Tag: mythology

Totems

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Mythology

Totems - Exhibit - Denver Museum of Art/ Art Museum

Totems – Exhibit – Denver Museum of Art/ Art Museum

Totems

Article and research by Thomas Baurley,
Technogypsie Research, August 7, 2017

One of the phenomenal ominous presences in the Pacific Northwest, as well as superNATURAL British Columbia, is the plethora of artistic totems created by the past and present Pacific Northwest tribes. It is truly a part of my heart’s connection with Cascadia.

Totems, in the Pacific Northwest, are usually depicted by the stacking of tribal masks or heads carved into a tall towering pole. “Totems” are spirit beings, symbols, or sacred objects that represent families, clans, lineages, or tribes. Totem as a definition was first classified from the art forms and beliefs made by the Ojibwe tribe in the Pacific Northwest. They see the concept as believing in tutelary Deities or spirits. This concept however is worldwide, and defining term “totem” is utilized by Anthropologists to explain this concept as it is used in other cultures such as Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Arctic, and the Middle East. Most cultures outside of the Americas call their guardian spirits and symbols by other words rather than “totems”. Neo-Paganism and the New Age have adopted the term “totem” to identify a particular personal or tutelary spirit guide.

Pacific Northwest – North America

The Pacific Northwest, nicknamed “Cascadia,” is home to most of the “Totem culture” found in North America. Many of these are represented in Totem Poles. The belief in totems follows alongside “animism“, the belief that everything has a spirit or soul. Many totems are animals or creatures that represent a tribe, family, or clan.

Totems: Pacific Northwest Tribal Art

Totem Poles
Totem poles feature tribal masks, heads, animals (especially bears, frogs, birds), and supernatural creatures or beings from myths. These often function as representatives, chiefs, or crests of a family or royal lineage. Each is embedded with its own stories, myths, tales, and traditions. On a totem pole, they are read from the bottom to the top.

The North American Northwest and Columbia Plateau Tribes have a distinct style, culture, and belief system. The Artwork of the Native American Pacific Northwest Cultures is phenomenal, embedded with myths, legends, and spirituality that empower their people.

Totems; Pacific Northwest Tribal Art; Pacific Northwest Tribes Exhibit – Denver Museum of Art/ Art Museum

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Garden of the Gods (CO, USA)

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Faerie Hills, Haunted Locations, Living Myth, Sacred Sites

Garden of the Gods

 

Garden of the Gods

1805 N 30th Street (at Gateway Rd)
* Manitou / Colorado Springs, Colorado * 719.634.6666 * http://www.gardenofgods.com/ * http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=545 * Originally first published May 9, 2009, by Thomas Baurley

Garden of the Gods is a unique natural geological park that is located in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs … and is a Registered National Natural Landmark. It’s open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. in the summer and 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the winter. The park boasts over a million visitors a year or more.

History and Mythology

Where the Great Plains grasslands meet the low-lying pinon-juniper woodlands of the American Southwest at the base of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains a geological upheaval occurred along the Trans-Rocky Mountain Fault system creating these spectacular features over a million years ago. Horizontal ancient beds of sandstone, limestone, and conglomerates were pushed and tilted vertically when the tectonic plates pushed together. Glaciations, wind, and water erosion shaped the features over hundreds of thousands of years.

This geologic feature was seen as sacred grounds by the original inhabitants of the area, potentially visited and used for spirituality possibly over 3,000 years ago to the present. As early as 1330 B.C.E. evidence of human occupation has been found from petroglyphs, fire rings, pottery, and stone tools have been left behind. The Ute Indians claim that their people always had lived where Garden of the Gods Park now stands and their people were created there and around Manitou.

The Kiowa, Apache, Shoshone, Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Arapaho also claim their peoples visited or lived here. It was known as a pivotal crossroads and meeting place for many indigenous peoples and nomadic tribes gathered together for peace. Rivaling tribes were said to even have laid down their weapons before entering the shadows of the sandstone features.

Garden of the Gods

 

Two sets of petroglyphs were found here – the first hidden in a crevice on the east side of South Gateway Rock depicting a circular shield-like figure divided into four parts with a rain cloud terrace image, a Thunderbird image, zigzag lines, and an image of wheat or corn and a faint flower-like image with a dozen dots forming a semi-circle over its top which some experts said was done recently in the last 100 years copying Indian designs from a book. The other petroglyph is pecking in the rock discovered in the 1980s and estimated to date to 1500 C.E. most likely a Ute Indian design potentially depicting a deer, a third of a buffalo head, and maybe a stone tool seemingly telling a story.

Alleged Native American legends of the site have been told, their authenticity is unknown. Marion E. Gridley wrote in “Indian Legends of American Scenes” telling a tale about a great flood that covered all the mountains nearby Pikes Peak. As the waters receded, the Great Spirit petrified the carcasses of all animals killed by the flood into sandstone rolling them down into this valley as evidence of the Great Flood.

The second was written by Ford C. Frick saying “… in the nestling ales and on the grassy plains which lie at the foot of the Great White Mountain that points the way to heaven lived the Chosen People. Here they dwelt in happiness together. And above them on the summit of the Mighty Peak where stand the Western Gates of Heaven, dwelt the Manitou. And that the Chosen might know of his love the Manitou did stamp upon the Peak the image of his face that all might see and worship him … but one day as the storm clouds played about the Peak, the image of the Manitou was hid .. and down from the North swept a barbaric tribe of giants, taller than the spruce which grew upon the mountainside and so great that in their stamping strides they shook the earth.

And with the invading host came gruesome beasts – unknown and awful in their mightiness – monstrous beasts that would devour the earth and tread it down … and as the invading hosts came on the Chosen Ones fell to the earth at the first gentle slope of the mountain and prayed to Manitou to aid it. Then came to pass a wondrous miracle, the clouds broke away and sunshine smote the Peak and from the very summit, looking down, appeared the face of Manitou himself. And stern he looked upon the advancing host, and as he looked the giants and beasts turned to stone within their very steps … “

If this site was in Australia or Europe, it would be named castles and fortresses associated with Gods, Deities, Spirits, or Faeries.

Garden of the Gods

 

Westerners first discovered the features in 1859 by two surveyors who were here to build Old Colorado City. M.S. Beach, one of the surveyors thought it would be a great location for a beer garden. The other surveyor replied to him stating “A Beer Garden? Why this is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it Garden of the Gods”. General William Jackson Palmer who was known for his contributions to building Colorado Springs convinced his colleague Charles Elliot Perkins to buy the 240 acres embracing the features. In 1909 his children donated the land to the city of Colorado Springs.

The original family that donated the land to the public required that it would always remain free, and that is what it remains today. Garden of the Gods stands as a great park for hiking, walking, bicycling, rock climbing, picnicking, special events, and weddings … The park has it all … protected as 1,387 scenic acres … and presents itself as a unique tourist/information center, with a theater and gift shop near the entrance. Within are 15 miles of trails ranging in various levels of difficulty from beginner to advance for hiking and exercise.

A historical video greets you at the welcome center and tells the tale that began in the 1870s when the railroads carved westward when General William Jackson Palmer founded the city of Colorado Springs and upon discovering this natural beauty, urged his friend Charles Elliott Perkins, the head of Burlington Railroad, to make his home where the park now stands. He lived there until he finished his railway from Chicago to Colorado Springs. His railroad project wasn’t a success and never made its destination in the springs.

His homestead eventually became his summer home in 1879. He purchased 480 acres and never actualized building on it, leaving the land in its natural state and for the public. When he died in 1907, he made arrangements for the land to be a public park, and this was enacted by his children in 1909 forever as the Garden of the Gods “where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park.” That is exactly what they’ve done …. and it’s a beautiful place to be.

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Klickitat the totem maker (Mt. Adams)

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Faerie Hills, Giants, God/desses, Mythology, Sacred Sites

Photos and Tales to come – coming soon… Story of the Bridge of the Gods: Geologically this is one of the shortest crossing areas between Oregon and Washington over the Columbia River. It is believed that a thousand years ago there was a massive landslide from the north shore of the Columbia River that slid … Read More “Klickitat the totem maker (Mt. Adams)” »

Pluto's Cave (Weed, CA)

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Adbductions, Lemurians, Mythology, Sacred Sites, Sightings

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Pluto’s Cave
* Shasta, California * Article by Leaf McGowan, Technogypsie Productions © 2014: Written March 31, 2014.

During our fabled quest for Telos, we decided to head off in search of Pluto’s Cave. In the heart of the high desert just 12 1/2 miles north of Weed, California. “Pluto’s Cave” is not really a cavern, but a lava tube dating to over 190,000 B.P. (before present) from early eruptions of Mount Shasta. It is located on the northern outskirts of Mount Shasta in the high desert. Segments of the tube are collapsed, while other portions are buried. There are about three segments one can access reliably. Unfortunately the entrances and walls within many sections of the early part of this lava tube has been vandalized with graffiti from locals partying at the location. Some of the graffiti is historic dating to the early 20th century. The cave floor is very dusty and too much activity will cause a cloud burst of fine powder that will take a bit to settle. The tube has a strong stench of bat guano. The early part of the tube has some flat level walking areas, but the deeper you go the more shambling and climbing you’ll need. Bring water, good hiking boots, long pants (I wore shorts and had received a bit of scrapes), and make sure you have a good head torch and several reliable back up lights. It is recorded that visitors can safely hike into the cave approximately 1200 feet. The tube varies from 20-50 feet in height at points. There is evidence that the cave was used by Pre-Columbian peoples. The tube was discovered by Westerners in 1863 by Nelson Cash, a local rancher looking for stray cattle that he believed wandered into these fields. He named the cave “Pluto’s Cave” after the Greek God of the Underworld. Pluto’s Cave is often described as a “classic lava tube” as it was a tunnel formed by molten lava passing through tubes in older, hardened lava. It was discovered because sections of the roof collapsed exposing the inner chamber. This desert contains numerous lava tubes and caves in the region. It is believed that there are over 778 caves and tunnels in nearby Lava Beds National Park, and over 150 documented caves in the Marble Mountain Wilderness that Mount Shasta is part of. Many of these have not been explored.

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Local mythology: Pluto’s cave is not without its share of mythos. Some believe it is an entrance to the ancient Lemurian city of Telos – whether they be races of aliens, faeries, or other people. No scientific evidence supports these claims and is therefore classified as local legends, lore, and superstitions. In the 2008 edition of Fate Magazine, an article tells the story of “The Shaver Mystery” – depicting bizarre accounts of his abduction by subterranean beings known as “Deros” made into a low-budget movie called “Beyond Lemuria” by a California based Church of Hermetic Scientists that was filmed in Pluto’s Cave. The film’s plot encompasses a sinister Draconian Society that has secretly funded the development of a Intragravatron device and plans to open the vortex at an inter-dimensional convergence point deep in the lava caves on the northern slopes of Mt. Shasta. This was based on a original story of a 17 year old boy named Frederick Spenser Oliver who in the early 20th century published a telling of his channeled story of Phylos in his book “A Dweller on Two Planets” which eventually became an occult classic tale. Some believe it was this book that has triggered many of the myths of the area about Phylos, Telos, and the Lemurians. In 2011 there was a recording of a local boy disappearing. This tale is full of childhood imagination, aliens, and abduction theories. [see details here: http://www.messagetoeagle.com/oddunexdismtshasta_p2.php#.Uzw5ACjDU2c ] That same year, a tourist from Los Angeles claimed to have heard a beautiful woman’s voice coming from the direction of Mount Shasta as he was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He followed the voice, became lost, and found his way to Pluto’s cave where he claims to have been abducted, stripped of his clothing, greeting by a beautiful tall woman with unnatural blue eyes, and given a gift as well as secret information. After being lost for several weeks, he was found and he claimed to be “Lord Kalki” – the incarnation of a messianic Hindu god. Legends of a spectral lady appear to haunt the caverns, appearing as a spiritual guide, alien, a Lemurian, or Faerie queen. Online articles also claim there is a Native American legend of a red-headed female who used to live in caverns beneath Mount Shasta, some believe was at Pluto Cave. Some claim this lava tube as well as other tubes, caves, and tunnels in the region interconnect southern Oregon, Mount Shasta, and the upper coasts of California. Some writers online claim that Native American tribes admit to these locations and entrances, but that they are a closely guarded secret never shared with the outside world. Others believe the St. Germain foundation secretly guard the entrance of a lava tube above Mossbrae Falls in Dunsmuir, south of Mount Shasta. It is believed that this Mossbrae Falls tube is the secret entrance to Telos, not Pluto’s Cave. While meditating in the darkness at the end of the tunnel, in the pitch black silence there was a split second I thought I heard a moan, though that could have been my comrade’s stomach. There was another un-determined noise we both heard during our meditation. Other than that, light scratchings of the bats above on the lava rocks was all that permeated the silence.

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How to get there: Drive approximately 12.5 miles north on Highway 97 from Weed to A12 (the Grenada turnoff), turn left, go past the “Juniper Valley OHV area” signs approximately 3.25 miles to a small sign post saying “Pluto’s Cave”, turn on that dirt road follow to parking lot at hiking trail head. Hike 1/4 mile down the trailhead, following the red lava rocks outlining the trail to a small white arrow sign pointing down into Pluto’s Cave.

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God/desses, Mythology, Religion, Sacred Sites, Tuatha de Danann

Goibnui, the Smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann Other names:Govannon (Welsh), Gofannon (Welsh), and Gobannos (Gaulish), Goibniu, Goibhnet, Goibhniu. Counterparts:There is suggestions that Goibnui, the Smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was replaced by Saint Ghobnatan. The site of Tobar Ghobnatan had archaeological evidence of a hut and artifacts such as iron slag, a crucible, … Read More “” »

Shannon Pot and the Salmon of Knowledge

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Faeries, Living Myth, Mythology, Sacred Sites

Shannon Pot and the search for the Salmon of Knowledge (crossposted via WordPress PressThis: Article by Rob Wildwood – visit link for full article) I was becoming intrigued by the Celtic tales of magical fish living in holy wells. My experience at the Pigeon Hole near Cong, on the border between County Galway and County … Read More “Shannon Pot and the Salmon of Knowledge” »

The Dreaming and Dreamtime

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God/desses, Living Myth, Mythology, Otherkin, The Undead

The Dreaming and “Dreamtime”

As I take a career and life journey’s “Walkabout” around Australia and Europe during the Summer of 2011, during my visit to the Australian National Museum I really for the very first time embrace the concept of the Australian Aborigine “Dreaming” and “Dreamtime” that I was first introduced to during my Anthropology of Religion class I took during my college years at Florida State University. Nevermore did the concept “sink” and “settle” in me more than at this time of my life that I could truly say in a “Stranger in a Strange Land’s” true essence of “grokking” the concept fully and spiritually. “The Dreaming” tells of the journey and actions of the Ancestral Beings when they were creating the natural world. An animistic narrative telling of a “timeless time” of formative creation and perpetual creating. This took place during a mythological era called “Dreamtime”. This is a sacred era when the ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed “The Creation”. The philosophy is infinite and demonstrates how the past and present is linked together to prophesize the future. The concept of “Dreaming” is often used to refer to a person’s or group’s set of beliefs and spirituality. The Australian Aborigine might refer to “Shark Dreaming”, “Kangaroo Dreaming”, or “Eucalypus Dreaming” and this would refer to particular natural items or life forms in their resident area or country, laying down patterns of life from which to follow. This creates their mythos, their creation stories, and their folklore as to why certain things have come to be. They believe that every person exists eternally in the Dreaming and represents both the spirit that existed before physical life began and is the spirit that exists after death as a “Spirit Being” or “Spirit Child”. The Spirit Being can only exist physically by being born from a mother, entering the fetus during the fifth month of pregnancy. Upon birth, that child is to become a special custodian of the land and country to which s/he was born, required to learn the stories, lore, and songlines of that particular place. Our natural world, especially that which is within one’s cultural heritage, race, and species, is what provides the link between the people and “The Dreaming”. The Act of Dreaming and the stories that are within them carry the truth from the past, blended together with the code for the Law, to operate and facilitate the present. Every story within “The Dreaming” weaved as creation through the “Milky Way” is a complete long complex tale, many of which discuss consequences and our future being. During the Dreamtime, the Australian Aborigines believed that the creators were both men and women who took on spiritual forms. These “cultural heroes and heroines” sometimes defined as spirits, other times as “God/desses”, would travel across a formless land, create sacred sites and significant places of interest during their travels weaving story and songlines that would guide the spirit beings they birthed in Creation. They joined together with various spirits to create the land, the waterways, the geographical features of the land, the skies, the seas, the plants, the animals, the stones, and all the other wo/men that exist. Every event that takes place would leave a record in the land. To the Dharawal, “Biami” the Great Spirit, went up into the skies to watch over their people and to make sure they obeyed his rules. Spirits habitating in waterholes, caves, and other spirit places to watch over or affect those people that lived near them. This was one of the reasons that another tribe would not conquer tribal lands for doing so would place them in a land full of strange and potentially hostile spirits. The Australian Aborigines believed in both good and evil spirits they called “Goonges”. Children would be warned not to go to certain areas for the “goonge will get them”. Same for the oceans, for they too contained spirits underneath the waters and explained deaths at sea, getting caught in a rip current, or attacks by various sea creatures. The Creators, or the Ancestral Spirits, were shape-changers who were half-human, both male and female, who used the powers, great wisdom, and intentions to create all of being. They lived and retired in the sky clouds. The Aborigine believed that every living creature were created by the Creators as “spirit-children” and/or “spirit animals” during the Dreamtime and were assigned to live in particular spirit places. They believed that their own birth was the result of a spirit child entering into the mother’s body and was brought into being during conception by the specific actions or designs of the creators to make spirit children in the Dreamtime. They also believed that after death their spirit would return to the spirit-place to await rebirth. It was in Dreamtime that the Creators and ancestral spirits created the world which we all live. The Australian aborigines embrace all of life and the phenemena that affects if as part of the vast and complex system of relationships that go back to the original acnestral Totemic Spirits of the Dreaming. The Dreaming establishes a culture’s and regional country’s laws, taboos, structures, and history in order to ensure the continuity of life and land in that area. Breaking these cause destruction to the areas that one’s spirit is meant to guard or caretake.

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