Jock Brocas is a spiritual author and teacher with books published internationally. Jock is also the president of the charity organization assmpi and works tirelessly to he others develop spiritually and live a more rewarding life. Join Jock Brocas on a spiritual journey.
http://jockbrocas.us
Energy vampires wander among us but most of the time, we are unaware of them. So, how can we tell them apart? And more importantly, how do we protect ourselves from energy vampires?
Identifying Energy Vampires
Energy vampires are usually extremely friendly, meaning most people draw to them. So, they can come across as being very popular and have lots of friends. However, as you get to know them, you will notice that people quickly change towards the energy vampire. You will see people trying to avoid them or looking worn out once they spend time with them. People who aggravate you may also be energy vampires.
Their biggest target are introverts, who have little or few friends around them. The energy vampire can sense their inability to set boundaries. They can also sense weakness, and those who try to avoid conflict or want to get on with everyone, are also targets.
How Do You Get Rid Of An Energy Vampire?
Unfortunately, there is no one simple solution but some of the following suggestions may work; however, you must be ready to use your energy against the energy vampire.
Block out energy vampires
While blocking them out sounds quite extreme, it may be the best solution, depending on how much they attack your energy.
Create your own energy shield
We are all energy sources and can use our own energy to build shields around us. This will help to block any attacks. If you do this daily, you will notice that energy vampires will soon leave you alone.
Please don't give in to them
Energy vampires will constantly call you, text you and turn up unannounced. Only answer the calls a few times a week and not daily. This will eventually help them realise that they are not wanted and encourage them to start looking for another energy source.
Stand your ground
Try to avoid getting involved in a long conversation with an energy vampire. Or, get into giving them advice on their vented emotional problems.
Body language awareness can help because your body language constantly emits signals about the way you feel:
Try to avoid eye contact with energy vampires.
Stand or keep moving about like you are busy. This will create a sense of urgency.
Could You Be An Energy Vampire?
A big clue is that people try to avoid you. They don’t respond to your emails or messages. You may constantly try to make arrangements or speak to people, but they are not responsive. Some people tend to avoid situations rather than be confronted by having to speak up in a negative form.
How To Correct he Behavior of Energy Vampires
Take control of your communication and try to send only a few messages and emails daily or weekly. If you get no response from the person, it is better to leave it a few weeks before retrying. Otherwise, you are just carrying out the behavior you need to eradicate.
Only stop past someone's house uninvited, once every so often. Some people do not like uninvited guests. If you need to speak with them or want to make amends, try to arrange it via a phone call. Ensure that you listen to their requirements and accept their answer if they don't wish to .
Why Is It Important To Recognize An Energy Vampire?
It is not always easy to recognize vampire energy in someone else or yourself. But for the sake of protecting your mental health, it is essential to be aware of the signs.
If you are constantly tired, everyday matters become overwhelming, and you struggle to achieve the tasks, it may not be apparent that energy vampires are causing your energy depletion. This is why it is advisable to use protection on an everyday basis and also set your boundaries daily.
Turning these five-minute activities into daily ones will help to alleviate the risk that energy vampires may bring to your standard of living.
Editorial Note: PDN is proud to welcome Conner Gossel to the Team. He will be heading our historical research into haunted homes and places. You will be seeing much more of his haunting work from now on. Welcome, Conner!
Welcome Conner
Tennessee has always been a deceptive destination for those involved in the paranormal community. Shrouded in a sprawling expanse of forestry that is the Rocky Mountains, and divided by the seemingly endless network of rivers that dissect the land, the state has a tendency to appear untouched by civilization. If one takes the time to look closer though, beyond the facade of a state covered in uninhabited wilderness, a darker reality exists.
The grim truth of the matter is that Tennessee houses some of the country’s, and the world’s, most dangerously paranormal locations. For our purpose, however, we need only concern ourselves with the eerie building that sits on Lake Nickajack, Hales Bar Dam.
The Haunting Of Hales Bar Dam
When construction on the dam began in 1905, thousands of workers were brought into the area to help complete the project. Temporary homes were built on the water's edge to serve as living quarters for them all, but as time went on these temporary homes became far less crowded than they began. This fact is entirely due to the fatality rate of the dam's construction. Hundreds of men perished in the process of erecting the building and many, if not most of their bodies, are still entombed within the foundation to this day.
Believe it or not, though, the death toll associated with Hales Bar Dam isn’t to blame for its severe supernatural happenings.
The Haunting Of Hales Bar Dam
The Hales Bar Dam Curse
Long before the dam was even theorized, back when the territory was a part of the Cherokee Nation, an Indian War Chief named Dragging Canoe cursed the land, condemning it to be unproductive and uninhabitable because of its “dark and bloody” nature. The dam's construction was society’s first glimpse of the power of the curse.
Those who didn’t lose their lives building the structure gave accounts of what they experienced. Their accounts told of dark figures seen walking around inside the dam at all hours of the day, inhumane screams, floating apparitions, whispering voices, moving tools and equipment, and the spirits of numerous children whose bodies are said to be buried underneath the water.
Paranormal Activity
Such paranormal activity continues to persist to this very day, driving the current owners of Hales Bar Dam to begin allowing paranormal investigative teams to visit the property in hopes that they might be able to shed light on the haunting. Over the years, many investigators have corroborated the claims of the staff, of general visitors, and of the original construction crew members. A number of investigators and experts in the field have also offered a warning, saying that the little girl who claims to be buried in the water could very likely be a malevolent spirit. While we certainly hope that’s not the case, it is worth mentioning that dark forces have a tendency to mask themselves as the innocent in order to fool the living.
Needless to say, if you venture to Hales Bar Dam, keep your wits about you and prepare to experience the afterlife like never before.
Whenever people think of creepy hauntings or grizzly tales, references to decrepit graveyards or famous war sites are often made. Other popular locations for all things spine-tingling are Victorian manors and desolate farmhouses. Unsurprisingly, medieval castles and eerie forests are also favorites for housing a spook or two. All over the world, morbid history and blood-chilling tales have been attached to homes of all shapes and sizes and even land. But what about lighthouses? Most people will struggle to think of a haunted lighthouse; it isn’t difficult to see why.
Lighthouses sit quietly, peacefully governing the shores below. Comforting beams of light give guidance and hope to tormented sailors whose ships thrash among unforgiving waves. Lighthouses are helpful. These beacons of light are a far cry from the rotten inventions and structures carved by man’s hand to wreak havoc upon the world. Despite this, haunted lighthouses do exist. Prepare to have your eyes opened and blood curdled as you digest the haunted history of Souter Lighthouse...
From The Darkness Came the Lighthouse!
The majestic structure that is Souter Lighthouse sits proudly atop the clifftops of South Shields and keeps a watchful eye over the beautiful surrounding coastline. South Shields is a town famous for innovation in shipbuilding and boasts an array of other maritime successes.
Once a bustling shore packed with merchant vessels, fishing boats, and the occasional Royal Navy fighter ship, accidents were never far away. In 1860, at least twenty shipwrecks were reported. The loss of life was intense and South Shields quickly gained notoriety as the most dangerous coastline in Britain. The jagged rocks, relentless storms, and fogs as thick as curdled milk sat like giant webs, ready to decimate anything that dared to venture too close.
Sinking Ships
One famous incident that defied the monstrous shores, was the sinking of the Forfarshire passenger ship. in 1838, Grace Darling, a 26-year-old local woman, whose father was a lighthouse keeper, heroically battled the storms in a fishing boat and fought her way toward the floundering wreck, and saved the lives of 62 people. Grace was honored with a silver medal and became a local hero.
Although Grace’s actions countered the negative reputation of the disastrous coastline, a dark cloud of despair remained. The overbearing list of deaths and destruction weighed heavy upon the town’s shoulders. As a result of these horrifying catastrophes, trade began to dwindle but this economic concern became the catalyst for the existence of this wonderful lighthouse that sits there today. Construction was completed in 1871.
The 75-foot-high structure was built by an accomplished engineer called Robert Allison and would become the first lighthouse in the world to be powered by electricity. It was thought that this innovative technological advancement would bring popularity, respect, and a higher flow of trade to the town and surrounding shores. More importantly, lives would be saved.
The constant glaring light would act as a beacon of warmth and warning, preventing ships in the night from floating into death’s eternal clutch. The main hope was that South Shields could finally eradicate its reputation of coastal disasters and revamp itself as a significantly less formidable place of trade. In the coming years, Souter Lighthouse justified its construction and money spent, and tumultuous incidents became sporadic. Trade boomed once more and local well-being was restored.
Madness Within The Haunted Lighthouse Walls
Souter Lighthouse was working well. Manned with an experienced lighthouse keeper, the glaring light comforted and guided every vessel and sailor for miles around. While locals slept soundly, the isolated keeper monitored the huge light all hours of the night while his family slept in the quarters close by. The light was made from 4.5 tonnes of glass that sat upon 1.5 tons of mercury. The shores remained tranquil for a while but it wasn’t long before bad luck and destruction returned.
As the days and nights passed, the lighthouse keeper slowly began to change. His moods became erratic and bizarre behaviors began to ensue. Before long, the keeper was gnawing at his flesh, tearing handfuls of hair from his scalp, and mercilessly pounding his face and head against the windows of the watch tower. One evening, a fisherman witnessed these events and ran to investigate, thinking the keeper was being attacked. Upon inspection, it was clear that the keeper and the keeper alone was responsible. He was moved to a local asylum and certified insane. Later inspection revealed that the seeping mercury below the light had been responsible for the lightkeeper’s brush with madness.
To this very day, people have reported shrill cries emitting from the lighthouse watch tower and some have reported witnessing the transparent figure of a man mutilating himself before disappearing into the darkness.
A Mysterious Death
Many years ago, a man known as John would regularly visit the lighthouse. He could be seen sitting outside on the grass, staring aimlessly out to sea. He would occasionally leave his grassy spot to wander the gravel paths outside the lighthouse and the keeper’s lodgings. The lighthouse grounds were a dedicated right of way for the general public with a museum inside, so nobody ever thought to question the strange man.
Those who saw the man would report darkness in his eyes and an unusual energy seemed to penetrate the air whenever he was near. One staff member recalled walking past the man and as she brushed shoulders with him, she felt a dark and evil presence engulf her. All the hairs raised on the back of her neck and arms. When she looked at him, his eyes were as black as night, his grin wide and evil.
Eventually, things took a sinister turn. One morning, the lighthouse keeper was conducting his rounds. Upon entering the engine room, he found the man dead. An investigation was launched and no foul play or suicide was determined. The reason for the man’s death remains unknown. Even after an autopsy, no solid conclusion was passed. Many people are convinced that an evil presence that lurks in the lighthouse is responsible. Whatever the cause, we will never truly know.
The Phantom Haunted Lighthouse Keeper
For decades, a tall man has been seen wandering the lighthouse grounds. He is always described as wearing a blue peaked cap and a thick blue trench coat with chunky brass buttons fastened from the bottom right up to the collar. This was the common uniform worn by lighthouse keepers in the 1800s. He is said to have a long, drawn, pale face, wearing an expression of tiredness and grief. He makes no sound and only walks a few steps before disappearing silently into thin air. Staff and visitors have reported that just before the lighthouse keeper appears, an eerily still and creepy vibe penetrates the area.
One of the more recent terrifying incidents involved an office worker. At 10 pm, she began to lock up for the evening. She heard a succession of taps on the window behind her. Knowing she was alone, she turned around and was startled by what she saw. Staring at her through the class, was the face of the lighthouse keeper. He fitted the descriptions of all who had seen him over the years. Frozen with fear, the office worker watched in horror as the drab face slowly faded away, leaving her alone once more.
The Ghost Of Isabella Darling
Isabella Darling was the niece of Grace Darling, the maritime heroine mentioned earlier in the article. Her father was the keeper of Souter Lighthouse for ten years from 1881 to 1891. Could the phantom lighthouse keeper be the spirit of Isabella’s father? Scores of people have reported seeing the spectral image of Isabelle roaming around the lighthouse gardens and picking flowers as she did in life.
Isabelle’s spirit has also been seen and heard wandering up and down the lighthouse staircase, accompanied by the swishing of her long flowing dress. Isabelle’s spirit is non-threatening and it is said that she remains to keep a watchful eye over her beloved lighthouse. Isabelle was said to have been an avid cook in life and loved concocting a wide array of delicious food for her friends and family in the lighthouse kitchen. In the dead of night, anybody walking past the kitchen can sometimes hear the clanking of pots and pans, gleeful whistling, and the smell of cooking. When people investigate further, all the noises and smells cease, leaving the kitchen quiet once more.
The Playful Poltergeist
After recent building work took place, paranormal activity increased throughout the lighthouse and lodgings. Personal belongings and objects such as tools, clothing, and cutlery would mysteriously disappear and reappear in inconspicuous places, sometimes weeks after they had vanished. Cold spots would appear around the lighthouse and many staff and visitors likened the coldness to ‘walking into a freezer’.
The poltergeist has never been described as malevolent but rather immature and ‘irritating’ in nature, very much like a bored child seeking attention at a busy family party. Staff and visitors have also reported a feeling of being watched. Invisible hands regularly grab arms and clothing and pull people’s hair. A lot of poltergeist activity is witnessed in the kitchen area and involves the levitation of spoons, and the opening and closing of drawers and cupboards. Taps mysteriously turn on and off by themselves and the coal fire has been known to ignite itself.
The engine room is also rife with poltergeist activity. Machines are reported to turn on and off by themselves and banging on the windows and doors can be heard by engineers who are trying to work. One Engineer reported seeing a dark figure standing to his right. When he turned, he saw the short, dark figure quickly scurry out of view behind the machinery. When the engineer investigated further, nobody was found. Many people think the poltergeist could be the spirit of a child who lived at the lighthouse many years ago and was tragically killed by falling off the nearby cliff while playing with friends. Whatever or whoever is responsible for the activity, is keeping a stern but friendly eye on the lighthouse.
Personal Experience
The Souter Lighthouse is now owned by the National Trust and daily tours allow visitors to see the preserved lodgings and lighthouse. Everything remains largely unchanged and many visitors liken their visit to ‘stepping back in time’. I was lucky enough to enjoy such a visit when I was eight years old. I remember walking into the keeper’s lodgings and listening to the guide telling our group about the daily duties of the lighthouse keeper and how his family would spend their lives in those rooms.
The impressive old living room had an open coal fire, stone floors covered with rugs, a kitchen table, and a cooking area adorned with brass pots, pans, and cooking utensils. In the center of the room, an old rocking chair faced the fire. It was easy to imagine a weary lighthouse keeper sitting in the chair, rocking back and forth as he stared into the glowing embers of the fire on a cold winter night.
The Haunted Rocking Chair
When the tour guide had finished talking, he gestured to the next room and the group slowly made their way out. Being the last person in the room, as I began to leave, I saw the old rocking chair tip forward slightly, roll backward, and then halt in a stationary position. My blood rancold and an overwhelming sense of dread washed over me. Without thinking, I charged out of the room and joined the rest of the group in the next room. The experience shook me terribly and I shared what I had witnessed with my parents and the tour guide. The guide explained that the ‘rocking chair movement’ was a regularly reported phenomenon and that he had witnessed it many times himself.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, a trip to Souter Lighthouse is highly recommended. You will enjoy an important part of Northern England’s maritime history that has been wonderfully preserved. If you do happen to see the spectral lighthouse keeper, remember to thank him for his hard work!
I’m a fan of American professional football. Last year I was following my home team when the team experienced a huge shift in their scoring late in the season due to the sudden emergence of a very talented young player. And suddenly I was looking at the type of controversy I normally only see associated with the paranormal. Things weren’t the way they were supposed to be. Expectations had been shattered. And the kind of reactions I witnessed were all too familiar to me.
So here’s what you need to know in order to understand the controversy. (I’m addressing a very specific time frame here, up to game thirteen out of 17 games in a season) of 2023.
A Controversy is born
Brock Purdy plays quarterback. If you don’t know the game, all that matters here is that at the professional level this position requires not just an athletically gifted player, but also someone who remains calm in the face of intense pressure. Teams spend an enormous amount of effort and money to get the very best players for this position. It’s the difference between success and failure in this game. Either they pay millions of dollars for someone who has proven themselves or they take a risk with young, untested players. Elite quarterbacks are highly prized.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Once a year, after the college sport season is done, the 32 professional teams line up to select 262 players out of all the college players that want to play professionally. In 2022, Brock Purdy was the 262nd selection. He was picked dead last. Every single team had a chance to review him and no one thought he had much of a future in the NFL.
A Forgotten Player Gets His Chance
Neither did the team that selected him, the San Francisco 49’ers, but he did win the 2nd backup position in the preseason. He was the third in line and not really expected to play, but the starting quarterback and the back up quarterback got injured very badly and in the 13th game of the season (out of 17), they had no choice but to put him in a game that was already underway. Normally when this happens, the whole team performs noticeably worse. And now, late in the season, with everyone else in top form, on a talented and winning team against another equally talented and winning team, this young, inexperienced rookie stepped in to play.
Although I rarely watch the games anymore, I was at a friend’s house watching this one. Brock Purdy looked . . . calm. This was his big moment. Everything about the situation he was in screamed for him to be wound up tighter than a cocaine addict out of money. The opposing coach, Mike McDaniels, tried to take advantage of his inexperience, hoping to rattle the young man. Nope, nope and nope. Nothing seemed to bother him.
For a rookie backup player suddenly thrown into his very first professional game at the most difficult position in an important situation against a very good team, his calmness was . . . disorienting to me. In all the 40 years I have been watching the game, I had never seen anything like that. My gut feeling was that I was watching a future hall of fame player.
He did a pretty good job and his team won. From a statistical point of view, he did ok. But if you took his performance completely in context, it was nothing short of mind blowing.
His team did not lose another game until he was injured in the semi finals, after having won his first two playoff games.
Now, in the 2023 season, he is healthy and as I write this, his team is dominating and has lost three games out of thirteen, which is very good. He is pretty much the same person, but now with additional practice time and training, he has improved quite a bit. He appears to be very good at his job.
That’s the backstory, but this is not about American football. It’s about how polarizing this young man was.
The Boggle Threshold
There has been a ridiculous level of disagreement over whether he is actually that good. What I think has happened is that his zero to hero story hit the boggle threshold for some people. This is a term used in parapsychology (the scientific field studying psychic ability) which describes when someone encounters a situation so far outside of their expectations that they refuse to accept it, regardless of the evidence.
I’ve seen this time and again with the paranormal and this particular situation appeared to be no different to me. There are people who shut down when things become unpredictable and their expectations are blown out the window. They dig in their heels and simply insist that the rest of us have been looking at it all wrong.
What Brock Purdy has done is mind-boggling to be sure. To go from very last in the draft to not only successfully starting for an elite team, but doing it extremely well is unprecedented in the sport. It seems like after about 100 years of the sport that someone would have recognized this level of elite talent. What happened?
His background did not suggest that he was, or could be, elite. He’s 6’1”, which while tall, isn’t as tall as most elite quarterbacks. He can throw well enough, but doesn’t have an elite arm. He is very accurate, but not a lot more so than many other quarterbacks. He can run well enough, but again, he’s not elite in that category either. If you were to only look at his physical abilities, he doesn’t look like anything special.
What he does have is mind-bending for calmness under duress and a nearly preternatural level of rapid decision making. He is off the charts elite with those two qualities. And it turns out that these two fuzzy things -that are harder to track- are far more important to his job than purely physical skills.
It’s Not All About What You Can Measure
And this is where the controversy comes in. If you’re obsessed with the things you can easily measure, then he can’t possibly be that good. Those people derisively call him a “system quarterback.” It’s a term that’s meant to imply that the players around him are so good that he can’t help but succeed. And they point to the games he lost as proof.
But if you watch how he plays, his body language and his demeanor suggests someone who is playing with more maturity and confidence than his youth would suggest. He looks elite when he plays. As with the paranormal, if you start digging into the more obscure details, the naysayers are exposed as being overly superficial. This is, by the way, exactly what happens with the paranormal.
This is a textbook example of how holistic thinking is different than linear, logical thinking.
The linear thinking goes something like this:
If he were that good, someone would have seen it.
He isn’t big enough or athletic enough.
He isn’t the reason for his team’s success. There must be other reasons.
Any half decent player would succeed in his position.
Now compare this to the reaction of the head coach of his team, Kyle Shanahan. He’s the type of person who readily admits to using his instincts with players. Arguably the person closest to the problem, he made Purdy his starting quarterback and traded away his previous starter and the back up. He had no problem assigning very high value to Purdy’s state of mind and a lower value to his overall physical skills. Purdy’s teammates, the people most affected by his abilities, think that the controversy is stupid.
This happens with the paranormal as well. It is full of fuzzy data with no clear cut answers and it often requires looking at a particular event very closely to come to any conclusions. With a few exceptions, you can chart opinions based on how familiar people are with the subject.
Using your instincts is a holistic skill. It’s combining information in novel, unconscious ways to reach a conclusion.
The Paranormal has similar problems
The similarities don’t stop there. If, like Purdy’s detractors, all you look for is a certain set of easily identifiable and measurable data and ignore the things that are harder to measure, you’re going to reach one type of conclusion and you won’t trust things that are novel and outside of those factors.
But for those who are good with their instincts, there is more data to be had, but it won’t necessarily be as easy to quantify. This ability to rate evidence that is more difficult to quantify is at the heart of this controversy and many others, the paranormal included.
It’s entirely possible that Purdy endures an entire career of having detractors who never attribute his success to his personal skills, pointing to every failure he has as proof of his mediocrity and his success to having good players around him. There will always be reasons to doubt because he will have bad days or even bad seasons.
Like investigations into the paranormal, he won’t be perfect and mistake free; he will have times when he struggles and those looking for a reason to doubt will find their ammunition. Through no fault of his own, he is challenging people’s beliefs.
And this is where the similarities end. The paranormal will always leave a lot more room for doubt, while Purdy’s detractors will eventually look ridiculous. He’s now in the running for most valuable player in the league, so enough people have seen his abilities to take him seriously.
The fact that there is a controversy at all is a lesson in how people react to their expectations. The evidence isn’t always easy to quantify; isn’t easy to measure and often depends on uncontrollable variables that can never be fully accounted for. That doesn’t mean though, that there isn’t enough evidence.
John Reinhard Weguelin–The Roman Saturnalia (1884): Wikimedia Commons
The Boisterous Birth of Many Holiday Traditions
A look at the traditions and tales of the feast of Saturn or “Saturnalia”, which was was celebrated from approximately December 17th through the 23rd. This boisterous festival birthed many of our own holiday traditions such as feasting, snogging under the mistletoe, lighting candles, wearing silly hats, exchanging gifts and the occasional orgy/knee-trembler.
Masters waited on their slaves as it was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike; there was also the election of a 'King of the Saturnalia', who presided over the merrymaking, akin to England's 'Lord of Misrule'.
‘Down the Broad Stairs Trooped the Motley Train of the Lord of Misrule’ - Wikimedia Commons
Some readers may remember that the US sitcom Seinfeld (1989-98) began a semi-rival of the tradition in Frank Costanza’s (Jerry Stiller) ‘Festivus’, which has actually caught on with a few folk:
From Overseer of Debauched Revelries to Sacrificial King
The Lord of Misrule was usually a yokel/bumpkin-type or minor sub-deacon appointed by lot to be in charge of Christmas revelries, often descending into drunkenness and debauchery, similar to a Number 10 lockdown party.
Although banned by Elizabeth I, the custom still lingered on in some remoter places (Croydon, supposedly) until those killjoy Victorians finally put paid to it.
Noted anthropologist James 'Golden Bough' Frazer (1954-1941), hypothesized a bloodier side to Saturnalia and the Lord of Misrule. In Roman Bulgaria, legionnaires would pick one of their comrades to be Lord of Misrule for thirty days. At the end of that period his throat was cut on the altar of Saturn. Likewise, the British Lord of Misrule was said originally to be a sacrificial king slain for the benefit of all; witness the Wicker Man.
Wikimedia Commons
The Cult of Diana’s Slave Priest
Back in 2018, I travelled to Lake Nemi in the Alban Hills of Rome, where in ancient times the slave-born priest-king of the sanctuary to mythical cult goddess Diana Nemorensis, or ‘Diana of the Grove’ had to hunt and kill his predecessor to take the role.
Any time the sanctuary authorities deemed the cult was in need of a new priest king, a challenger was chosen to hunt down and kill him in order to take his place as rex nemorensis. The hunt itself was considered a sacred rite to Diana. (Green, Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana at Aricia.)
If You Attend a Wassail Ceremony, Don’t Forget Your Pileus
Saturnalia citizens wore the pixie-hat like 'pileus', a conical felt cap that was the usual mark of a freedman. Slaves, who were not entitled to wear the pileus, were permitted to don the merry titfer, so that everyone was 'pileated' without distinction.
Phrygian (Pileus/Liberty) Cap
Unlikely to happen nowadays on the estates of Messrs. Sunak, Johnson, Rees-Mogg and stable-heating Zahawi.
But I suppose the likes of Johnson, Truss and Corbyn assuming positions of power had an element of Saturnalia. And tiresome performative egomaniac, the oafish Johnson surely deserves the title 'Lord of Misrule.' Here he is on 6th January 2024, dishevelled as always and showing off in his daft hat at traditional Wassail Ceremony:
The Roman God Saturn (Cronos in Greece), had a famously fractious relationship with his offspring, the Olympian Pantheon headed by Jove (Zeus). As Cronos took over from his father the supreme god Uranus by castrating him, the Titan feared similar treatment at the hands of his kids, so devoured them - with the exception of Zeus who was smuggled out and replaced with a rock. After doing his time in Tartarus, Zeus freed his dad and gave him the mythical Isles of the Blessed in the Atlantic (The Canary Islands/Azores or Bermuda) to rule in peace.
'Saturn Devouring His Son' (1636) by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (Wikimedia Commons)- in the myth he swallowed them whole, rather than chewing, got any Chilli Sauce?
Wassailing Traditions Continue in England
Beyond Twelfth Night, seasonal traditions continue in England with ‘Wassailing’ a pre-Christian form of placating the spirits of the orchards in order to guarantee crops...
And the woodland spirits have to be placated...watch the beginning of 1990’s BBC1 TV mini-series The Green Man to see their murderous anger when roused:
Stephen Arnell’s Roman-era novel, THE GREAT ONE is out NOW on Amazon Kindle:
