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December 2006 Newsletter
Here
is the December Newsletter.
The
navigation around the various pages that I have posted to this site is still
a bit clumsy now that it is no longer a single page site. Some of the
hyperlinks have been set up for sections that have not yet been created. The
site will have been restructured by the time the January newsletter is posted
which will improve matters.
As
usual, please either scroll down this page to read or click on the headers
above to go straight to a particular topic. If you click on the web page
addresses within the text, you will be taken to the relevant page elsewhere
either on my website or to an external site.
As
we are in the festive season for a lot of Western people, Seasons Greetings
to everyone and I hope that 2007 will be a good year for everyone.
Thank
you. Robert
18th
December 2006
St.Nicholas
Below
is a seasonal contribution to the newsletter from George in Moscow regarding St.Nicholas
which is an extract from web page http://russian-crafts.com/customs/st-nicholas.html
.
The
following web pages also have some articles of interest:
·
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=23
·
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35
·
http://cartoons.osu.edu/nast/santa_camp.htm
·
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/Original_Santa_Claus.htm .
St. Nicholas of Myra
In
keeping with the Christmas holiday season, let us take a look at a how a
Bishop from Turkey became
the patron saint of Moscow
and Santa Claus to the world.
Little
is known about Nicholas' early life. He is believed to have been born into a
wealthy family in the Lycian seaport town of Patara.
He was imprisoned for refusing to denounce his Christian faith during the
reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (AD 284-305). When the Greek,
Constantine, became Emperor, the centre of the Empire moved to Constantinople
(modern day Istanbul, Turkey).
Constantine
did more than tolerate Christianity. He made it the official religion of the Eastern Roman Empire. The persecution of Christians
ceased, prisoners were released and the Emperor called for the convening of a
sacred council to agree on the structure of the Christian faith and teachings
which we know as the Council of Nicea or the First
Ecumenical Council. Nicholas, by now Bishop of Myra in Turkey, attended this
council in AD 325. Nicholas' remains were originally, entombed at Myra (known as Demre today). In 1087, the Saint's relics were moved to Bari, Italy, where they are still
enshrined in the Basilica of St. Nicolas ( Basilica di San Nicola).
What
is the connection between this venerable Bishop and Santa Claus? Legend has
it that Nicholas worked numerous miracles for those in need. He is also known
as the Wonder Worker. Possibly the most famous and popular story concerns a
nobleman and his three daughters.
The
nobleman had fallen on hard times and did not have the money to pay his
daughters' dowries. Without this, the girls could not marry. Nicholas,
learning of their despair, went to the house, at night, and dropped a bag of
gold coins in one of the daughter's window. Later, he returned and deposited
a bag of coins in through the next girl's window. When he returned to bestow
his gift on the third girl, all the windows of the house were locked. So, the
good Bishop climbed up on the roof and dropped the bag of money down through
the chimney. The coins fell into the girls' stockings that were hanging on
the fireplace mantle to dry. Sound familiar? This legend is where we get the
tradition of hanging stockings for Santa to fill with treats and gifts on
Christmas Eve.
Some
of Nicholas' acts are documented and thus amount to more than legend. One of
the earliest such accounts is found in a sixth century Greek text. Three
officers, sentenced to death, were saved by Nicholas who appeared to Constantine in a dream.
Nicholas is credited with resurrecting three children burned to death in a
fire and saving another child from drowning. He calmed a storm off the coast
of Lycia,
saving several sailors from certain death. The Bishop is said to have done
many charitable acts. For example, Nicholas purchased a rug from a poor
street vendor for an inflated price and then gave the rug to the vendor's
wife as a gift. Thus, the couple gained financial help and retained their
property. This act shows Nicholas' sensitivity to human dignity. Nicholas quickly became a beloved saint
worldwide. He is a favourite patron saint,
especially in Greece and Russia.
In fact, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Moscow. A church was built in his honour in the sixth century by Roman emperor Justinian at
Constantinople. St. Nicholas' Feast Day is
December 6th, the date of his death in ca. AD 350. In many Eastern
traditions, this is a festive day of thanksgiving and gift giving.
Nicholas'
popularity created many surnames worldwide; Nichols, Colson, Collins, etc.
His transition to Father Christmas occurred first in Germany where the Reformed
Protestant churches were in a majority. In the Dutch Reformed Church, St.
Nicholas was known as Sinter Claes which became
Santa Claus in English speaking countries. Christmas is the season when
Christians celebrate the Nativity of Christ. It is, also, a holiday
associated with the celebration of the family, especially children. The
legends and accounts surrounding the Bishop of Myra, his charity, miracles and love for
children and family make him the real Santa.
You
are probably wondering how the jolly old man with the red suit with a big
belly figures into our story. During the American Civil War, a political
cartoonist named Thomas Nast, endeavored to lift
the spirits of the Union soldiers by drawing a gift bearing Santa Claus in a
red, white and blue suit. The jolly old man motif is thanks to a theology
professor, Dr. Clement Moore (1779-1863) of New York City, who wrote Twas the Night Before Christmas to entertain his restless
children!
If
you can put aside the commercialism of Christmas for a moment, it is easy to
see how the real Saint Nicholas and the fictional Santa Clause do, indeed,
embody the true spirit of the season. This is a time of gentleness, sharing
and celebration of the family. These ideals translate into any language and
culture. Differences between the Churches of East and West eventually
culminated in the Great Schism of 1054. From the time of Constantine,
the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire was ruled from Constantinople and the
Western Roman Empire from Rome.
The Western empire was more barbaric and busy invading Europe.
Their theological development was influenced greatly by individuals such as St. Augustine (AD
354-430). In the East, times were more peaceful, the arts and commerce flourished
and Christian doctrine was fashioned by the Greek Fathers. Rome, because of its claim to Apostolic
authority from Peter maintained authority over the Church. The Eastern sees
of Alexandria, Antioch
and Constantinople were considered the
ultimate authority in Church dealings and doctrinal matters and therefore the
Ecumenical Council. Thus, Orthodoxy, as the Eastern group of Churches is
known, was not about to bow to the primacy of Rome.
It
is from Constantinople that the Church spread to Russia, in the mid-900's, and
developed into the Russian Orthodox Church. Its roots are in the Church of Constantinople;
the Byzantine Orthodox Church; the Church
of Bishop Nicholas.
Thus, this beloved Saint is cherished by the Russian Church
and people.
Crystals Fairs
 The
forward schedule for the first quarter of 2007 for the crystals fairs
organised by Rock’n’Gem Shows is below. Further
information including directions can be found at http://www.rockngem.co.uk/events.asp. Car parking is available at all locations.
Opening hours for the fairs are 10.00am to 5.00pm. The Saturday fair at Kempton Park will close later at 6.00pm. For
the second year running, there is no January fair at Hatfield House so I
presume that this is no longer a venue for these fairs.
- 6th and 7th January –
Dulwich
College, SE
London
- 20th and 21st January
– The Hop Farm, Beltring, Paddock Wood, Kent
- 27th and 28th January
– Chepstow Racecourse
- 3rd and 4th February
– Newton
Abbott Racecourse
- 24th and 25th
February – York
Racecourse
- 3rd and 4th March – Cheltenham Racecourse
- 17th and 18th March –
Kempton Park
Racecourse, SW London
- 31st March and 1st
April – Brighton Racecourse
Earth Energies
 Those
people who are able to connect to the energies of the planet beneath us might
be interested in the work of Hamish Miller. Hamish is now into his third
decade of dowsing and has dowsed extensively across the South of England
following the energy lines in the landscape.
He classifies these energy lines into Leylines
which are relatively straight and into Lines of Earth Energy which are not
straight. All these energy lines, however, tend to intersect or to be
concentrated at the ancient sacred sites in this country. Hamish’s research
has led him to the conclusion that these energy lines in the planet really do
interact with our own energy fields and can influence our behavioural
patterns and our health and wellbeing. Over the years of research he has
worked with a number of health problems in both people and animals which are
connected with our planet’s energy field. His
spiritual perspective is that our personal energies and the planetary
energies are all inter-linked and part of the cosmic web of energy
Most
of Hamish’s work has been written up in the form of books which are available
from his publishing website at http://www.hamishmiller.co.uk.
His first book (written with Paul Broadhurst),
called ‘The Sun and the Serpent’, records his research project across the
South of England when he dowsed the Mary and Michael Lines from the coast of
East Anglia, where they come in from the Netherlands, all the way through
Avebury and Glastonbury down to St.Michael’s Mount
in Cornwall. Along the way, the project sought to find out the local tales
and folklore relating to various locations connected with the Energy Lines
and his observations about these were woven into the research and into his
book. His next book (written with Paul
Broadhurst, Vivienne Shanley
and Ba Russell), called The Dance of the Dragon
records his research project into the St.Michael /
Apollo Axis. This is the straight line axis that runs through European sacred
sites from Skellig Michael off the coast of South
West Ireland (famous for the monastery with beehive huts) through St.Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, Mont St.Michel
in Normandie, La Sacra di
San Michele in Italy’s Piemonte, Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano which has Europe’s oldest shrine dedicated to
Archangel Michael, Delphi, Athens and Delos before passing under the
Mediterranean into Mount Carmel in Israel. This Axis is notable for the many
shrines dedicated along its route to Archangel Michael. Hamish’s
most recent book (written with Barry Brailsford)
was published earlier this year. Named ‘In Search of the Southern Serpent’,
the book records his Earth Energies research work in New Zealand where he was
helped by the Maori Elders who shared with him their knowledge of Earth
Energies which has been passed down through the generations.
I
have drawn upon some of Hamish’s work in the Foundation Chapters of my
manuals so in a sense Hamish is yet another person who has contributed to the
collection of information that I try to pass on to people.
Sekhem –
Trademarking Guidance
 The
page that I posted in November regarding the trademarking of SEKHEM within
the European Union attracted a lot of visitor traffic
once it had been picked up by the main internet search engines. The page
contained reference to trademarking in Australia,
the United States of America
and Hong Kong. I have received a number of
queries about the trademarking situation in these countries so have now
posted further Notices with cross reference back to the relevant trademarking
authorities there. As in the European Union, there seems to be a lack of
understanding about exactly what has been trademarked. Please click here to read about the
trademarking in Australia,
click here to read about the
trademarking in the USA
and click here to
read about the trademarking in Hong Kong.
January
Newsletter
The
January newsletter will be issued in mid-January
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