The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

12:58 Feb 26 2013
Times Read: 479

I really don't want to rewrite this or try to fix it because when I bring it over here out of my ezine, it doesn't translate well to here. There is a URL at the bottom if you want to read it from the original. It gets too complicated to fix when I try and takes too much time. Maybe if I find the free time I will mess with it, lol. This was posted in one of my old profiles.



________________________________________

St. Patrick’s Day

 

 

 

By Trepessa     Copyright 2007

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow
And may trouble avoid you wherever you go

The Shamrock is notably a significant and well recognized symbol of St. Patrick’s Day (Lá 'le Pádraig). The Shamrock has three leaves and is often confused with the four-leaf clover, which is entirely different. “Though there are many species of clover, the shamrock is "white clover" or Trifolium repens, a flowering vine with white blossoms. The Gaelic word for shamrock is seamrog, (pronounced seam-roy).”1  “The number 3 has always been significant throughout history. Some scholars feel that it goes way back to creation. A man + A woman made a 3rd life which was miraculous.” Even though this is associated with St. Patrick it’s use was not for celebration or for good luck in his case.  It is said that St. Patrick used it in his sermons to illustrate the Trinity since this particular clover had three leaves. Many of his later followers wore the shamrock to show their devotion. The shamrock in the minds of many has been associated as a representative icon of Ireland even though their traditional symbol is the Celtic harp, which many may find unfamiliar. 

 

The four-leaf clover has a place also as it is considered lucky by some to find a four-leaf clover on St. Patrick’s Day. Whether this is an Irish idea or an American one it is something that is part of the traditions presently observed.

St. Patrick is believed to have come from Scotland. Patrick of course was not his real name but one he used after he became a cleric. “Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland -- that they all went into the sea and drowned. There's no reason to believe there were actually any snakes there however; this is probably an allegory for the driving out of paganism (snakes were a revered pagan symbol in some places).”2 Most of what is known about St. Patrick comes from his own book called “The Confession”, which was written in his later years.

No one really knows exactly why St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, but it is believed it is the month and day of the death of St. Patrick. Other sources say he was born on March 17, although the tradition follows that the death of a saint is considered their “holy day”.

Green is associated with St. Patrick’s Day as it is the color of spring and also the color of Ireland, which he supposedly liberated from Paganism. “For centuries "the wearin' of the green" was a symbol of springtime, hope, fertility and eternal life. Today green is the primary color when representing the Irish and St. Patrick's Day.”2

Leprechauns as they are referred to today were considered a type of fairy often called the “wee ones” and were apart of a group named lucorpans. Others have various derivations of their origins, one being from “the Irish Gaelic word leipreachán, defined by Dinneen as "a pigmy, a sprite, a leprechaun; for luchorpán"; the latter word Dinneen defines as "a pigmy, a leprechaun; a kind of aqueous sprite"; this word has also been identified as meaning ‘half-bodied’, or ‘small-bodied’.”6  They were known to be shoemakers or more commonly ‘cobblers’ and therefore were not considered upper level fairies as the Irish felt those who made shoes to be lowly in character.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

The leprechaun originally had a different appearance depending on where in Ireland he was found. Prior to the 20th century, it was generally agreed that the leprechaun wore red and not green. Samuel Lover, writing in 1831 describes the leprechaun as,

 

 ... quite a beau in his dress, notwithstanding, for he wears a red square-cut coat, richly laced with gold, waistcoat and inexpressible of the same, cocked hat, shoes and buckles.

 

Yeats, in his 1888 book entitled Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry describes the leprechaun as follows:

 

He is something of a dandy, and dresses in a red coat with seven rows of buttons, seven buttons on each row, and wears a cocked-hat, upon whose pointed end he is wont in the north-eastern counties, according to McAnally, to spin like a top when the fit seizes him.

In a poem entitled The Lepracaun; or, Fairy Shoemaker, the 18th century Irish poet William Allingham describes the appearance of the leprechaun as:

 

A cluricaun with a jug of wine. The cluricaun is often confused with the leprechaun.

 

...A wrinkled, wizen'd, and bearded Elf,
Spectacles stuck on his pointed nose,
Silver buckles to his hose,
Leather apron - shoe in his lap...

Some commentators accuse Allingham of leaving the legacy of the modern image of the leprechaun described below.

The modern image of the leprechaun is almost invariant: he is depicted wearing an emerald green frock coat, and bestowed with the knowledge of the location of buried treasure, often in a crock of gold.6

No matter what the origin of the leprechaun, it has been indelibly linked with the Irish and St. Patrick’s Day tradition. The leprechaun is seen as a mischievous sort and can be visible or invisible depending on their whim.

Another tradition that had me intrigued was why people pinch each other if one is not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day. According to one Irish-American this is the reason:

When the Irish immigrated to the U.S. because of the potato famine, most Irish were thought to be no good drunkards and they were pretty much not accepted and ridiculed. When St. Patrick's Day would arrive, few wore green because of this oppression and few didn't so they pinched those who didn't wear green for lack of pride and it was passed down.5

Since this is an Irish celebration, whether celebrated in the United States or elsewhere everything that constitutes Irish comes to mind. The Blarney Stone is one item that is very Irish but has nothing to do with the St. Patrick’s Day celebration other than being associated with Ireland. “It is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the village of Blarney, and is believed to offer the power of persuasive eloquence to those who kiss it. Why? Legend has it an old women cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. By kissing the stone, he gained the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly.”9

According to historians, the first public celebration of this holiday in the United States was in Boston in 1737.  One of the biggest celebrations in the United States is the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade. “The New York St. Patrick's Day Parade is the largest Irish celebration in the world.”2 The idea of parades on St. Patrick’s Day is purely an American idea and did not originate in Ireland.

 

In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows.7

 

This year the city of Dublin will be holding the festival from March 15 through March 19 since St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in the Republic of Ireland. They will be hosting “music acts, street theatre, family carnivals, comedy, street performances, dance, a treasure hunt, night spectacles ... 4000 performers and 1 million people celebrating Ireland.”8

 

We can't forget the food that is traditionally eaten on this festive holiday. On the top of the list is soda bread which has been served for centuries. The boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage served with carrots and potatoes is also customary as well as scones and Irish coffee. Yet some prefer lamb and/or Irish stew in the tradition of the individual family. Last but not least we must not forget the Irish-American tradition of green beer on this holiday. I hold up my glass and leave you with this Irish toast:

 

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way
Good health, good luck and happiness
For today and every day.9

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-shamrock.htm

http://www.lyberty.com/encyc/articles/stpatrick.html Bill Petro

http://www.irish-sayings.com/saint-patricks-day.php

http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/irish_blessings_and_sayings.htm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006021910931

http://www.wikipedia.org Leprechau

Dinneen, Patrick, Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, 1927

Little Guy Style, From Legends and Stories of Ireland, From Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, William Allingham

The Leprechaun, Criticism of William Allingham's The Fairies.

http://www.wilstar.com/holidays/patrick.htm

http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/home.html

http://www.stamps.org/kids/March/kstpatrick.htm

http://home.ivillage.com/holiday/seasonal/0,,prk-p,00.html

 

http://www.freewebs.com/midnightseasons/

Vampire Community News
02:11 Feb 18 2013
Times Read: 488


Demystifying ‘Real’ Vampirism For The Rest Of Us

An overview of modern vampirism for the general public



Psychic and sanguinarian vampires are individuals who cannot adequately sustain their own physical, mental, or spiritual wellbeing without the taking of blood or vital lifeforce energy from other sources. Without feeding a vampire will become lethargic, sickly, depressed, and often go through physical suffering or discomfort. Such individuals generally consider “real vampirism” to be an extension of personal identity rather than a lifestyle. While there are those who self-identify as psychic or sanguinarian vampires who adhere to the “vampire lifestyle” by adopting a vampire aesthetic, wearing prosthetic fangs, or participating in roleplay games, vampi(y)re lifestylers are not synonymous with those who believe they must feed on psychic or life energies and/or blood. Blood fetishism and sanguinarian vampirism are likewise not synonymous and exist as their own distinct subcultures. Blood fetishists are aroused by seeing, smelling, and touching blood whereas sanguinarian vampires believe that the drinking of small quantities of blood represents a health and quality of life issue – a need rather than a desire.



Real vampirism does not constitute a cult, a religion, a paraphilia, an offshoot of the BDSM subculture, a community composed exclusively of delusional or mentally ill participants, and is not what is depicted in fictional books, on television, or in movies. The use of obsolete psychiatric diagnostic terminology such as “Clinical Vampirism”, “Renfield’s Syndrome”, and “Autovampirism” or the comparison of vampirism to the medical condition known as Porphyria is inaccurate and without merit. Vampirism is not considered a religion by the majority of self-identified vampires whose most commonly reported religious and spiritual beliefs include Atheism, Paganism, Christianity, Satanism, Buddhism, Daoism, Shamanism, Magick, Occultism, Wicca, and Vampi(y)ric Spirituality. Some in the media and in academia have chosen to characterize vampires as criminals who engage in subversive and dangerous practices. Real vampires are mistakenly thrust into the same categories as ritual animal or human sacrifice, cannibalism, fetishism, fanatical religious expression, and labeled as unstable threats to themselves and others. The overwhelming majority of self-identified vampires adhere to ethical and safe feeding practices, are of sound mind and judgment, and productively contribute to society.



Many self-identified vampires report that they suffer from asthma, migraine headaches, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other endocrine system related disorders exceeding typical prevalence rates with comorbidity of possible adrenal or pituitary dysfunction. Due in large part to increased sociological-based scholarship there persists a hope that not only will there be more awareness on the part of the general public as to the practices and beliefs of “real-life vampires”, but also increased interest from medical researchers. Some sanguinarian and even psychic vampires would like to see genetic and other comprehensive medical testing conducted to help determine what about them, if anything, is truly aberrant from the rest of humanity. Even those self-identified vampi(y)res not searching for answers through medical science only wish to be left to their own devices and exist among us without fear of ridicule or hostility. Healthy skepticism and analytical thinking aren’t enemies of the vampire community – they are essential tools integral to the growth and understanding of vampiric identity.



Demystifying ‘Real’ Vampirism For The Rest Of Us

By Merticus; Atlanta Vampire Alliance [AVA] & Suscitatio Enterprises, LLC

February 10, 2013 – This article may be redistributed, translated, or adopted by other organizations provided there are no content modifications and full citation is included.

http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/educational/demystification.html

VALENTINE'S DAY
17:52 Feb 14 2013
Times Read: 494

 

 

When one thinks of Valentine’s Day many images come to mind. One image is the Cupid shooting an arrow into the heart of a man or a woman who then became hopelessly smitten. How did this idea of the cupid and Valentine’s Day come about? I will go into that a little later. Let’s go back in history and explore what some believe to be the origin of Valentine’s Day.  It isn’t as cut and dried as one might think and there are theories but no one clearly knows exactly how it started.  We will explore some of what is known.

 

As is usual with many holidays that have survived into the modern age, it is believed to have started with the Romans who appear to have had a very long list of Gods and Goddesses for which they had celebrations. It gives the appearance of a culture that was perpetually celebrating.

 

Lupercalia, also called Februatio, hence the month name that is now called February, is a celebration of ancient origin. It is believed it may be even a pre-Roman pastoral festival in honor of Faunus the God of the forest and fertility.  The festival was celebrated on February 15.  Faunus was referred to as Lupercus or the ‘one who wards off the wolf’.

 

The object of the festival was, by expiation and purification, to secure the fruitfulness of the land, the increase of the flocks and the prosperity of the whole people. It survived until 494, when it was changed by Pope Gelasius into the feast of the Purification of the Virgin (then on February 14, now on February 2). Lupercus, in whose honor the festival was held, is identified with Faunus or Inuus, Evander (EIWSpos), in the Greek legend being a translation of Faunus (the "kindly").1

 

Immediately after the usual sacrifice of goats and a dog, thongs were cut from the skins of the goats.   Two young men donned the skins of the sacrificial goats (called Februa) and ran through the streets of the city striking those in the crowds that stood nearby. Girls and young women would push to the forefront in hopes of being struck by the whips. It was believed this would guarantee the fertility of the women and ease the pain of child birth.

 

Another practice that was common with the Lupercalia festivities was on the eve of Lupercalia.  The young men drew  the names of women from an urn in which they had been previously placed. In a sense this was sort of a rite of passage for the men. The young lovers paired off much to the chagrin of the Emporer. The tradition was spreading thoughout Europe as the Romans conquered various countries and was introduced to France in this manner. This activity was decreed unlawful by the Emperor. It is believed by most historians that he did so to keep the young men from marrying as he wanted them to serve in the army.  He felt they would not want to go to war if they had wives and children.

 

Along comes Valentinus who was a priest and Bishop of the church. It is said in one legend that he continued to secretly marry the young men and women after the Emperor Claudius II, had made it against the law. He was then imprisoned and subsequently executed by beheading on February 14.

 

Another version tells of a man named Valentine that was aiding Christians who were being persecuted by the Emperor. He was imprisoned and while awaiting his execution fell madly in love with the jailer’s daughter.  Supposedly he converted the jailer and all of his family to Christianity and cured the jailer’s daughter of her blindness.  The morning  of his execution he sent a note to her signed, “From your Valentine”.  Unfortunately this version also has an unhappy ending as he too was  not reprieved but executed. This may or may not have been the same person. Thus the holiday became the celebration of Saint Valentine as he was believed to have been martyred.

 

The Norse also had their story of how Valentine’s Day came about as well.  According to them the Normans had a St. Galatin which in their language would be pronounced as Valatin.  Galatin meant ‘lover of women’. There was a holiday called St. Galatin’s Day which they celebrated. This added to the sketchy history of the origins of this holiday.  Yet the French state it comes from their word galantine which translated can mean ‘gallant’ or ‘lover’.

 

During the middle ages in Italy there was an unamed tradition that was common practice.  Young people would  gather in gardens to listen to music and poetry and afterward pair off and stroll the gardens which was reminiscent of the drawing of names that was done in other countries in the past. France similarly had such a custom but because in many cases it caused jealousy and rivalries it was also dropped as in Italy previously. We move onto England and find that the tradition of drawing names for ‘Valentines’  lasted many centuries after the Romans had left the country.  Names were written on a piece of paper and rolled up and put in a bowl. The men would be blindfolded and would draw a name from the bowl. The person whose name was drawn would remain their Valentine for the rest of the year.

 

When the Puritans arrived in America in 1692 they brought with them the practice of Valentine’s Day but it wasn’t until about a hundred years afterward that the first formally created Valentines were available for use.

 

The earlier versions were most often folded up sheets of paper called ‘paper pockets’ with something written to the prospective Valentine within it and left on the doorstep. Depending on the country it could be very plain or very fancy as in the case of special papers that were produced in France for just this practice and brought to England. Since the paper was so expensive England finally made their own paper for this occasion. It did not catch on over night but increased in popularity over the years to be the next most popular holiday following Christmas.  It is thought that the Valentine is the first greeting card ever created and was being sent out by the 16th Century in various places.

 

Previously I referred to some of the symbolism associated with Valentines Day, one of them being cupid.  Cupid or Eros was the son of Aphrodite also known as Venus. Originally he was depicted as a fully grown male. Due to the nature of the connotation of love being equated with sex, during the Victorian era his image was changed to that of a cherub  with bow and arrow. This gave a more innocent appeal to Cupid. Accordingly no one saw the arrow coming their way as all the arrows were invisible. Quite possibly this would be the reason for the saying that someone was ‘love struck’.

 

Red roses are often given as a gift on Valentines Day. It is believed to have been derived from the mythology of the Goddess Venus. It is said that red roses were her favorite flowers. Therefore the red rose is associated with love and strong emotion.

 

“Chocolate is the No. 1 most craved food, and women are the ones most likely to crave it. Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, compounds that provide a mental boost, and phenylethylamine, or PEA, which stimulates the nervous system, increases blood pressure and heart rate, and is suspected to produce similar feelings experienced when a person is "in love." Even the aroma of chocolate could affect brain chemistry. Finally, chocolate contains a substance called anandamide that mimics the effects of marijuana and boosts the pleasure you get when you eat chocolate.”.4

 

 It is no wonder when Italian company, Perugina introduced their Baci ( meaning ‘Kisses’) in 1922 on Valentine’s Day that chocolate became a traditional gift of the holiday.  Each candy had a love note underneath the wrapper. As of 2000, statistics show that the average American ate 25 pounds of chocolate that year and the majority of it on Valentine’s Day. That’s a lot of chocolate! I’m sure we are eating just as much if not more in 2007.

 

The origin of the shape we use for many Valentines and representative of love is basically unknown. Some believe it was derived from the silphium plant which is now extinct.  The pod itself was in the shape of the heart we use today and was often used for money.  Some believe it came from the Sacred Heart of the Catholic Church but most historians say it was known much earlier.  Needless to say no matter the origin of this shape it has been thought that the heart has always been the seat of love and emotions even though the shape presently used is not the same as the actual human heart.

 

There are those that have other ideas as in all things. Some believe it was a poor attempt at drawing a human heart. This shape became very popular in Victorian times and was embellished upon with ribbons and lace.

 

Whether you have a special person in your life, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love and the traditions have become time honored.  I will close with a poem that is considered one of the most beautiful love poems ever written, ‘I Carry Your Heart’ by E.E. Cummings.

 

 

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

     i fear

no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet) i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

 

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

 

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

 

 

Sources:

 

1.         http://www.wikipedia.org/Lupercalia

2.         http://www.brownielocks.com/valentinehistory.html

3.         http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2002/02/021102_valentines.jhtml

4.         http://www.webmd.com/content/article/41/1671_52404

5.         http://www.slate.com/id/2136191/fr/rss/

6.         http://www.pushindaisies.com/candypress/scripts/default.asp

7.         http://collectibles.about.com/library/clipart/blvalclipdex6.htm

 

 

 

 

The Blood
03:50 Feb 14 2013
Times Read: 502

People come onto this site in some cases to give lectures about blood drinking as if it is cool to say, look at me, I'm a Sanguinary vampire. I always said Sanguine for years and yes for years they have been stating they derive energy of some form from blood. Look around folks because now many are saying no, it cannot be energy because I am NOT an energy feeder. They are also saying it is the idea of the energy vampires or Psis that this idea exists...WRONG. (Psy or Psychic) Sanguine vampires have been saying they derive energy from blood for years. This was always the explanation even though the reality of it all is they don't know even to this day. Considering that everything boils down to energy one way or another, yes folks you are. Sanguine vampires are actually a minority in the overall vampire community at least in the US and I believe world wide as well.



Now you see all this fuss and falderal people are having over blood vs energy I find amusing and a little absurd. If it is how someone "feeds" as most label it then it is HOW THEY FEED and NOT what they are. I'm a senior and have been hearing all this diatribe for years from one organization to another. I'm kind of tired of it but if they must go on and on to prove something fine. Actually who cares if it is energy or some constitutent of the blood that some need and some don't. Some actually are saying it is not energy but something in the blood or makeup of the blood. (a large percentage which is merely water) Then you have the Temple of the Vampire that has gone off for years saying anyone who claims to be a vampire and drinks blood is unevolved. Of course this is a judgment on something the average person doesn't believe and considers one step short of the mental hospital.



So I wonder why people write these tell all articles and posts around the net. Would you want to know that I like chicken and eat it often or I love chocolate...hell no...boring. So is this constant talk of drinking blood or taking energy. Who cares unless it is affecting one's health. And yes about 30 percent of the population can imbibe blood in larger amounts than most without the emetic effect. They have done studies on cannibalism and blood drinking falls under that domain or it could be pica or some OCD or fetish thing but don't tell anyone I said that because who am I to say except quit perseverating on it, who cares.

02:43 Feb 08 2013
Times Read: 509

I don't know why I am putting this in special interests because there is nothing about this that is all that interesting but just FYI. I have actually been here about six years. I had two other profiles prior to the two I now have. I almost left here because it is difficult to meet the demands of the place at times and what is required in the covens/houses. I have been in a number of covens and one House over the time I have had the pleasure of being here so don't be fooled by the one year thing because that is only this particular profile.