Many people feel that the problem of hair loss cannot be solved with the help of hair loss treatment products. They often get frustrated after spending too much money on ineffective hair loss remedies and their side effects with no positive results at all. In reality, hair loss treatment can be divided into two categories: Natural hair loss treatments and chemical treatments.
Here are some best hair natural hair loss treatments:
Aloe Vera
Indians, Native Americans, and Caribbeans have used Aloe Vera to promote healthy hair and prevent hair loss since ages. Aloe Vera balances the pH of the scalp and heals from within. It is also helpful in cleansing the pores. A general remedy of Aloe Vera gel with coconut milk and a small amount of wheat germ oil used as a shampoo has shown great benefits. Aloe Vera surely helps you stop hair loss.
Jojoba
If you are affected with hair problems like eczema, psoriasis, dandruff or seborrhea you are requested to use jojoba oil. Native Americans and Mexicans have used jojoba oil for centuries to prevent hair loss and to control dandruff. Jojoba oil works well for hypoallergenic skin, as is a good moisturizer. This is one of the best hair loss treatment products.
Henna
Henna is a traditional Indian herb, which is a good natural conditioner and works great as a hair loss treatment product. It heals hair shaft by sealing the cuticle and repairing, stops breakage and restores the silky-shiny effect of your hair.
Capsicum - It stimulates hair growth by 50% and increases the flow of blood to the scalp. This herb is effective in preventing hair loss.
Lemongrass - This herb helps to stabilize oil product in the scalp. It also provides nourishment to the hair. You can use oil of lemongrass for massage as well.
Dong Quai - Formation of DHT is the main cause of hair loss. Dong Quai contains phytoestrogens, which reduces the formation of DHT. Hence, Dong Quai is believed to be helpful in hair loss.
It is recommended that you consult an expert to know which hair loss treatment product is suitable for you.
tattoo work by Keith Killingsworth (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
These days’ tattoos are more common than ever. Tattoos have gained quite a bit in popularity over the years, giving people a chance to stand out and broadcast who they really are. Men and women alike have tattoos, some covering their entire body. The choice is entirely up to you though, as you can get a tattoo in virtually any size you want.
Even though there are many good things about tattoos, there are bad things as well. Among the good things about tattoos include the chance to broadcast who you are, the chance to be you, and the chance to stand out. Most people who get tattoos get them for the symbolic meaning. Although there are some who get tattoos strictly for the look, many end up regretting getting the tattoo later on in life.
Tattoos are great for the show, although the design itself should hold some meaning. There are a variety of designs and colors to choose from, which helps to add to the positive benefits of tattoos. You can check out many designs at your local tattoo studio, in books and magazines, and on the Internet. The Internet is a great resource for tattoo designs, as there are literally thousands to look at. You can also look at pictures of those who have tattoos so you can get an idea as to what a certain style will look like once it has been finished.
The cons of tattoos are pretty straightforward. Tattoos work by piercing the skin with a needle and injecting little gobs of ink. With that being said the risk of infection when getting a tattoo is always there. If the tattoo artist isn’t sanitary and doesn’t clean his equipment after every use, the risk of infection will be much higher.
Another thing to worry about with tattoos is removal. If you later decide that you don’t want the tattoo, you’ll have to pay an expensive price to have it surgically removed. Surgery carries risks and complications as well. In some cases, those who have got tattoos have had to have the tattoo removed due to infection. In these cases, the infection has gotten so bad that there really is no other choice than to get the tattoo removed.
No matter how you look at it, there will always be both pros and cons with tattoos. Before you decide to get a tattoo, you should make sure that the design you have picked out is something that you can see yourself with for years to come. If there is any doubt in your mind about the tattoo, you shouldn’t get it. Even though it may seem cool at the time – the price for removal and the complications with surgery may not be worth it in the long run.
Even the most talkative and eloquent among us are often at a loss for words when it comes to helping people deal with the death of someone close to them. We want to express our sympathy, our sharing of their feelings, but we don't know how to do it. Words can be comforting, but they're also fleeting. So we turn to more tangible expressions of sympathy.
Sympathy gifts come in many forms. A card with a thoughtful message is often the first thing we seek. There is a surprising array of choices to be made when selecting a card. The natural inclination is often to pick a card that reflects the giver's beliefs as opposed to focusing on those of the bereaved. Some sympathy cards contain short generic messages and are appropriate for acquaintances such as co-workers with whom one does not have a close personal relationship. Other cards reflect religious or spiritual themes, which may bring great comfort at such a difficult time. The final type of card emphasizes the friendship between the giver and receiver. These cards assure the receiver that a true friend will be ready to provide support in any way possible.
We shouldn't underestimate the long-lasting impact a sympathy gift will have on the recipient. This point was driven home for me when I gave a plant to a co-worker. (It was spring and I was transplanting recently rooted baby spider plants to share with friends and acquaintances.) The next day she told me that she had cried when she brought it home and put it on her table.
It turned out that her father had died several years earlier. At that time, someone gave her a plant as a sympathy gift. Watching the plant grow and burst into life over the years always comforted her by reminding her of the energy and enthusiasm for life her father had displayed. Did that gift giver have any idea of the power of that simple condolence gift - that it would console her for years?
Unbeknownst to me, a couple weeks before I offered her that new little plant, her old one had died and she had to dispose of it. It upset her to see that empty place on the table every day. She told me that when she brought home my plant and placed it in its spot, it was like that life and energy returned, once again reminding of her in a positive way of her father.
Though it may be difficult to express our sympathy at times, we should all take comfort in knowing that the gestures we make and tokens we give in sympathy are gifts that really will comfort the hearts and souls of the recipients.
While solar energy is most often associated with the production of electricity, heating is also a major platform. While heating isn’t particularly difficult, efficiency in doing so is the key to saving wear and tear on your system.
A Key Element In Solar Panels - Efficiency
The sun produces a ton of energy, but solar panel systems have historically been very inefficient at converting it. With improving technology, efficiency has improved to the point where most panel systems can easily produce enough energy to heat water for the home and pools. There are efficient and inefficient ways to go about this process.
To save wear and tear on your panels, you need to consider a flow control system. Older panel systems tend to take a long time to heat up fluid because water more or less randomly circulates through the system. This is very inefficient because the panels are forced to heat up a much larger pool of water than you actually need. This results in wear and tear, not to mention lengthy waits for hot water.
A control flow system attacks the efficiency problem by reducing the amount of water that must be heated. Most are designed to work on temperature differential strategies. They work by using two sensors. The first is located close the panels being used to heat the water or liquid substitute. The second is located on or close to the liquid return valve into the panel system. Put in practical terms, one sensor measures the temperature of the liquid set to leave the panel while the other measures the temperature of liquid coming into the panel.
Flow systems work by waiting for the liquid to rise to a temperature determined by you. Once the liquid meets the temperature, the system turns on the circulation pump and moves the liquid to the desired location. Once the return valve sensor notes the temperature of the returning water is within a particular range of the liquid in the panel system, the pump is shut off. This process allows for faster heating times, more efficiency and less wasted energy.
Solar solutions are coming to the front of the energy debate for many residential energy needs. Countries like Germany are making huge investments in solar platforms and technologies. Solar can be a cost-effective solution for you as well. Just keep in mind that flow systems are a must if you are pursuing solar water heating.
Sometimes those of us “regular people” get intimidated by the idea of learning meditation techniques even if they will do us a lot of good. For a lot of us, when we think of meditation techniques, we get an image of a white-haired guru sitting on top of a mountain, not of an ordinary run of the mill person like you and I.
But we know that meditation techniques can do even everyday people like us some good. That is because people that you know who use meditation techniques tend to be calmer, more at ease, relaxed and able to handle stress better than those that don’t. So it makes you think, maybe there is something to meditation techniques worth looking into.
The good news is that most of those meditation techniques that those “gurus” use are based on some very practical and easy things that we can do, without special equipment and even without a huge amount of special training to get the simple results that a lot of people work hard to achieve. So what we all need are meditation techniques that anybody can use.
Meditation Technique #1 – It’s all in the breathing.
It may seem ridiculously easy but much of the fuss about meditation technique is all about breathing. You may have already noticed that as you get more upset or excited or agitated, your breathing becomes shorter and you breathe faster. When that happens, you get less oxygen to your blood, your heart beats faster and your mind, with less blood, gets upset more easily.
So by slowing down your breathing, you can reverse the effect. You take the outcome and make it the cause. Instead of letting your breathing react to how you feel, you control your breathing to change how you feel. It is as simple as taking a few moments and closing your eyes and concentrating on breathing ten or so deep breaths in and out.
As you do so, think about those breaths and nothing else for a moment. Think about the air going in and then going out again. It is as though you are breathing on purpose. The outcome of this meditation technique will be your heart will slow down, your blood will get more oxygen and before long, you are calmer and able to react to things much more serenely. You have taken control of the situation.
Meditation Technique #2 – A moment of peace and quiet.
Life has a way of taking over and running us instead of us running it. Work gets hectic, a family life full of joys and challenges and you have days where everything seems to go crazy all at once. There is another simple meditation technique you can use to return control of the day to you.
The gurus who use the advanced meditation techniques know that they should have a place where they can retreat to enter into a more contemplative state of mind. So too, you can start to look around your various environments and select a place where you can get a moment of peace and quiet to do your breathing and gather yourself to get control over the chaos that sometimes your day turns into. While in that quiet place, don’t just reflect on how bad things are, slow your breathing, use your ability to reflect and calm yourself and slowly get back to that inner tranquility that will give you control. One meditation technique that people use is to imagine a quiet lake inside their soul. You want that lake to be still, the surface quiet, the air pure and cool, the environment serene and at rest. Then when the world around you is going mad, your tranquil lake is never disturbed.
You are what you think. And how you talk to yourself when you are using your meditation techniques can bring you up and calm you if you know what to say. Now don’t panic at the idea of talking to yourself. Self-talk is a long established meditation technique that you too can use to get your composure in the midst of your busy world.
Again, as we mentioned above, you have to let that self-talk be positive and reassuring. Remember the good of your life and your feelings when you were in control. There are other key meditation techniques that you can use that fall under the category of self-talk that can calm you and put you in a serene state of mind fairly quickly. Remember a time when you had perfect control and try to become that person. Have a common location that is always serene for you and go to that place in your mind for a moment and gather your thoughts there. Reflect on the things in your life that give you power and self-worth. Let those things talk to you. Slowly this positive self-talk can do its magic and lift you back to a stable place and give you peace.
Now, this is not to say that formal meditation techniques are not of value. They certainly are. As you take advantage of these down to earth meditation techniques we have talked about here today, you will start to feel the benefits in how you sleep, how you react to stress and even in your health.
If you enjoy those benefits, then you are on your way to a lifetime of meditation. Then you can start to look into some more formalized meditation techniques that will take the simple steps and take you to the next level. Who knows, maybe one of these days you will be that white-haired guru on the mountaintop. I bet the view is great from up there.
Acupuncture chart from the Ming Dynasty: The Pericardium Meridian of Hand-Jueyin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Practitioners of the ancient Chinese art of acupuncture rely on the acupuncture points map to free trapped energy in the body and restore health.
You might have spotted this type of chart of the human body on the wall of your holistic doctor’s office or during a visit to a natural health store. It depicts numerous points on the body where the body’s energy, also known as qi, often accumulates. In fact, there are over 2,000 points that conduct energy throughout the body!
Because of their direct connection to the flow of energy in the body, the acupuncture pressure points depicted on the acupuncture points map help to regulate body function, mood, emotional and spiritual well-being. You might find it surprising that acupuncture has been used for over two millennia to help relieve headaches, skin conditions, digestive disorders, and asthma. And, that’s just the beginning. Acupuncture has been known to help with depression, phobias, addictions, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and other ailments caused by energy imbalances in the body.
The traditional acupuncture points chart shows fourteen main channels, also known as meridians, which exist in the body – one meridian for each of the twelve organs, one along the spine and another along the abdomen. Acupuncture pressure points are located along these meridians, and some points have more than one function. This means that an acupuncturist might use them to cure more than one type of illness.
For example, there is a commonly-used point on the acupuncture points chart, which is located on the back side of the hand between the thumb and first finger. Acupuncturists use it mainly to relieve pain and to treat constipation or other intestinal disorders. This point, however, is also used to treat illnesses which cause inflammation and fever. Because the large intestine meridian runs from the hand to the face, these symptoms often manifest in the throat and head.
Another point on the acupuncture points map is located at the base of the skull along the gallbladder meridian. This is a valuable point to know around cold and flu season because it helps treat these annoying illnesses. It also helps relieve headaches, neck pain, and fever. Additionally, it may also lower blood pressure and relax tension in the region around the eyes. There is a multitude of points that may hold the key to better health for you.
How does an acupuncturist use these points on an acupuncture points map? He or she utilizes small needles and places them at the specific point on the patient’s body to help relieve illnesses caused by disrupted energy flow. By manipulating the flow of qi at these points, the two forms of energy in the body, yin and yang, are brought into proper alignment. It may require several visits to your acupuncturist to bring your body’s energy into harmony.
Encouraging the proper flow of life energy at specific acupuncture pressure points will help bring your body into physical and emotional harmony, in addition to proper diet, exercise, and healthy lifestyle choices. Visit a licensed acupuncturist who has studied the acupuncture points map in detail to ensure a beneficial session.
Copper carving depicting a Sámi shaman with his magic drum (meavrresgárri).
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Are you called to be a shaman? If you are how do you know? If you aren't how do you know? If you don't want to be a shaman but would like to take advantages of some of the shamanic practices and techniques. Can you? Are you allowed to or not? Do you have to be initiated to be a shaman? These are all questions that I once had after I finally submitted and embarked upon this quest. And I will share what I have learned with you from my experience.
First, it is important to understand, that every world culture has an individual or group of individuals that has acted as a mediator between the spiritual and the physical. These eccentric individuals have been called medicine man/woman, viziers, spiritual healer, witch doctor, etc. but the most prevalent term used today is a shaman and the practice is called shamanism. Shamanism is the general term that has been used incorrectly to describe any person that feels that God, the Great Spirit, the ancestors, spirit guides and/or guardian spirits have called them to help others through spiritual means, which has contributed to the confusion of the term. So to clarify, it must be understood that a shaman can be a preacher, psychic, counselor, medicine man or woman, herbalists, priest or priestess, medical intuitive, psychic healer, etc. but a preacher, psychic, counselor, medicine man or woman, herbalists, priest or priestess, medical intuitive, psychic healer, doesn't necessarily have to be a shaman. The key difference being that a shaman usually has a unique perspective about life whereas the other healers do not.
The reason the shaman's viewpoint is so different from the other healers is that he or she have undergone either a formal initiation (e.g. apprenticeship, ceremonial rites, etc.) or informal initiation (e.g. life-transforming event via gross misfortune, illness, etc.). During this (formal or informal) initiation, the initiate is forced to overcome old traumatic issues, including their anger, fear, hatred, feelings of abandonment and other emotional wounds, in order to learn how not to be controlled by their emotions but rather guided by their intuition. During this transformative period, the initiate comes face to face with death, where they learn that death is not "the end" but simply a stage in the cycle of birth-life-death and rebirth. In this unique experience, which cannot accurately be intellectualized, but has to be experienced, the initiate usually meets her or his ancestors, spirit guides or spirits, which leads them to adopt a new perspective about life reflective of this experience. This new perspective on life that the shaman initiate adopts usually becomes the cosmology or cosmogram that the initiate follows.
It is through this cosmogram the shaman initiate is able to move beyond their personal preferences and societal imposed prejudices, which allows them to see everything (plants, animals, human beings, etc.) in the universe as an interdependent part of a whole. It is here the initiate begins to see him or herself as a microcosm of a greater Macrocosm and learns that all is composed of divine energy. The life cycle the initiate soon learns is based upon a natural exchange between the spiritual and the physical. It then becomes apparent that in order to implement any positive change. They have to learn how to petition the right the force that will bring about the type of change that they desire. The shaman learns about this exchange by observing these forces in nature and seeing that just like the right conditions are needed in order for a wild game to return to a particular area. The same conditions are needed to make an individual prosperous and so on.
It is this observation that makes the initiate take responsibility for her and his actions. This is how the true shamanic journey begins because the initiate is not perfect by any means, but is expected to perfect his or her character. This is the reason why shamans from all over the world may not profess to be Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or any one religion. They will easily practice the tenets of major religions like loving their neighbor as themselves and acknowledge that seeing ourselves separate from one another will lead to our ultimate demise. Where shamanism differs from major religions, is that it is not governed by religious dogma but by the calling, which is dictated by the laws of nature.
These laws are taught to the shaman initiate by the same one(s) that called them per that individual's culture. Therefore, violation of these laws may not be punishable by man but they are punishable through God, the Great Spirit, ancestors, spirit guides, or the guardian spirits that called the individual to be a shaman, because the rapport that the initiate has developed with his or her guides through the initiation process is very strong and personal. So when a true shaman breaks a taboo they make amends as soon as possible, and try to live in harmony with others, because it will weaken their spiritual power, connection with their spirit guides and may result in them losing divine blessing or grace. No true shaman would risk jeopardizing this for a quick selfish, monetary thrill.
Because shamanism differs in every country, culture, region, etc. what may be the norm in one area may be completely different in another. For instance, in South America, Amerindian shamans use entheogens like peyote, whereas Amerindian shamans in North America do not. All shamans don't engage in "vision quest" just to get an answer nor do they have to use a drum and rattle to enter and maintain an ecstatic state of trance. Clearly, all shamans are not created equal but there are some general norms that exist about shamans. For one, they are not chauvinistic nor are they feminist either. They see the purpose of both natures. True shamans also do not have on their walls their list of accomplishments. They do not sit back and brag about their accomplishments or drop names to prove how strong and powerful they are to impress people. One look into their eyes and you will be able to see if they are for real or a charlatan.
Now, don't get me wrong, all shamans are not extremely humble or meek individuals, nor are they all eccentric individuals either. They do boast but their boasts, which may come off as arrogance is not meant to impress the living. It is to glorify their spirits, on one hand, cause negative spirits to tremble and flee on the other, and strengthen their own faith. Another thing, true shamans don't go looking for trouble or imbalances. Trouble or imbalances seem to find them (at least this has been my experience), and they use the situation to create balance.
Overall, I must admit that the shamanic journey is a wonderful and rewarding journey because a shaman helps him or herself by helping others. This is why it is said that shamans wounded healers because most shamans specialize in healing situations that they have or had to overcome themselves. This is what makes shamans exceptional over other healers because they are a reflection of what they have accomplished and believed. If a shaman will heal a relationship between a husband and wife, it is because they usually have done the same for their relationship and so on.
As your intuition develops, you will know when it is time to help others because you will find yourself (with no effort of your own) being asked to assist another in resolving a situation. You may be walking down the street to the park and get a hunch to say a prayer to bless and protect the children at the park from harm. Then, you may get an idea to solidify your prayer by building a small makeshift altar out of sticks and rocks. These are all signs that you have been called to put your skills to service.
The great thing about shamanism is that it is honest and a powerful universal practice full of wonder. True shamanism doesn't lie and tell you what you want to hear just to get your money, participation and membership. It is a real gut practice that presents to you the problem and helps you to find ways to resolve it so that the problem never occurs again. It tells you what you need to hear (in the gentle or harshest way possible). In order to get you to do what you have been called to do, which is fulfill your destiny or purpose in life. These are some of the things that I have learned in my own journey, which by the way is unique per individual. It is through this shamanic walk I also discovered that if you are called and ignore your calling. You will wish you hadn't, not because your spirit guides will punish you, but because the next stage of your development requires that you accept your calling in order to advance forward. Another thing I learned that just because you accept your calling, it will not eliminate humiliation, misery, pain and suffering out of your life. Shamanism will, however, help you to develop the peace and power needed to navigate right through it, thus making you a more resilient and strong individual.
But, the shamanic journey is not an easy path to follow because it can be very challenging at times. Not to mention that finding a true spiritual teacher in these contemporary times can be painstakingly difficult. And, if you have been called to become a shaman or just to partake in the practice. It can be a bit confusing especially when there is no one to help you. So to help ease a headache, here are some recommendations I have compiled based on my experience.
Instead of wasting your time and money, borrowing and imitating another's cultural practices without being sure if you have been called or not. I suggest that you begin by investigating your own spiritual heritage. For instance, if you come from a Christian tradition, try to understand how you or your family got into that tradition and why you are or are not in that tradition today. Ask yourself the hard questions like are you involved in the religion because you were raised in it and know nothing else? Are you not in this religion because you don't agree with their political or social views? In other words, you don't like what they said, etc. This will help you to clarify your purpose of embarking on the shamanic path. Far too often, many of us jump around from faith to faith because we don't know what we are looking for.
Once you have done that, then I would recommend that you research and learn about traditional practices of your ancestors. If you cannot do this then learn about the traditional practices of your distant ancestors. For instance, I being of African and Native American descent in the United States, was not able to learn about my ancestral path due to slavery. I was, however, able to learn about the Kamitic (ancient Egyptians) civilization, which was the greatest, longest standing and most influential African civilization that has existed. That many scholars have culturally tied to Sub-Saharan Africa. It was through my research, Kamit became a gateway that led me to discover that my family has a heavy Kongo influence. Through this, I discovered the shamanic path that I walk today, which is why I refer to it as Kamitic shamanism.
So, research your distant ancestral path because through it you will discover your Way and find if you have been called to be a shaman or a "keeper of the flame" sort-of-speak, which is someone meant to help their family, friends, and others they come in contact versus being a shaman who services an entire community. When you have honestly completely these two steps. If you have been called you will have a stronger conviction of your calling because you will find yourself being initiated (formally or informally).
There are many different forms of yoga, some ancient, some modern, and often a combination of the two.
The Principles of Iyengar
Iyengar yoga is a form of Hatha yoga. This school of yoga was founded by B. K. S. Iyengar in the 1970s in India. It uses Hatha poses, but with an emphasis on detail, precision and perfect alignment in the performance of asanas (poses) and breath work. In this way, the student will develop strength, mobility, and stability through all of the poses they work on.
Who Was Iyengar?
Before his death in 2014 at the age of 95, Iyengar was said to have perfected approximately 200 Hatha yoga poses. This is a small number of the many that are available in Hatha, but if you enjoy seeking perfection in all you do, this could be the right yoga for you.
Iyengar taught yoga for more than 70 years and was the author of 40 books, including Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika. It is considered to be a definitive work on the power of yoga and its philosophy.
His impact on popularizing yoga in the West led Time magazine to name Iyengar as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2004. He was awarded three of the four top honors for civilians in India in 1991, for positively affecting so many lives through yoga. Iyengar taught many celebrities around the world yoga, including the world-renowned violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin, helping to make it more fashionable in the West.
Yoga for Healing
Iyengar did not just teach yoga as a physical exercise, but as a treatment and even cure for illness as part of a holistic practice, known in India as Ayurvedic medicine. He also taught about the spirituality of yoga, thus caring for his students in terms of body, mind, and spirit.
Yoga is not just about what you do when you are on your mat, but about the eight limbs of yoga, which include physical work, breath work, and meditation. He illustrated the asanas he perfected in this works. He also went into great detail about breath work, cleanliness, times of the day to practice, what to eat and when, and so on. If you enjoy discipline and routine, you will also enjoy Iyengar.
A Detailed Yoga Program for Life
As with all Hatha yoga, there are different levels. Beginners start out with easy poses and then work their way up to more challenging ones. The proper technique is emphasized with each pose and the instructions are given for each.
As with Hatha, there are also a number of breathing techniques to learn depending on what effects you wish to achieve in the body, such as boosting energy or getting rid of toxins from the body.
For those who wish to study on their own rather than attend class all the time, his book Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika gives as an appendix a 300-week yoga course mapped out for the "intense practitioner," nearly six years of guided yoga lessons.
You can also learn different poses for different health benefits. Some will relieve back pain and give you a solid set of core muscles. Others will help you lose weight, improve digestion, or lift depression.
Iyengar sought to be the definitive yoga teacher to heal body, mind, and spirit through Hatha. If you like to exercise in a very structured way, look for an Iyengar studio near you or follow his guides to perfect your poses and breath work.
An illustration of Vikings on a boat.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rune Mysteries America's Nordic Heritage
There exists an encyclopedia of Norse anti-facts, locations of Archaeological sites, Historical accounts, maps and testimonials that document the existence of vast Viking Settlements in North American Colonies prior to Columbus.
The elitist Academicians and satirizing editors of the Smithsonian Institute, as well as the bureaucrats at the National Endowment of the Humanities, have hidden them from us. The National Geographic is also guilty of false publications regarding the discovery of America.
Where ever the Vikings went, they left the Rune Mysteries. The records of Viking explorations from Iceland and Greenland penetrating far into America is clearly remarkable. The Vikings imported furs, lumber, ivory, oil, wine and fish back to the European markets.
Those Viking Colonies are clearly marked on medieval maps. Vineland, Norvera, Greenland Province, Venteland, Wineland and Suinlandia!. In the 16th Century, the land of Vinland extended from the Gulf of the St. Lawrence to Florida. It was known as Norumbega, the "Northern Settlement."
Norse artifacts extended far into the interior to Minnesota and the Dakotas.
W.R. Anderson, president of the Leif Ericson Society, and editor - in chief of "Vikingship Journal" lives in Evanston, IL. Look him up on the net, to read more about our "Forgotten History."
Anderson does not own a PHD nor is he recognized as a Historian or an Anthropologist. Just dedication to the perseverance of our Nordic-Viking heritage.
Who were the first Americans and where did they come from? Answers to this question have taken us back to 100,000 B. C.?
But we do know that Eric, The Red, Thornaldson, born in Norway was banished to Iceland. In 982. He discovered Greenland. There were no Jails in Norway or Iceland, Punishment for manslaughter was banishment.
Eric followed in the wake of his cousin, Gunnbjorn Ulfson, who found Islands west of Iceland. Eric sailed further and found a large island and called it Greenland to attract other Vikings.
One of the later Greenlanders, Bjarni Herjulfson was blown off course and saw the American continent. He reported back to Eric.
In 1003, Lief Ericson recalled Bjanni's tale of land to the west and brought his ship.
Eric did not go because of his superstitious nature. On the way to the ship, his horse stumbled throwing Eric to the ground. He viewed it as a 'Bad Omen' and stayed home. Leif sailed to what is now known as Cape Cod on September 1, 1003. The Vikings landed and discovered America.
Lief's brother arrived in 1005 and explored as far south as Florida. He stopped near Savannah GA. and wanted to establish a colony. But he was killed by Indians by the Savannah River. Where ever the Vikings went, you can find artefacts of Rune Mysteries. More to follow.
Ellis Peterson AKA Ragnar Storyteller is a retired math professor and electronics engineer. He has been studying astrology, runes, radionics, metaphysics and alternative healing treatments for over 30 years. He is 70+, in very good health and lives in the boonies of the Pocono mountains with his wife Lory. His writings are unique and refreshing.
Reverend Samuel Parris (1653-1720) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Parris Family- This is where the hysteria started in 9-year-old Betty.
Samuel Parris started his education at Harvard but dropped out to earn his fortune as a merchant in Barbados. He was not successful in the Caribbean and moved his family back to New England in order to find steady pay as a minister. He had a difficult time finding a job because he did not have a degree. He was a talented minister, even his enemies would agree, but he was also resentful and close-minded. Salem Village could find no minister, and Samuel Parris could find no parish, but still, the two couldn't come to terms and negotiated for nearly a year before Parris agreed to take the job.
Samuel believed the village should give him the parsonage forever, but the town would only agree to let his family live there for as long as he was a minister. Because of this, Parris got off to a rough start in Salem and there were many who did not like him. Samuel wanted to be a mover and shaker but lacked the gumption to see it through. Samuel Parris was the type of man who hated when people asked him questions about his own life but loved when they asked him his opinion about life, in general.
Mrs. Parris had it pretty easy compared to her neighbors. The brunt of the housework was done by the two slaves the Parris' brought back from Barbados. Mrs. Parris was frequently ill or away from the home, leaving the children in the care of the slave, Tituba.
There were two younger children that did not become afflicted.
Elizabeth Parris, or "Betty," at only nine years old, was the first to display any symptoms in January. Her body would go completely rigid, or she would zone out and make animal noises. She was a young, confused little girl who lived under the roof of a sanctimonious, rigid, father, who was constantly preaching fire and brimstone. Those who witnessed her behavior, especially her father, became alarmed and wondered how to fix her. Betty was a part of the accusations against the first three "witches," but she sent to live away from the home soon after and was not a part of the ensuing uproar.
Abigail Williams, the 11 1/2-year-old nieces living with the Parris'. (There is no record of what brought her away from her parents.) Like most sad children, Abigail yearned for attention, especially from men, but her quest would have brought her all the wrong notice. Children were expected to be seen and not heard, and Abigail was frequently compared unfavorably to the well-behaved Betty.
Abigail, who had always been a little jealous of her younger cousin, became utterly green with envy when Betty started to have spells. Not only was the girl getting all of the attention from the adults, but she got to say and do whatever she wanted without discipline. Before long, Abigail got in on the act and went on to be one of the most ardent and vocal accusers.
Tituba, a female slave from Barbados, had always been regarded with suspicion. It was not common for Massachusetts families to own slaves, but it was not illegal. The Puritans couldn't figure out whether Tituba was one of those voodoo people from the Caribbean or one of those pagan Indian savages, but either way, they didn't like her. Above all, Tituba loved Betty, and would frequently sit with the child and stroke her hair.
John Indian was also a slave in the Parris household. He and Tituba were a couple (some say they were married, but formalities such as marriage were not necessary for slaves). Fearing he would be accused next, John Indian suddenly became one of the afflicted during Tituba's confession. He would put on "fits" at Ingersoll's Ordinary (the local inn), writhing about on the floor and passing off old scars proof of abuse by the witches. He also testified at examinations.
The Beginning
It is almost impossible for a modern-day American to understand what life would have been like in January 1692. The average Puritan house had a huge fireplace, big enough to roast a whole pig indoors, but unless you were within a few yards of the fire, you were going to be cold. There were few social engagements, and people did not go visit. Men kept occupied with hunting trips and other outdoor activities, but a female could easily spend the entire week between church meetings trapped inside her dismal home. Puritans did not have the merriment of Christmas (they considered it a pagan holiday!?) to take the drudgery out of the long winter, and by January, long into the solitude, every day must have felt like hopeless sorrow, with no end in sight.
There is no clear-cut proof as to what prompted Betty's affliction. Years later, John Alden (an accused witch), wrote the girls were experimenting with a Venus glass to determine the occupation of their future husbands. The method of fortune-telling was harmless enough; an egg white is dropped into a cup of water to see if any images can be discerned in the goo. Alden's version may be accurate, and many authors have run with the idea that the young girls were dabbling in the occult with the same moral trepidation of a young boy peeking at a Hustler, but because it was written five years after the crisis was over, Alden's account of how the scare started cannot be taken as fact.
What is known is Abigail began to display symptoms, too. Mary Sibley, a neighbor, thought the girls were demonically possessed and recommended Tituba bake a "witch cake" according to an old English wives' tale. Tituba mixed Abigail and Betty's urine into the recipe, baked it over the fire, and fed it to the dog. According to legend, the evil spirits were supposed to leave the girls' by way of their pee, and become trapped inside the body of the dog. Samuel Parris was beside himself with anger when he found out about the witch cake. He publicly scolded Mary Sibley from the pulpit, accusing her of "going to the devil for help against the devil." The congregation began to fear they were being invaded by invisible spirits they had no way of fighting.
Parris' next move was to call Dr. Griggs, who consulted his medical books and diagnosed the "evil hand," a perfectly acceptable medical opinion. It was official, the devil was in their midst, and Samuel Parris set about trying to figure out who his accomplices were. He beat the daylights out of Tituba and grilled the girls incessantly about what or who was torturing them. He even called in out of town ministers to pray and fast with the family.
The Putnam's
Thomas Putnam was an outspoken member of the community who always thought he was right. He hated anyone who seemed to have it better and sought revenge by sly maneuvering instead of direct confrontation.
Thomas Putnam was always demanding justice against his supposed wrongs, and his name graces the warrants of more witches than anyone else. Throughout the frenzy, Thomas constantly wrote letters making accusations against anyone he pleased, his allegations growing ever more outlandish each time. He had a dispute with just about everyone: the Nurse family over land, the English family over a failed election; the list of Putnam's enemies who eventually became accused witches goes on and on.
Ann Sr. was a disturbed woman, who carried around a load of anger, and blame. She had come to Salem Village with her dear unlucky sister, who lost every one of her babies before she, too, succumbed to death. Ann Sr. never got over this, especially when her own babies began to die. She would go in and out of affliction, and commonly confused a bad dream with a vision and testified to it as fact.
Ann Jr., at 12, was an uncommon child because her mother had taught her how to read. Around town, she was considered a little prodigy. She had the air of a child who is routinely spoken to about adult matters and treated as if she were an adult. Ann was the leader of the afflicted girls, and also the best witchfinder, testifying against 17 of the 19 "witches" hanged.
Mercy Lewis, Putnam's 17-year-old servant girl, watched as her parents were murdered by Indians. Mercy had been rescued by George Burroughs and placed in the home of the Putnam's.
More girls join the fray.
Ann Putnam, being only 12 years old and unable to resist the temptation of attention, quickly became the leader. It must have felt like Heaven to these young children. All of a sudden, the same grown-ups who were always "shushing" and ignoring were hanging on every word as if the girls knew the meaning of life. It was Ann who took over and began naming names, the other girls nodding in agreement.
On a leap year, February 29, the blame came back to Tituba, but that wasn't all, there were two other witches who haunted the children. Ann named the names, but soon the other girls saw, too.
The accused were rounded up to be examined; a sort of informal pretrial hearing set for March 1. The examination was set to be held in Ingersoll's Ordinary (the local inn), but so many people showed up to watch, the whole affair had to be moved over to the meetinghouse to accommodate the crowd.
Sarah Good was the most obvious choice and the first to be examined.
Her father killed himself in 1672.
She was on her second marriage, but her previous husband had died in huge debt, so Sarah had no money.
She was 39 years old, but most people would have guessed her 70.
She was married with a bunch of children, the youngest one was little Dorcas, was only five years old.
Her husband was a laborer, and though labor was valuable in those days, nobody wanted to hire him because he was attached to Sarah. A neighbor who they stayed with had to kick the Goods out because of Sarah's behavior. She was a mess, she was lazy, and she spoke without thinking. She was crude, and not worth having around, regardless of how much a family needed the extra hands on the farm.
Lately, Sarah had taken to door to door begging. She would show up unexpectedly, and the homeowners would have to watch her go away because she might try to sneak into their sheds. As she walked away she would mutter to herself. Sarah probably had a dash of schizophrenia. The mutterings were taken for curses, and her arrest caused many folks to remember curious incidents that could have been caused by Sarah.
Her favorite pastime was pipe-smoking, and one family had kicked her out because of it. Later, when she was in jail, she would beg tobacco off of the visitors, and even supposedly cursed young Mercy Short, who threw wood shavings at Sarah and told her to smoke them.
She was pregnant when she was arrested, and she had the baby in the Boston jail while awaiting trial. Jailers said she let the baby die. Of course, this is the opinion of a man who thought of Sarah as a foul witch. Sarah's other children were alive, and it is not fair to try to assume what Sarah could have been feeling while holding her dying newborn babe.
Her little daughter, Dorcas, became the youngest accused at 4 and ½ years old. She was thrown in jail like the rest of the "witches," and because she was too young to handle the horrors of being imprisoned in such an awful place, she went insane and was never the same again.
During Sarah's trial one of the afflicted girls screamed out she was being stabbed by Sarah, and the crowd gasped as the girl was even able to produce a broken blade. A young man in the crowd recognized the broken piece and brought out his knife he had broken the day before. The piece fit like a puzzle, and one of the magistrates scolded the girl for lying, though the rest of her testimony was never questioned
Sarah Osburn may have been a less obvious choice for which than Tituba and Sarah good, but she was a woman with a reputation.
She was an older woman in ill health.
After her husband died, Sarah allowed another man to move into her home without the benefit of marriage. This other man, being an Irish immigrant, was under suspicion for nothing more than being different. They eventually did marry, but that didn't change anything in the Puritan mind.
Before the accusation, Sarah had stayed away from church for more than a year.
