern. A group of girls, with three fewer girls than there are boys, approach from behind accompanied by music. At a signal, the girls dash and tip the bench up, each girl grabbing a boy by the hand. The three boys not chosen have to dance with the brooms or lantern.

Early May, Bun Festival, Hong Kong

On the dating of items in the Almanac

A traditional Chinese festival in Hong Kong. It is held by several (mostly rural) communities, either annually or once every few years.

By far the most famous is the Bun Festival at Cheung Chau, which draws tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists every year. The festival is staged every year on the island of Cheung Chau to mark the Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, in the Chinese calendar (usually in early May). It thus coincides with the local celebration of Buddha's Birthday.

The centrepiece of the festival is the 'Bun Mountains' or 'Bun Towers', three giant 60-feet bamboo towers covered with buns. Historically, young men would race up the tower to get hold of the buns; the higher the bun, the better fortune it was supposed to bring to the holder's family; the race was known as 'Bun-snatching'. However, during a race in 1978 one of the towers collapsed, injuring more than 100 people. Since then the buns would be handed out to anyone who joins the queue. It is these bun-covered towers that give the festival its name.

Cheung Chau Bun Festival at discoverhongkong.com

Cheung Chau Bun Festival at hkfastfacts.com

"Greek: The 2nd day of each month is sacred to the Agathos Daimon, the 'Good Spirit' (roughly equivalent to a combination of the Will and the guardian angel of each person)."
Source: Earth, Moon and Sky

Festival of Floralia, or Floral Games in honour of Flora, Roman Empire (Apr 28 - May 3)

Maidyozarem, feast of mid-Spring, Zoroastrianism (Apr 30 - May 4)

Feast day of St Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria
(Charlock, Rhaphanus rhafaristrum, or Sinapis arvensis, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)

Athanasius of Alexandria (298 - May 2, 373) strenuously opposed the heresies of Arius and suffered in consequence. He was also persecuted by some degenerate Roman emperors after Constantine. Six times he was forced out of Alexandria and took refuge in the desert. His setbacks were many and he was often placed on trial under false charges. Although in charge of religious practices in Alexandria, he had a reputation for always bearing himself meekly.

Athanasius was the first person to identify the same 27 books of the New Testament that are in use today. Up until then, various similar lists of works to be read in churches were in use. A milestone in the evolution of the canon of New Testament books is his Easter letter from Alexandria, written in 367, at first only for the Eastern Church. In it he required the monasteries of Egypt to render up all books in their libraries that were not on his approved list. Not all the monks obeyed: near the monastery of St. Pachomius south of Alexandria, precious codices that were not on the approved list were sealed into a large terracotta jar and buried in the sand, where they lay until 1945: the Nag Hammadi cache. The Bishop of Rome endorsed the list of Athanasius in 382, followed by two synods in the 390s.

Sources: Wikipedia et al    Background information, plus his actual writings    More

Feast day of Saint Tsar Boris in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Feast day of St Celestine

Feast day of St Eugene

Feast day of St Exuperius

Feast day of St Felix of Seville

Feast day of St Germanus

Feast day of St José María Rubio y Peralta

Feast day of St Joseph Luu

Feast day of St Longinus

Feast day of St Mafalda

Feast day of St Neachtian

Feast day of St Neopolus

Feast day of St Saturninus

Feast day of St Ultan

Feast day of St Valentine

Feast day of St Vindemialis

Feast day of St Waldebert (Gaubert; Walbert)
Waldebert (d. c. 668), was a French abbot in the Benedictine Order, and a canonized saint in the Christian church.

Feast day of St Wiborada

Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints

Peasants' Holiday, Burma

Festival of Peace and the Good Voyage, The Philippines
Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar

Flag Day, Poland
An unofficial Polish holiday to honour the Flag of Poland.

Mawlid Al-Nabi, Muhammad's Birthday (2004), for many Muslims
Various dates are given as the Prophet's birthday which the Book of Days covers at May 15, 570 CE.

Mizusawa Komagata Matsuri, at Mizusawa, Iwate Prefecture, Japan (May 2 - 4)
A spring shrine festival featuring a mikoshi parade on the last day (May 4). There is a cavalcade and a children's armoured-costume parade.

Shomusai Matsuri, at Todaiji Temple, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan
In memory of death of Emperor Shomu (701 - '56), founder of the temple. In morning, long procession of priests, children, men and women, dressed in costumes of the Nara and Heian periods. (Helen Bauer and Sherwin Carlquist, Japanese Festivals, Doubleday & Co, Garden City, New York, 1965)

Takoage (Big Kite-Flying), at the Suwa shrine, Hamamatsu, Shizoka Prefecture, Japan (May 1 - 5)

Dainembutsu Kyogen, Shinsen-en Shrine Kyoto, Japan (May 1 - 5)

St Helen's Day, Cleveland, England
Although the feast day of St Helen (St Helena) is August 18, and her finding of the True Cross is celebrated on May 3, she was commemorated in Cleveland on this day.   Source

Day of the Region, Madrid Region

Second day of Labour Day, Slovenia and Serbia

Teachers' Day, Iran

Indonesia National Education Day, Indonesia

1602 Athanasius Kircher (d. November 27, 1680), 17^th-Century German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around forty works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology and medicine. He made an early study of Egyptian hieroglyphs. He was ahead of his time in proposing that the plague was caused by an infectious micro-organism and in suggesting effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

Kircher was a probable one-time owner of the Voynich Manuscript, the mysterious and so far untranslatable 240-page medieval manuscript owned in more recent years by Wilfrid Voynich (Wilfryd Michał Habdank-Woynicz).

Jacobus Horcicky de Tepenec (Sinapius) was another early owner of the manuscript, as was Emperor Rudolf II of Bohemia.

"He began life at three in the morning on 2 May 1602 (the Feast of St Athanasios) at Geisa near Fulda, just inside what is now East Germany."   Source

"The Voynich Manuscript, named for its discoverer, book collector Wilfrid M. Voynich, is an illustrated book written in an unknown alphabet in an unknown language sometimes dubbed 'Voynichese', assuming that it is a language at all – this being still an open question. Statistical analysis indicates patterns similar to actual languages, such as Zipf's law, and possibly indicating that it is meaningful. For instance, in the botany section, the first word on each page occurs only on that page, and may be the name of the plant. It was apparently written by two authors who used different dialects or spelling conventions.

"The manuscript, when it was found, contained a letter dated 1666, from Johannes Marcus Marci of Cronland, addressed to Athanasius Kircher. The letter mentions Roger Bacon as a possible author, though there is no apparent evidence to support this claim.

"Some claim the manuscript is a hoax. The question for them is, if it is a hoax, was it faked by Voynich in the 20th Century, or by Edward Kelley, the 16th Century forger who befriended (bamboozled?) Queen Elizabeth's adviser John Dee, or anyone else in between?

"Some claim that the fact that some of the drawings appear to have required a microscope and others a telescope, long before either were invented, mandates the involvement of extraterrestrials.

"Others see these factors as further cause for suspicion regarding the manuscript's authenticity."   Source: Wikipedia

Hoax: Athanasius Kircher

"Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680) was a Jesuit Scholar and professor of Mathematics at the Roman College in Italy. He was one of the central figures of Baroque scientific culture, and probably the greatest expert on ancient and universal languages, archaeology, astronomy, magnetism, and Chinese and Egyptian culture in Europe at that time. However, because of his stature among European intellectuals, he also became the target of a number of hoaxes.

"At one point, a rival named Andreas Muller concocted an unintelligible manuscript and sent it to Kircher with a note explaining that it had come from Egypt. He asked Kircher for a translation, and Kircher, reportedly, produced one at once.

"At another time, some practical jokers sent a piece of silk paper to Kircher, similar to the kind known to be used in China. The paper was covered with strange characters. They asked Kircher to translate it, and Kircher duly set to work. After spending a few days attempting to interpret the inscription, he happened to see the characters reflected in a mirror, whereupon he saw that they were simply Roman characters printed in reverse. They formed this message written in Latin: 'Noli vana sectari et tempus perdere nugis nihil proficientibus,' or, 'Do not seek vain things, or waste time on unprofitable trifles.'

"Finally, a new building was being constructed in Rome. Some youths buried some stones on the construction site. On these stones they had carved various voluptuous figures and mysterious symbols. The stones were discovered when the foundation of the building was being dug, and they were widely admired as ancient relics. Kircher was asked to interpret them, and after admiring them he proceeded to give an elaborate interpretation of the circles, crosses, figures, and other meaningless signs with which they were inscribed.

"This final prank served as the basis for a later hoax directed against a different scholar, Dr. Johann Beringer, in 1725."   Source

Shop Voynich    More on the Voynich MS    And more

Two geniuses whose lives were touched by John Dee

Leonardo da Vinci and Voynich Manuscript    People associated with Voynich Ms

Athanasius Kircher's Magnetic Clock    Wilson's Almanac Alchemy Clock (a bit of fun)

Catholic Encyclopedia    Glasgow University Library: Musurgia Universalis

Infoplease: Athanasius Kircher    Medicine Worldwide (German language)

The Correspondence of Athanasius Kircher    The First Use of the Microscope in Medicine

The Galileo Project    The Historical Background of Cytology

Owners of the Voynich Manuscript    The World is Bound With Secret Knots

The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society

1660 Alessandro Scarlatti (d. 1725), composer

1729 Empress Catherine II of Russia (d. 1796)

 
Did Catherine really die under a horse while having sex with it?

"It is regrettable that some people seem to take pleasure in vulgarity, but thankfully they are small in number. They do not belong in the category of the many who have a sincere desire to learn the true facts of history. Once only, but for all times, I would like to make it clear that Catherine suffered a stroke at the age of 67, inside her water closet. She was discovered by her maid, lying on the carpet against her commode. The door had prevented her from stretching out her legs. Her eyes were closed, her face congested. There was foam on her lips and a rattle in her throat. Others rushed in when they heard the cries of her maid. They combined their many efforts to lift her heavy body, but staggered. They pulled a leather mattress from a sofa to the floor. There she stayed while doctors tried to bleed her. But they knew it was the end. She died several hours later without regaining consciousness, stretched out by now in her canopied bed."   Source

1740 Elias Boudinot (d. 1821), American President of the Continental Congress

1750 John André (d. October 2, 1780), British officer hanged as a spy during the American Revolutionary War

1772 Novalis (d. 1801), poet

1859 Jerome K Jerome, English novelist

1860 Theodor Herzl (d. 1904), Zionist leader

1884 Elijah McCoy, inventor