13th March 2006

Dear Friends,

I am decided to rationalise my operations and send this Newsletter out at the end of every month. But the months come and go so rapidly, that nothing gets done on time - and you can be grateful I do not bombard you with too much information, in this data soaked world of ours. Remember, you are welcome to a few free  WEBPAGES on the Luxlapis Site. Things are moving and hyperlinks made between my writings and other websites with similar objectives. Though the full scope of those objectives have not been made clear as yet.

Yours sincerely,

Samten de Wet,  Cape Town.

THE HOUSE OF WISDOM AND THE TEMPLARS

Recent researches have led me into considering where and how, the Templars came into contact with the Mystery Stream, manifested as The House of Wisdom -  within Islam in the early phases of the Crusades. There is one event in particular - which you can read about here:

Adventures of the Oriental Templars: On Geoffery Fulcher, By Pnesomauma - from: The Scarlet Letter, Volume III, Number 2, December 1995

Recently, in Nieu Bethesda, I read a Short History of the Crusades, by Sir Stephen Runciman  who is one of the great authorities on the subject. 

A short Introduction by Sanderson Beck: THE CRUSADERS - SANDERSON BECK  and google with offer up a mass of related material. 

The core of my interest in what is known as The House of Wisdom transmission -  which can be traced from Bagdad in the 8th century to Cairo in the 11- 12th century, and onwards into Giordano Bruno in the 16th and the Rosicrucian Movement of the 17th century -  and possibly Free Masons as well.  What is this House of Wisdom?  See:

CHAPTER 2: DAR al-HIKMA      and:  BAYT al-HIKMA   

PICATRIX IMAGES

PICATRIX

The Medici Carved Gems and the Picatrix:   Pat Aakhus, University of Southern Indiana

Picatrix Illustratus:   Benedek Láng, Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Facias Ymaginem: Wax Figures and Interpersonal Relations in Picatrix: Elisabeth Carnell, Western Michigan University

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES:  The Medieval Institute. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:  Art and the History of Magic. In the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean World

And:  SYLLABUS:  

Newsletter of the Societas Magica,No.4  

And excellent article, byt the great:

JEAN SEZNEC, MYTH IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE   from: The Dictionary of the History of Ideas

ARAB MUSIC - BRILLIANT ARTICLE . . . 

AL AHRAM,  the newpaper of Cairo, Egypt, is often a source of rich information on all sorts of cultural events,  pertaining to contemporary Egypt.  Well worth a visit!

ASTROLOGY CHARTS FOR FREE  -  a bit of manipulation gets you there - prints chart as .jpg

A Short History of Metals -  some background for the astrological - alchemical correspondences.

   Brandon D. Williams:  Interpretatio: The Cultural Process of Alchemy    [pdf.file]

ANNE BARING - Have a look at the SITE MAP -  for a complete overview.

THE CLUB OF BUDAPEST - Visionary Project   . . 

Tantra : The Art of Philosophy - Simple and easy introduction.

WOORDFEES -  6-12^th March 2006-03-04 Stellenbosch . . . 

Enfolded in the Sea:  Ancient Greeks Gave First Devotion to Ocean Goddesses and Gods   by Miriam Harline  

Benjamin Dykes:   THE DECANS IN ASTROLOGY

THE DA VINCI CODE, BY DAN BROWN. REFLECTIONS • JIM KENNEY. [pdf.file]

  Benedek Láng:  ANGELS AROUND THE CRYSTAL. THE PRAYER BOOK OF KING WLADISLAS AND THE TREASURE HUNTS OF HENRY THE BOHEMIAN

DENNY SARGENT report of the  Japanese Fertility Festival the Kanamara Matsuri, known as The Penis Festival.  Has to be seen to be believed! 

Intricacy, by Michael Cope

'More than a memoir, this exploration of what it means to remember and honour a parent navigates the vast seas of memory with delicate skill.   Lesley, the author's mother, was an artist, communist and bohemian at a time in South Africa's history that brooked no dissidence. A woman disappointed in human love, she was to find serenity and joy in love of a more mystic nature. In the effort to reassemble her life and his family history, Michael Cope takes fragments from a wide range of inventive sources and creates a dazzling, quirky and intensely moving mosaic of his own making.  This magpie snapshot of one family's life in apartheid South Africa has it all: walk-on performances by Uys Krige, Ingrid Jonker and Albie Sacks, great art and beauty, an African farm, passages to India, and love that transcends death. At the same time, it is a candid account of how an imaginative child survives the breakdown of his parent's marriage.'   

A very interesting collection of images from works of KIRCHER.

WOLFNET   My Den   Library Main Lobby

PHOENICIAN HISTORY

RECOVERED SCIENCE

FEEDBACK

It’s a treasure trove!  There’s enough here to last me the next six months... Many thanks... Govinda Dickman. January 28, 2006

Thank you so much for your most comprehensive and interesting newsletter! Love, Sophia Lught, Johannesburg, January 28, 2006

Truly magnificent. Writing from Tanzania, where I spend hours on bus-trips  gazing out over the plains, and onwards to the timeless horizon, I can fully  understand your awe at Africa's land- and skyscapes. That neverending space  opens up places in my heart that I never knew existed. Thank you, and  warmest greetings to you, Petra Bakewell-Stone, January 28, 2006

From a misted early Joburg morning... The generous sharing of your mindfullness gives a sweet sanity to the dawn, reminding me that we travel together, so many, in pursuit of this life more truthfull, more naked, more kind and beautifull. Thank you Samten, dear child...with love Jennifer  Ferguson, January 28, 2006

Thank you for the most informative and fascinating newsletter -  I hope you will send one to Ann as well - she called me from New Jersey today and she would very much enjoy receiving material from you once again.

Carol Plummer, Anchorage, Alaska, January 28, 2006