Athena Is Coming To Save Us From The Bullies of the World

In case you missed it, an "Exceptional Statue of the Greek Goddess Athena" was uncovered in Ancient Laodicea, Turkey.

That's right, archaeologists have uncovered a nearly 2-meter (6.6 feet) marble statue of the Greek goddess Athena at the ancient city of Laodicea, located in modern-day Turkey. Researchers found the statue lying face-down in rubble debris along the outer wall of the theater’s rear stage section, known as the “postskene.” The statue is carved from white marble, though its head has not yet been found.

As we know here at EsotericDaily.com, nothing is by accident or without meaning, and so I ask you these questions, "Why did a headless Athena present herself to us now?" "What does it mean."

First, Athena was one of the most revered goddesses in ancient Greece, associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft. She is traditionally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear, with snakes and the gorgoneion among her most recognized symbols. Unlike Ares, who personifies the bloodlust and violence of battle, Athena represents the disciplined and intellectual side of war—specifically strategy, tactical prowess, and heroic endeavor.

A quick refresher on myth, Athena was the daughter of Zeus and was known for her miraculous birth, emerging fully grown, in armor, and emitting a battle cry from Zeus’s forehead. In some accounts she was produced without a mother, and in an alternative story her mother was Metis, the goddess of counsel, whom Zeus swallowed while she was pregnant with Athena. Being the favorite child of Zeus, Athena had great power. In turn, she favored such mortal heroes as Odysseus, Heracles, and Perseus.

Now, esoterically speaking, here are the factors that present themselves to us:

1. Athena gives Perseus the power to face Medusa by instructing him not to look her directly in the eyes, but to use the reflection of his sword to attack her. Medusa, who could turn anyone into stone by looking at them, was the evil force trying to create chaos in the world. By giving Perseus the power to defeat Medusa, Athena is actually protecting the world from a selfish bully who wanted nothing but death, destruction, and chaos in the world. 

2. In another myth, Athena wanted new weapons, so she went to the blacksmith god, Hephaestus to request his services. When Hephaestus saw Athena he tried everything he could to forge a relationship with her, when she refused him, he lost control of himself and forced himself (yes, rape) on her. She fought him off, but not before he ejaculated on her leg. Athena wiped the nasty mess off herself and threw in on the ground where it turned into a snake: her snake-son Erichthonius.

3. Athens, which is named after Athena, is where western society began with the likes of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and where democracy was founded. Most myths with Athena show her as the champion of fairness, justice, and democracy -- just look at the face of the Statue of Liberty and compare it to the statues of Athena; conversely, many temples that had been dedicated to Athena were converted into churches for the Virgin Mary with the spread of Christianity, most notably, the Parthenon (the "Temple of the Virgin Athena") served as the Cathedral of Theotokos (Mother of God) for nearly a thousand years. 

Athena on the left, Mother Mary on the Right.

4. In The Eumenides, Athena shows up in the final play as the divine arbiter who ends a cycle of blood vengeance and establishes the foundations of human justice. Yes, the first courtroom scene ever written. 

Put these statements together, and we see that Athena is the goddess of human decency, fairness, and justice. Unlike the other woman in myths she doesn't need saving by a man, instead she uses her intellect to protect herself and others, and she remained a virgin. She brought order to the world with the Medusa story, then fairness and democracy to Athens, and as in the play Ajax, written by Sophocles, she intervenes to bypass useless killing by driving the bully leader, Ajax, mad.  

In conclusion, I believe Athena has popped up from the grave as a warning to the male leaders who are creating chaos instead of order. We know who they are, just look at the wars in Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, and the macho world leaders pounding their chest to drop more bombs, kill more people, and create more chaos.  

Enough is enough.

Athena is a hopeful message to those of us wanting immediate peace for the sake of humanity, and a warning to the war lords that bad things will start happening to them if they don't start playing nice; that is, once she finds her head. 

~~ Eso Terry 

Demon Possessed Tricycle Is A Good Thing(?)

 Who says demon possession is always a bad thing, ask the kid in this video.  

World Labyrinth Day Disclaimer

This is my disclaimer, for I won't be able to join in a labyrinth walk today, but will be there in spirit.  

World Labyrinth Day (WLD) is an annual international event held on the first Saturday of May to promote peace, mindfulness, and celebration of labyrinths. Founded by The Labyrinth Society in 2009, thousands participate by walking a labyrinth at 1:00 p.m. local time to create a "rolling wave of peaceful energy" across the globe.

According to the WorldLabyrinthDay.org, every year on the first Saturday in May thousands of people around the globe participate in World Labyrinth Day as a moving meditation for world peace and celebration of the labyrinth experience. Many “Walk as One at 1” local time to create a rolling wave of peaceful energy passing from one time zone to the next, and there are additional ways to participate.

So why the "Labyrinth?"

A labyrinth combines the imagery of a circle and a spiral to form an irregular, meandering path toward a central location. The design has been appearing in caves, on coins and pottery, and as turf or stone structures from as early as the Stone or Bronze Ages.

Traditional labyrinths have the entrance/exit at the bottom, while a separate, radial style show the entrance/exit at the top. Prehistoric or ancient labyrinths may have been used in sacred dance and ritual. Roman labyrinths appear at the entrance of buildings which could have had a function of protection or been meant to symbolize a sacred path to deity.

Medieval Christian labyrinths appeared both in church entrances and on the sanctuary floors. Although their purpose is unclear, they could have been used in Easter rituals with penitents following the labyrinth on their knees or been designed as protection from demons. In India, there is a belief that labyrinths are the refuge of a trickster spirit and that the demon Ravana rules over labyrinths.

The first labyrinths, is found in myth of Minotaur, where Minos refuses to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon out of greed. The angry Poseidon punished the king by making his wife fall in love with a bull. The fruit of this union was the monster Minotaur, half-bull, half-man. Full of shame, Minos imprisoned the monster in a labyrinth – a word which comes from the Greek “labrys” and refers to the double axe – the symbol of the supremacy of the Cretan Mother Goddess. The deeper meaning of the labyrinth is associated with the feminine life giving force, the earth-bound instinctual nature of our bodies. The centre of the labyrinth is the goddess’s womb.

The power of nature and instincts, the Greek zoe, the sheer life force – this is how the ancients perceived the bull. Only a woman – Ariadne – knew the way around the labyrinth into its centre. It seems that this first labyrinth was designed to guard the darkest heart of nature and to keep its secrets from the solar, upper-world consciousness. Alternatively, it symbolized the fear of Minos, that is the ego consciousness, of the bestial instincts, which he tried to repress.

Interestingly, also in Christianity the labyrinths were constructed to worship Mother Goddess. The most famous example is the stone Labyrinth from the cathedral in Chartres. It is believed that originally it had the image of Minotaur in its centre, but it was later removed. Now the centre of the Labyrinth features the Mystic Rose, emblem of Mary on the one hand and the ultimate symbol of the Self and the union of the opposites on the other.

Some researchers make a point of differentiating between the maze and the labyrinth. Karen Ralls explains:

“A labyrinth eventually takes one to a Center. A maze does not, but has many twists and turns in its path, even the occasional “dead end.”

Those who walk the labyrinth do so to find inner peace, to meditate and find a way through silence to inner truth. Cirlot adds that at the centre of the labyrinth conjunction occurs between the conscious and the unconscious. Perhaps the seeming duality of the confusing maze and the orderly labyrinth can be reconciled by invoking human and divine perspective:

“From within, the view is extremely restricted and confusing, while from above one discovers a supreme artistry and order.

According to symbolreader.net:

"The maze, thus, seems to symbolize our human limited perspective, our entanglement in the world of the senses and desires, our getting lost, taking the “wrong” path, occasionally feeling lost and desperate." 

So brothers, sisters, and non-binary siblings, however you navigate through your labyrinth of life today, do so with a kind spirit, for we are all in this together regardless if we walk or not, 

~~ Eso Terry

May, Aleister Crowley, and the Esoteric Message of Nursery Rhymes

Hermes and Maia

May, the fifth month of the current Gregorian calendar and the third month of Spring's rule, which derives its name from the Roman Springtime goddess Maia, whose divine powers encouraged the growth of crops. 

Wooo, I have to stop here for Maia is also the mother of Hermes, and well, I have to go Hermetic on your ass now because we have invoked the name of Hermes Trismegistus which brings us to today's topic: The Holy Qabalah, Aleister Crowley, and Nursery Rhymes, for you see all nursery rhymes were holy before the Demiurge's Fake Religion of today.  

 So hold onto your seats boys and girls as we reveal one of the great secrets of the adepts.  

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to her cupboard

To get her poor dog a bone;

When she got there, 

The cupboard was bare, 

And so the poor dog had none. 

Who is this ancient and venerable mother?  According to Aleister Crowley she is none other than Binah of the Kabbalah, as is evident in the use of the holy letter H with which her name begins. 

And to what cupboard did she go?  To the most secret caverns of the Universe? And who is this dog?  It is not the name of God spelt backwards (saying "not" is the only way one can share the true secrets of an Initiate without provoking the spirits of the teachings).  And what is the bone?  It is the master's Wand.  

As Crowley said in his The Book of Lies, "This rime is the legend of the murder of Osiris by Typhon when the limbs of Osiris were scattered in the Nile, and Isis sought them in every corner of the Universe, and she found all except his sacred lingam..." which was not found until Crowley's own time, but that's another story for another time.  

How about this one:

Little Bo Beep

She lost her sheep, 

And couldn't tell where to find them. 

Leave them alone!

And they'll come home,

Dragging their tails behind them. 

"Bo" is the root meaning Light, from which spring such words as Bo-tree, Bodhisattva, and Buddha. And "Peep" is Apep, the serpent Apophis.  This poem therefore contains the same symbol as that in the Egyptian and Hebrew Bibles.  The snake is the serpent of initiation, as the Lamb is the Savior.  This ancient one, the Wisdom of Eternity, sits in its old anguish awaiting the Redeemer.  And this holy verse triumphantly assures us that there is no need for anxiety.  The Saviors will come one after the other, at their own good pleasure, and as they may be needed, and drag their tails, that is to say those who follow out their holy commandment, to the ultimate goal. 

So get to work performing your holy commandment.  I'm serious, now what is your holy commandment?  Only you can know that, and believe me it is not in any church or Turkish Bathhouse -- you see, I did the extremes there.    

Hickory, dickory, dock!

The mouse ran up the clock;

The clock struck one, 

And the mouse ran down, 

Hickory, dickory, dock!

The clock symbolizes the spinal column, and the mouse is the Ego (the Qabalistic spelling of the word "mouse" backwards). The Ego force being driven up the spine, the clock strikes one, that is, the duality of consciousness is abolished.  And the force again subsides to its original level to try again.  Go back into meditation and figure it out. 

"Hickory, dickory, dock!" is the mantra which was use by the adept who constructed this rime, thereby hoping to fix it in the minds of men. 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;

Humpty Dumpty got a great fall'

All the king's horses

And all the king's men

Couldn't set up Humpty Dumpty again. 

Humpty Dumpty is of course is the Egg of Spirit, the fertility egg, and the wall is the Abyss -- his "fall" is therefore the descent of spirit into matter; and no mere leader of men can put him back together again, it takes more, much more, such as faith. Faith in what, now that is the true question here.  

So that is it for today, Initiates.  Remember, after five years of silence you will begin to understand.  The answer is love, but first, we must listen.  Oh, and never look at your image in the mirror besides a candle.  But you probably already know this.  

~~ Eso Terry

Meditation Methods

Let's talk about meditation. It's something we all do in one way or another, for some it's looking up at the moon, for others sitting crossed-legged on the floor with no thoughts, and for me it's chanting out loud. The mantra I chant is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. It's a chant left to us by a 13th century Japanese reformist monk who unveiled the key to life by chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra. I've spoken on this before so you can learn more about my faith there, but today I'm sticking to meditation.

The google definition of meditation is "a practice of training awareness and cultivating a healthy sense of perspective, often involving focused attention on the breath, sounds, or sensations to reduce stress and enhance well-being."

There are nine popular types of meditation practice:

1. Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation originates from Buddhist teachings and is the most popular and researched form of meditation in the West.

In mindfulness meditation, you pay attention to your thoughts as they pass through your mind. You don’t judge the thoughts or become involved with them. You simply observe and take note of any patterns.

This practice combines concentration with awareness. You may find it helpful to focus on an object or your breath while you observe any bodily sensations, thoughts, or feelings.

This type of meditation is good for people who don’t have a teacher to guide them, as it can be easily practiced alone.

2. Spiritual meditation

Spiritual meditation is used in nearly all religions and spiritual traditions.

I told you about my faith meditation, or active meditation, by chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, other examples are found in Christian contemplative prayer, Sufi dhikr (remembrance of God), Jewish kabbalistic practices, etc..

Spiritual meditation can be practiced at home or in a place of worship. This practice is beneficial for those who seek spiritual growth and a deeper connection to a higher power or spiritual force, as well as a better quality of life from less stress. 


3. Focused meditation

Focused meditation involves concentration using any of the five senses. This too is what we practice in my faith where we use a Gohozon, or scroll Japanese scroll left to us by the Nichiren Daishonin with the Chinese characters which can be translated as “In honor of the Lotus Sutra,” and it works — see my cancer story if you haven’t already. 

Another example is focusing on something internal, like your breath. 

Other examples include: counting mala beads, listening to a gong, staring at a candle flame, counting your breaths, moon-gazing.

This practice may be simple in theory, but it can be difficult for beginners to hold their focus for longer than a few minutes at first.

If your mind does wander, simply come back to the practice and refocus.


4. Movement meditation

Although most people think of yoga when they hear movement meditation, this practice may include, walking,gardening,tai chi, kite flying, and other gentle forms of movement.

This is an active form of meditation where the movement guides you into a deeper connection with your body and the present moment.

Movement meditation is good for people who find peace in action and want to develop body awareness.

5. Mantra meditation

Sorry to go on about my faith, but we do chant the mantra Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to call on the universal forces (Mystic Law), but it is prevalent in many of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. This type of meditation uses a repetitive sound to clear the mind. It can be a word, phrase, or sound, one of the most common being “om.”

Your mantra can be spoken loudly or quietly. After chanting the mantra for some time, you’ll be more alert and in tune with your environment. This allows you to experience deeper levels of awareness.

Some of us enjoy mantra meditation because we find it easier to focus on a word than on our breath. Others enjoy feeling the vibration of the sound in their body.

This is also a good practice for people who don’t like silence and enjoy repetition.

6. Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a type of meditation that’s been the subject of numerous studies in the scientific community.

TM was founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and refers to a specific practice designed to quiet the mind and induce a state of calm and peace. It involves the use of mantra and is best taught by a certified TM practitioner.

This practice is for those who want an accessible approach to the depth that meditation offers.

7. Progressive relaxation

Also known as body scan meditation, progressive relaxation is a practice aimed at reducing tension in the body and promoting relaxation.

Oftentimes, this form of meditation involves slowly tightening and relaxing one muscle group at a time throughout the body.

In some cases, it may also encourage you to imagine a gentle wave flowing through your body to help release any tension.

This form of meditation is often used to relieve stress and unwind before bedtime.


8. Loving-kindness meditation

Loving-kindness meditation is used to strengthen feelings of compassion, kindness, and acceptance toward oneself and others.

It typically involves opening the mind to receive love from others and then sending well wishes to loved ones, friends, acquaintances, and all living beings.

Because this type of meditation is intended to promote compassion and kindness, it may be ideal for those holding feelings of anger or resentment.

9. Visualization meditation

Visualization meditation is a technique focused on enhancing feelings of relaxation, peace, and calmness by visualizing positive scenes, images, or figures.

This practice involves imagining a scene vividly and using all five senses to add as much detail as possible. It can also involve holding a beloved or honored figure in mind with the intention of embodying their qualities.

Another form of visualization meditation involves imagining yourself succeeding at specific goals, which is intended to increase focus and motivation.

Many people use visualization meditation to boost their mood, reduce stress levels, and promote inner peace.


So there you have the basic's of meditation.  Check out the following video on a man who uses kite-flying as a meditation. 

Venus and April 23rd

 Venus called last night and you weren't home.  She'll call again tonight. 

Jupiter and Venus by Max Klinger

It's April 23, oh my.  In Roman Paganism, today was the festival of Jupiter and Venus.  That's right, Jupiter (sometimes referred to as Zeus historically), the god of sky and thunder, controller of Roman fate, and king of all gods; yes, the very top of the gods list.  Well, the published gods list for within the circle of gods there has always been another god, the unseen god, some call him the Demiurge creator god, I just call him, little "g" god. 

Not only was Jupiter the god of lightning and thunder bolts, his was also known as the god of oaths, and therefore was summoned in name for wedding ceremonies.  That's right boys and girls, there was a thing called holy matrimony long before the advent of Christianity, which is no big deal other than the fact that they want you to believe there was nothing before them, and thereby are refusing us our existence in history.  The bastards!

And Venus, the goddess of love and fertility.  The beauty of the beauty.  The other half of the hidden little "g" god who allows us to admire her beauty in times of want.  And if Jupiter is the god of marriage, and he is, then Venus is the goddess of the sexual pleasure to be afforded the newlywed couple later that night.  Born from the turbulent waters of a storm, she came to earth with the loveliest of fragrances which can still be enjoyed those moments just before a rain when the ground opens up to receive her nourishment from the gods, the fragrance of pleasure. 

And when the two gods were celebrated together on this day in ancient Rome, there was wine, dancing, laughter, heated discussions, pantomiming, and, of course, posturing, which always led the chamber.  

Is this not the reason that on this day in the year 410 of our calendar, that the Visigoths used this day to attack Rome and bring an end to our empire? 

I say yes, for it is now written.  

~~ Eso Terry

Prana

"The Prana in me, sees the Prana in you."

What is Prana? A clothing store for the active Buddhist in all of us? Yes, it is, but before materialization got a hold of us, Prana was more, much more. Let's dive into it now

First, there is much confusion regarding Prana. Google Prana and you'll see everything from crossed-legged yoga poses to energy enemas. The problem is they seldom mention "apana," and to put it bluntly, you can't have one without the Apana (other). Yes, it's a yin/yang thing. Therefore, Prana and Apana are two primary, opposing energetic forces in yoga that regulate the body and mind. Prana is the upward/inward life force of intake and expansion, located above the navel. Apana is the downward/outward force of elimination and grounding, located below the navel area.

Now that that is clear, we will talk about Prana, and to do so I'll use a passage from Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism, written by Yogi Ramacharaka 1862–1932, where he writes: "Prana is everywhere and in everything. Prana is not the Ego, but is merely a form of energy used by the Ego in its material manifestation. When the Ego departs from the physical body, in what we call "death," the Prana, being no longer under the control of the Ego, responds only to the orders of the individual atoms or their groups, which have formed the physical body, and as the physical body disintegrates and is resolved back to its original elements, each atom takes with it sufficient Prana to enable it to form new combinations, the unused Prana returning to the great universal storehouse from whence it came."

So you see, Prana is in all forms of matter, and yet it is not matter - it is the energy or force which animates matter.

Maybe a better definition can be found in Insighttimer.com:

"In the heart of ancient wellness practices lies a concept so powerful yet so subtle that it forms the very essence of our being. Prana, often described as the life force or vital energy, courses through the universe and every living creature, connecting us to the broader cosmos with invisible threads. This concept, deeply rooted in yogic traditions, is not just about the air we breathe but encompasses the energy that animates life itself...ancient texts and practices within Hinduism have long acknowledged the significance of prana, highlighting its role in the creation and sustenance of life. Though Hindu tradition isn’t the only well-known philosophy that recognizes life force — “Qi” (chi) in Traditional Chinese Medicine is a notable parallel." 

Finally, prana is seen as the bridge between the physical and the non-physical, influencing our health, emotions, and spiritual state. Recognizing and harnessing this energy is key to achieving a state of balance and harmony within oneself and with the surrounding world.

Now that that's clear, I'll return you to your regular way of being.


~~ Eso Terry

"Prana is everywhere, boys and girls, even in a clown like me!"

the gunas

In Sankhya, matter is said to have three gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. These terms are translated in a variety of ways by different scholars, usually something like “harmony,” “mobility,” and “inertia.”

Sattva, is a nominal form of sat (being) with a suffix which is equivalent to English “-ness” or “-hood,” hence sattva implies a thing’s essential being.

Rajas, from the root rañj (colored, especially reddened), is associated with vapor or mist, desire, menstrual discharge, etc. and in the context of Sankhya philosophy implies exciting emotions motivated by desire.

Tamas, from the root tam (choke, be exhausted, become immobile), has the general meaning of darkness, obscuration, heaviness, or ignorance, hence implies a condition of dullness, habituality, or stupidity.

According to the folks at Theosophy.World, "There is a temptation to identify these three gunas with properties of physical matter. For instance, it is claimed by physicists that all laws of matter involve at the very least three undefined variables, usually identified as resonant frequency, energy, and inertia. That sounds very much like sattva, rajas, and tamas. But one cannot eliminate any of the three physical variables in the way that the Gita urges you to eliminate, or at least minimize the influence of, rajas and tamas. So that cannot be what they mean. A more plausible interpretation would be to equate the three gunas with the theosophical idea of the elementals of the three lower planes of matter: tamas with the physical elemental which seeks repetition of past actions, rajas with the emotional (or “astral”) elemental which seeks excitement and is mainly driven by desire, and sattva with the mental elemental which seeks harmony among ideas, thus is sometimes equated with knowledge, happiness, and illumination.

Helena P. Blavatsky grapples with the task of explaining the nature of the gunas when she writes, “What are the ‘producers’ evoluted from this universal root-principle, Mula-prakriti or undifferentiated primeval cosmic matter, which evolves out of itself consciousness, and mind, and is generally called ‘Prakriti’ and amulam mulam, ‘the rootless root,’ and avyakta, the ‘unevolved evolver,’ etc.? This primordial tattwa or ‘eternally existing “that,”’ the unknown essence, is said to produce as a first producer (1) Buddhi — ‘intellect’ — whether we apply the latter to the sixth macrocosmic or microcosmic principle. This first produced produces in its turn (or is the source of) (2) Ahankara, ‘self-consciousness’ and Manas, ‘mind’” (CW IV:580-81). In other words, she follows the general outline found in Sakhya. I. K. Taimni, in his book, Man, God and the Universe, explains the gunas thus: “Here then we have really another example of integration and differentiation not at the level of matter or vibration but at the level of the mind, for perception of properties is a function of the mind though the stimulation comes from matter and vibrations. The conception of Prakti as an integrated state of the gunas, which contains all gunas in a potential state and from which any guna or property can emerge if the proper conditions (the particular combination of the three gunas based on harmonious motion, irregular motion and no motion) are present will thus be seen to be in perfect accord with our scientific ideas regarding the nature of integration and differentiation. In the conception of Prakti as the integrated state of the gunas (dharmas — depend upon different combinations of the three gunas) we have gone up from the level of matter or vibration to the level of the mind which is the product of the interaction of Spirit and matter” (pp. 204-5).

In our modern Yoga-Coffee-Shop world today where Yoga is a form of light exercise for the body, the mind, and the "Spandex" ego, the popular definition (as found in YogaBasics.com) can be summed up as:

"All three gunas are always present in all beings and objects surrounding us but vary in their relative amounts. We humans have the unique ability to consciously alter the levels of the gunas in our bodies and minds. The gunas cannot be separated or removed in oneself but can be consciously acted upon to encourage their increase or decrease. A guna can be increased or decreased through the interaction and influence of external objects, lifestyle practices and thoughts.

"To reduce tamas avoid tamasic foods, oversleeping, overeating, inactivity, passivity and fearful situations. Tamasic foods include heavy meats and foods that are spoiled, chemically treated, processed or refined. 

"To reduce rajas avoid rajasic foods, over-exercising, overwork, loud music, excessive thinking and consuming excessive material goods. Rajasic foods include fried foods, spicy foods, and stimulants. 

"To increase sattva reduce both rajas and tamas, eat sattvic foods and enjoy activities and environments that produce joy and positive thoughts. Sattvic foods include whole grains and legumes and fresh fruits and vegetables that grow above the ground. All of the yogic practices were developed to create sattva in the mind and body."

As you might have guessed, there are a lot of ways to correct your gunas as mentioned above, things like Sweat Yoga and/or purchasing cool Yoga items on Amazon.com -- which you won't find here.

The bottom line is that there is a lot of hype about gunas today, put in a nutshell; however, there are three forces within us we must understand, and though the ancients teachers tried to leave us with  definitions, gunas do vary by end person. In other-words, know your gunas, know thyself, and if that doesn't work, there is always ayahuasca.


~~ Eso Terry

Esoteric Emily Dickinson

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –
I keep it, staying at Home –

Emily wrote the above words in one of her many unnamed poems. When I read those words, at 16, I was liberated from organized religion.

Maybe I was Emily in a previous life, she calls out to me like no others.

On the night I found out I had cancer, I dreamed of Emily Dickinson, and it was the isolationist in me that marveled at her, I'm sure. I'll share her documentary at the end of this post, but she spent most of her life in her bedroom, she also died not knowing she would be immortal because of her words, or did she? Her words seem to suggest she knew she would live forever in words.

Fame is a bee.
It has a song –
It has a sting –
Ah, too, it has a wing.

She definitely thought of fame's immortality in her poem about death:

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.



We slowly drove – He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –



We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –



Or rather – He passed Us –

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –



We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –



Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses' Heads

Were toward Eternity –


But how did she know she would be famous? Her work was mostly rejected in her lifetime. How could she have known she would live "Eternity" in words?

Regardless,

there is no doubt that Emily,

was an,

 Esotericist.

~~ Eso Terry Poem to Emily.

The reason I wrote my poem calling Emily an Esotericist, is because of her own words in the following poem of hers:

’T WAS later when the summer went
Than when the cricket came,
And yet we knew that gentle clock
Meant nought but going home.

’T was sooner when the cricket went
Than when the winter came,
Yet that pathetic pendulum
Keeps esoteric time.

~Emily Dickinson

The Alchemist in the Cathedrals

Today, let's talk about the Alchemist in the Cathedrals, more precisely, the Gothic cathedrals. They are the Christian Gothic Cathedrals designed to impress the Pagans to the point of immediate conversion. They were impressive.  A closer look; however, points to the Pagan hold that has never left us as a people. This truth can be found in the writings of Fulconelli, in his Le Mystère des Cathédrales (The Mystery of the Cathedrals). In this writing I will cover the cathedrals of Notre Dame and Amiens, a good representation of the alchemist messages left to us in stone. 

The first thing Fulconelli wants us to understand is that we have fundamentally misread the Gothic buildings. We call this architecture Gothic.  And we assume the name refers to the Goth tribes of barbarian Europe. But Fulconelli plays with the sounds of words and he invites us to listen differently in French, where Art Gothique (Gothic Art) is a phonetic corruption of Art Got, or Art Gothic, which sounds like artgot or art of light.

Through this lens, Fulcanelli suggests that Gothic cathedrals are not just places of worship, but repositories of hidden knowledge, designed by initiated masters to demonstrate the alchemical great work through light and stone.

The cathedrals speak in a phonetic Kabbalah. The very name of the style is a pun hiding in plain sight. And this observation points to something deeper. The medieval builders, Fulconelli argued, were not simply craftsmen or pious Christians; they were initiates of an ancient tradition. They possessed knowledge that could not be spoken openly, knowledge that the church, at various times in history, would have considered heretical, even dangerous.

So they encoded it. They wrote it in stone, in sculpture, in the placement of figures and symbols that most viewers would dismiss as mere decoration.

Think of it this way. A manuscript can be burned. A book can be altered, censored, lost. This is what Fulconelli calls the sanctuary of the tradition. The cathedral; however, is a stone book that cannot be destroyed. And the tradition it preserves, he claims, is the same scientific and spiritual knowledge that built the pyramids of Egypt and the temples of Greece. It is universal, it is ancient, and it has been waiting for you to learn its alphabet.

                                              

Let us walk now to the central porch of Notre Dame de Paris. Most visitors glance at the sculptural program and see biblical scenes, the last judgment, the lives of the saints, etc.. But Fulconelli directs our attention to a particular figure, a woman seated on a throne. She holds a ladder in her hands. Her head touches the clouds. This, he tells us, is alchemy herself. The ladder she holds is the symbol of patience, the patient step-by-step ascent that the great work requires. This is not magic in the sense of instant transformation. this is craft. Beneath her, carved into the stone base are other stages of the alchemical process, and the first stage, the essential, unavoidable first step, is represented by a black crow.

The crow represents what the alchemists called putrefactio, putrefaction. The blackening, the rotting.This is perhaps the most important teaching in the entire alchemical tradition. And it deserves our careful attention.

Nothing transforms without first decomposing. The seed must rot in the earth before it can germinate. The caterpillar must dissolve into formless soup inside the chrysalis before it becomes a butterfly. The old self must die before the new self can be born.

The crow is black because this stage is dark. It feels like failure. It feels like the end. The alchemists called it the nigredo, the blackness. And they taught that when you see this sign, when you find yourself in the darkest night of the soul, when everything you were seems to be falling apart, you are not failing; you are beginning. This is what the crow announces. The first sign of success in the great work is the appearance of darkness.

Elsewhere on the porch, Fulcanelli identifies a figure he calls the alchemist of Notre Dame, an old man wearing a Phrygian cap, the ancient symbol of the initiate. This figure stands watching, observing what he calls the evolution of mineral life. He guards the athenor, the occult furnace in which the transformation takes place. And here is the secret hidden in the sculpture. The furnace is not merely physical. The athenor is also you.

The transformation of metal and the transformation of the human being are parallel operations, governed by the same laws, requiring the same patient fire, the fire and the dew.

Now, let us travel north to the cathedral at Amiens. Here, Fulcanelli draws our attention to a symbol he calls the fire of the wheel. It is carved into the stone, depicting a gentle, constant flame. Not a violent conflagration, but a sustained, rhythmic heat. This teaching is subtle, but crucial. The great work is not accomplished by intensity alone. You cannot force transformation by burning hot and fast. The fire must be constant and equal, maintained day and night, as the old texts say. It must turn like a wheel, steady and patient, neither flaring up nor dying down.

Think of how this applies to your own practice, whatever that practice may be. Meditation, prayer, creative work, study. The temptation is always to burn bright for a moment and then exhaust yourself. The temptation is to push hard, achieve quickly, and then collapse. But the alchemists knew that true transformation takes a different kind of fire. A fire that does not consume itself. A fire that can be sustained for years, for decades, for a lifetime. This is the fire of the wheel, gentle, rhythmic, unceasing.

But fire alone is not enough. The sculptures at Amiens also teach that the first matters of the work, the raw material upon which the alchemist operates, must be reduced to a primitive, inert state. They are symbolized by dead trees, by bare branches, by matter stripped of life. This echoes the teaching of the crow. Before rebirth, there must be death. Before the tree blooms again, it must pass through winter.

The alchemist takes what appears to be dead matter and, through the patient application of fire and a secret agent, brings it back to life. And what is this secret agent? Fulcanelli speaks of it as the universal spirit, sometimes called the dew of May. It is described as a celestial substance, a vital force that descends from above and animates what is dead. The alchemist must learn to capture and concentrate this spirit. To apply it to the prepared matter at precisely the right moment. In practical terms, this suggests something profound. Transformation requires not only your own effort, but also a receptivity to something greater than yourself. The fire is yours to maintain. But the dew work is a partnership between human discipline and divine grace. The pilgrim's path.

Of course, there is more. There always is more, and here at EsotericDaily.com, I will give you more, in dew time my friends.

Emily Dickinson's Karma Connection With T.W. Higginson.

 

 This is a 70's 16mm film I've had for years and want to share It is the letters Emily wrote T.W. Higginson, and his thoughts on the matter. As a Buddhist, I see how they are connected. Their relationship was never physical - this lifetime - they only met briefly twice, but were bounded by karma. We all have these relationships, contacts, that we know once were more and will be again, but not this lifetime.

~~ Eso Terry

The Sacred Fire

In Taoism, Yang is fire and Yin is water. Is it any wonder that the two places we find ourselves most contemplated are either beside a fire with a marshmallow on a stick, or on a beach starring at the ocean with a beer in our hand (beer optional). It's primordial to say the least.

This being the Year of the Fire Horse (2026), I'll start my brief meditation on The Sacred Fire with the Chinese New Year, which uses fire to symbolize purification, protection, and prosperity, where fire is used to ward off evil spirits and welcome good fortune. Traditions include jumping through bonfires (tiao huo) in Guangdong, burning ritual gifts for ancestors, and setting off fireworks to scare away the mythical monster Nian

If you've ever been to a Chinese New Year, it is like being a flame in the fire. It's very special indeed.

The Sacred Fire holds immense significance in Hinduism, symbolizing purity, the divine presence, and connection between the earthly and spiritual realms. It serves as a critical element in various rituals, such as the Agnicayana and Vedic sacrifices, where it represents both the act of sacrifice and the deity Agni. Sacred fire is central to numerous ceremonies, including weddings, where it signifies commitment and divine blessings. This fire, regarded as holy, is essential for maintaining spiritual practices and connections in different aspects of Vedic traditions.

In Buddhism, "Sacred Fire" symbolizes spiritual practice, purification, and dedication, reflecting ascetic rituals, the rejection of empty traditions, and a quest for deeper spiritual truth, serving as a revered element in both ascetic and Brahminical traditions.

In the Shingon sector of Japanese Buddhsim, the Goma (fire) Ritual is performed with the purpose of destroying negative energies and detrimental thoughts and desires. In the ceremony, a priest burns wooden sticks in the scared fire. The fire symbolizes the wisdom of the Buddha and the wood sticks symbolize what is to be cleansed and released.

According to Geoffrey Hodson of the Theosophy Society, "Fire is one of the garments of God, Who, to the spirits of fire, appears clothed in flame." In other Christian faiths, the Sacred fire embodies the divine presence, purity, and righteousness, guiding individuals spiritually. It plays a crucial role in Zoroastrian worship, where it symbolizes passion for faith and the connection to Jesus Christ.

In Irish culture, fire is more than just a physical element; it’s a living, breathing presence that embodies the energy of life itself. Whether lighting the way during ancient festivals or offering protection against unseen forces, sacred fire has been a source of both comfort and awe for generations.

I could go on for fire is what originally gave us life separated us from the animal kingdom. It warmed us, cooked our foods, lighted the darkness, but also burned if we got too close.

The most sacred of all the fires I've studied, are The Sacred Fires of Delphi in Greece, and The Sacred Fire of Vesta in Rome.

The Sacred Fire of Delphi was an eternal flame kept within the hestia (hearth) of the Temple of Apollo, symbolizing the center of the world and the divine presence of Apollo. The Sacred Fire of Vesta was an eternal flame in ancient Rome dedicated to the goddess Vesta, protector of the hearth, home, and family. The fire was tended by the Vestal Virgins, who were chosen by lot from patrician families; the Vestals served for thirty years, during which they ensured the flame never went out and performed rituals linked to domestic life. These included the ceremonial sweeping of the temple on June 15 and the preparation of sacred food for major festivals. As Vesta embodied the hearth, the flame symbolized both the life of every Roman household and the vitality of the state. As with the Sacred Fire of Delphi, both were believed to guarantee the goddess’s protection and the enduring strength of the cities. Furtermore, both The Sacred Fire of Delphi and Rome were extinguished with the rise of Christianity around 390 AD; however, if you look closely in the original Christian Gothic Cathedrals, you will see somewhere in the stone, carved out with the gargoyles, a fire wheel, to which most esotericist agree, was the initiates way of keeping the Pagan fires alive, a reminder to seek the fire from within, not from a temple.


~~ Eso Terry

My Easter Day Poem - My Savior Donald Trump perfored by Hairy Larry

The spring equinox has always been the day where light and dark come back into balance, and our instincts call for us to go outside and dance with our arms in the air rejoicing in the return of balance.  To those of us with eyes to see, it is the perfect mean, the day of pi, the alchemist resting point.  

 

In ancient Sumerian times, they called it the Descent of Inanna, the heavenly goddess who descended into the underworld only to be brought back to life three days later by Enki, the pagan god of heaven. 

 

And even then, we danced with our arms out towards the heavens, the perfect mean.

 

Then came Ostara, the Spring Fertility goddess associated with bunny rabbits and fertility eggs.  

 

And still, we danced with our arms out towards the heavens, the day of pi. 

 

Today, they call it the resurrection of the anointed.   

But still, we dance with our arms out towards the heavens, the alchemist resting point.  

~~ an Eso Terry poem