The Occult

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Witchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers in order to inflict harm or damage upon members of a community or their property. The concept of witchcraft is normally treated as a cultural ideology, a means of explaining human misfortune by blaming it either on a supernatural entity or a known person in the community. There is another option to know better about witchcraft, click for witch craft courses and ebook

The first step to learn witchcraft is to study the religion itself.

You can do this by studying as many books and journals both offline and online. This will enable you to understand the basic tenets and beliefs of the witchcraft. Since witchcraft is the religion of nature, it would do you much good to directly go into the lap of nature to experience its feel, to read books from brooks and sermons in stones. Watch the flight of birds through the glorious sunrises and sunsets across the mountains and seas. Look with wonder at the earth and sky, which are the bodies of the God and Goddess. Now take a notebook and write down why you want to become a witch. How do you visualize the God and Goddess? Be honest. Later on this notebook shall become your Book of Shadows.

The next step is to explore the magic.

Magic is not a hocus pocus way of bending the laws of nature to suit your needs. The magic of the witchcraft is to raise and channel energy that is within you to bring it in harmony with the nature to achieve the desired result.

For this you need to understand the fundamental principles of

* casting circles,
* calling quarters,
* invoking God/ goddess,
* raising and directing the energies
* and finally, grounding, centering and closing the circle.

Try to understand the various phases of the moon, its waxing, growing full and waning and their effect on your moods and body. For more information, you can visit this site witchcraft audio cd course

If you’re just getting started, it is possible to Learn Hypnosis Free. Of course, you won’t learn all the intricate details but you’ll be able to discover how to drop someone into a hypnotic trance, give them a few commands whilst they are under hypnosis and generally experience the fun that hypnosis can be.

There are courses available on the net that will show you all the fundamentals of hypnosis. They’ll give you real lessons, paced out over a few days so that you have chance to digest the information.

So what can you expect to learn for free?

Unquestionably the basic principles.

At the ending of your course, you'll be capable to put yourself or your chosen subject into a state of hypnosis and, just as important, bring them back out of it. You’ll also get some suggestions to give them while they are undergoing your hypnotic treatment.

You probably won’t get the techniques you see on stage hypnosis shows, so it’s unlikely that you will be able to simply put your hand over someone’s face, say “take a nap” and they’ll go into a hypnotic trance. But the techniques you can learn for free will be just as effective, even if they’re not quite as amazing.

You’ll in all probability get a common relaxation book, so the person you hypnotize will feel more loosened once they come back out of their hypnosis. You may want to use this on yourself a couple of times so that you are calm and relaxed when you first attempt to use your free hypnosis learnings.

How Hypnosis can help you?
Hypnosis is the answer for every problems.
The world is full of people with myriad personal problems, big & small. If someone wants to get rid of phobia, bad habits, addiction or wants to develop positive attitude and make it big. Hypnosis can press out all them and accomplish your goal. All you need to know is - HOW it can be done.

Let’s analyze some benefits that hypnosis offers:

Hypnosis & Illness - One of the greatest problems individuals confronting today is - STRESS. Stress creates multiple problems - Sleep Disorders, Headaches, and can even increase cholesterol. Hypnosis can help cut stress, since hypnosis is a state of physical and mental relaxation.

Hypnosis & Breath - For a moment, stop reading this and concentrate on your breathing pattern. You’ll be breathing in short quickly breaths, this short quick breaths causes stress and tension. More, it can make you feel dizzy, irritable and foggy. With hypnosis you can learn what deep breath is and feel more relaxed and calm.

Hypnosis and “Feel Good” Chemicals - The brain losses chemicals when you’re in deep relaxed mood. These chemicals are oftentimes in short supply as we rush about our day. Hypnosis helps having a deep relaxation, letting these "feel good" chemicals to flow and make a sense of control and well-being.

Hypnosis & Good Sleep - Deep breathing, hypnotic state relaxation and feel good factor helps for a restful sleep. It is as if your body “learns” how to sleep more peacefully due to the hypnotic state.

Hypnosis & Immune System - The other problem of stress is it produced chemicals of the ‘fight or flight’ variety. This aroused state affects the immune system. Regular relaxation - hypnosis kind - can prevent this from happening.

The bottom line is we all need to live a good life. A life full of happiness, peace and joy, devoid of worries, stress, illnesses. With hypnosis you can attain your goal, feel stronger, more relaxed and will be in a better position to manage your life.

How many astronomy facts are there for all the objects and phenomenon in the entire universe? Consider that there are somewhere around 1 x 10 ^22 stars in the universe, that’s a one followed by 22 zeros. Then consider that many of those stars have planets surrounding them. Then consider all the moons that orbit the planets, the comets and asteroids, the galaxies these stars form, the nebulae and black holes and everything else out there. The number of facts and amount of data is staggering. This article, which presents astronomy facts, certainly won’t contain every fact. But these are interesting facts.

Let’s take a look at this subset of astronomy facts ? the brightest stars as seen from Earth. That’s discounting the Sun which is about 250,000 times closer than the next nearest star. It’s so bright as seen from Earth that it washes out all the other stars in the sky during a phenomenon called ?daylight.? Keep in mind that in the scale for the magnitudes given, lower numbers are brighter. The sun would be about -26.73, while the full moon is -12.6. With that in mind, here are the top 5.

#5 is Vega, which means eagle or vulture in Arabic. It’s about 25 light years away from the Earth, with a magnitude of .03. When looking at these astronomy facts remember that brightest from Earth doesn’t mean largest or brightest. The Sun is not the largest or brightest star in the universe or even the galaxy, yet it appears so bright because it is so near compared to other stars.

#4 is Rigel Kentaurus, that’s Arabic for foot of the centaur. It’s about four light years from Earth with a magnitude of -.01.

At #3, remember this is set in stone as one of the many astronomy facts we have, is Arcturus. The name means guardian of the bear in Greek. This star is 37 light years from us.

Canopus comes in at #2. Of these top five Canopus, a Greek name for the pilot of the vessel Argo made famous in the stories about Jason and the Argonauts, is the brightest. But it’s 313 light years from Earth so it’s just second on this list as seen from Earth. It has a -.62 magnitude as seen by humans on this planet.

#1 is Sirius, meaning scorching in Greek. It’s also called the Dog Star because it’s the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (the Big Dog.) It’s only 9 light years from Earth. That’s second closest of these top five. But from Earth it has a magnitude of -1.44. That makes it easily the brightest star as seen in the night sky.

This information doesn’t even scratch the surface of astronomy facts. But it’s something to consider next time you look into the sky.

Astronomy Software

Many people love Astronomy. Some are serious scientists who study it for a living, or who even teach it. Some are enthusiasts who delve into the stars as a hobby. Some of these hobbyists have even made important discoveries at times. It used to be that astronomy required a telescope or at least binoculars. But now thanks to astronomy software, everyone with a computer can take part in this interesting and at times exciting endeavor. Here are some of the programs available.

One of the most well known programs is SETI@Home. Launched in May of 1999 this was a project to create a virtual supercomputer, made up of large numbers of Internet connected home computers. Before SETI@Home the SETI radio telescope, SETI meaning Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, scanned the heavens for radio signals that would indicate a pattern, an intelligence behind them. Supercomputers on site were used to analyze the data. But now it’s all being done during the spare cycles on people’s computers at home and the office. There won’t be some kind of alert if intelligent life is found. But if SETI ever does find intelligence, then everyone who was part of SETI@Home can say they played a role.

A simple type of astronomy software is the 3D screen saver. These programs kick in when a PC is idle, and show various space objects rendered in spectacular 3D computer graphics. This can include simple views as well as navigable planets, solar systems or other objects that the user can explore from any angle and distance. Search ?3D Space Tour? on Google or Yahoo to find some of these fun programs.

Most people don’t know about F.I.T.S. It’s Flexible Image Transport System, which is a NASA and IAU endorsed format to store and deliver not only images but spacial data and multi-dimensional arrays such as 2-D and 3-D images. There are a variety of programs that can read and display this type of data. These include free ware FITSview and AVIS to for sale programs like AstroArt and AIP. A wide selection of FITS viewers can be found with a simple Internet search. Some are listed at Duke University’s web site: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~kolena/imagepro.html

Software such as Aberrator allows an amateur astronomer to view images of stars through various telescopes with aberrations in the lens. By comparing the image seen through the telescope with the image displayed in the software, the user can make adjustments to gain the best possible view of these vastly distant objects.

There is a lot more astronomy software out there in the world. Web search for it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Astronomy is a science that goes back thousands of years. In the beginning it was very connected to astrology, but as time went by astronomy became more and more scientific, relying on observation, measurement and the scientific theory to develop a knowledge of the universe outside our own planet and solar system. Astronomy is something too many people ignore, but those who keep their eyes on current happenings in astronomy find a wealth of interesting information.

In early November of 2008 NASA nearly bombed Australia with a 1400LB Ammonia tank jettisoned from the International Space Station. This coolant tank was thrown over board because it became too volatile to keep on board. It broke up on reentry to chunks no larger than 15 pounds, and it was expected that most of those chunks would land in water. Australians were told that ammonia vapor could make their windows cleaner, but advised them to remove the residue with newspapers and some elbow grease. Paul Hogan, the famous actor who played Crocodile Dundee, was unharmed. Unfortunately, according to the Daily Mail in the UK, Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, remained deceased after this incident.

In September of 2008 China sent up its third successful manned space mission that included the first space walk by Chinese astronauts in history. Unfortunately for China it was revealed that ?live video? of the successful launch and flight into orbit had actually been released before the craft left the ground. The flight did take place. It was just a case of overzealous PR people.

Also from China, a huge telescope has been commissioned for construction near Beijing, site of the 2008 summer Olympics. This new telescope is unique because instead of the whole telescope moving to find and follow objects in the sky, only two mirrors move. This gives the telescope a unique look. It’s not a dome but rather something like a an uneven arch or pi symbol. Leave it to the Chinese to come up with something out of the ordinary.

In Kazakhstan of all places a new satellite was launched in early November of 2008. Satellite Astra-1M will be used for telecommunications. It was launched on a carrier called Proton-M. The satellite was designed and built in Europe.

For computer users who enjoy astronomy, Worldwide Telescope is a must have program. It was designed by Microsoft. It’s a windows application that interfaces servers all over the world to deliver stunning images of the universe. It’s like an observatory on a desktop. The only downfall is that no new discoveries can be made, because it’s all pre-compiled astrological data and images.

Now you know some of the current happenings in astronomy.

There was a time when astronomy, and in fact all science, was a mixture of strange ideas and even superstition along with any real provable ideas. But stalwart men of science continued to look up into the night sky and consider the universe beyond the world upon which they stood. These were men such as Isaac Newton, who recognized that other stars are suns just like ours, Galileo who first used a telescope to gaze into the heavens, and even people as far back as Ptolemy who formulated the geocentric planetary system around 100 AD. The universe is infinite, which means astronomy is infinite. So a choice has to be made to zero in on a smaller sub-set of astronomy. Let’s pick a constellation, Pisces, and discuss Pisces constellation astronomy.

How can there be a whole discussion of a constellation and its astronomy? A constellation isn’t just some figure in the night sky. Every constellation contains a number of interstellar objects and phenomenon including stars, nebulae, and even entire galaxies. Pisces, for example, contains very few bright stars but does contain a unique galaxy from our point of view. M74, also known as galaxy NGC 628, is a face on spiral galaxy. That means we see it from the top, from a perspective that shows its spiral arms reaching out into space. It looks like a spiral to observers from Earth, in other words. Not with the naked eye, of course. And through most amateur telescopes it would appear as little more than a blurry spot. But with a telescope of 12 inches aperture or more the spiral details will be visible.

Another unique feature of Pisces is that an important part of the Sun’s path passes through Pisces today, where it did not when the constellations were first mapped. The first point of Aries is the point where the sun crosses the equator on its way North. This happens at the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring for the Northern hemisphere of the planet. When the First Point of Aries was established in ancient times it was east of Pisces. But over the years it has moved west into Pisces. This is an example precession, the movement of stars and objects in relation to Earth. It happens, of course, because none of these objects are stationary, and neither is the Earth. Our sun and our galaxy are moving at incredible speeds. The sun and solar system, for example, move at about 220 kilometers per second around the center of the galaxy. In all of human history, the solar system has moved 1/1250th of a complete revolution. Not only is the solar system moving, but so is the galaxy itself as well as every object in the night sky. So the constellations are always moving and changing. Pisces and the First Point of Aries are a great example of this.

See how interesting Pisces constellation astronomy can be?

Galileo Galilei Astronomy

Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy in the late 1500’s. He eventually became a mathematics teacher despite having no degree, and it was here that his famous future was first hinted. Galileo the math teacher made his first step into Galileo Galilei astronomy when he demonstrated to his students that Aristotle was wrong about object of different weights falling at different speeds. He wasn’t invited back to teach, and so moved to a position at the University of Padua. His entry into astronomy would come to fruition there.

In Padua, Galileo invented the compass and began studying physics. He discovered the law of falling bodies and the parabolic path of projectiles. These became very important in astronomy, later. But at the time Galileo claimed to have no interest in the subject other than that he believed the work of Copernicus rather than that of Aristotle and Ptolemy. Copernicus had proposed that the solar system is heliocentric, that is that the planets rotate around the sun. Aristotle and Ptolemy held that the solar system was centered around the Earth, and even the sun rotated around our home. The model Copernicus proposed for the order of planets around the sun has been proven. And today we know Copernicus was completely correct.

When the spyglass was invented in Holland, Galileo learned of it and made his own telescope which he turned to the sky. With a magnification of 20, this telescope helped Galileo discover mountains and craters on the moon. He also learned that the milky way was made up of individual stars. He went on to discover Jupiter’s four largest moons. He published his findings and became the court mathematician in Florence. With time freed from teaching duties, he could really get to work. It took him only 9 months to discover Saturn’s phases. This further contradicted Ptolemy while proving that Copernicus was right.

Galileo’s original dispute was with Aristotle’s teachings. Many scientists agreed with Galileo, and so published his findings. But Aristotle was popular with the church because an Earth centered solar system put man’s home, and thus man, at the center of things. In 1614 a priest in Florence denounced Galileo Galilei Astronomy. Galileo responded by writing a letter proclaiming the bible irrelevant to science. In 1616 the church censored Galileo’s books, and a cardinal instructed him to stop teaching that the Earth moves. Galileo complied, continuing his study of falling objects, comets, and methods to determine longitude at sea based on the phases of Jupiter’s moons. It is said that Galileo had one comment after signing an agreement that the Earth does not move. “I would say here something that was heard from an ecclesiastic of the most eminent degree; “And yet … it moves.”

Astronomy is a serious science and a popular hobby all over the world. As with any other hobby there are tons of articles and a lot of information written for enthusiasts, but also to chronicle the happenings in the ?professional? arena. An astronomy magazine can be a wealth of information including amazing imagery, and guides to help with home telescope use. Now that these magazines are online, it’s an even better world for amateur astronomers.

A top astronomy magazine in the UK is ?Astronomy Now?. It’s been around for 20 years and caters to both hobbyists and the pros. The magazine regularly includes features on everything to do with the science, and focus articles that go further in depth into a particular subject or aspect of Astronomy. This is in addition to monthly regular features which include star charts, book reviews, images submitted by readers and all sorts of guidance. The web site includes most of this information including a much better presentation of the sky chart than can be delivered in any paper magazine. The sky can be shown for any month, period of the month (early or late,) time and at various magnifications. It’s a real help to anyone with a telescope.

Sky and Telescope is another excellent astronomy magazine. It describes itself as having an astronomy expert at your side. Imagine gazing up at the stars while Carl Sagan, rest his soul, stood ready to deliver important tips and information. Of course the magazine not only focuses on this important information, but includes stunning imagery of outer space objects and phenomenon. One exciting piece of imagery Sky and Telescope delivered in November of 2008 was images of a planet orbiting another star. If these images hold up, it would be the first time astronomers have taken images of a planet in another star system.

It’s likely that the first web site anyone finds when searching for information on Astronomy is that of the world’s best selling astronomy magazine, ?Astronomy?. The latest information presented by this publication, online via its web site, is truly stunning. It includes the first images ever taken of another solar system. Also posted is an audio tour, in the form of a podcast, of the constellation Cassiopeia. The site also has constant, permanent information such as a guide to the night sky for beginners, tips and information for kids who want to delve into astronomy, equipment guides, and guides to astronomy in an urban sky. It’s a great magazine to have, and a great web site to visit.

Admitting to being cheap, the author admits to sticking to web sites instead of purchasing any astronomy magazine. But online or in print, these are priceless guides.

Astronomy is a subject as large as the universe. That’s because it has the entire universe to explore. Astronomy news is interesting, to say the least, and can be found in media reports as well as on web sites such as those maintained by astronomy magazines and agencies like NASA. Here are some recent, tantalizing tidbits of space information.

Astronomy magazine is a great source of astronomy news. One of the stories it covered was NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft. Just as weathermen examine fronts and the interaction of hot air with cold air and dry air with wet air, IBEX is interested in such fronts and their interaction in outer space. Specifically it’s the interaction of the solar winds with the relatively cold space beyond the solar system. IBEX is also set to map the boundaries of our solar system.

More astronomy news covered by Astronomy magazine is the discovery of a new aurora on Saturn that’s unlike any other known aurora in the solar system. An aurora is formed when charged particles stream along planetary magnetic field. Earth’s aurorae come from charged particles from the solar wind. Jupiter’s aurorae come from interactions within Jupiter’s own magnetic field. But Saturn’s new aurora, seen in the infrared spectrum, is something completely new which could teach scientists a lot about the solar wind and magnetic fields.

Universe today is another source of astronomy news. On November 13, 2008 it carried the story of contact reestablished with the Mars rover. The rover had lost contact after running through a massive dust storm. But the Rover named Spirit recovered from a near catastrophic low power period. Its solar panels couldn’t get sun in the dust storm, and scientists feared it would go into a low power coma-like mode from which it would not wake. But it did, and now it’s back to work on the distant red planet.

Another piece of astronomy news on Universe today is the stunning expectation that the new Allen Telescope Array, part of the SETI project, will find intelligent life in about two dozen years. The array currently is made up of 42 antennas, but will expand over time to include 350 small radio antennas that search the sky for signals that mean intelligence. When it finally includes 350 antennas, by 2025, scientists involved with the project say it will reach far enough into space to finally pull in signals from intelligent extraterrestrials.

If that intelligent life is contacted, that will be some big astronomy news.

Astronomy for Kids

Astronomy is a serious science. And as with many things, even very serious things, people often get an early start. There are a lot of resources for astronomy for kids who are interested in the planets, the solar system, the universe and everything else that’s part of this exciting science. A number of astronomy subjects interest kids. These include the solar system, planets, comets, meteorites, asteroids, stars, the sun, galaxies and of course our closest neighbor in space, the moon.

The moon is Earth’s only satellite. It orbits our planet once every 27.3 days. Because it is so close, it is the only space object that a human has ever walked on, other than Earth of course. The moon is important for the Earth because it causes the tides through gravitational forces between the Earth and the moon. It’s one of the first objects that can spark a kid’s interest in astronomy because it can be clearly seen with the human eye.

Let’s move to the sun. Earth is quite far from the sun. The distance varies between about 146 million kilometers and 152 million kilometers. That’s because Earth’s orbit around the sun isn’t a circle, it’s an ellipse. Without the sun there would be no life on Earth. The sun provides both light and heat to the planet. A little known fact is that the sun contains about 98% of the mass in the solar system. Talk about the big bully on the block.

Our own galaxy is the Milky Way. Like all other galaxies it’s a collection of gas, dust, stars and planets. Most of the area in a galaxy is filled with nothing, just empty space. That’s a lot of nothing because our galaxy is 100,000 light years across and 3,000 light years deep. Our sun is over 30,000 light years from the center of the galaxy. Even with all that space there are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way. In fact the galaxy takes its name from the appearance of the band of stars that shine from the main section of the galaxy. It looks like a pool of liquid, thus the name ?Milky Way.? It’s a spiral galaxy, one of four major types of galaxies in the universe. The others are elliptical, lenticular and irregular.

There is a lot of information about astronomy for kids on the Internet. From dictionaries and encyclopedic references, to programs that show different planets, solar systems and objects right on the computer, there’s more information than a kid would ever read.