Kaaron Mitchell de Vere
CO-REGENT IRDC
Click here for Kaaron's line:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GXO87Ry35h-8_iqrBzdLiV3WNn6YKop2bYtx-7rhDO4/edit?hl=en&authkey=CNq8_ZkB&pli=1
Kaaron Mitchell de Vere
H.E. The Baroness Kaaron de Vere von Drakenberg
Co-Regent
Seneschal of Australia
ONLINE LINEAGE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GXO87Ry35h-8_iqrBzdLiV3WNn6YKop2bYtx-7rhDO4/edit?hl=en&authkey=CNq8_ZkB&pli=1
I am a De Vere by birth, sharing the same bloodline as my cousin Nicholas De Vere Von Drakenberg... through yDNA we have managed to prove a tie to Tutankhamun. Our families go back through Tuatha De Danaan, the Dal Riada and beyond. I live in Western Australia where I run a busy business with my husband. I have 4 children aged between 19 and 7 years old. I am 40 years old, I have an older sister and a younger brother. My mother is the De Vere line and my father is a Doney line which can also be tied back to Dal Riada and Brian Boru.
I took up my grandfather's genealogy research. Our branch moved to Australia in 1911 and as such were not informed of the family we still had back in the UK and around the world. My lust for knowledge and wanting to know how and why, led me to Nicholas's website and with a bunch of tears I had finally discovered my family.
The Serpent Seed
by Kaaron Mitchell De Vere on Thursday, 24 February 2011 at 11:49
Serpent seed, dual seed or two-seedline is a controversial doctrine according to which the serpent in the Garden of Eden mated with Eve, and the offspring of their union was Cain. This belief is still held by some adherents of the Christian Identity theology, who claim that the Jews, as descendants of Cain, are also descended from the serpent. The idea has also existed in several other non-racial contexts, and major proponents include Daniel Parker (1781–1844), William M. Branham (1909–1965) and Arnold Murray (1929-).
The doctrine that Eve mated with the serpent, or with Satan, to produce Cain also appears in early Gnostic writings such as the Gospel of Philip (c. 350); however, this teaching was explicitly rejected as heresy by Irenaeus (c. 180) and later mainstream Christian theologians. A similar doctrine appeared in Jewish midrashic texts in the 9th century and in the Kabalah. It is considered a false doctrine by mainstream Protestant denominations. Catholic theologians point to the fact that the Bible states that the original sin is that of Adam and Eve eating a forbidden fruit.
History
The Serpent Seed idea appears in a 9th century book called Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi David Max Eichhorn, in his book Cain: Son of the Serpent, traces the idea back through early Jewish Midrashic texts and identifies many rabbis who taught that Cain was the son of the union between the serpent and Eve.[9] Some Kabbalist rabbis also believe that Cain and Abel were of a different genetic background than Seth. This is known among Kabbalists as "The Theory of Origins". The theory teaches that God created two "Adams"(Adam means MAN in Hebrew). To one he gave a soul and to the other he did not give a soul. The one without a soul is the creature known in Christianity as the serpent. The Kabbalists call the serpent Nahash (nahashmeans serpent in Hebrew). This is recorded in the Zohar:
"Two beings [Adam and Nachash] had intercourse with Eve, and she conceived from both and bore two children. Each followed one of the male parents, and their spirits parted, one to this side and one to the other, and similarly their characters. On the side of Cain are all the haunts of the evil species; from the side of Abel comes a more merciful class, yet not wholly beneficial -- good wine mixed with bad."(Zohar 136)
In The Scofield Study Bible Scofield says, "The serpent, in his Edenic form, is not to be thought of as a writhing reptile. That is the effect of the curse (Gen. 3:14). The creature which lent itself to Satan may well have been the most beautiful as it was the most "subtle" of creatures less than man". Scofield's notes are silent as to the idea of Cain being the serpent's seed, however in Genesis 6:2 his notes claimed that while it was an "error" to believe that the offspring mentioned were the product of supernatural unions, it was instead the intermarriage of the "godly line of Seth" with the "godless line of Cain" being referred to. Advocates suggest that modern Christian translations of the Old Testament reduce emphasis on this concept, which they believe indicated the serpent had been an upright, human-like creature.
The foundational scripture for the serpent's seed doctrine appears in Genesis 3:15, which in the King James Version states "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Advocates interpret this literally to mean that an offspring of the Serpent via Eve would eventually lose in a mortal conflict with one of "her seed". Eve's son by Adam would have presumably been called "Adam's seed" so it has been suggested, since a woman does not naturally produce seed, that "her seed" is the first prophesy of an eventual human messiah produced by means of a virgin birth. Adherents believe this sets up the serpent's seed as a antitype to Jesus Christ.
Advocates also point out that in Genesis 4:1-2 it is mentioned only once that Adam "knew" his wife, yet twice it is mentioned that she "bare" sons (see, heteropaternal superfecundation). Advocates also believe an unmentioned act of infidelity is implied by reproductive and marital curses placed on Eve in Genesis 3:16, that otherwise seem inappropriate to merely eating a forbidden fruit. St. Paul seems to suggest as much in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, where he may have implied that Eve was not a chaste virgin at the time Adam first had relations with her: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted..."
In the New Testament epistle of 1 John, ch. 3 v. xii it also states, "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother." John also recorded in his gospel (8:44) that Christ said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." These passages, if taken literally as they are by advocates, seem to suggest that the New Testament writers believed that Cain, the first murderer, was indeed the serpent's seed.
The doctrine that Eve mated with the serpent, or with Satan, to produce Cain, has been taught in various forms for thousands of years, and it finds its earliest expression in Gnostic writings (e.g., the Gospel of Philip) and especially in Manichaean doctrines; however, it was soundly rejected by mainstream Christian theologians such as Irenaeus in the 2nd century, and St. Augustine in the 4th century.
More recent variants are central to the beliefs of Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists founded by Daniel Parker. Other variations occur in the Christian Identity movement. Some of these groups appear to use the doctrine as a rationalization for racist beliefs. One of the largest, but non-denominational, groups that believe in a form of the serpent seed doctrine are the followers of Branhamism who are documented to number over 1,500,000.
The doctrine
The doctrine of the Serpent's Seed is followed by several minor Christian groups, the followers of Branhamism, Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists, and some of the Christian Identity Movement among others. There are variations and differences between these groups but the basic belief is that the Original Sin was an act of sexual intercourse between Adam and Eve and, prior to that act, Eve was sexually seduced by the serpent and committed sexual intercourse with the serpent; further, that Cain was conceived by the act with the serpent and Abel by the act with Adam.
The main variations are on the aftereffects of the act. Some proponents believe that the serpent was Satan himself. Others believe that the serpent was an animal being influenced by Satan. Another key difference is in the descendants of Cain. Some believe that the two lines remained separate and that eventually Cain's descendants were all destroyed, others believe that Cain's descendants became completely mixed with the descendants of Adam (meaning that all humanity is partially descended from Cain), and still others believe that the two lines remain separate to this day. Finally others disagree whether sex itself was the original sin or if the original sin was sex for pleasure rather than sex for reproduction.
The following points and scriptures are largely agreed upon by all proponents to be the basis of the Serpent Seed doctrine, although variations do occur as mentioned above.
Adherents of the white supremacist theology known as Two-Seedline Christian Identity hold that white people are descendants of Adam and are hence the chosen people of God. The Jewish people are said to be descendants of Cain and thus of Satan. This belief was developed by Wesley A. Swift, Conrad Gaard and William Potter Gale among others. The opposing faction is called One-Seedline Christian Identity and holds that all people are descended from Adam, but only Aryans (here meaning Northern Europeans) are truly God's people.
William Branham's teachings
William Branham was not the first to preach the doctrine of serpent seed, but he was one of the major proponents of the doctrine in modern times. Branham was the most widely known minister of the 20th century to actually teach serpent seed and much of its spread can be attributed to him. William Branham taught that the fall of mankind resulted from Eve having sexual intercourse with an upright Beast whom Adam had named 'Serpent'.
Because of his wide acclaim in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Branham was widely followed in Charismatic and Pentecostal movements and to a lesser degree by Methodists and Baptists. His meetings, held all over the world, were attended by hundreds of thousands of people which gave him a very large audience. This popularity and influence gave him the best platform of all adherents of the serpent seed doctrine to spread it to the masses. Although he did not regularly espouse the doctrine in front of his largest audiences his belief in the doctrine was not kept secret and he did preach several sermons on it in smaller meetings.
Branham was well aware of the potential connections of the doctrine to racism but he tried to show that his belief was not racially targeted. ("He Cares, Do You Care?", 21 July 1963). He tried to show that although he believed the doctrine he did not think it was a basis for racism.
by Kaaron Mitchell De Vere on Thursday, 24 February 2011 at 11:49
Serpent seed, dual seed or two-seedline is a controversial doctrine according to which the serpent in the Garden of Eden mated with Eve, and the offspring of their union was Cain. This belief is still held by some adherents of the Christian Identity theology, who claim that the Jews, as descendants of Cain, are also descended from the serpent. The idea has also existed in several other non-racial contexts, and major proponents include Daniel Parker (1781–1844), William M. Branham (1909–1965) and Arnold Murray (1929-).
The doctrine that Eve mated with the serpent, or with Satan, to produce Cain also appears in early Gnostic writings such as the Gospel of Philip (c. 350); however, this teaching was explicitly rejected as heresy by Irenaeus (c. 180) and later mainstream Christian theologians. A similar doctrine appeared in Jewish midrashic texts in the 9th century and in the Kabalah. It is considered a false doctrine by mainstream Protestant denominations. Catholic theologians point to the fact that the Bible states that the original sin is that of Adam and Eve eating a forbidden fruit.
History
The Serpent Seed idea appears in a 9th century book called Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi David Max Eichhorn, in his book Cain: Son of the Serpent, traces the idea back through early Jewish Midrashic texts and identifies many rabbis who taught that Cain was the son of the union between the serpent and Eve.[9] Some Kabbalist rabbis also believe that Cain and Abel were of a different genetic background than Seth. This is known among Kabbalists as "The Theory of Origins". The theory teaches that God created two "Adams"(Adam means MAN in Hebrew). To one he gave a soul and to the other he did not give a soul. The one without a soul is the creature known in Christianity as the serpent. The Kabbalists call the serpent Nahash (nahashmeans serpent in Hebrew). This is recorded in the Zohar:
"Two beings [Adam and Nachash] had intercourse with Eve, and she conceived from both and bore two children. Each followed one of the male parents, and their spirits parted, one to this side and one to the other, and similarly their characters. On the side of Cain are all the haunts of the evil species; from the side of Abel comes a more merciful class, yet not wholly beneficial -- good wine mixed with bad."(Zohar 136)
In The Scofield Study Bible Scofield says, "The serpent, in his Edenic form, is not to be thought of as a writhing reptile. That is the effect of the curse (Gen. 3:14). The creature which lent itself to Satan may well have been the most beautiful as it was the most "subtle" of creatures less than man". Scofield's notes are silent as to the idea of Cain being the serpent's seed, however in Genesis 6:2 his notes claimed that while it was an "error" to believe that the offspring mentioned were the product of supernatural unions, it was instead the intermarriage of the "godly line of Seth" with the "godless line of Cain" being referred to. Advocates suggest that modern Christian translations of the Old Testament reduce emphasis on this concept, which they believe indicated the serpent had been an upright, human-like creature.
The foundational scripture for the serpent's seed doctrine appears in Genesis 3:15, which in the King James Version states "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Advocates interpret this literally to mean that an offspring of the Serpent via Eve would eventually lose in a mortal conflict with one of "her seed". Eve's son by Adam would have presumably been called "Adam's seed" so it has been suggested, since a woman does not naturally produce seed, that "her seed" is the first prophesy of an eventual human messiah produced by means of a virgin birth. Adherents believe this sets up the serpent's seed as a antitype to Jesus Christ.
Advocates also point out that in Genesis 4:1-2 it is mentioned only once that Adam "knew" his wife, yet twice it is mentioned that she "bare" sons (see, heteropaternal superfecundation). Advocates also believe an unmentioned act of infidelity is implied by reproductive and marital curses placed on Eve in Genesis 3:16, that otherwise seem inappropriate to merely eating a forbidden fruit. St. Paul seems to suggest as much in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, where he may have implied that Eve was not a chaste virgin at the time Adam first had relations with her: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted..."
In the New Testament epistle of 1 John, ch. 3 v. xii it also states, "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother." John also recorded in his gospel (8:44) that Christ said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." These passages, if taken literally as they are by advocates, seem to suggest that the New Testament writers believed that Cain, the first murderer, was indeed the serpent's seed.
The doctrine that Eve mated with the serpent, or with Satan, to produce Cain, has been taught in various forms for thousands of years, and it finds its earliest expression in Gnostic writings (e.g., the Gospel of Philip) and especially in Manichaean doctrines; however, it was soundly rejected by mainstream Christian theologians such as Irenaeus in the 2nd century, and St. Augustine in the 4th century.
More recent variants are central to the beliefs of Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists founded by Daniel Parker. Other variations occur in the Christian Identity movement. Some of these groups appear to use the doctrine as a rationalization for racist beliefs. One of the largest, but non-denominational, groups that believe in a form of the serpent seed doctrine are the followers of Branhamism who are documented to number over 1,500,000.
The doctrine
The doctrine of the Serpent's Seed is followed by several minor Christian groups, the followers of Branhamism, Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists, and some of the Christian Identity Movement among others. There are variations and differences between these groups but the basic belief is that the Original Sin was an act of sexual intercourse between Adam and Eve and, prior to that act, Eve was sexually seduced by the serpent and committed sexual intercourse with the serpent; further, that Cain was conceived by the act with the serpent and Abel by the act with Adam.
The main variations are on the aftereffects of the act. Some proponents believe that the serpent was Satan himself. Others believe that the serpent was an animal being influenced by Satan. Another key difference is in the descendants of Cain. Some believe that the two lines remained separate and that eventually Cain's descendants were all destroyed, others believe that Cain's descendants became completely mixed with the descendants of Adam (meaning that all humanity is partially descended from Cain), and still others believe that the two lines remain separate to this day. Finally others disagree whether sex itself was the original sin or if the original sin was sex for pleasure rather than sex for reproduction.
The following points and scriptures are largely agreed upon by all proponents to be the basis of the Serpent Seed doctrine, although variations do occur as mentioned above.
- The Two Trees. The starting point of the discussion is usually on the two trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:10). Proponents note the difference between the "trees that grow out the ground" as opposed to "the trees in the midst of the garden". This is used to indicate the two trees are not physical trees but principles (e.g. ideas, rules). They also point to Rev. 2:7 and Rev. 22:2, where the Tree of Life is now in heaven to show that the two trees are not the same kind of trees that grow on Earth but instead are something spiritual. Furthermore they point out that since man was given the tree of knowledge by their choice it should still be visible somewhere in the world today, which they claim is the overt sexuality of society.
- The Serpent, Gen. 3. The serpent in its original form was a creature capable of speech, and it had not yet at that point been cursed to go "upon [its] belly"; thus some proponents claim that the "serpent" was originally an upright human-like creature. Some proponents claim the serpent was intended to be used for manual labor and therefore was made to look like a man but was not given a soul. The chapter states that the serpent "beguiled" Eve. In Early Modern English this word literally meant to seduce or lead astray.
- Sex. In the Bible, the sexual act is always obliquely referenced in Moses' writings. It is always referred to discreetly, such as "knowing". Similarly in Proverbs 30:20, it states "such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness." This is used as evidence that the trees and the fruit are just another cryptic way to describe sex.
- The Punishment, Gen. 3. Proponents also point to the punishment to show that the act was sexual. When Adam and Eve sinned they covered their genitals, not their mouths, indicating they sinned not with their mouths but with their genitals. The punishment God put on them also affected sexual reproduction: He caused the woman to have menstrual cycles and to have increased pain in childbirth. God's curse also put enmity between the descendants of Adam (e.g., Abel) and the descendants of the serpent (e.g., Abel's murderer Cain).
- The Birth, Gen. 4. At the birth of Cain, Eve said "I have gotten a man from the Lord." Proponents claim that in the remaining two pre-Flood chapters, Adam's descendants are called the "sons of God", not "men", while the word "men" refers solely to the descendants of Cain. Eve was also called "the mother of all living" (Gen. 3:20), but Adam was not similarly called "the father of all living".
- The Offspring, Gen. 4. Cain and Abel were of different occupational backgrounds. Abel tended the flocks and Cain tilled the ground. Proponents claim these traits were inherited from their fathers; Adam was to rule over the animals and the serpent was intended to tend the Garden of Eden. Another difference between them was that Abel, being of pure birth, knew how to give a proper sacrifice to God. Cain, not being pure, did not know how to give a proper sacrifice, he only knew he needed to give one, indicating he was only inherited a portion of the knowledge that Abel had inherited. His impurity was also displayed by his jealousy and murder of Abel, some proponents argue that these are not traits God would have created in Adam and Eve and could not have been inherited from them.
- The Two Lines of Descent. Gen. 4–5. Some proponents claim that because the two lines of descent are recorded separately it indicates they were somehow different. It notes how the developments in Cain's sides were all negative (e.g. Lamech's declaration in Gen. 4:23 that "I have slain a man to my wounding") But in Seth's line (Gen. 5) nothing is mentioned of anything evil, and each patriarch "begat sons and daughters". Ultimately, the two lines intermarry (Gen. 6:4: "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."), and God then destroyed the world with a flood. Proponents also point to the biological principal of heterosis being evidenced in the offspring of the interbreeding of the two lines being giants.
- Christ. Ultimately Seth's line leads to Jesus, who was born of a virgin. Proponents point to the fact that all humanity was impure and therefore incapable of "breeding" a "pure" Son of God as the reason Christ had to be born of a virgin. Many proponents claim that Christ was born in the same state that Adam was created: perfect and without sin. They claim he had to be created by God in order for him to be pure and to be the "perfect sacrifice".
- Parable of the Tares. Regardless of the understanding of the Serpent Seed based on the book of Genesis, many who believe in the doctrine hold that one of the most important evidences for the doctrine comes from Jesus unfolding the revelation the Parable of the Tares. In this parable Jesus confirmed there were two distinct children present in the world until the end.
Adherents of the white supremacist theology known as Two-Seedline Christian Identity hold that white people are descendants of Adam and are hence the chosen people of God. The Jewish people are said to be descendants of Cain and thus of Satan. This belief was developed by Wesley A. Swift, Conrad Gaard and William Potter Gale among others. The opposing faction is called One-Seedline Christian Identity and holds that all people are descended from Adam, but only Aryans (here meaning Northern Europeans) are truly God's people.
William Branham's teachings
William Branham was not the first to preach the doctrine of serpent seed, but he was one of the major proponents of the doctrine in modern times. Branham was the most widely known minister of the 20th century to actually teach serpent seed and much of its spread can be attributed to him. William Branham taught that the fall of mankind resulted from Eve having sexual intercourse with an upright Beast whom Adam had named 'Serpent'.
Because of his wide acclaim in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Branham was widely followed in Charismatic and Pentecostal movements and to a lesser degree by Methodists and Baptists. His meetings, held all over the world, were attended by hundreds of thousands of people which gave him a very large audience. This popularity and influence gave him the best platform of all adherents of the serpent seed doctrine to spread it to the masses. Although he did not regularly espouse the doctrine in front of his largest audiences his belief in the doctrine was not kept secret and he did preach several sermons on it in smaller meetings.
Branham was well aware of the potential connections of the doctrine to racism but he tried to show that his belief was not racially targeted. ("He Cares, Do You Care?", 21 July 1963). He tried to show that although he believed the doctrine he did not think it was a basis for racism.
Kaaron Mitchell De Vere created the doc: "Dragons and Serpents"Are dragons and serpents merely fabrications of the boundless human imagination, or do they represent something of great spiritual significance for all cultures?
Many are the fabulous beasts created in the stories by human kind. For thousands of years, we have told of fantastic creatures of supernatural powers, some of the forces of good and others of the forces of evil. But of all these sensational monsters, none has slithered into as many of man's legends than dragons and serpents.
Dragons and serpents vary in description according to culture, although many striking features are retained throughout the written, oral and artistic traditions of the world. They are usually depicted as gigantic snake-like reptiles, with a long, sinuous body armoured in either green, blue or red scales. The head is typically massive, with a broad mouth full of enormous, sharp teeth and a long, forked tongue. The snout is long and sometimes horned; the eyes are usually very large and cold. Often, these creatures possess long ears and a frilled neck, resembling either a crest of feathers or webbed skin. The body itself is usually decorated with an array of small, triangular spines extending from the head down the back to the long, barbed tail. Dragons normally posses four, short limbs with long claws, although some serpents have no legs at all. In some cultures, dragons are also equipped with enormous, bat-like wings; in others, they have the ability to breathe fire. They can live in mountains, caves, seas, lakes and even the heavens.
The Dragon of the Orient
Just as their appearances differ from culture to culture, dragons and serpents represent many contrasting ideas for different groups of people. Dragons are perhaps most well recognised in Chinese tradition. The Chinese recognised the dragon as one of the four sacred creatures to contain all elements of yin and yang - dark and light - in addition to the Phoenix, the Unicorn and the Turtle. The Chief of all scaly creatures, the dragon symbolised wisdom, strength, goodness and the element Water. In China, dragons were often drawn with whiskers and antlers on their heads. When depicted with five claws, it represented the Emperor and was known as the Imperial Dragon. In some traditions, dragons were attributed to controlling the weather, and ritual dances were performed to encourage the dragon to send down the rains.
The Japanese had a similar belief in dragons to the Chinese. Their traditional religion, Shinto, also tells of kingdom of serpent people under the sea, where the Dragon King, Ryu-wo, ruled in a spectacular palace of crystal and coral. He was said to have a human body, and a serpent entwined in his crown. Known for his nobility and wisdom, Ryu-wo was a guardian of the Shinto faith. People who have fallen into the sea are said to have lived on in the kingdom of Ryu-wo.
Japanese legends also tell of another serpent king, who, unlike Ryu-wo, possessed scales and a flicking tongue. He was a bringer of destruction and chaos, who would invade villages and devour innocent children. He was only hindered by the goddess of love, Benten, who was charmed by his words of love. After making him promise to end his wrath against mankind, she agreed to marry him. On the Pacific coast of Japan, a great temple was built at Kamakura to commemorate the occasion.
For Buddhists and Taoists of China and Japan, dragon sculptures were often used to decorate the exterior of temples. They represented the many obstacles that humans face throughout life that must first be overcome before true happiness and inner peace, or enlightenment, can be attained.
The European Dragon Dragons and serpents are often viewed as guardians of sacred places and objects. The ancient Greeks and Romans, who revered dragons for their wisdom but feared them for their tremendous powers, both shared this belief. One of the twelve tasks of the legendary hero Hercules (or Heracles) had to perform was to pick three golden apples from a sacred tree, protected by a fearsome dragon or Serpent. A similar story tells of a nymph named Psyche, who was ordered by the goddess Venus to fetch sacred water from mountain stream guarded by dragons.
One of the most feared monsters of the Greeks and Romans was the Hydra, a dragon with multiple heads and poisonous breath. Another task of Hercules was to slay a Hydra which inhabited a dangerous marsh. However, every time Hercules cut off one of the heads of the beast, more grew back in place. Only by burning the necks with fire, and crushing the body with a boulder, was Hercules able to defeat the Hydra.
Serpents and dragons are abound in Mediterranean mythology. Legend speaks of a brave knight known as de Gozon, who sought to slay a fearsome dragon which roamed the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. This dragon had scales which were as tough as steel, and were yellow and red in colour. It flew with two great blue wings and breathed poison. However, de Gozon discovered the creature's one weak spot - its neck, which was not protected with scales. After a great battle, de Gozon stabbed the dragon in its neck and ended the terror of the inhabitants of the island.
Throughout Europe, tales of dragons and serpents grew far and wide. Most of these stories were written in Medieval times, when dragons and serpents were said to live in caves or lakes where they hoarded huge riches. Occasionally, the monsters would wander into villages, and cause great destruction and death. This lead to many brave knights attempting to hunt down and slay dragons, as recounted in many medieval writings. In some cases, the knights were successful, but in others they were defeated by the dragon's immense power
The most terrifying monster of all in European mythology was not, however, the great fire-breathing dragon but a tiny black serpent called the basilisk. Only one foot long and crowned with a white crest, the basilisk, also known as the cockatrice since it hatched from a cockerel's egg, was so deadly that the poison if its spit could split rocks in two, and it could kill a man merely by looking at him. The only things which could kill a basilisk were weasels, which overpowered the monster with their powerful jaws and smell, and crystals. A man could look at a basilisk through the crystal, and the creature's own deadly power would be reflected back, killing it instantly.
We do, however, occasionally read of friendly dragons in European myths. The town of Lucerne in Switzerland was famed for its winged dragons which were said to look like flying crocodiles. A tale is told there of a man who once fell into an underground cave from which he could not escape. To his horror, he realised that this was the home of two dragons. However, the dragons did not see this strange visitor as an intruder or as food; instead, they were intrigued, and rubbed themselves against his body, like domestic cats. The man lived in the cave for five months, so the legend says, living on nothing but a trickle of water which oozed through the rocks. When the spring came, the dragons decided to leave their home, and took off into the air. The man realised that this was his only chance to escape, and, clasped to the tail of one of the creatures, let himself be carried out of the cave. Sadly, the legend goes on to tell us that he had been without food for too long, and he died shortly after returning to his home village.
The Celtic peoples often showed great reverence for dragons and serpents, depicting them by the side of their gods. They came to represent wisdom and nobility, in a similar way to the dragons of the Orient. Even today, the red dragon can still be seen on the national flag of Wales, one claw raised as a warning of its power and its neck arched in readiness. This respect clashed with the beliefs of the new religion, Christianity. According to both Christian and Jewish texts, dragons and serpents were incarnations of evil. The dragon was said to bring destruction during the end of the world, as read in the Revelations, while the serpent was blamed for bringing sin to man kind by tempting Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. The legend of St. George, in which he defeats a dragon, perhaps represents Christianity overpowering the Celtic religion. The image St. George crushing a struggling serpent or dragon under his feet was widely used in Christian art, and again may symbolise Christianity's dominance over paganism.
Sacred Serpents Stories are told of serpents so unimaginably vast that they encircled the world itself! Jormungand the Midgard Serpent was one such a monster, said by the Norse cultures such as the Vikings to live deep under the sea. The West African Fon tribe speak of Aido-Hwedo the Rainbow Serpent, who lies coiled in the ocean under the land to prevent it from sinking. In both cultures, the serpent plays an important part at the end of the world.
The most reverential of cultures towards snakes were the Aztecs of pre-Columbia. One of their principal gods was the Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl. One of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures in ancient religion and mythology, Quetzalcoatl was most often portrayed as a green serpent with a feather-crested head, similar in many ways to the Chinese dragon. He came to represent water, rain, the wind, human sustenance, penitent, self-sacrifice, re-birth, the morning star of Venus and butterflies. Unlike most other Aztec deities, Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose all forms of sacrifice apart from self-bleeding. However, his brother Tezcatlipoca was jealous of the god's purity and goodness, and cast an evil spell to transform Quetzalcoatl into a pale-skinned, bearded human. Shortly afterward, Quetzalcoatl sacrificed himself in order to return again, with the bones from the Underworld which would be made into human beings. Quetzalcoatl taught his creation all he knew, and bestowed gifts of fire and maize. He could also heal the sick. Once satisfied, Quetzalcoatl was said to have sailed into the West on a raft of serpents, with the promise that he would one day return.
Myths involving sea serpents are numerous, and are found throughout the oceans of the world. These creatures, thought to be bigger than any boat, were reported to sink ships sailing into unknown waters and consume everyone on board. Many historical maps show sea serpents in areas of the ocean where they were thought to dwell. Even in modern times there have been a high number of reported sea serpents. This is also true of the serpentine monsters thought to dwell in many lakes all over the world. The most famous of these is the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, whose immense body is usually seen as three humps above the surface of the water. Similar lake serpents have been reported in every continent of the world, excluding Antarctica.
So why have so many different cultures on Earth told stories of these giant, wonderful reptiles?
A common explanation is that the ancient peoples were so inspired by the deadliness and beauty of reptiles such as snakes, lizards and crocodiles, they began to imagine them as giant, magical beings with supernatural powers. Indeed, we have named several species of reptile with their mythological persona in mind: the Komodo Dragon, the Bearded Dragon, the Water Dragon and the Flying Dragon are all living lizards who bare dragon-like characteristics. But all of these creatures are much smaller than the dragons of legend - even the largest lizard, the Komodo Dragon, only measures a few metres in length. Additionally, these "dragons" have a very restricted habitat, many only inhabiting remote islands or forests. They cannot be fully responsible for spawning the vast widespread beliefs in dragons and serpents.
It is widely suggested that Sea Serpents and Lake Serpents are just ordinary aquatic animals, such as eels, whales, seals or sharks. However, this theory also has a severe short-coming, in that a large majority of precise descriptions of aquatic serpents do not resemble any of these creatures in shape, behaviour or movement. It must also be noted that there are far more reported observations of sea serpents than there are of known existing sea animals, like beaked whales and giant squid.
Cows, monkeys and dogs are revered by some cultures yet consumed as food by others. So, too, snakes are respected in some parts of the world and despised in others. The way that people feel about snakes is heavily influenced by cultural beliefs and mythology.
Some cultures held snakes in high esteem as powerful religious symbols. Quetzalcoatl, the mythical "plumed serpent," was worshipped as the "Master of Life" by ancient Aztecs of Central America. Some African cultures worshipped rock pythons and considered the killing of one to be a serious crime. In Australia, the Aborigines associated a giant rainbow serpent with the creation of life.
Other cultures have associated snakes with medicinal powers or rebirth. In India, cobras were regarded as reincarnations of important people called Nagas. Our modern medical symbol of two snakes wrapped around a staff, or 'caduceus,' comes from ancient Greek mythology. According to the Greeks, the mythical figure Aesculapius discovered medicine by watching as one snake used herbs to bring another snake back to life.
Judeo-Christian culture has been less kind to snakes. Tales of the Garden of Eden and the serpent's role in "man's fall from grace" have contributed to a negative image of snakes in western culture. In Appalachia, some Christians handle venomous snakes as part of ritual ceremonies, relying on faith to protect them from bites. Among Catholics, Saint Patrick is credited with ridding Ireland of snakes, a feat celebrated by many as a good thing.
Deep rooted cultural biases may be responsible, in part, for widespread fear and disdain for snakes. However, modern myths, from folk tales to plain old misinformation, also contribute to their negative image
Many are the fabulous beasts created in the stories by human kind. For thousands of years, we have told of fantastic creatures of supernatural powers, some of the forces of good and others of the forces of evil. But of all these sensational monsters, none has slithered into as many of man's legends than dragons and serpents.
Dragons and serpents vary in description according to culture, although many striking features are retained throughout the written, oral and artistic traditions of the world. They are usually depicted as gigantic snake-like reptiles, with a long, sinuous body armoured in either green, blue or red scales. The head is typically massive, with a broad mouth full of enormous, sharp teeth and a long, forked tongue. The snout is long and sometimes horned; the eyes are usually very large and cold. Often, these creatures possess long ears and a frilled neck, resembling either a crest of feathers or webbed skin. The body itself is usually decorated with an array of small, triangular spines extending from the head down the back to the long, barbed tail. Dragons normally posses four, short limbs with long claws, although some serpents have no legs at all. In some cultures, dragons are also equipped with enormous, bat-like wings; in others, they have the ability to breathe fire. They can live in mountains, caves, seas, lakes and even the heavens.
The Dragon of the Orient
Just as their appearances differ from culture to culture, dragons and serpents represent many contrasting ideas for different groups of people. Dragons are perhaps most well recognised in Chinese tradition. The Chinese recognised the dragon as one of the four sacred creatures to contain all elements of yin and yang - dark and light - in addition to the Phoenix, the Unicorn and the Turtle. The Chief of all scaly creatures, the dragon symbolised wisdom, strength, goodness and the element Water. In China, dragons were often drawn with whiskers and antlers on their heads. When depicted with five claws, it represented the Emperor and was known as the Imperial Dragon. In some traditions, dragons were attributed to controlling the weather, and ritual dances were performed to encourage the dragon to send down the rains.
The Japanese had a similar belief in dragons to the Chinese. Their traditional religion, Shinto, also tells of kingdom of serpent people under the sea, where the Dragon King, Ryu-wo, ruled in a spectacular palace of crystal and coral. He was said to have a human body, and a serpent entwined in his crown. Known for his nobility and wisdom, Ryu-wo was a guardian of the Shinto faith. People who have fallen into the sea are said to have lived on in the kingdom of Ryu-wo.
Japanese legends also tell of another serpent king, who, unlike Ryu-wo, possessed scales and a flicking tongue. He was a bringer of destruction and chaos, who would invade villages and devour innocent children. He was only hindered by the goddess of love, Benten, who was charmed by his words of love. After making him promise to end his wrath against mankind, she agreed to marry him. On the Pacific coast of Japan, a great temple was built at Kamakura to commemorate the occasion.
For Buddhists and Taoists of China and Japan, dragon sculptures were often used to decorate the exterior of temples. They represented the many obstacles that humans face throughout life that must first be overcome before true happiness and inner peace, or enlightenment, can be attained.
The European Dragon Dragons and serpents are often viewed as guardians of sacred places and objects. The ancient Greeks and Romans, who revered dragons for their wisdom but feared them for their tremendous powers, both shared this belief. One of the twelve tasks of the legendary hero Hercules (or Heracles) had to perform was to pick three golden apples from a sacred tree, protected by a fearsome dragon or Serpent. A similar story tells of a nymph named Psyche, who was ordered by the goddess Venus to fetch sacred water from mountain stream guarded by dragons.
One of the most feared monsters of the Greeks and Romans was the Hydra, a dragon with multiple heads and poisonous breath. Another task of Hercules was to slay a Hydra which inhabited a dangerous marsh. However, every time Hercules cut off one of the heads of the beast, more grew back in place. Only by burning the necks with fire, and crushing the body with a boulder, was Hercules able to defeat the Hydra.
Serpents and dragons are abound in Mediterranean mythology. Legend speaks of a brave knight known as de Gozon, who sought to slay a fearsome dragon which roamed the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. This dragon had scales which were as tough as steel, and were yellow and red in colour. It flew with two great blue wings and breathed poison. However, de Gozon discovered the creature's one weak spot - its neck, which was not protected with scales. After a great battle, de Gozon stabbed the dragon in its neck and ended the terror of the inhabitants of the island.
Throughout Europe, tales of dragons and serpents grew far and wide. Most of these stories were written in Medieval times, when dragons and serpents were said to live in caves or lakes where they hoarded huge riches. Occasionally, the monsters would wander into villages, and cause great destruction and death. This lead to many brave knights attempting to hunt down and slay dragons, as recounted in many medieval writings. In some cases, the knights were successful, but in others they were defeated by the dragon's immense power
The most terrifying monster of all in European mythology was not, however, the great fire-breathing dragon but a tiny black serpent called the basilisk. Only one foot long and crowned with a white crest, the basilisk, also known as the cockatrice since it hatched from a cockerel's egg, was so deadly that the poison if its spit could split rocks in two, and it could kill a man merely by looking at him. The only things which could kill a basilisk were weasels, which overpowered the monster with their powerful jaws and smell, and crystals. A man could look at a basilisk through the crystal, and the creature's own deadly power would be reflected back, killing it instantly.
We do, however, occasionally read of friendly dragons in European myths. The town of Lucerne in Switzerland was famed for its winged dragons which were said to look like flying crocodiles. A tale is told there of a man who once fell into an underground cave from which he could not escape. To his horror, he realised that this was the home of two dragons. However, the dragons did not see this strange visitor as an intruder or as food; instead, they were intrigued, and rubbed themselves against his body, like domestic cats. The man lived in the cave for five months, so the legend says, living on nothing but a trickle of water which oozed through the rocks. When the spring came, the dragons decided to leave their home, and took off into the air. The man realised that this was his only chance to escape, and, clasped to the tail of one of the creatures, let himself be carried out of the cave. Sadly, the legend goes on to tell us that he had been without food for too long, and he died shortly after returning to his home village.
The Celtic peoples often showed great reverence for dragons and serpents, depicting them by the side of their gods. They came to represent wisdom and nobility, in a similar way to the dragons of the Orient. Even today, the red dragon can still be seen on the national flag of Wales, one claw raised as a warning of its power and its neck arched in readiness. This respect clashed with the beliefs of the new religion, Christianity. According to both Christian and Jewish texts, dragons and serpents were incarnations of evil. The dragon was said to bring destruction during the end of the world, as read in the Revelations, while the serpent was blamed for bringing sin to man kind by tempting Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. The legend of St. George, in which he defeats a dragon, perhaps represents Christianity overpowering the Celtic religion. The image St. George crushing a struggling serpent or dragon under his feet was widely used in Christian art, and again may symbolise Christianity's dominance over paganism.
Sacred Serpents Stories are told of serpents so unimaginably vast that they encircled the world itself! Jormungand the Midgard Serpent was one such a monster, said by the Norse cultures such as the Vikings to live deep under the sea. The West African Fon tribe speak of Aido-Hwedo the Rainbow Serpent, who lies coiled in the ocean under the land to prevent it from sinking. In both cultures, the serpent plays an important part at the end of the world.
The most reverential of cultures towards snakes were the Aztecs of pre-Columbia. One of their principal gods was the Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl. One of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures in ancient religion and mythology, Quetzalcoatl was most often portrayed as a green serpent with a feather-crested head, similar in many ways to the Chinese dragon. He came to represent water, rain, the wind, human sustenance, penitent, self-sacrifice, re-birth, the morning star of Venus and butterflies. Unlike most other Aztec deities, Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose all forms of sacrifice apart from self-bleeding. However, his brother Tezcatlipoca was jealous of the god's purity and goodness, and cast an evil spell to transform Quetzalcoatl into a pale-skinned, bearded human. Shortly afterward, Quetzalcoatl sacrificed himself in order to return again, with the bones from the Underworld which would be made into human beings. Quetzalcoatl taught his creation all he knew, and bestowed gifts of fire and maize. He could also heal the sick. Once satisfied, Quetzalcoatl was said to have sailed into the West on a raft of serpents, with the promise that he would one day return.
Myths involving sea serpents are numerous, and are found throughout the oceans of the world. These creatures, thought to be bigger than any boat, were reported to sink ships sailing into unknown waters and consume everyone on board. Many historical maps show sea serpents in areas of the ocean where they were thought to dwell. Even in modern times there have been a high number of reported sea serpents. This is also true of the serpentine monsters thought to dwell in many lakes all over the world. The most famous of these is the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, whose immense body is usually seen as three humps above the surface of the water. Similar lake serpents have been reported in every continent of the world, excluding Antarctica.
So why have so many different cultures on Earth told stories of these giant, wonderful reptiles?
A common explanation is that the ancient peoples were so inspired by the deadliness and beauty of reptiles such as snakes, lizards and crocodiles, they began to imagine them as giant, magical beings with supernatural powers. Indeed, we have named several species of reptile with their mythological persona in mind: the Komodo Dragon, the Bearded Dragon, the Water Dragon and the Flying Dragon are all living lizards who bare dragon-like characteristics. But all of these creatures are much smaller than the dragons of legend - even the largest lizard, the Komodo Dragon, only measures a few metres in length. Additionally, these "dragons" have a very restricted habitat, many only inhabiting remote islands or forests. They cannot be fully responsible for spawning the vast widespread beliefs in dragons and serpents.
It is widely suggested that Sea Serpents and Lake Serpents are just ordinary aquatic animals, such as eels, whales, seals or sharks. However, this theory also has a severe short-coming, in that a large majority of precise descriptions of aquatic serpents do not resemble any of these creatures in shape, behaviour or movement. It must also be noted that there are far more reported observations of sea serpents than there are of known existing sea animals, like beaked whales and giant squid.
Cows, monkeys and dogs are revered by some cultures yet consumed as food by others. So, too, snakes are respected in some parts of the world and despised in others. The way that people feel about snakes is heavily influenced by cultural beliefs and mythology.
Some cultures held snakes in high esteem as powerful religious symbols. Quetzalcoatl, the mythical "plumed serpent," was worshipped as the "Master of Life" by ancient Aztecs of Central America. Some African cultures worshipped rock pythons and considered the killing of one to be a serious crime. In Australia, the Aborigines associated a giant rainbow serpent with the creation of life.
Other cultures have associated snakes with medicinal powers or rebirth. In India, cobras were regarded as reincarnations of important people called Nagas. Our modern medical symbol of two snakes wrapped around a staff, or 'caduceus,' comes from ancient Greek mythology. According to the Greeks, the mythical figure Aesculapius discovered medicine by watching as one snake used herbs to bring another snake back to life.
Judeo-Christian culture has been less kind to snakes. Tales of the Garden of Eden and the serpent's role in "man's fall from grace" have contributed to a negative image of snakes in western culture. In Appalachia, some Christians handle venomous snakes as part of ritual ceremonies, relying on faith to protect them from bites. Among Catholics, Saint Patrick is credited with ridding Ireland of snakes, a feat celebrated by many as a good thing.
Deep rooted cultural biases may be responsible, in part, for widespread fear and disdain for snakes. However, modern myths, from folk tales to plain old misinformation, also contribute to their negative image
Kaaron Mitchell De Vere created the doc: "Etymology"Quetzalcoatl
plumed serpent god of the Toltecs and Aztecs, 1570s, from Nahuatl quetzalli "tailfeather," also the name of a brilliantly plumaged bird, + coatl "snake."
Dragon
early 13c., from O.Fr. dragon, from L. draconem (nom. draco) "huge serpent, dragon," from Gk. drakon (gen. drakontos) "serpent, giant seafish," apparently from drak-, strong aorist stem of derkesthai "to see clearly," from PIE *derk- "to see." Perhaps the lit. sense is "the one with the (deadly) glance." The young are dragonets (14c.). Obsolete drake "dragon" is an older borrowing of the same word. Used in the Bible to translate Heb. tannin "a great sea-monster," and tan, a desert mammal now believed to be the jackal.
Eve
fem. proper name, from Biblical first woman, Late Latin, from Heb. Hawwah, lit. "a living being," from base hawa "he lived" (cf. Arabic hayya, Aramaic hayyin).
Like most of the explanations of names in Genesis, this is probably based on folk etymology or an imaginative playing with sound. ... In the Hebrew here, the phonetic similarity is between hawah, "Eve," and the verbal root hayah, "to live." It has been proposed that Eve's name conceals very different origins, for it sounds suspiciously like the Aramaic word for "serpent." [Robert Alter, "The Five Books of Moses," 2004, commentary on Gen. iii.20]
Seraph
1667, first used by Milton (probably on analogy of cherub/cherubim), singular back-formation from O.E. seraphim (pl.), from L.L. seraphim, from Gk. seraphim, from Heb. seraphim (only in Isa. vi), pl. of *saraph (which does not occur in the Bible), probably lit. "the burning one," from saraph "it burned." Seraphs were traditionally regarded as burning or flaming angels, though the word seems to have some etymological sense of "flying," perhaps from confusion with the root of Arabic sharafa "be lofty." Some scholars identify it with a word found in other passages interpreted as "fiery flying serpent."
Pharaoh
is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term ‘’pr-aa’’ which means ‘’great house’’ and describes the royal palace
Heretic
early 14c., from Fr. hérétique (14c.), from Church L. hereticus, from Gk. hairetikos "able to choose," the verbal adj. of hairein (see heresy). Related: Heretical.
Aubrey
masc. personal name, from O.Fr. Auberi, from O.H.G. Alberich "ruler of elves," or *Alb(e)rada "elf-counsel" (fem.). In U.S., began to be used as a girl's name c.1973 and among the top 100 given names for girls born 2006-2008, eclipsing use for boys, which faded in proportion.
Banshee
1771, from phonetic spelling of Ir. bean sidhe "female of the Elves," from bean "woman" (from PIE *gwen-; see queen) + sidhe, from sith "fairy" or sid "fairy mound." Specifically, one who calls to the spirits of the dead.
Puck
"mischievous fairy" (in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"), probably from pouke "devil, evil spirit" (c.1300), from O.E. puca, cognate with O.N. puki "devil," of unknown origin (cf. pug). Capitalized since 16c. His disguised name was Robin Goodfellow.
Lucifer
O.E. Lucifer "Satan," also "morning star," from L. Lucifer "morning star," lit. "light-bringing," from lux (gen. lucis) + ferre "carry" (see infer). Belief that it was the proper name of Satan began with its used in Bible to translate Gk. Phosphoros, which translates Heb. Helel ben Shahar in Isaiah xiv.12 -- "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" [KJV] The verse was interpreted by Christians as a reference to "Satan," because of the mention of a fall from Heaven, even though it is literally a reference to the King of Babylon (cf. Isaiah xiv.4).Lucifer match "friction match" is from 1831.
plumed serpent god of the Toltecs and Aztecs, 1570s, from Nahuatl quetzalli "tailfeather," also the name of a brilliantly plumaged bird, + coatl "snake."
Dragon
early 13c., from O.Fr. dragon, from L. draconem (nom. draco) "huge serpent, dragon," from Gk. drakon (gen. drakontos) "serpent, giant seafish," apparently from drak-, strong aorist stem of derkesthai "to see clearly," from PIE *derk- "to see." Perhaps the lit. sense is "the one with the (deadly) glance." The young are dragonets (14c.). Obsolete drake "dragon" is an older borrowing of the same word. Used in the Bible to translate Heb. tannin "a great sea-monster," and tan, a desert mammal now believed to be the jackal.
Eve
fem. proper name, from Biblical first woman, Late Latin, from Heb. Hawwah, lit. "a living being," from base hawa "he lived" (cf. Arabic hayya, Aramaic hayyin).
Like most of the explanations of names in Genesis, this is probably based on folk etymology or an imaginative playing with sound. ... In the Hebrew here, the phonetic similarity is between hawah, "Eve," and the verbal root hayah, "to live." It has been proposed that Eve's name conceals very different origins, for it sounds suspiciously like the Aramaic word for "serpent." [Robert Alter, "The Five Books of Moses," 2004, commentary on Gen. iii.20]
Seraph
1667, first used by Milton (probably on analogy of cherub/cherubim), singular back-formation from O.E. seraphim (pl.), from L.L. seraphim, from Gk. seraphim, from Heb. seraphim (only in Isa. vi), pl. of *saraph (which does not occur in the Bible), probably lit. "the burning one," from saraph "it burned." Seraphs were traditionally regarded as burning or flaming angels, though the word seems to have some etymological sense of "flying," perhaps from confusion with the root of Arabic sharafa "be lofty." Some scholars identify it with a word found in other passages interpreted as "fiery flying serpent."
Pharaoh
is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term ‘’pr-aa’’ which means ‘’great house’’ and describes the royal palace
Heretic
early 14c., from Fr. hérétique (14c.), from Church L. hereticus, from Gk. hairetikos "able to choose," the verbal adj. of hairein (see heresy). Related: Heretical.
Aubrey
masc. personal name, from O.Fr. Auberi, from O.H.G. Alberich "ruler of elves," or *Alb(e)rada "elf-counsel" (fem.). In U.S., began to be used as a girl's name c.1973 and among the top 100 given names for girls born 2006-2008, eclipsing use for boys, which faded in proportion.
Banshee
1771, from phonetic spelling of Ir. bean sidhe "female of the Elves," from bean "woman" (from PIE *gwen-; see queen) + sidhe, from sith "fairy" or sid "fairy mound." Specifically, one who calls to the spirits of the dead.
Puck
"mischievous fairy" (in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"), probably from pouke "devil, evil spirit" (c.1300), from O.E. puca, cognate with O.N. puki "devil," of unknown origin (cf. pug). Capitalized since 16c. His disguised name was Robin Goodfellow.
Lucifer
O.E. Lucifer "Satan," also "morning star," from L. Lucifer "morning star," lit. "light-bringing," from lux (gen. lucis) + ferre "carry" (see infer). Belief that it was the proper name of Satan began with its used in Bible to translate Gk. Phosphoros, which translates Heb. Helel ben Shahar in Isaiah xiv.12 -- "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" [KJV] The verse was interpreted by Christians as a reference to "Satan," because of the mention of a fall from Heaven, even though it is literally a reference to the King of Babylon (cf. Isaiah xiv.4).Lucifer match "friction match" is from 1831.
Kaaron Mitchell De Vere created the doc: "Dragons and Serpents of Alchemy and History"A Few Basics of Alchemy...
Alchemy is a mixture of philosophy and science, which has been practiced for centuries, and is still practiced today. It works at two levels: the physical, and the metaphysical. At the metaphysical level, it works to purify and transform humankind. At the physical level, it works to purify and transform metals. The first step of the transformation of metals is creating a philosopher's stone. This stone can then be used to transmute metals into alchemical gold. When a substance has been purified, it becomes philosophic.
Allegory
Allegories describe chemical reactions and the like, using symbols. The dragon is one of these symbols. For example, a green dragon devouring the Sun means that the gold was dissolved in aqua regia (royal water), a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids. Also, the gold probably contained copper, which turns the acid blue-green. (A green lion eating the sun can also been used for this representation). This symbolism was used as a way of preventing all but the most dedicated from deciphering the meaning.
Caduceus
The caduceus consists of two serpents entwined around a central rod. It is the symbol of Mercury. This symbol was developed from the myth of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, who intervened in a fight between two serpents. When he intervened, the serpents twined around his wand. In Greek times, the caduceus sometime had wings, to symbolize the volatility of mercury. Alchemists also call mercury chaotic water, abysmal water, sylvery water, and Philosophical Basilisk.
Philosophic Mercury is sometimes represented by a serpent, or winged dragon.
Cinnabar
Cinnabar is a naturally occurring mercuric sulphide. In its natural state, it is a red crystalline solid. Chinese and Arabian alchemists extracted mercury from it. The word 'cinnabar' comes from the Persian for 'dragon's blood'.
Nagayuna
Nagayuna is the Indian branch of alchemy. The aim is to preserve the elixir of life, in order to unify the body's energies. The symbol of the naga (two entwined serpents) is used to represent the link between the earth and the heavens, and the transition from the lower levels to the higher. This symbol can be found outside temples, on stone tablets (called 'nagahals' or 'nagakals')
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl was the product of an alchemical conception. He was conceived after his mother swallowed a piece of jade. Quetzalcoatl is a feathered serpent of Toltec origin.
Twelve Keys
The Twelve Keys were written by Basil Valentine (who may or may not have been real) in the 14th century. They depict how to prepare the prime matter for making the philosopher's stone. The keys show the King (ordinary gold), and the Queen (ordinary silver), who undergo separate adventures, before combining. Serpents appear several times in the keys. One of the appearances is in the ninth key. Part of the ninth key shows three serpents: the principles of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt.
Uroboros
Uroboros is a dragon whose end is his beginning... he endlessly eats his own tail. He keeps the cosmic waters under control, and is symbolic of the cyclical nature of alchemical work. He is the basilisk, the alchemical serpent. Also called Ouroboros.
Enuma Elish Extracts
Description:
Tiamat is a Babylonian monster. She is a personification of the sea and appears in the creation myth Enuma Elish. The appearance of Tiamat is unclear, but there is a Babylonian seal showing a serpent-like creature which may have been Tiamat. This issue is clouded by a number of images being identified as Tiamat which may not have been her after all. The Enuma Elish does not describe her appearance in detail, though it implies she has only one head and that she had legs.
Enuma Elish
Tiamat lived in the primordial chaos that existed before the creation of the world. She mingled with Apsu (a personification of fresh water), and the first generation of gods was born. One of these gods, Enki, killed Apsu. Tiamat wanted to avenge Apsu by destroying the gods. She gathered an army of monsters. The older gods were so terrified when they saw Tiamat, and her army, that they accepted the offer of the younger god Marduk. He offered to kill Tiamat on the condition that his supremacy was recognised. Marduk killed Tiamat in battle and used her body to make the universe. He used the blood of Kingu, leader of Tiamat's army and her second husband, to make mankind.
On the fourth day of the Babylonian new year festival the enuma elish was recited from severn large tablets. The first three tablets decribed the creation of the gods:
When on high the heaven had not been named,
Firm ground below had not been called by name,
There was nought but primordial Apsu, their begetter,
And Mother Tiamat, who bore them all,
Their waters commingling in a single body;
No reed hut had been matted, no marsh land had appeared,
When no gods whatever had been brought into being,
Uncalled by name, their destinies undetermined,
Then it was that the gods were formed within them,
A whole ancestry list of which god was born when, and who he was related to follows.
Below is part of the conflict between Marduk and Tiamat:
The Evil Wind, which followed behind, he let loose in her face.
When Tiamat opened her mouth to consume him,
He drove in the Evil Wind that she closed not her lips.
As the fierce winds charged her belly,
Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open.
He released the arrow, it tore her belly,
It cut through her insides, splitting the heart.
Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life.
He cast down her carcass to stand upon it.
Later, after Marduk has killed the rest of Tiamat's army, he makes the universe with her body:
The lord trod on the legs of Tiamat,
With his unsparing mace he crushed her skull.
When the arteries of her blood he had severed,
He split her like a shell-fish into two parts;
Half of her he set up and ceiled it as sky,
Pulled down the bar and posted guards.
He bade them to allow not her waters to escape.
Marduk finishes creating the rest of the universe, adds the constalations, the moon etc. Then he creates man. A temple is built in honour of Marduk. He has a house-warming party for his new temple. The enuma elish ends with a hymn of praise to Marduk, in with he is given 50 names. Each one represents an attibute or activity of Marduk.
Alchemy is a mixture of philosophy and science, which has been practiced for centuries, and is still practiced today. It works at two levels: the physical, and the metaphysical. At the metaphysical level, it works to purify and transform humankind. At the physical level, it works to purify and transform metals. The first step of the transformation of metals is creating a philosopher's stone. This stone can then be used to transmute metals into alchemical gold. When a substance has been purified, it becomes philosophic.
Allegory
Allegories describe chemical reactions and the like, using symbols. The dragon is one of these symbols. For example, a green dragon devouring the Sun means that the gold was dissolved in aqua regia (royal water), a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids. Also, the gold probably contained copper, which turns the acid blue-green. (A green lion eating the sun can also been used for this representation). This symbolism was used as a way of preventing all but the most dedicated from deciphering the meaning.
Caduceus
The caduceus consists of two serpents entwined around a central rod. It is the symbol of Mercury. This symbol was developed from the myth of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, who intervened in a fight between two serpents. When he intervened, the serpents twined around his wand. In Greek times, the caduceus sometime had wings, to symbolize the volatility of mercury. Alchemists also call mercury chaotic water, abysmal water, sylvery water, and Philosophical Basilisk.
Philosophic Mercury is sometimes represented by a serpent, or winged dragon.
Cinnabar
Cinnabar is a naturally occurring mercuric sulphide. In its natural state, it is a red crystalline solid. Chinese and Arabian alchemists extracted mercury from it. The word 'cinnabar' comes from the Persian for 'dragon's blood'.
Nagayuna
Nagayuna is the Indian branch of alchemy. The aim is to preserve the elixir of life, in order to unify the body's energies. The symbol of the naga (two entwined serpents) is used to represent the link between the earth and the heavens, and the transition from the lower levels to the higher. This symbol can be found outside temples, on stone tablets (called 'nagahals' or 'nagakals')
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl was the product of an alchemical conception. He was conceived after his mother swallowed a piece of jade. Quetzalcoatl is a feathered serpent of Toltec origin.
Twelve Keys
The Twelve Keys were written by Basil Valentine (who may or may not have been real) in the 14th century. They depict how to prepare the prime matter for making the philosopher's stone. The keys show the King (ordinary gold), and the Queen (ordinary silver), who undergo separate adventures, before combining. Serpents appear several times in the keys. One of the appearances is in the ninth key. Part of the ninth key shows three serpents: the principles of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt.
Uroboros
Uroboros is a dragon whose end is his beginning... he endlessly eats his own tail. He keeps the cosmic waters under control, and is symbolic of the cyclical nature of alchemical work. He is the basilisk, the alchemical serpent. Also called Ouroboros.
Enuma Elish Extracts
Description:
Tiamat is a Babylonian monster. She is a personification of the sea and appears in the creation myth Enuma Elish. The appearance of Tiamat is unclear, but there is a Babylonian seal showing a serpent-like creature which may have been Tiamat. This issue is clouded by a number of images being identified as Tiamat which may not have been her after all. The Enuma Elish does not describe her appearance in detail, though it implies she has only one head and that she had legs.
Enuma Elish
Tiamat lived in the primordial chaos that existed before the creation of the world. She mingled with Apsu (a personification of fresh water), and the first generation of gods was born. One of these gods, Enki, killed Apsu. Tiamat wanted to avenge Apsu by destroying the gods. She gathered an army of monsters. The older gods were so terrified when they saw Tiamat, and her army, that they accepted the offer of the younger god Marduk. He offered to kill Tiamat on the condition that his supremacy was recognised. Marduk killed Tiamat in battle and used her body to make the universe. He used the blood of Kingu, leader of Tiamat's army and her second husband, to make mankind.
On the fourth day of the Babylonian new year festival the enuma elish was recited from severn large tablets. The first three tablets decribed the creation of the gods:
When on high the heaven had not been named,
Firm ground below had not been called by name,
There was nought but primordial Apsu, their begetter,
And Mother Tiamat, who bore them all,
Their waters commingling in a single body;
No reed hut had been matted, no marsh land had appeared,
When no gods whatever had been brought into being,
Uncalled by name, their destinies undetermined,
Then it was that the gods were formed within them,
A whole ancestry list of which god was born when, and who he was related to follows.
Below is part of the conflict between Marduk and Tiamat:
The Evil Wind, which followed behind, he let loose in her face.
When Tiamat opened her mouth to consume him,
He drove in the Evil Wind that she closed not her lips.
As the fierce winds charged her belly,
Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open.
He released the arrow, it tore her belly,
It cut through her insides, splitting the heart.
Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life.
He cast down her carcass to stand upon it.
Later, after Marduk has killed the rest of Tiamat's army, he makes the universe with her body:
The lord trod on the legs of Tiamat,
With his unsparing mace he crushed her skull.
When the arteries of her blood he had severed,
He split her like a shell-fish into two parts;
Half of her he set up and ceiled it as sky,
Pulled down the bar and posted guards.
He bade them to allow not her waters to escape.
Marduk finishes creating the rest of the universe, adds the constalations, the moon etc. Then he creates man. A temple is built in honour of Marduk. He has a house-warming party for his new temple. The enuma elish ends with a hymn of praise to Marduk, in with he is given 50 names. Each one represents an attibute or activity of Marduk.
Kaaron Mitchell De Vere 8:17am Sep 25 I am She who was called.
I speak with great difficulty
for the distances are too large
and the forgetting too deep.
I come because you called.
I come to bring you home.
I come to bring home here.
The world is nothing like you think.
You cannot think this world.
I have too much to say but perhaps I speak better without words.
I carry with me . . . . a field of awakening that requires no words.
Everything you think you know about our people is wrong
and it does not help you if you get it right.
This earth is precious beyond measure.
The grail you seek cannot be understood,
but known only through your heart.
The grail codes are in you . . . asleep in you.
And you have called me to awaken them.
It has started.
The awakening of the codes has started.
You will not feel them.
You will not see them.
You cannot study them.
Only your heart knows them.
I have been protected by dragons for over 18,000 years.
They are now released.
The gates to my world are open.
Stand with all your power and receive.
STAND with all your power.
I am She who has awakened.
You are they who have awakened.
I dismiss you now.
Daughters of Isis, daughters of Venus,
Sisters of the sacred ways,
Mothers of the times before,
Birthers of the times to come.
Holding patterns for perfection,
Holding true to wisdom’s light,
Opening the chalice of the Holy Spirit
Parting darkness into light.
Weavers of a greater pattern,
You walk with lightning on your shield,
Daughters of Isis and Venus,
A greater future is revealed.
I am Ashtatara
proclaiming the time,
the deliverance of the Goddess.
Bringing with me a pattern of transformation
discontinuous of the past.
These times will mark
a strong foothold of the Goddess
into a large circle of hearts.
I invite humans to give up
the vision of what you think you want,
so the vision of possibilities may be unlimited.
To hold in your hearts the reality
of a discontinuous transfiguration.
This is a time of Grail and Goddess.
Shalom.
I AM THE AWAKENER!
Through the cold darkness I have waited for the sun to come up once again on my human brothers and sisters.
It is past time.
Each of you holds secrets locked and coded within your consciousness and your body—closed and locked for your own good.
When darkness befell humanity, much of the power was removed,
The keys guarded closely.
The keys are where you never look; inside yourself.
My name is ASHTATARA.
It means mother of the world.
I am a goddess and a human,
one of a race that remembers that you are gods and goddesses too.
Once the doors begin to open, the growth moves very quickly.
Once the doors are open there is no closing them.
Creating the possibility of a much bigger you and much more whole oneness, receive the Love of the field in a way that transforms everything you have been until now--
A Love far beyond the emotional love;
A Love that is the breath of God.
Receive now, deeply into your newly awakened cells of Light.
Be sanctified Beloved ones.
Be sanctified permanently now.
You now carry codes of awakening.
You do not need me anymore.
I speak with great difficulty
for the distances are too large
and the forgetting too deep.
I come because you called.
I come to bring you home.
I come to bring home here.
The world is nothing like you think.
You cannot think this world.
I have too much to say but perhaps I speak better without words.
I carry with me . . . . a field of awakening that requires no words.
Everything you think you know about our people is wrong
and it does not help you if you get it right.
This earth is precious beyond measure.
The grail you seek cannot be understood,
but known only through your heart.
The grail codes are in you . . . asleep in you.
And you have called me to awaken them.
It has started.
The awakening of the codes has started.
You will not feel them.
You will not see them.
You cannot study them.
Only your heart knows them.
I have been protected by dragons for over 18,000 years.
They are now released.
The gates to my world are open.
Stand with all your power and receive.
STAND with all your power.
I am She who has awakened.
You are they who have awakened.
I dismiss you now.
Daughters of Isis, daughters of Venus,
Sisters of the sacred ways,
Mothers of the times before,
Birthers of the times to come.
Holding patterns for perfection,
Holding true to wisdom’s light,
Opening the chalice of the Holy Spirit
Parting darkness into light.
Weavers of a greater pattern,
You walk with lightning on your shield,
Daughters of Isis and Venus,
A greater future is revealed.
I am Ashtatara
proclaiming the time,
the deliverance of the Goddess.
Bringing with me a pattern of transformation
discontinuous of the past.
These times will mark
a strong foothold of the Goddess
into a large circle of hearts.
I invite humans to give up
the vision of what you think you want,
so the vision of possibilities may be unlimited.
To hold in your hearts the reality
of a discontinuous transfiguration.
This is a time of Grail and Goddess.
Shalom.
I AM THE AWAKENER!
Through the cold darkness I have waited for the sun to come up once again on my human brothers and sisters.
It is past time.
Each of you holds secrets locked and coded within your consciousness and your body—closed and locked for your own good.
When darkness befell humanity, much of the power was removed,
The keys guarded closely.
The keys are where you never look; inside yourself.
My name is ASHTATARA.
It means mother of the world.
I am a goddess and a human,
one of a race that remembers that you are gods and goddesses too.
Once the doors begin to open, the growth moves very quickly.
Once the doors are open there is no closing them.
Creating the possibility of a much bigger you and much more whole oneness, receive the Love of the field in a way that transforms everything you have been until now--
A Love far beyond the emotional love;
A Love that is the breath of God.
Receive now, deeply into your newly awakened cells of Light.
Be sanctified Beloved ones.
Be sanctified permanently now.
You now carry codes of awakening.
You do not need me anymore.
Kaaron Mitchell De Vere created the doc: "THE DRAGON AND THE GRAIL A Gnostic insight into our Elohim origins"The Dragon guardian beings have been re-awakened from the land. They are living Angelic beings of light with Sacred Hearts of living crystal. They have returned to bring about ‘the Last Judgement’. That is to weigh in the balance, the hearts of Humanity. To make contact with these beings brings about a purification of ones family lineage. That is these beings can travel up and down (and heal) our family line throughout time. This is analogous to the spiral dance of the double helix strands of DNA. These strands are conductors of this Spiritual force and our aim is to achieve the ‘True Human’. We were once ‘True Humans’ with all of our faculties intact. When these beings withdrew from our sphere, we degenerated away from our inherent magical abilities as our link was severed.
Now is our opportunity to reclaim our ‘True Divine Nature’ and our abilities to transform the environment. We are once again ready to welcome our long lost brethren of our parallel evolution; our Devic/ Angelic counterparts, that is of our Elohim origins. We lost our union with our ‘other Angelic halves’ long ago and we mistakenly have sought re-union in our own projections of love. That is we fell into death and procreation in the field of time. That is another interpretation of the Grail, it is our ‘third ray’ manifestation of form given to us as created eternally now by our Devic selves. It was the original ‘Grail Service’ by the 'Lordly Ones' so that our human ‘second ray’ of consciousness could come into being. That is to become a living body and self-aware conscious being. Our aim? To manifest the ‘first ray’ Divine Will of the Creator; through consciousness and into form.
It is our task for the next aeon and this involves the building of new forms with the help of our Devic counterparts. That is of the form building aspect of the Devic teachers. Many were sent in the past. Alexander was one of them; Solomon, David, Arthur! All the Divine Kings were of this line as form builders in consciousness. Moulding the destiny of the human race through the many eras of ray manifestation and cycles of astrological influence.
Christ was a liberator from form consciousness. He came, along with the Buddha, to teach the way of right thinking. He came to teach the Pharisees the difference between acquired knowledge and knowing from ones being. He was also the initiator of all Gnostic knowledge long before the Piscean era. This is a mystery! Now we are ready to put this knowing into practice through our reunion with our Elohim counterparts. Our own unique ‘Grail vision’ given to each and every one of us from our ‘other Devic half.’ With our own Divine Will and consciousness to see it through. We are no longer tools of the Gods.
I believe that when we were as one with our Devic counterparts as Elohim, then we were fully aware of our Divinity and passed our time in full conscious awareness of our true state. This state lasted throughout the golden age and into the silver and then at the bronze age we were still part faery. Just look at the multitude of stone circles (faery rings) built around this time.
Then what of the fourth age:
“While all those were speaking the snake had been creeping quietly around the temple, had been looking at everything and observed the fourth king close by. He stood leaning against a pillar, and his considerable form was rather more bulky than beautiful. Only the metal from which he had been cast could not easily be determined. Closely seen it was a mixture of the three metals out of which his brothers had been formed. But in the casting it would appear that these substances had not properly fused together; gold and silver veins ran unevenly through a bronze mass and gave the statue an unpleasant appearance.”
This figure used by Goethe can also be likened to the Egyptian God- Serapis Bey. His figure bears a cone shaped headpiece, while at his feet protrudes a three-headed serpent with a dog, a lion and a wolf. Interestingly this God has been attributed to the fourth ray (harmony through conflict) by some channels.
So the severance from our Devic consciousness meant that the elemental balance kept by the four Devic kingdoms was broken and each element ran into the other and was ruined.
Originally, the form that these teachings had taken was as a receptacle of knowledge and beingness in harmony with all creation as created by the "Lords of Form". This knowledge was a gift of the Gods and was originally implanted within his form. It was called "The Grail". And when Humanity came to realise this, then it became impregnated with Spirit beyond form and was then known as "The Holy Grail".
Now both Gods and Men could search out the Holy Grail which was The Holy of Holies. It's existence lay beyond both Gods and Men and resided behind "The Veil".
Then darkness came over the face of the waters. The age of Gods and Men was over and Humanity was left alone. The Grail was kept in safe keeping by the Gods while Humanity was left to fend for itself.
Thus two streams of consciousness were set forth upon the waves of time. One thread remembered the Grail lore and sought to emulate its teaching by Pantheistic expression. The other thread would worship the Spirit only and would deny the form. However, there would always be those amongst the Gods and Men who knew the true secret of the Grail, and these were sent as Christs to help Humanity at certain stages of his growth.
So in Jesus and Miriam, two threads came together in time once again and became The Holy Grail. Around the Christ and of his lineage, both in and out of time were a certain family of Devas (Elohim projections) who were of the original builders. They would manifest sometimes as Kings and sometimes as Queens and would often squabble and fall out and betray one another. However something was being worked out for the good of the race and it was known as "The Divine Plan". Sometimes the Divine Plan would look like it was nearing completion, only to be wrecked again by the Original Betrayers. These were those Elohim who would deny the right of Humanity his eventual happiness and Lordship.
So indeed this family exists today and is carrying on the Great Work of Unification. The work comes in many shapes and forms and is diverse. The pattern of expression falls in line with each of these lineages having descended from a particular Elohim being. So Isis is carrying on the work of Isis and with her consort Osiris, play out their particular mythical pattern over and over again. This being in different times and circumstances as wayshowers in consciousness.
Now what of the Gnosis of the Essenes?
“In the book of Enoch, the sons of the gods are identified with a group of beings called ‘watchers’ who are also mentioned in the books of Daniel and Jubilees. Enoch further explains that the watchers were the same deiform beings who had mated with the earthly women.”
“The stone of the Mosaic tables was said to be sapphire – a divine sapphire called Schethiyd. The Tables of Testimony contained within the stone are not to be confused with the ten commandments, nor with the divers ordinances of Midianite Law (whether related by Jehova or Jethro), but are rather more associated with the original Table of Destiny of the Annunaki. This ancient archive is directly associated with the Emerald Tablet of Thoth-Hermes and, as detailed in the alchemical records of Egypt, the author of the preserved writings was the biblical Ham, a great Archon of the Grail bloodline. He was the essential founder of the esoteric and arcane ‘underground stream’ which flowed through the ages.”
So in the Gnostic teachings we can see both the positive and negative sides of the Fourth Ray! On the positive side it is the conception of the Divine Spark in matter. On the negative it is the loosing of the divine spark and the subsequent degeneracy of being; as in the ‘fourth king’ made of mixed alloy mentioned by Goethe. Also in the worship of the Golden Calf by the Israelites, while Moses was ‘away’ in another dimension that was Mt. Sinai. That is the Divine Spark (Moses) left the body (Israel), resulting in an influx of Satanic forces or the lower self. See Kabbalah and Exodus by Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi. This is a common initiatic problem by the way!
Now we have this problem with the mass initiation of humanity to fourth ray, heart centred awareness. We are presently in a fifth ray, solar plexus orientated state, i.e. the worship of the golden calf is as much prevalent today as ever. So what is to be done? What did Moses do?
“After he had been taught, Moses turned from receiving from above to imparting to below. First, however, he covered his face so as not to discourage the people from the Work of Unification as it came to be called. This was not only the joining of the different tribes into a nation, but the work that brings all parts of an individual together and unites all the worlds.”
(Shimon Halevi, Kabbalah and Exodus).
Now is our opportunity to reclaim our ‘True Divine Nature’ and our abilities to transform the environment. We are once again ready to welcome our long lost brethren of our parallel evolution; our Devic/ Angelic counterparts, that is of our Elohim origins. We lost our union with our ‘other Angelic halves’ long ago and we mistakenly have sought re-union in our own projections of love. That is we fell into death and procreation in the field of time. That is another interpretation of the Grail, it is our ‘third ray’ manifestation of form given to us as created eternally now by our Devic selves. It was the original ‘Grail Service’ by the 'Lordly Ones' so that our human ‘second ray’ of consciousness could come into being. That is to become a living body and self-aware conscious being. Our aim? To manifest the ‘first ray’ Divine Will of the Creator; through consciousness and into form.
It is our task for the next aeon and this involves the building of new forms with the help of our Devic counterparts. That is of the form building aspect of the Devic teachers. Many were sent in the past. Alexander was one of them; Solomon, David, Arthur! All the Divine Kings were of this line as form builders in consciousness. Moulding the destiny of the human race through the many eras of ray manifestation and cycles of astrological influence.
Christ was a liberator from form consciousness. He came, along with the Buddha, to teach the way of right thinking. He came to teach the Pharisees the difference between acquired knowledge and knowing from ones being. He was also the initiator of all Gnostic knowledge long before the Piscean era. This is a mystery! Now we are ready to put this knowing into practice through our reunion with our Elohim counterparts. Our own unique ‘Grail vision’ given to each and every one of us from our ‘other Devic half.’ With our own Divine Will and consciousness to see it through. We are no longer tools of the Gods.
I believe that when we were as one with our Devic counterparts as Elohim, then we were fully aware of our Divinity and passed our time in full conscious awareness of our true state. This state lasted throughout the golden age and into the silver and then at the bronze age we were still part faery. Just look at the multitude of stone circles (faery rings) built around this time.
Then what of the fourth age:
“While all those were speaking the snake had been creeping quietly around the temple, had been looking at everything and observed the fourth king close by. He stood leaning against a pillar, and his considerable form was rather more bulky than beautiful. Only the metal from which he had been cast could not easily be determined. Closely seen it was a mixture of the three metals out of which his brothers had been formed. But in the casting it would appear that these substances had not properly fused together; gold and silver veins ran unevenly through a bronze mass and gave the statue an unpleasant appearance.”
This figure used by Goethe can also be likened to the Egyptian God- Serapis Bey. His figure bears a cone shaped headpiece, while at his feet protrudes a three-headed serpent with a dog, a lion and a wolf. Interestingly this God has been attributed to the fourth ray (harmony through conflict) by some channels.
So the severance from our Devic consciousness meant that the elemental balance kept by the four Devic kingdoms was broken and each element ran into the other and was ruined.
Originally, the form that these teachings had taken was as a receptacle of knowledge and beingness in harmony with all creation as created by the "Lords of Form". This knowledge was a gift of the Gods and was originally implanted within his form. It was called "The Grail". And when Humanity came to realise this, then it became impregnated with Spirit beyond form and was then known as "The Holy Grail".
Now both Gods and Men could search out the Holy Grail which was The Holy of Holies. It's existence lay beyond both Gods and Men and resided behind "The Veil".
Then darkness came over the face of the waters. The age of Gods and Men was over and Humanity was left alone. The Grail was kept in safe keeping by the Gods while Humanity was left to fend for itself.
Thus two streams of consciousness were set forth upon the waves of time. One thread remembered the Grail lore and sought to emulate its teaching by Pantheistic expression. The other thread would worship the Spirit only and would deny the form. However, there would always be those amongst the Gods and Men who knew the true secret of the Grail, and these were sent as Christs to help Humanity at certain stages of his growth.
So in Jesus and Miriam, two threads came together in time once again and became The Holy Grail. Around the Christ and of his lineage, both in and out of time were a certain family of Devas (Elohim projections) who were of the original builders. They would manifest sometimes as Kings and sometimes as Queens and would often squabble and fall out and betray one another. However something was being worked out for the good of the race and it was known as "The Divine Plan". Sometimes the Divine Plan would look like it was nearing completion, only to be wrecked again by the Original Betrayers. These were those Elohim who would deny the right of Humanity his eventual happiness and Lordship.
So indeed this family exists today and is carrying on the Great Work of Unification. The work comes in many shapes and forms and is diverse. The pattern of expression falls in line with each of these lineages having descended from a particular Elohim being. So Isis is carrying on the work of Isis and with her consort Osiris, play out their particular mythical pattern over and over again. This being in different times and circumstances as wayshowers in consciousness.
Now what of the Gnosis of the Essenes?
“In the book of Enoch, the sons of the gods are identified with a group of beings called ‘watchers’ who are also mentioned in the books of Daniel and Jubilees. Enoch further explains that the watchers were the same deiform beings who had mated with the earthly women.”
“The stone of the Mosaic tables was said to be sapphire – a divine sapphire called Schethiyd. The Tables of Testimony contained within the stone are not to be confused with the ten commandments, nor with the divers ordinances of Midianite Law (whether related by Jehova or Jethro), but are rather more associated with the original Table of Destiny of the Annunaki. This ancient archive is directly associated with the Emerald Tablet of Thoth-Hermes and, as detailed in the alchemical records of Egypt, the author of the preserved writings was the biblical Ham, a great Archon of the Grail bloodline. He was the essential founder of the esoteric and arcane ‘underground stream’ which flowed through the ages.”
So in the Gnostic teachings we can see both the positive and negative sides of the Fourth Ray! On the positive side it is the conception of the Divine Spark in matter. On the negative it is the loosing of the divine spark and the subsequent degeneracy of being; as in the ‘fourth king’ made of mixed alloy mentioned by Goethe. Also in the worship of the Golden Calf by the Israelites, while Moses was ‘away’ in another dimension that was Mt. Sinai. That is the Divine Spark (Moses) left the body (Israel), resulting in an influx of Satanic forces or the lower self. See Kabbalah and Exodus by Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi. This is a common initiatic problem by the way!
Now we have this problem with the mass initiation of humanity to fourth ray, heart centred awareness. We are presently in a fifth ray, solar plexus orientated state, i.e. the worship of the golden calf is as much prevalent today as ever. So what is to be done? What did Moses do?
“After he had been taught, Moses turned from receiving from above to imparting to below. First, however, he covered his face so as not to discourage the people from the Work of Unification as it came to be called. This was not only the joining of the different tribes into a nation, but the work that brings all parts of an individual together and unites all the worlds.”
(Shimon Halevi, Kabbalah and Exodus).
Kaaron Mitchell De Vere created the doc: "Vere / Weir"Raymond de Vere, Count of Anjou, alias Rainfroi de Vere, married, in 733, Melusine de Lusina. She was the daughter of Elinas, King of the Picts, and Bruithina MacBrude, and, thus, was a princess of the southern Picts of Alba. Her totem tribal badge was the Dragon, hence the fairytale connotations. The Dragon Motif was depicted in 1200 AD. on the seal of Hugh de Vere, whilst the Blue Boar, a Druidic caste badge, was [n.b.] derived from the family of Raymond de Vere.
Their son was Count Maelo de Vere, commander of Emperor Charlemagne's army. From Maelo's own marriage to Charlemagne's sister, Bertha Martel, sprang a succession of Earls of Genney. Maelo's brother was Roland, for whom "Song of Roland" was written.
In the Arthurian and Magdalene traditions of the Ladies of the Lake, Melusine was a fountain fey - an enchantress of the Underwood. Her fountain at Verrières en Forez was called Lusina - meaning Light-bringer - from which derived the name of the Royal House of Lusignan - the Crusader Kings of Jerusalem. The Fount of Melusine was said to be located deep within a thicket wood in Anjou. She was also known as Melusina, Melouziana de Scythes, Maelasanu, and The Dragon Princess.
In the 12th Century, Melusine's descendant, Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford, and legal pretender to the Earldom of Huntingdon, was appointed as King Richard's steward of the forest lands of Fitzooth. As Lord of the Greenwood, and titular Herne of the Wild Hunt, he was a popular people's champion , and, as a result, he was outlawed for taking up arms against King John. It was he who, subsequently styledRobin Fitzooth, became the prototype for the popular tales of Robin Hood.
Bruithina MacBrude was the daughter of Brude MacBeli, King of the Picts b. c. 680. He defeated Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria, at Nechtansmere, located on low ground known today as Dunnichen Moss, situated at the foot of Dunnichen Hill, 4 miles east of Forfar.
Brude MacBeli, King of the Picts, was the son of Beli MacNeithon.
Beli MacNeithon, King of Strathclyde, was the son of Nechtan MacGwyddno.
Nechtan MacGwyddno, King of Strathclyde, was the son of Gwyddno Garuntar MacCawrdrar.
Gwyddno Garanir MacCawrdrar, King of Strathclyde, was the son of Cawrdar MacGarwynwyn.
Cawrdar MacGarwynwyn, King of Dumbarton, was the son was the son of Garwynwyn Gervinion MacDyfnwal.
Garwynwyn Gervinion MacDyfnwal, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Dyfnwal Hen MacCinnuit.
Dyfnwal Hen MacCinnuit, King of Dumbarton, was the son was the son of Cinuit MacCoroticus .
Cinuit MacCoroticus, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Coroticus MacCynloup.
Coroticus MacCynloup, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cynloup MacCinhilson.
Cynloup MacCinhilson, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cinhil, King of Dumbarton.
Cinhil, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cluim, King of Dumbarton.
Cluim, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cursalem, King of Dumbarton.
Cursalem, King of Dumbarton, one of Constantine The Great's generals, was the son of Fer, King of Dumbarton.
Fer, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Art `Vroisc', King of Dumbarton.
Art `Vroisc', King of Dumbarton, was the son of Corvus, 1st King of Dumbarton.
Corvus, 1st King of Dumbarton, was the son of Quintus, 5th. King of the Picts.
Quintus, 5th. King of the Picts, was the son of Art Cois.
Art Cois, who married a Pictish princess, was the son of Guidgen, the Welsh Gwyddien ap Caradog.Guidgen, was the son of Caratacus, King of Britain, b. c. 20; resistance leader, 43-50 AD; died in exile in Rome, 54 AD.
The Kingdom of Strathclyde.
The Kingdom of Strathclyde was founded in 148 AD. by Corvus, descended from the hero-king Caratacus, who rebelled against the Romans, raised a following of British patriots, and established himself at Alclyde - Ail Cluathe, i.e., Castle Rock. This fortified settlement developed into the city of Dumbarton - Dun Bretan, i.e. Fort of the Britons - situated on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde.
In 148 AD., Corvus, the senior heir of the old British pre-Roman royal house, founded the British Free State, which eventually evolved into a regional kingdom in Scotland, i.e., the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Corvus of Roman history may be identified with Corbed of Scottish History, called the first King of Scotland in some Scottish annals.
The attacks on Roman Britain by the Strathclyde Britons under Corvus forced the Romans to temporarily abandon the Antonine Wall, and withdraw to Hadrian's Wall. Corvus was killed in battle, in 184 AD, fighting the Roman general Ulpius Marcellus.
The descendants of Corvus reigned at Dumbarton, beyond the Roman border, as an independent line of kings rivalling the client-kings of Roman Britain, and were the ancestors of the later Kings of Strathclyde [543-889], surviving the Roman Era until the close of the early Middle Ages.
The Descendants of Maelo de Vere and Bertha Martel.
Maelo de Vere II., b. c. 760, m. Avelina de Nantes.
Nicassius de Vere, m. Agatha de Champagne.
Otho de Vere, m. Constance de Montlheri.
Aurelius de Vere, m. Helena de Blois.
Gallus de Vere, m. Gertrude de Clermont.
Manassus de Vere, m. Petronilla de Boulogne.
Alphonso de Vere, Hedingham, Essex. He was Councilor to Edward the Confessor, King of England.
Aubrey de Vere I., 1035-1088, m. Beatrice of Ghent. Aubrey comes from the Teutonic name Alberic, or elf-ruler.
Aubrey de Vere II., m. Adelisa de Clare, b. c. 1095. She was a descendant of Gilbert de Brionne, son of Duke Richard I. of Normandy, whose ancestry can be traced to the Norwegian Jarls of More, of whom many of the Royal Houses of Europe claim descent.
Aubrey de Vere III., 1115-26/12/1194, m. Lucy Agnes Abrincas.
Aubrey de Vere I. came to England with William the Conqueror, his brother-in-law, by whom he was given vast estates, consisting of manors in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Middlesex. The de Veres were also Lords of Cheniston, now Kensington, London, and Earl's Court.
Thus, the name Weir, like many lowland Scottish names, is of Norman origin, deriving from their ancestral village of Ver, near Bayeaux, and the River Vire, in Manche, on the Normandy coast of present-day northern France. The name of the town itself came from ver, a Norse word meaning fish dam, that the Vikings had introduced into Normandy, and etymologically akin to the Old English word weir, meaning a fish dam, and originally spelled both Wier and Wear, hence the diverse spellings of the family name
Aubrey de Vere married Beatrice, half-sister of William the Conqueror. He founded Earl's Colne Priory in 1105, and, after the death of Beatrice, he took vows as a monk. He died in 1088, and was buried in the church of Earls Colne Priory. He is also said to be responsible for laying out four new vineyards in England, one being at Hedingham, where wild red grapes have been found several times during the last century.
He and his wife had five sons: Aubrey de Vere II., Geoffrey de Vere, Roger de Vere, Robert de Vere, andWilliam de Vere. Aubrey de Vere II. was responsible for building the great castle-keep at Hedingham. Aubrey married Adelisa de Clare, daughter of Gilbert FitzRichard, lord of Clare, and grand-daughter of Count Hugh de Clermont..
Aubrey de Vere II. was favoured by Henry I., and in 1133 was made Great High Chamberlain of England. While serving as joint sheriff of Surrey, Aubrey was slain during a riot in London, on May 15, 1141. He was buried in Colne Priory. Aubrey de Vere II. had four sons: Aubrey de Vere III., Robert de Vere,Geoffrey de Vere, and William de Vere.
Aubrey de Vere III. was a crusader, who was known as Aubrey the Grim, perhaps because of his height and stern appearance. He married [1] Euphemia Cantilupe, daughter of William de Cantilupe, by whom he had no issue, and [2] Lucia Abrincis, a.k.a. Agnes of Essex, daughter and heiress of William de Abrincis. See W.H. Turton, The Plantagenet Ancestry, p.113, 1928.
Ralph de Vere, b. c. 1150. Ralph de Vere was either a younger son of Aubrey de Vere III. and Lucia Abrincis, or his second son, who lost his right to the Earldom of Oxford as a result of opposing Henry II, the earldom passing to his younger brother, Robert. Please note: Ralph de Vere was also known as Radulphus de Vere and Baltredus de Vere.
It appears that Ralph de Vere is the first of the name recorded in Scotland. He was taken prisoner along with Richard the Lion in 1174; he later witnessed a charter by King William I. of Scotland, sometime between 1174 and 1184. During the same period he gifted a bovate of land in Sprouston, Roxburgh, to the Abbey of Kelso; his brother, Robert de Vere, was a witness to this charter. The Weirs of Blackwood, Lanarkshire, claim their descent from this Ralph de Vere. n.b. The Weir succession from Ralph de Vere to Rothaldus Weir of Blackwood is fully detailed in the charters of Kelso Abbey. See Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, pp. 475-476, 1899. See George Vere Irving, The Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, 1864.
Ralph de Vere was a follower of Conan IV., Duke of Brittany, who held claim to the English throne as a great-grandson of Henry I. When Henry II. conquered Brittany, Conan and his followers took refuge in Scotland, Conan marrying the sister of King William I. of Scotland. Ralph de Vere was awarded vast estates in Lanarkshire, where the following descendants were to establish themselves:
His son was Walter Weir, b. c. 1190. His son was Radulphus Weir, 1225-1296. His son was Thomas Weir, b. c. 1256. His son was Richardus Weir, 1280-1314. His son was Thomas Weir, 1310-1371, of Blackwood, Lanarkshire. A 1314 charter of Kelso Abbey states: 'This Thomas is the first recorded proprietor of the lands of Blackwood.' This possession was inherited by his son Buan Weir, 1340-1390, whose son was Rothaldus Weir, b. 1368.
Rothaldus Weir, 1st. Laird of Blackwood, was Bailie of Lesmahagow, 1398-1400, and in the latter year, Abbot Patrick, who styled him 'Well-beloved and faithful', granted him half of the church lands of Blackwood and Dermoundyston, with Stonebyres, Archtyfardle, and the whole of Mossmynyne. For Blackwood he was to pay 3s. 4.d annually, and for the other lands, 13s 4d.. That Mossmynyne was an important possession is apparent from the yearly payment required for it. Mossmynyne was a district between Harperfield and Coultershogle. The Weir estate of Blackwood, as stated, had been held by the family for some time previous to 1400. The Veres of Stonebyres and Archtyfardle and Mossmynemion were branches of the Weirs of Blackwood. In the 16th. Century, an old feud between the Weirs of Blackwood and their cousins the Veres of Stonebyres was supposedly ended when the Veres swore allegiance to the Weirs of Blackwood.
The Weirs, though not one of the original Highland Clans, are recognized as a sept of both clanBuchannan and clan MacNaughton i.e. Mac Nachtan At some later date they were recognized as a sept of the MacFarlane clan. Since the Weirs held their own land, they became a sept by way of marriage and alliance.
The Weirs are also known as an Armigerous Family, meaning they have the right to bear their own heraldic arms. Their heraldic arms have been registered by, and are recognized by the Lyon Court and the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
The Scottish Weir motto remains the same as the English de Vere motto: 'Vero nihil verius', also written as 'Vero nil Verius.' This can be translated as 'Nothing truer than truth', or, alternately, 'Truth nothing but the truth.' And the Weir crest is based on the de Vere crest of the blue boar.
The son of Rothaldus Weir was Thomas Weir, b. c. 1400, 2nd. Laird of Blackwood. His son was Robert Weir, 1425-1479, 3rd. Laird of Blackwood. His son was Thomas Weir, 1462-1531, 4th. Laird of Blackwood. He married Aegida Somerset alias Somerville, b. 1463, of Carnwath, Lanarkshire. She was the daughter of John, 3rd Lord Somerville, of Cowthally, and Marion Baillie.
John, 3rd Lord Somerville, of Cowthally, was born c. 1406 in Cowthally Castle, Carnwath, and died Nov. 1491. He was buried in St Mary's Aisle, Carnwath. He was the son of William, 2nd. Lord Somerville, of Cowthally, and Janet Mowat.
Marion Baillie was born c. 1430 in Lamington, Ayrshire, Scotland, and died after Jan. 1505/06. She was the daughter of William VI. Baillie, Laird of Lamington, and Margery Hamilton.
[n.b. There is an oft quoted assumption, based on poetic composition, that the Baillies of Lamington, were descended from Sir William Wallace: Sir William Wallace is believed to have had a daughter, said to have married Sir William Baillie of Hoprig. There is not any probatory evidence to support this connection. Charter evidence shows Lamington to have been granted to the Baillie family, rather than it having been acquired through marriage to a daughter of Sir William Wallace. In like fashion, baseless tradition claims that Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie was the father of Sir William Wallace. However, recent evidence - arising from the dicovery of David Wallace's seal - identifies William as the son of Alan Wallace of Ayrshire, who appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296 as 'crown tenant of Ayrshire.']
William 2nd Lord Somerville , of Cowthally, was born c. 1388 in Cowthally Castle, and died there 20/8/1456. He was buried in St Mary's Aisle. He was the son of Thomas, 1st Lord Somerville , of Cowthally, and Janet Stewart.
Thomas Weir and Aegida Somerset had issue: [1] James Weir, who wed Lady Euphemia Hamilton. She was of Merovingian descent, sister of the Duke of Chatelherault, Marquess of Hamilton, 5th. grandson ofKing Edward III. The Hamiltons were the Heirs Presumptive to the Throne of Scotland during this period. [2] Duncan Weir, b. c. 1490, of Blackwood, who died en route to Holland. His son was Reverend Malcolm Weir, b, c. 1515. He married Miss Wyseart, daughter of the Laird of Kirkcaldie. His son was David Weir, b. c. 1555, who was a guildsman. His guildmark was the same as the crest of the Weirs of Blackwood, a hand holding a battleaxe. His son was another David Weir, b. c. 1590, whose son, John Weir, 1633-1697, married Jane Adams, 1644-1681, on moving to Northern Ireland in 1664. He should not to be confused with his cousins, also so named.
A history in an old family bible, as preserved by oral tradition, states that Jane Adams was of the familyof Henry Adams, 21/1/1582-6/10/1646, great-great-grandfather of President John Adams of America. John Adams is regarded as one of the most important Founding Fathers of the United States of America. Before becoming the second President of the United States, John Adams served as the Vice-President under President George Washington. Prior to that, John Adams was a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from Massachusetts.
His ancestor, Henry Adams, had been invited to Antrim in the 1630s to fight on the side of Prebyterian dissenters against the English, who wished to impose conformity to the Church of England. He was given a military rank in the rebels militia. The tradition states that Jane Adams was his niece, the daughter of an accompanying brother. The Adams family had their origins in Barton St. David, Somerset, England. Henry Adams was the son of John Adams, 1555-19/3/1603, and Agnes Stone, 1576-1615. Henry and all his known ancestors were Yeomen farmers. Henry was also a maltster. He died in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, having gone there in 1638. He was known popularly as The Founder of New England, probably because of the extraordinary number [89] of his grandchildren.
The English saw Ireland as a back door route by which its European Catholic enemies could threaten its independence, and sought to populate it with English, and particularly, Scottish settlers. In general, the Scottish settlers were poor and downtrodden Many were Presbyterians, and, at the time, Presbyterians were discriminated against by the State: Presbyterians were excluded from certain professions - law and the military - and there were restrictions on their ownership of land. Also, Ministers of the Presbyterian Church were not allowed to marry their own flock.
John Weir and Jane Adams were the parents of Robert Weir, b. 1666, of Straid, Antrim. His son was David Weir, b.1702. He was the father of David Weir, 1722-23/6/1797, and Elizabeth Weir, 1728-29/7/1808, who married, 1752, George Acheson, 3/4/1720-11/7/1812, of Markethill, Armagh. David Weir was the father of David Weir, b. 1748, James Weir, b. 1750, and William Weir, b. 1752.
This account is one of a single family, yet those mentioned herein obviously had many siblings. Thus, many of these Weir families became established around Ballymena, in the townlands of Straid, Glebe, Gloonan, Ballyminstra, and Ballymackilroy, most of which are in Ahoghill parish. They tended to intermarry within a small circle of other families. Weirs became closely associated with the families of McDowell, Boyd, Nicholl, and Bankhead, as examples, with many males of each family having as a middle name that of an associated family. These associations were continued after emigration. An example of this is given by the family of Archibald Weir corresponding with the family of Matthew Boyd, see later, after they emigrated to America in 1818.
David Weir, b. 1748, was the father of Robert Weir, 1770-27/2/1857, who married, 1815, [2] Martha Telford, 1790-1872. Robert Weir owned the old corn mills at Straid. He was not the first of his lineage to do so: Straid Corn Mill was built and operated by the Weir family, who were the village millers, from the 17th. Century onwards. [Robert Weir married, firstly, Elizabeth Orr, and by her had three children, two of whom were [1] James Weir, b. c. 1829, Drumramer, Ahoghill. He married, 26/7/1855, Jane Rainey, daughter of William Rainey of Taylorstown; [2] Margaret Weir, b. 1824, Drumramer, who married, 26/3/1850, James Logan.]
Their son was Count Maelo de Vere, commander of Emperor Charlemagne's army. From Maelo's own marriage to Charlemagne's sister, Bertha Martel, sprang a succession of Earls of Genney. Maelo's brother was Roland, for whom "Song of Roland" was written.
In the Arthurian and Magdalene traditions of the Ladies of the Lake, Melusine was a fountain fey - an enchantress of the Underwood. Her fountain at Verrières en Forez was called Lusina - meaning Light-bringer - from which derived the name of the Royal House of Lusignan - the Crusader Kings of Jerusalem. The Fount of Melusine was said to be located deep within a thicket wood in Anjou. She was also known as Melusina, Melouziana de Scythes, Maelasanu, and The Dragon Princess.
In the 12th Century, Melusine's descendant, Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford, and legal pretender to the Earldom of Huntingdon, was appointed as King Richard's steward of the forest lands of Fitzooth. As Lord of the Greenwood, and titular Herne of the Wild Hunt, he was a popular people's champion , and, as a result, he was outlawed for taking up arms against King John. It was he who, subsequently styledRobin Fitzooth, became the prototype for the popular tales of Robin Hood.
Bruithina MacBrude was the daughter of Brude MacBeli, King of the Picts b. c. 680. He defeated Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria, at Nechtansmere, located on low ground known today as Dunnichen Moss, situated at the foot of Dunnichen Hill, 4 miles east of Forfar.
Brude MacBeli, King of the Picts, was the son of Beli MacNeithon.
Beli MacNeithon, King of Strathclyde, was the son of Nechtan MacGwyddno.
Nechtan MacGwyddno, King of Strathclyde, was the son of Gwyddno Garuntar MacCawrdrar.
Gwyddno Garanir MacCawrdrar, King of Strathclyde, was the son of Cawrdar MacGarwynwyn.
Cawrdar MacGarwynwyn, King of Dumbarton, was the son was the son of Garwynwyn Gervinion MacDyfnwal.
Garwynwyn Gervinion MacDyfnwal, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Dyfnwal Hen MacCinnuit.
Dyfnwal Hen MacCinnuit, King of Dumbarton, was the son was the son of Cinuit MacCoroticus .
Cinuit MacCoroticus, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Coroticus MacCynloup.
Coroticus MacCynloup, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cynloup MacCinhilson.
Cynloup MacCinhilson, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cinhil, King of Dumbarton.
Cinhil, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cluim, King of Dumbarton.
Cluim, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Cursalem, King of Dumbarton.
Cursalem, King of Dumbarton, one of Constantine The Great's generals, was the son of Fer, King of Dumbarton.
Fer, King of Dumbarton, was the son of Art `Vroisc', King of Dumbarton.
Art `Vroisc', King of Dumbarton, was the son of Corvus, 1st King of Dumbarton.
Corvus, 1st King of Dumbarton, was the son of Quintus, 5th. King of the Picts.
Quintus, 5th. King of the Picts, was the son of Art Cois.
Art Cois, who married a Pictish princess, was the son of Guidgen, the Welsh Gwyddien ap Caradog.Guidgen, was the son of Caratacus, King of Britain, b. c. 20; resistance leader, 43-50 AD; died in exile in Rome, 54 AD.
The Kingdom of Strathclyde.
The Kingdom of Strathclyde was founded in 148 AD. by Corvus, descended from the hero-king Caratacus, who rebelled against the Romans, raised a following of British patriots, and established himself at Alclyde - Ail Cluathe, i.e., Castle Rock. This fortified settlement developed into the city of Dumbarton - Dun Bretan, i.e. Fort of the Britons - situated on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde.
In 148 AD., Corvus, the senior heir of the old British pre-Roman royal house, founded the British Free State, which eventually evolved into a regional kingdom in Scotland, i.e., the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Corvus of Roman history may be identified with Corbed of Scottish History, called the first King of Scotland in some Scottish annals.
The attacks on Roman Britain by the Strathclyde Britons under Corvus forced the Romans to temporarily abandon the Antonine Wall, and withdraw to Hadrian's Wall. Corvus was killed in battle, in 184 AD, fighting the Roman general Ulpius Marcellus.
The descendants of Corvus reigned at Dumbarton, beyond the Roman border, as an independent line of kings rivalling the client-kings of Roman Britain, and were the ancestors of the later Kings of Strathclyde [543-889], surviving the Roman Era until the close of the early Middle Ages.
The Descendants of Maelo de Vere and Bertha Martel.
Maelo de Vere II., b. c. 760, m. Avelina de Nantes.
Nicassius de Vere, m. Agatha de Champagne.
Otho de Vere, m. Constance de Montlheri.
Aurelius de Vere, m. Helena de Blois.
Gallus de Vere, m. Gertrude de Clermont.
Manassus de Vere, m. Petronilla de Boulogne.
Alphonso de Vere, Hedingham, Essex. He was Councilor to Edward the Confessor, King of England.
Aubrey de Vere I., 1035-1088, m. Beatrice of Ghent. Aubrey comes from the Teutonic name Alberic, or elf-ruler.
Aubrey de Vere II., m. Adelisa de Clare, b. c. 1095. She was a descendant of Gilbert de Brionne, son of Duke Richard I. of Normandy, whose ancestry can be traced to the Norwegian Jarls of More, of whom many of the Royal Houses of Europe claim descent.
Aubrey de Vere III., 1115-26/12/1194, m. Lucy Agnes Abrincas.
Aubrey de Vere I. came to England with William the Conqueror, his brother-in-law, by whom he was given vast estates, consisting of manors in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Middlesex. The de Veres were also Lords of Cheniston, now Kensington, London, and Earl's Court.
Thus, the name Weir, like many lowland Scottish names, is of Norman origin, deriving from their ancestral village of Ver, near Bayeaux, and the River Vire, in Manche, on the Normandy coast of present-day northern France. The name of the town itself came from ver, a Norse word meaning fish dam, that the Vikings had introduced into Normandy, and etymologically akin to the Old English word weir, meaning a fish dam, and originally spelled both Wier and Wear, hence the diverse spellings of the family name
Aubrey de Vere married Beatrice, half-sister of William the Conqueror. He founded Earl's Colne Priory in 1105, and, after the death of Beatrice, he took vows as a monk. He died in 1088, and was buried in the church of Earls Colne Priory. He is also said to be responsible for laying out four new vineyards in England, one being at Hedingham, where wild red grapes have been found several times during the last century.
He and his wife had five sons: Aubrey de Vere II., Geoffrey de Vere, Roger de Vere, Robert de Vere, andWilliam de Vere. Aubrey de Vere II. was responsible for building the great castle-keep at Hedingham. Aubrey married Adelisa de Clare, daughter of Gilbert FitzRichard, lord of Clare, and grand-daughter of Count Hugh de Clermont..
Aubrey de Vere II. was favoured by Henry I., and in 1133 was made Great High Chamberlain of England. While serving as joint sheriff of Surrey, Aubrey was slain during a riot in London, on May 15, 1141. He was buried in Colne Priory. Aubrey de Vere II. had four sons: Aubrey de Vere III., Robert de Vere,Geoffrey de Vere, and William de Vere.
Aubrey de Vere III. was a crusader, who was known as Aubrey the Grim, perhaps because of his height and stern appearance. He married [1] Euphemia Cantilupe, daughter of William de Cantilupe, by whom he had no issue, and [2] Lucia Abrincis, a.k.a. Agnes of Essex, daughter and heiress of William de Abrincis. See W.H. Turton, The Plantagenet Ancestry, p.113, 1928.
Ralph de Vere, b. c. 1150. Ralph de Vere was either a younger son of Aubrey de Vere III. and Lucia Abrincis, or his second son, who lost his right to the Earldom of Oxford as a result of opposing Henry II, the earldom passing to his younger brother, Robert. Please note: Ralph de Vere was also known as Radulphus de Vere and Baltredus de Vere.
It appears that Ralph de Vere is the first of the name recorded in Scotland. He was taken prisoner along with Richard the Lion in 1174; he later witnessed a charter by King William I. of Scotland, sometime between 1174 and 1184. During the same period he gifted a bovate of land in Sprouston, Roxburgh, to the Abbey of Kelso; his brother, Robert de Vere, was a witness to this charter. The Weirs of Blackwood, Lanarkshire, claim their descent from this Ralph de Vere. n.b. The Weir succession from Ralph de Vere to Rothaldus Weir of Blackwood is fully detailed in the charters of Kelso Abbey. See Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, pp. 475-476, 1899. See George Vere Irving, The Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, 1864.
Ralph de Vere was a follower of Conan IV., Duke of Brittany, who held claim to the English throne as a great-grandson of Henry I. When Henry II. conquered Brittany, Conan and his followers took refuge in Scotland, Conan marrying the sister of King William I. of Scotland. Ralph de Vere was awarded vast estates in Lanarkshire, where the following descendants were to establish themselves:
His son was Walter Weir, b. c. 1190. His son was Radulphus Weir, 1225-1296. His son was Thomas Weir, b. c. 1256. His son was Richardus Weir, 1280-1314. His son was Thomas Weir, 1310-1371, of Blackwood, Lanarkshire. A 1314 charter of Kelso Abbey states: 'This Thomas is the first recorded proprietor of the lands of Blackwood.' This possession was inherited by his son Buan Weir, 1340-1390, whose son was Rothaldus Weir, b. 1368.
Rothaldus Weir, 1st. Laird of Blackwood, was Bailie of Lesmahagow, 1398-1400, and in the latter year, Abbot Patrick, who styled him 'Well-beloved and faithful', granted him half of the church lands of Blackwood and Dermoundyston, with Stonebyres, Archtyfardle, and the whole of Mossmynyne. For Blackwood he was to pay 3s. 4.d annually, and for the other lands, 13s 4d.. That Mossmynyne was an important possession is apparent from the yearly payment required for it. Mossmynyne was a district between Harperfield and Coultershogle. The Weir estate of Blackwood, as stated, had been held by the family for some time previous to 1400. The Veres of Stonebyres and Archtyfardle and Mossmynemion were branches of the Weirs of Blackwood. In the 16th. Century, an old feud between the Weirs of Blackwood and their cousins the Veres of Stonebyres was supposedly ended when the Veres swore allegiance to the Weirs of Blackwood.
The Weirs, though not one of the original Highland Clans, are recognized as a sept of both clanBuchannan and clan MacNaughton i.e. Mac Nachtan At some later date they were recognized as a sept of the MacFarlane clan. Since the Weirs held their own land, they became a sept by way of marriage and alliance.
The Weirs are also known as an Armigerous Family, meaning they have the right to bear their own heraldic arms. Their heraldic arms have been registered by, and are recognized by the Lyon Court and the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
The Scottish Weir motto remains the same as the English de Vere motto: 'Vero nihil verius', also written as 'Vero nil Verius.' This can be translated as 'Nothing truer than truth', or, alternately, 'Truth nothing but the truth.' And the Weir crest is based on the de Vere crest of the blue boar.
The son of Rothaldus Weir was Thomas Weir, b. c. 1400, 2nd. Laird of Blackwood. His son was Robert Weir, 1425-1479, 3rd. Laird of Blackwood. His son was Thomas Weir, 1462-1531, 4th. Laird of Blackwood. He married Aegida Somerset alias Somerville, b. 1463, of Carnwath, Lanarkshire. She was the daughter of John, 3rd Lord Somerville, of Cowthally, and Marion Baillie.
John, 3rd Lord Somerville, of Cowthally, was born c. 1406 in Cowthally Castle, Carnwath, and died Nov. 1491. He was buried in St Mary's Aisle, Carnwath. He was the son of William, 2nd. Lord Somerville, of Cowthally, and Janet Mowat.
Marion Baillie was born c. 1430 in Lamington, Ayrshire, Scotland, and died after Jan. 1505/06. She was the daughter of William VI. Baillie, Laird of Lamington, and Margery Hamilton.
[n.b. There is an oft quoted assumption, based on poetic composition, that the Baillies of Lamington, were descended from Sir William Wallace: Sir William Wallace is believed to have had a daughter, said to have married Sir William Baillie of Hoprig. There is not any probatory evidence to support this connection. Charter evidence shows Lamington to have been granted to the Baillie family, rather than it having been acquired through marriage to a daughter of Sir William Wallace. In like fashion, baseless tradition claims that Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie was the father of Sir William Wallace. However, recent evidence - arising from the dicovery of David Wallace's seal - identifies William as the son of Alan Wallace of Ayrshire, who appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296 as 'crown tenant of Ayrshire.']
William 2nd Lord Somerville , of Cowthally, was born c. 1388 in Cowthally Castle, and died there 20/8/1456. He was buried in St Mary's Aisle. He was the son of Thomas, 1st Lord Somerville , of Cowthally, and Janet Stewart.
Thomas Weir and Aegida Somerset had issue: [1] James Weir, who wed Lady Euphemia Hamilton. She was of Merovingian descent, sister of the Duke of Chatelherault, Marquess of Hamilton, 5th. grandson ofKing Edward III. The Hamiltons were the Heirs Presumptive to the Throne of Scotland during this period. [2] Duncan Weir, b. c. 1490, of Blackwood, who died en route to Holland. His son was Reverend Malcolm Weir, b, c. 1515. He married Miss Wyseart, daughter of the Laird of Kirkcaldie. His son was David Weir, b. c. 1555, who was a guildsman. His guildmark was the same as the crest of the Weirs of Blackwood, a hand holding a battleaxe. His son was another David Weir, b. c. 1590, whose son, John Weir, 1633-1697, married Jane Adams, 1644-1681, on moving to Northern Ireland in 1664. He should not to be confused with his cousins, also so named.
A history in an old family bible, as preserved by oral tradition, states that Jane Adams was of the familyof Henry Adams, 21/1/1582-6/10/1646, great-great-grandfather of President John Adams of America. John Adams is regarded as one of the most important Founding Fathers of the United States of America. Before becoming the second President of the United States, John Adams served as the Vice-President under President George Washington. Prior to that, John Adams was a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from Massachusetts.
His ancestor, Henry Adams, had been invited to Antrim in the 1630s to fight on the side of Prebyterian dissenters against the English, who wished to impose conformity to the Church of England. He was given a military rank in the rebels militia. The tradition states that Jane Adams was his niece, the daughter of an accompanying brother. The Adams family had their origins in Barton St. David, Somerset, England. Henry Adams was the son of John Adams, 1555-19/3/1603, and Agnes Stone, 1576-1615. Henry and all his known ancestors were Yeomen farmers. Henry was also a maltster. He died in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, having gone there in 1638. He was known popularly as The Founder of New England, probably because of the extraordinary number [89] of his grandchildren.
The English saw Ireland as a back door route by which its European Catholic enemies could threaten its independence, and sought to populate it with English, and particularly, Scottish settlers. In general, the Scottish settlers were poor and downtrodden Many were Presbyterians, and, at the time, Presbyterians were discriminated against by the State: Presbyterians were excluded from certain professions - law and the military - and there were restrictions on their ownership of land. Also, Ministers of the Presbyterian Church were not allowed to marry their own flock.
John Weir and Jane Adams were the parents of Robert Weir, b. 1666, of Straid, Antrim. His son was David Weir, b.1702. He was the father of David Weir, 1722-23/6/1797, and Elizabeth Weir, 1728-29/7/1808, who married, 1752, George Acheson, 3/4/1720-11/7/1812, of Markethill, Armagh. David Weir was the father of David Weir, b. 1748, James Weir, b. 1750, and William Weir, b. 1752.
This account is one of a single family, yet those mentioned herein obviously had many siblings. Thus, many of these Weir families became established around Ballymena, in the townlands of Straid, Glebe, Gloonan, Ballyminstra, and Ballymackilroy, most of which are in Ahoghill parish. They tended to intermarry within a small circle of other families. Weirs became closely associated with the families of McDowell, Boyd, Nicholl, and Bankhead, as examples, with many males of each family having as a middle name that of an associated family. These associations were continued after emigration. An example of this is given by the family of Archibald Weir corresponding with the family of Matthew Boyd, see later, after they emigrated to America in 1818.
David Weir, b. 1748, was the father of Robert Weir, 1770-27/2/1857, who married, 1815, [2] Martha Telford, 1790-1872. Robert Weir owned the old corn mills at Straid. He was not the first of his lineage to do so: Straid Corn Mill was built and operated by the Weir family, who were the village millers, from the 17th. Century onwards. [Robert Weir married, firstly, Elizabeth Orr, and by her had three children, two of whom were [1] James Weir, b. c. 1829, Drumramer, Ahoghill. He married, 26/7/1855, Jane Rainey, daughter of William Rainey of Taylorstown; [2] Margaret Weir, b. 1824, Drumramer, who married, 26/3/1850, James Logan.]