Between heaven and earth. Megaliths in Poland and their possible connections with the movement of celestial bodies

 Huge prehistoric structures have always fascinated history buffs and adventurers. Most were written before the magazine was distributed. That is why today it is difficult for us to say what our distant ancestors were for. A feature that recurs frequently in these constructions is the deliberate alignment with the movement of the sun or stars. Is this just our overinterpretation, or could prehistoric structures be related to the movement of celestial bodies?

Before talking about the theories about the origin and function of megalithic structures, I would like to make the reader aware of what heaven our ancestors looked at. Most of us today live in places where there is quite large so-called light pollution. The sky can also be obscured by a cloud of smog. For this reason, the best observatories are built today in places as far away from civilization as possible, and the most accurate telescopes are placed in orbit. But imagine the view that stretched over a Bronze Age settlement. Especially on a clear, cloudless night. Additionally, imagine that no view our ancestors knew on earth was so stunning, yet so elegant and regular. It determined the time of life, the seasons of the year, and the weather. People had a quite tangible and literal sense of being between heaven and earth.

The view of the night sky is relatively unchanged, which is why for millennia it has served people as a marker of time. However, the changes are not only related to the times of the day, the year, or the cycles of several years (e.g. migration of more distant planets). One of the important phenomena that influenced what we saw and see in the sky is the so-called precession of the Earth's spin axis. It consists in "making circles" through the axis running through the center of the poles. Just like in the case of the axis of a slowly spinning baby spinning top. The entire axis rotation cycle lasts 25,772 years and is known as the Platonic year. This means that the last people to see a sky like us (apart from pollution) were representatives of the Upper Paleolithic, the creators of the rock paintings and the first bone figures.

The differences weren't great, but until 3,000 years ago, you could see the Southern Cross in the British Isles. Currently, this constellation is not visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

To this, you need to add one-off phenomena, e.g. the burning of meteorites in the atmosphere, cyclical phenomena independent of the movement of the earth (return of comets), etc.

Scientists studying the possible positioning of megaliths relative to the night sky must take all of this into account. The Moon and the Sun provide fewer difficulties. East and west are still where they were (precession does not affect the position of the Sun in relation to the horizon) and if the tomb or stone circle has been set in some relation to e.g. sunrise on the vernal equinox, we will probably still be able to observe this phenomenon. An example is Stonehenge, where for thousands of years you can observe the sunrise over the so-called Heel Stone.

The most delightful spectacle took place over the heads of our ancestors. Not only did he provide a whole range of feelings, but he seemed to be guiding the world they lived in. The appearance of certain stars, the rising of the sun over a particular hill, meant the beginning of spring or winter. The specific appearance of the moon foretold wet or dry weather. The decisions depended on it: go hunting? Get ready for a particularly cold winter. Pick herbs at dawn?

Using the historical record and old rituals preserved in some indigenous cultures, we can guess that our ancestors had names and ceremonies associated with the stars. Scientists in Edinburgh have even hypothesized that animal rock paintings may depict constellations. On the other hand, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Sydney, Ray Norris estimated that the myth of the seven Pleiades sisters could have arisen as many as 100,000. years ago in Africa. Even if these estimates go too far back in time, we can safely say that at the time of the megaliths' formation, the knowledge of the sky and the association of mythology and everyday life with it were well developed.

The basic type of megaliths is large stones arranged in simple structures (e.g. circles, rows) and structures (e.g. dolmens). There are also buildings in which soil and stones, sometimes wooden elements, form a kind of building. Most often they are tombs, although there is no scientific agreement as to the purpose of some of them.

The oldest megalithic structures in Poland are located in Kujawy. These are tombs, sometimes called the Polish pyramids, a large cluster located in the vicinity of Izbica Kujawska. Dated from 3000-2200 BC they testify to quite good building skills and at least basic astronomical knowledge of the people living here. The tombs have the shape of an elongated triangle, the longest one is 100 m long. They are made of the ground on a palisade structure, reinforced with unevenly distributed boulders. However, we should be most interested in the orientation of the tombs. Most tombs of this type in Poland are oriented eastwards and narrow towards the west. The exception is the tombs on the Łupawa River in southern Poland, which are not uniformly located in relation to the directions of the world.

Not many stone tombs have survived. The ones that exist are huge boulders facing east. But perhaps the most interesting is the only preserved dolphin in Poland in Borków (West Pomeranian Voivodeship). It is a corridor-type chamber tomb, made of only boulders and small stones. It dates back to around 5000 BC. It is therefore the oldest and most unique Palaeolithic monument.

Another group of megaliths is stone circles, found mainly in Kashubia. The most famous ones are in Węsiory, Odry, and Leśno, and a little further in Grzybnica. The circles are believed to have been built by the Goths between the 1st and 3rd centuries C.E. They accompany mounds built in the same area. We do not know their purpose, although various theories have been put forward.

Relatively young, but equally interesting megalithic monuments are the Mounds of Wanda and Krakus in Krakow. They date back to the 7th century AD. Unlike other megaliths, quite detailed connections with astronomy and the (probably Celtic) calendar have been established here.

Little is known about Polish megaliths compared to similar objects in Western Europe. Some of them were last thoroughly researched in the 1930s. On the other hand, the obvious clue here is the repeated orientation towards the directions of the world. In the case of Kraków mounds, it is also the link between the axis connecting the objects with sunrise and sunset. Especially with the position of the sun on specific days during the year.

Most of the megalithic structures are tombs, although there is no certainty about the Kraków mounds. Stone circles in Kashubia are not graves themselves but are part of a complex that includes a cemetery with barrows and flat graves. They could have several functions, e.g. as a meeting place.

Kuyavian tombs are related to the Mesolithic cultures of funnel-shaped cups and spherical amphoras, which covered roughly the area of ​​Central Europe between the 4th and 3rd thousand years. B.C.E. The Funnel Beaker Culture is an agricultural culture, the first in Poland to use sled oxen and four-wheeled carts. The social structure became more hierarchical, and the social status was determined by luxury goods - e.g. copper products. Burials in triangular tombs were reserved for the elite. Apart from them, various forms of flat graves are known. Some are mass graves, others hide traces of various magical practices, e.g. restraining corpses, and cutting off heads. The emergence of the globular amphora culture is associated with the pastoral economy (apart from farming) and the introduction of the horse as livestock. The above-mentioned cultures, especially the last one, were most likely created by people of Indo-European origin. So we can to some extent recreate their beliefs by using other studies on the subject.

The cult of the sun and the moon was an important part of Indo-European beliefs. They were the "eyes of the gods", following what was happening in the world.

Early Indo-European beliefs distinguish belief in the souls of humans and animals, but also phantoms and ghosts as something terrifying. ) Believed in the afterlife probably. Perfect meadows and pastures awaited the leaders and warriors, while the rest had to be content with being in the dark realm. The tomb was a kind of posthumous home or hiding place. Could the East orientation also have something to do with rebirth? The east-west orientation of most megalithic tombs in Poland is not accidental. The East, where every morning the sun is "born" is still today associated in many cultures with the rebirth of life. It is also possible that placing the tomb of a warrior or leader along the path of the sun had something to do with his journey into the afterlife.

Mounds of Wanda and Krakus provide us with much more material for speculation. If their dating is correct, then we know more about potential builders. The buildings themselves are well thought out in relation to the annual travel of the sun across the sky.

Krak's Mound is located in the Pogórze district and the Wanda Mound in Nowa Huta. They are arranged on the SW-NE axis. This specific layout means that four times a year you can watch the sunrise and sunset from one of them, directly above the other. Looking from the Krak Mound on May 1 and August 12, we will see the sunrise directly over Wanda's Mound. On the other hand, from the Wanda Mound, you can see the sunset exactly over the Krak Mound on February 6 and November 4. These are not random dates. They coincide with the four most important holidays of the Celtic calendar: Samain (October 31 / November 1), Imbolc (February 1/2), Beltane (May 1), and Lugnasad (August 1). But does this link make sense?

The Celts did arrive in Poland, but earlier. If the mounds were built in the 7th century, these lands were no longer inhabited by Celts. It is possible, however, that the mounds or some version of them are much older or that they were built by the Slavs. We do not know the Slavic calendar as precisely as the Celtic one. It is known, however, that there were holidays related to similar periods of the year at a more or less similar time.

Here I am focusing on the movement of celestial bodies. Regardless of who built the mounds, the thesis that they could be used as a calendar seems quite interesting. If you are interested in the details of this theory, please refer to the articles by Władysław Góral.

When looking at megaliths in Poland and often in other parts of the world, it is difficult to resist the impression that their creators were not indifferent to what was going on in the sky. Whether we are talking about tombs, stone temples, or mega-calendars, you can see a good orientation in space and sometimes a very well-thought-out arrangement with respect to the stars and the sun.

Bibliography:

• Jason Goodyer, Cave paintings reveal ancient Europeans' knowledge of the stars, 29.01.2019 at: https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/cave-paintings-reveal-ancient-europeans-knowledge-of-the-stars /, accessed on February 14, 2022
• Ray Norris, Global myths about the Matariki constellation may reach back 100,000 years, December 22, 2020, at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/123789556/global-myths-about-matariki-constellation-may-reach-back -100,000-years
• Barbara Burchard, Research on megalithic tombs in Zagaj Stradowski in southern Poland, in Archaeological Reports, vol. 50 1998, pp. 149-156
• Krzysztof Gorczyca, Kleczewska enclave of Kuyavian tombs. An outline of the problem, in: FOLIA PRAEHISTORICA POSNANIENSIA T. XIII / XIV - 2005, pp. 117-132
• Jacek Wierzbicki, Megalithic tomb from Borekowo, state. 1, commune Malechowo, voivodeship West Pomeranian. The only corridor tomb in Poland? , in: History and culture of the Sławno region, T IV, Sławno 2005, pp. 93-113
• Piotr Kaczanowski, Janusz Krzysztof Kozłowski, The Great History of Poland, Vol. 1 - The earliest history of the Polish lands (up to the 7th century), Krakow 1998
• Andrzej P. Kowalski, Indo-European Culture. Anthropology of prehistoric communities, Gdańsk 2017
• Władysław Góral, Krakus, and Wanda Mounds and the Division of a Year into Eight Parts, in Geoinformatica Polonica, 17: 2018, pp. 109-122

Dracula, Nosferatu, Lestat - terrifying wraiths or tragic damned? Sources of old and modern legends about vampires

 Vampires are one of the most popular monsters in pop culture. They fascinate with their dark eroticism and the superpowers attributed to them. To our ancestors, they were more frightening than attractive. They were equated with bloody aristocrats, demons, damned, and sorcerers. What are the sources of vampire stories? Where did they come from and how have they changed over the centuries?

The images and names used to denote vampires have changed over the centuries. However, there are some recurring beliefs that can be traced back to the oldest mythologies. The main characteristics of a vampire are drinking human (or animal) blood and being connected with the world of the dead. Already in the "Odyssey" (written probably in the 8th century BCE), the main character, invoking the spirit of the prophet Tiresias, kills the sheep and drains their blood. Immediately the souls of the dead appear to want a drink. He must chase them away until he talks to Tiresias. This is the best evidence that the ancient Greeks believed in the dead's appetite for fresh blood. In this case, they are ghosts - we are not dealing literally with a deceased body looking for nourishing food.

The erotic plot, later associated with the classic image of a vampire, also appears in ancient Greece. It was believed that Empuza (Roman Lamia) - a demon from Hecate's retinue, was to take the form of a beautiful woman, seduce men, and suck their blood.

Both figures (Greek Empusa and Roman Lamia) adopt the features of a demoness who was believed in the Semitic culture - Lilith. According to Jewish tradition, she was Adam's first wife.

In antiquity, there is also the thread of the ghosts of people who died a violent death (called a larva or lemur). The "ancestors" of the vampire also include Greek mermaids.

The classic image of a vampire appears in Europe in the Middle Ages. This is already a typical specter - that is, the deceased who lived a wicked life and after death, haunts and kills the local inhabitants. The first such tale from England, written by William of Malmesbury in the early 12th century, tells of a wicked man who, after death, scares the inhabitants at night, causes plague, and drinks the blood of the living. We also have a recipe for killing a vampire. Two brothers dig out the corpse, stick a stake into it, and immediately warm blood begins to gush out. Then they drag him out of town and burn him. More similar stories can be found in the English records of this period. However, there are also demonic threads. The first surviving legends about vampires from Moldova and Wallachia come from the same time. They are very extensive in terms of the history of ghosts (also known as strigoi) and how to combat them.

Thus, in the Middle Ages, the image of a vampire known to us as a condemned deceased, a ghost that haunts the living and sucks their blood, becomes more and more evident.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, beliefs about vampires began to be very popular throughout Central Europe - from Moldova to Poland. This coincided with witch hunts (mainly in Western Europe) and at the same time with the growing popularity of occult practices, especially among the nobility and aristocracy. In Wallachia (today's Romania and Moldova) this tradition was much older - as I mentioned earlier. It also appeared from the earliest times in Slavic culture. In the 17th century, however, vampire cases caught the attention of a wider audience and are therefore more visible in written sources from that period. One of the manifestations of this fascination is published in 1749 "The Discourse on the Appearance of Ghosts and Vampires or Resurrected in Hungary, Moravia, etc." by the Benedictine monk Agostino Calmet. We will find here not only chilling stories of the dead rising from their graves and tormenting local residents. Calmet also writes about what rituals can help in the fight against this terrible enemy.

Contrary to Western European legends, in Central Europe, and especially in today's Romania, it was believed that the living could be vampires. One popular belief was that a child born in an amniotic cell would become a vampire. To prevent this, a special ritual had to be performed. Such an "incapacitated" vampire turned out to be of great help to the local community. This is a bit like some beliefs about the so-called changelings, i.e. abandoned children of elves, gnomes, aquarius, etc. in exchange for a human child. Usually, children found to be founders of other creatures were treated very badly, up to and including being killed. Sometimes, however, it was believed that good treatment won the family favor of his countrymen.

In Transylvania and Hungary, it was also believed that a person bitten by a vampire might be inactive while still alive. That is, he lives for the following years as a normal human being, and his ghostly abilities do not appear until after death. According to legend, a hajduk from the Turkish-Hungarian border was bitten by a Turkish vampire. To neutralize the bite, he performed a special ritual - he ate the soil from the vampire's grave and rubbed his own blood. But it only worked as long as he was alive. After his death, he began to visit the locals and suck their blood. It was necessary to apply a "routine" action - a stake through the heart and then cut off and burned the head.

Wallachia for most of its history was not a peaceful area. When Bulgaria fell into the hands of the Turks in 1396, there was no ally and buffer to protect the Wallachians from the Ottoman Empire. It was then that Sigismund of Luxemburg established the Order of the Dragon (1408), modeled on the old knightly orders. It was from this order that Vlad's father was nicknamed Dracul (which could mean a dragon or a devil). Wlada II was called Draculea - "the son of the Devil". Anyway, it corresponded to the symbolism of the order, which referred to the legend of St. George, who was defeating the dragon-devil.

Vlad III became the hospodar of Wallachia for the first time in 1448. Initially detained by the Turks, he had to give way quickly to Hunyade's candidate. Only in 1456 did he returns to the throne, already as an ally of the Hungarian rulers, and begins an act of bloody revenge on his opponents. He first impaled the unfaithful boyars (1457), then he treated the townspeople of Brasov in a similar way for their loyalty to his half-brother, Wład Mnich.

As with many bloodlords, legends have grown up around Dracula. Given his behavior, it is possible that he was believed to have been a vampire during his lifetime. These stories inspired the Irish author, Bram Stoker. In 1897 he published his most famous novel, "Dracula". It was loosely based on the story of a Wallachian hospodar and possibly some other legendary vampires. However, the story became the inspiration for novels and movies throughout the next century to this day. First of all, Stoker's idea was vampire mobility. In folk legends, the specter tormented the surrounding villages, rather than venturing beyond his domain. For an Irish author, Dracula moves to London and most of the story takes place in England. In addition, Stoker has greatly enhanced the erotic threads in his novel. It was a procedure known to other authors of gothic novels. This one, however, created a classic image of a vampire - wanted and coveted.

During the twentieth century, the characters of vampires became more romantic and more human. They ceased to be monsters that had to be destroyed and became the subjects and narrators of the plot. We learn about their internal dilemmas resulting from the suspension between the world of the living and the dead. Often these vampire heroes are interpreted as a metaphor for exclusion and community fear of the unknown. For example, vampires were very evocatively homosexual or bisexual in many novels. Later, vampirism was also equated with autism or with AIDS. This convention allowed for crossing certain boundaries and weaving involved threads into fiction.

No matter how you interpret the characters of vampires, they are fascinating, multi-dimensional creatures that perfectly set more than one plot.

From a political point of view, Vlad III was simply a determined ruler who wanted to limit the influence of the boyars and gain the obedience of his subjects. This was the purpose of changing the name of the office from the prince (domnul) to the voivode - military leader.

However, it did not end there. He tortured his political enemies with particular cruelty, and at times tortured and killed for entertainment. According to some estimates, he led to death in agony between 30,000 and 100,000. people.

He exposed himself to his subjects when, after the Turks' attack on Wallachia (1462), he conducted a ruthless tactic of scorched earth. Eventually, he was betrayed by his own brother and lost power. The boyars, allied with the Turks, attacked his capital. Wlad's wife, fearing a terrible fate in captivity, preferred to rush from the tower into the Danube. She was the only person who could soothe her husband's cruel impulses. Dracula ran away, seeking help from the King of Hungary - Matthias Corvinus, but he was also betrayed by him. He stayed in captivity until 1474. The Hungarian king finally changed his mind and decided to restore him to the Wallachian throne (1476). For the last time, Dracula was betrayed by his rival to the throne - Basarab III. It is unknown who exactly killed him, but his head was cut off and sent to the Sultan in Istanbul.

Bibliography:

• Erberto Petoia, Vampires, and Werewolves. Sources, history, legends from antiquity to the present day, Krakow 2004
• Arie Kaplan, Dracula: the life of Vlad the Impaler, New York 2012

Sunrises and sunsets over the mounds of Wanda and Krak - an ancient mega-calendar?

 The Mounds of Wanda and Krak are an important part of the cultural landscape of Krakow. The names given to them made us associate them more often with the semi-legendary rulers of the Vistula than with megalithic objects. However, research indicates that they could have been more than just graves or memorials. Could they be a mega calendar? Or maybe they had some other functions?

Kraków Mounds are a good example of objects whose role has changed along with cultural changes. In the nineteenth century, they were strongly associated with the legend of Wanda and Krak, which was told during the partitions to encourage hearts. The story was written in the Middle Ages, but it was not until the time of the partitions that it gained popularity again. The best example of how strongly it influenced Cracovians is the fact that a similar mound was built for Tadeusz Kościuszko. Research carried out in the following century did not confirm that these were the burial places of the legendary rulers. Even if they were erected for this purpose, they had to fulfill other functions. Perhaps the most interesting proposition is to link them to the position of the sun, especially on the four important days of the year. Interestingly, these days are primarily Celtic holidays. Had they been built by the Celts or by people who cultivated the Celtic calendar? Or is it just an overinterpretation?

The figures of Wanda and Krak appear in the 13th-century chronicles of Kadłubek and Wielkopolska, but only Jan Długosz in the 15th century mentions the mound as the tomb of the founder of Kraków. Earlier evidence of the similar nature of the Wanda Mound is the note on the donation of the Bishop of Kraków from 1222, which mentions the name of the village of Mogiła.

Another evidence of the mortuary nature of the mound may be the Rękawka festival in Krakow. The name may be related to making a mound with your hands or from "rakva", "rakev" - which means a coffin in Slavic languages. The holiday dates back to pagan times and was celebrated on Tuesday after Easter. It is related to the worship of the dead. Today, its remnant is visiting cemeteries during the Easter season.

Even if the mounds were not tombs, the tradition to consider them as such goes deep into the past. The celebration of the Rękawka event also gives us a hint about the calendar. We have evidence that at least one holiday related to the annual cycle was celebrated here.

Where did the idea for linking the mounds with the calendar come from? First of all, it is nothing shocking in the case of this type of building. The deliberate orientation of megalithic objects and ancient places of worship towards the sun, moon, and stars is a common phenomenon. Secondly, certain regularities related to sunrise and sunset over the discussed objects were noticed.

It is much more problematic to assign to a specific ethnolinguistic group, for example, the Celts or the Slavs. Nevertheless, we are dealing with objects whose arrangement is not random in relation to the annual journey of the sun (or other celestial bodies). The dates set by these objects are not related to the main astronomical events (solstices and equinoxes), but to the dates of the Celtic holidays.

I must point out here that originally the Celtic calendar was lunar. It was only under the Roman influence that it was adapted to the solar year. This does not change the fact that Krakow mounds and Celtic buildings in other parts of Europe are related to the position of the sun.

In Poland, there are many objects that are tombs and are arranged in a non-accidental way to the sun. I mean, first of all, the Kuyavian tombs, whose entrances are on the eastern side. Not all tombs found in our lands have such an arrangement, but it clearly prevails.

In Europe and in the world, there are also objects whose location determines the position of the sun during the year. The most famous is Stonehenge in Great Britain. Initially ascribed to the Celts and druidic practices, it turned out to be much older than the appearance of the first representatives of this group on the islands. However, a number of sun-oriented objects are also found, among others in Spain. An interesting case is the Celto-Iberian sanctuary of Peñalba de Villastar south of the Aragonese city of Teruel. An incomplete Latin inscription describes the celebrations celebrated a few days before the May calendars. With your back to the rock with the inscription on November 1, you can see the sun rising in a specific place above the horizon. It is interesting because it almost corresponds to the day with two dates set by the sun over our mounds.

Krak's Mound is the largest of its kind in Poland. It is located on the top of Lasota Mountain (now the Podgórze district of Krakow). Recently, it was thoroughly examined in the 1930s (1933-37). A funnel trench was used from the top downwards. Human remains were discovered, but only half a meter below the peak. It was the skeleton of a child and the skull of a man. The discovery could not be dated at that time. At a depth of approx. 70 cm, there was a hearth - perhaps a remnant of the documented use of the mound to illuminate the city during the coronation of Henryk Waleze.

Two meters from the top, the roots began to go down six meters further. It was a remnant of an oak that could have crowned the summit even in pre-Christian times. The remains of birch wood found between the roots may have been the remains of a cross that was erected later. The cross is depicted in the 16th-century engraving showing the siege of Krakow by Archduke Maximilian. It was found that the center rested on a pole with wicker partitions radiating away from it. The space between them was filled with packed earth and stones. It was a well-thought-out construction that probably involved the entire community, and its construction could take several years. The more so because the soil was transported from the areas below.

We know much less about Wanda's Mound. Currently, it is almost invisible, and no detailed archaeological research has been carried out there. However, the relationship between it and Krak's Mound cannot be questioned. The legend is not a historical record. We do not have to believe that the first "Polish queen" (or rather, the Vistula) is actually buried under the mountain. On the other hand, the combination of legends about these two figures and their tombs testifies to the long-standing tradition connecting both objects.

A physical confirmation of this relationship may be the relationship of both objects to the sun. On May 1 and August 12, while standing on Krak's Mound, we will see the sunrise over Wanda's Mound. On February 6 and November 4, from the top of the Wanda Mound, we will see the sunset directly over the Krak's Mound. These dates are not accidental. They do not mark any spectacular astronomical events but are close to the Celtic holidays, the most important of the Celtic year: Samain (October 31 / November 1), Imbolc (February 1/2), Beltane (May 1), and Lugnasad (August 1). Moreover, building objects so that the sunrises and sunsets set on these dates were not alien to the Celts in other parts of Europe (cf. the sanctuary of Peñalba de Villastar, described earlier). If the sun marked the solstices and equinoxes, perhaps researchers would not think of the Celts. Ultimately, these are well-noticeable and astronomically groundbreaking events in the annual cycle. Celtic holidays, on the other hand, set dates roughly between the equinoxes and solstices. They are related to the agricultural calendar more than to the astronomical phenomena themselves.

There is a reason the above-mentioned dates bring to mind the Celts. It is also not a completely unfounded hypothesis. Between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC Celts settled in southern Poland. The vicinity of Krakow is one of the few centers where their presence during this period has been confirmed by artifacts.

The problem is to match the dating of the mounds with the period of the Celts' stay in Poland. Unfortunately, dating is still uncertain today. It is officially assumed that the Krak Mound was built between the 6th and 8th centuries CE, when the Celts were no longer here. Such dates were given by Andrzej Żaki, who participated in the excavations in the 1930s. On the other hand, a botanist who examined the oak at that time established that it was about 300 years old at the time of cutting. Researchers assumed that he was beheaded in the 9th or 10th century as part of the liquidation of the pagan cult. So it would be planted in the 6th century at the earliest. Additionally, the Avar tag found at the bottom of the mound may have come from that period. This inference is logically consistent in itself. All the more so as it was then that we would expect the beginnings of the kingdom of Vistulans, which at the time of the mission of Cyril and Methodius belonged to powerful centers in the region. The problem is that it has not been verified. If the dating of Żaki and Szafer is correct, then the Celts did not live there. There are too many unknowns to say something for sure. But couldn't the Slavs build similar mounds? The culture of the pre-Christian Slavs is less known than the culture of the Celts. We know about the aforementioned Rękawka holiday, which, however, was a movable holiday and had nothing to do with any of the Celtic holidays mentioned earlier. However, the Slavs also had their holidays related to taking cattle to pasture (the equivalent of Beltane), the harvest (the equivalent of Lugnasad), the end of the harvest and preparation for winter (the equivalent of Samain), and preparation for spring (the equivalent of Imbolc). Agricultural culture in the temperate climate of Europe simply had common elements, irrespective of the ethnic group. In addition, the presence of Celts in these areas could have influenced the adoption of a specific way of marking these breakthrough points in the agricultural year. It can therefore be assumed that the positioning of the mounds in relation to the annual journey of the sun could be related to the practices and beliefs of the local Slavic community.

Regardless of who and when exactly built the mounds, they are a fascinating element of the Krakow landscape. Perhaps they look inconspicuous against the background of medieval and Renaissance monuments of the city, but they hide many unsolved mysteries.

Bibliography:

• Roman Kiełkowski, Stories from the Krakus Mound, Krakow 1972
• Władysław Góral, Krakus, and Wanda Mounds and the Division of a Year into Eight Parts, in Geoinformatica Polonica, 17: 2018, pp. 109-122
• Barry Cunliffe, Ancient Celts, PIW 2003

The Year Without Summer - the consequences of the volcanic winter of 1816

 On April 10, 1815, one of the largest eruptions in history occurred on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia. The consequences of this event covered the entire globe, resulting in the so-called year without summer, i.e. the volcanic winter of 1816 and weather anomalies in the following years. How has this influenced world history?

There are several types of eruptions. One of the most deadly is Plinyńska, not without reason also called Vesuvian. During such an eruption, the volcano is able to throw up to 2/3 of its volume into the air. The rise of eruption columns into the stratosphere usually causes the climate to cool periodically. The last, well-documented Plininian eruption took place in the Philippines when the Pinatubo volcano erupted in 1991. The following year, the average temperature was 0.5 degrees cooler than in 1991. However, the Tambora eruption was the largest recorded in human memory. It only gives way to prehistoric eruptions of supervolcanoes.

Sumbawa is part of the archipelago of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Its mountainous terrain gives it a picturesque, somewhat romantic look. It has a humid equatorial climate with a lot of rainfall. The main source of income for the inhabitants is agriculture. It was similar over 200 years ago. In addition to the cultivation of rice and cotton, sappan trees (Brezylka) and honey from wild bees were obtained from the forests. The Dutch brought coffee beans to Sumbawa, which were grown on the slopes of Tambora. The island was also known for horse breeding.

The very district around Mount Tambora was more mountainous, less suitable for agriculture, but very picturesque. Some people calculate that before its destruction, Mount Tambora must have reached over 4,000 m above sea level, which made it the highest peak in the so-called East Indies.

As a result of the Napoleonic wars in 1808, the island came under French rule along with other Dutch possessions, but in 1811 it was taken over by the British together with Java. Lieutenant Sir Stamford Raffles was elected Governor-General. We owe him the first history of Java and a fairly detailed description of the events related to the outbreak of Tambor.

Before 1815, the island had a population of at least 10,000. people of non-Thai origin. The entire culture disappeared within hours as a result of the volcanic eruption.

Until 1812, the volcanic properties of Mount Tambora were probably not known at all. This year, the volcano began to emit clouds of ash. John Crawfurd, who sailed along the Sumbawa coast in 1814, initially thought it was a tropical squall and was getting ready to meet the gale when he learned the true cause of the dark clouds.

However, the first serious eruptions took place in early April 1815, i.e. a few days before the main eruption. The troops stationed on the island even mistook the roar of the explosion for the enemy's cannons. It was not at all impossible in those turbulent times. Although pirates were expected rather than the fleets of any of the hostile powers.

The biggest eruption occurred on April 10 at 7 PM local time. It lasted three hours. The earthquake was felt on the neighboring islands, and the next day the sun was barely visible behind the thick red clouds. The height of the eruption columns reached 43 km, and the volume of ejected materials was over 100 km3. The eruption on the 8-point scale of the Volcanic Explosion Index is marked with the number 7. For comparison, the explosion of the famous eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the Herculaneum and Pompeii, is estimated at 5. Therefore, the eruption of Tambora is considered to be the largest in recorded history.

People living within the range of the explosion (the so-called Tambora culture) died on the spot. A further direct consequence of the outbreak was the tsunami. While not the deadliest in history, it contributed to further devastation. The deadliest wave, 4 meters high, hit Sanggar around 10:00 PM on the same day. She destroyed the rice paddies and the homes of the islanders. In the more distant islands, the effects were not that much felt, but the wave even reached Java, 500 km away.

When the survivors finally saw the sun on April 12, they faced new adversities. A huge volcano, located on a peninsula surrounded on almost all sides by the sea, threw huge amounts of pumice into the water. Three years after the eruption, the floating islands formed of them made it difficult to navigate between the islands of Mojo and Sanggar.

The most difficult thing was getting rid of the ash that fell on the island in the immediate vicinity of the volcano. The old rice and coffee fields were covered with a thick layer. Of those who survived, many had to sell their children into slavery to ensure their survival. Despite this, up to 10,000 people could die of starvation and disease from the outbreak. In 1847, the naturalist traveling on the islands, Heinrich Zollinger, recorded knee-length ash in the western part of Sumbawa Island.

Surviving the blast and tsunami didn't mean everything would be back to normal. It has been calculated that the eruption ejected about 30 megatons of sulfur into the stratosphere (three times more than the Pinatubo eruption). This had an impact on the climate on a global scale. In the summer of 1815, unusual sunrises and sunsets were observed. It is believed that the paintings of the famous landscape artist J.M.W. Turner from that time show the anomalies that resulted from the outburst. Residents of the east coast of the United States recorded this and the next year a strange "dry fog" that obscured the sun so that it was possible to see the spots on our star with the naked eye. However, it wasn't until the following year that summer came at all. The summer of 1816 of the previous year turned out to be colder than it had been in the last six centuries. We know descriptions from around the world. Connecticut residents in the US had to wear woolen warmers and cries in June. Clothes hung out to dry were frozen as if after the first frost. Snow has fallen on Montreal and Quebec. Characteristically, cold and humid weather in summer was accompanied by slightly warmer winters. The weather effects of the explosion were felt for the next two years. With more rainfall in Europe (except in the eastern Mediterranean) in the summer of 1817. This means that the so-called Summer was not so cold in the Little Ice Age.

Weather anomalies and major natural disasters take their toll on people who have experienced them. They also often affect the lives of the next generations. The volcanic eruption was a tragedy in the first place for the inhabitants of Sumbawa and the neighboring islands. The survivors often fell into slavery and, willingly or from above, were relocated to other parts of the island. The entire culture is gone, and with it - apart from human life - huge amounts of crops and livestock.

However, the largest volcanic eruption in history also affected people in Europe. The lack of summer caused most of the crops to be lost, followed by starvation. Not only was there a shortage of plants for humans, but also animal feed, which also partially starved. Particularly difficult conditions in certain regions forced the inhabitants to mass migrate. The lower the yield, the more expensive the food, which made the tragedy even worse. The poorest regions were especially the victims. In the years 1816-18, there are, among others the first big heads in Ireland.

More rainfall also meant more flooding in many parts of Europe. Weakness as a result of hunger, cold, and migration opened the way to another defeat - disease. Mostly typhus, cholera, and in some regions also the plague. In Ireland alone, about 100,000 people died of typhus.

All of this happened from the summer of 1815 to around 1818. So it overlapped with the losses caused by the Napoleonic Wars. One should also remember the thousands of demobilized soldiers who suddenly did not have enough to feed their families.

When one looks at historical events, it is difficult to pinpoint a single cause. Since the end of the 18th century, Europe and its colonies have gone through a series of revolutions, uprisings, and wars. Great hunger and accompanying diseases and migrations caused by sudden cooling were only part of complicated and difficult times. However, it can be assumed that they were not completely without influence on political events.

After the Congress of Vienna, there is a clear shift toward conservatism. The time of revolution and bold reforms was over, many states tightened their laws, and societies did not want or did not have the strength to oppose it. It is worth adding here that the Russian economy did not suffer from the volcanic winter. It even got rich by selling grain at a high price to countries that have lost most of their crops. This allowed Russia to recover from the war with Napoleon and continue its imperial expansion. Bad conditions on the east coast of America and exceptionally good years for the farmers of the then-western border could also contribute to the expansion of the settlers to the west.

Today it is difficult to determine what was really a consequence of the weather anomalies after the outbreak of Tambora in 1815, and what was the result of other events. However, the topic of the impact of climate and its rapid changes on human history certainly deserves more attention.

Bibliography:

• Clive Oppenheimer, Eruptions that shook the world, Cambridge 2011
• Gillen D'Arcy Wood, Tambora: the eruption that changed the world, Princeton 2014

A mysterious red glow has been captured over the Atlantic

The flying pilot saw a mysterious red glow over the Atlantic. The lights were noticeably larger than those emitted by cities or ships.

It is worth noting that the observation took place in a region of the globe where there is no large land, and where only water should be present. Memorable photos were taken on July 22nd. The photos were posted on Reddit with the hope of unraveling the mystery. Internet users suggested it might be a fishing boat that uses large panels of red LEDs to attract shoals of saura fish. But why would they be directed towards the sky?

It should also not be ruled out that the recording is a hoax, and the scarlet color of the sky is the result of computer graphics. Of course, there are also those who see something supernatural here, although so far nothing seems to indicate it. What seems more likely to you, however, decide for yourself.

WHY ARE CHILDREN SO DIFFICULT NOW?

 The question in the title of this article should be different. The word "children" should be replaced with the word "world." And replace the word "difficult" with the word "bad."

Why is the world so bad?

This question is also unanswered for me. But let's get back to our kids. Even before the digital revolution (the so-called "fourth industrial revolution"), childhood was a time of carefree and, above all, innocence. Young people, up to a certain age (in the 90s to about 12, 13, 14, and older), had no contact with certain data about the world. They lived in their childhood "information bubble" or in their "echo chamber," as we would say today, in the age of social media rule.

The truth about violence, cruelty, hypocrisy, debauchery, sexuality and its flaws, and so on, came to their awareness gradually over the years of psychological development. Already at the age of 18, young people have managed to develop a number of mechanisms, including defensive ones, that enable a relative to deal with this terrible truth about the adult world, without complete fragmentation, i.e. destruction of the psyche. Yes, there is, or rather it was a rather poor mechanism for dealing with truth, but it was.

Currently, it doesn't even have it. Why? Today, two-year-old children sometimes use a smartphone better than older adults. Through the Internet, i.e. the global data store (garbage) on everything that exists, kids who are several years old already know more about it than we do at the age of 15. It is known - for vulgar music videos with shaved hair and indecent low-level content, films with violence and sex, demoralizing YouTubers, stupid celebrities, and a number of others. Consequently, when too small a person suddenly learns how bastard the world of supposedly crystal-clear adults is (as children naturally believe), they will experience traumatic shock.

I know from a good source that about 4-5 years old children from kindergartens want to play obscurant or silly songs of the crew during their music classes. In turn children in school grades 1-3 (elementary school), are almost completely computerized, Americanized, and thus totally mannered. Just like us over the age of 15. The blinders have fallen off, they see the evil and the defilement of our world. They react to it with cold indifference towards adult authorities, denial of emotions, sociopathic behavior, rebellion, and also post-traumatic destruction of the psyche. The scale of various mental disorders among children and adolescents is the highest in history.

So it's not the kids who are bad, but the world you create is bad, dear "grown-ups" and "serious people." Don't blame the innocent, but take a look at yourself. Even in the 90s and earlier, the supposedly healthy defenses that a young man was slowly and over the long years of producing consisted mainly of not thinking that our world was bad. You were 18 and then older, and you didn't think too much about that fucking, you ended your teenage rebellion, you stopped "philosophizing" to become serious and do without protesting what everyone your age tells you to do. Yes, you already had a fragmented psyche bristling with contradicting and defensive mechanisms, but it was, say, within the limits of "normal."

Such a common "norm", and you didn't look back, you became another stiff and Janusz-like adult. In addition, there was also frustration resulting from the gray and boredom of everyday life, a sense of life's failure, or even professional burnout. But it still made possible the survival of society, and structure on some level. Low, but still.

Now, in the era of two-year-olds who keep their eyes empty like a doll's by constantly sitting on a smartphone, there is not even that.

Do you remember my theory that the mental construction of a human being is kind of out of this world? It is supposed to be unadjusted to the harsh realities of this planet, and due to numerous bad events happening from an early age, it is traumatized and fragmented. It is now that this process is even more powerful and faster. All regulatory mechanisms are now gone.

It's not the kids who are hard or bad. The truth of this world is what it is. Until now, until the 90s, we were able to protect our children from this truth by keeping them in a slightly infantile and goofy bubble. Today, four-year-old children do not believe in Saint Nicholas, but in the fact that they get worse gifts than their peers, because they have poorer parents. And unfortunately, it has its effects that we see every day.

SOME TRUTES ABOUT PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T TALK YOU

 My message is very simple to put into a small number of sentences, but it is also very difficult to accept. We weren't taught that at school, our parents didn't talk about it. Why? To be a self-empty person, empty inside.

The system is also very simple to handle: It is a construct that wants to trap you in the catch loop of its life model, to take all your time, energy, and money to serve it. A person with a lot of free time, happy and rich, is dangerous to the system.

Very dangerous.

Therefore, from the cradle, he does everything to prevent you from doing so. And the people in the mass are its victims, doers (that is, executioners), and controllers. And it is voluntarily.

1️⃣ People want two things: first, they want power over other people, and second, they want to get the most benefit from other people at the lowest cost.

If you know what someone cares about, you can give them protection and power by giving them or taking them away. They do the same with you every day. They do it in a snap, intuitively, but when you tell them that there is such a principle of their operation, they will call you a sociopath.

2️⃣ People will always try to push your limits to get something from you at a cheaper cost. If they had to respect these boundaries, the cost of what they wanted would be greater or much greater; so they go over them to get it cheaper from you.

If they don't meet resistance and opposition from you, they can do virtually anything with you. Just as a beast growls, bites and bites when it sees a weak individual of the herd, so will another human be in your way. It is the nature of both cattle and man to constantly try to nibble on others when the opportunity presents itself.

3️⃣ Most people are just plain fuckers operating on unconscious mechanisms. Their connections (relationships) are even more fucked up than they are alone. Because then the deficits of both idiots influence each other and increase. The scale here is logarithmic - the greater the number of people (couple, family, society), the more system aberrations.

Therefore, I do not know how to admire them. Well, unless in sunny Ibiza. Ladies esotericists dance with the wolves, good vibes only. But let them try to delight people working in the engine room at a British factory, for 1,536 pounds, at the gloomy end of November. Then maybe they will taste this "honey" fully.

4️⃣ What other people want, as well as their negative expectations, demands, judgments, resentment, etc., are their interests and their free will. They have every right to do so, because as individuals they must protect themselves and seek their own.

But you have exactly the same right, and you don't have to agree with them or give them what they want. According to the Natural Law, you are equal as divine beings, children of the Creator. It is one-to-one, and if you do not give your consent, it is different from your affairs.

Well, my goal is not only to produce, labor for credits (and by the way for my employer's fifth yacht and the fortunes of investors from BlackRock and Vanguard), breeding and walk on the promenade on Sunday. Of course, this walk must be less than 100 meters, as the greater distance must already be covered by a car.

First, he wants to live on a full firecracker. Second, I want to leave something modest. That's why I write antisocial stupid things and I p**s you off. 😉 Third, I want to find a way out of the baryon matter and hypothetical non-Baryonic matter system, and not live as it tells me to. Because it's stupid and absurd for me.

DOES ELECTRIC CARS MAKE SENSE !?

 Electric cars would only make sense if:

1️⃣ Battery is not harmful to the environment or expensive, these lithium ones definitely fall off. They can withstand millions of kilometers of operation. Since around 2000, there has been a technology of cheap, eco-friendly, and very high-capacity batteries for phones and other devices. But it was not implemented because corporations wanted to pack outdated lithium batteries into the devices so that the phone would be unusable after two years and you would have to buy a new one. There are many examples of such practice and it is about profit.

2️⃣ The car will be as durable as the old Stary, Ursusy or Kamazy. You will fire a bonfire under the engine and it will drive even in 40 degrees frost, 40 years from the date of production.

3️⃣ Batteries will be powered by electricity produced neither from fossil fuels nor from inefficient renewable sources. But from a new kind of power plant, e.g. fusion tokamaks/stellarators. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense, if only because the energy systems and transmission networks will not be able to withstand the extra load.

➡️ So what's the point? Electrician for PLN 200,000, which is only 160,000 km battery replacement for PLN 100,000?

It doesn't add up.

However, only seemingly. How it was? You will have nothing, and you will be happy to Klaus Schwab? The idea is to make the car a luxury product that only businessmen and highly qualified specialists can afford. It will uncork the streets and relieve the environment. This will force you to switch to public transport.

On the other hand .. It also has some advantages. Humanity in the circle of the first and second world has become somewhat disrupted, lazy, and lives well beyond its means. If everyone on Earth wanted to live like the middle class in the US, it would take a few planets like ours. For one does not have as many resources.

Through communication deserts, which are the majority of, for example, our country, the echelons are rushing along the tracks again. New railway networks will also be built and the old ones will be revitalized, where the connections have been shut down. Many more buses, buses, and coaches will travel through the bloodstream of roads and highways.

Instead of getting in the car, people are over 100 meters from the store and they don't want to go, but they will go. They will move their legs and lose weight at the same time. Did you know that it is not from walking you die, but from obesity, MacDonald, and drinking 6 beers a day? Well, in the morning, instead of getting in the car to drive 2 kilometers to work, you will take the tram to these 6 stops.

Really, the crown won't fall off your head. Neither will you die from the 100 meters walk to the store.

I mockingly call the district bus networks: "Tour de schoolboy", because, apart from high school children and retirees, hardly anyone uses them. If you want to get to work in the factory next door, you will not get to the county bus, because the timetables are adapted to the hours of classes in high schools. So without a car, you will starve.

No, this is not normal, it is pathology. It shouldn't be like that. And many people will need such a cold shower.

THE MADNESS OF OUR CIVILIZATION. WHAT IS YOURS?

 TikTok and the culture of memes, roll videos, and emotes

Yes, people are now reading pictures and watching short videos. Once upon a time, Facebook was for sharing texts and pictures, Instagram was for photos, WordPress and blogs for articles, YouTube was for videos, and Twitter was for politicians. With the advent of TikTok, things started to change. A short, several seconds long movie (the so-called rolls) has become a promoted standard everywhere. Facebook has announced that such a format and its clientele will be its business target.

Nowadays, wherever you go, on some news site, website or portal, you either have an insistent autoplay movie, or some podcast, law, Q&A, and so on. The culture of the written word is fading away, and the video can be turned on and it flies by itself, you don't have to get tired and you can pay attention to every other word.

The text requires concentration, and the speech also requires less attention. So we are no longer a meme culture, but a tribe of rolls and picture writing (emoticons). And one more thing - more people react to a picture with sensational-sounding content than to a calm graphic with a substantive article.

Is this not the mere synthesis of the madness of our civilization?

Madness. Everyone needs him. One reads in the official media, the other in the anti-system media, and both believe everything they read in them. If, of course, it agrees with the tendency and dogma generally accepted in these two circles. The third one drinks or is drugged, the fourth counts a miss after a miss, the fifth is aggressive and likes to shuffle people, another makes free overtime and does two for the national lowest, yet another is gambling, risky sports or is a fan of another hobby.

All mankind is crazy, and according to the mystic Robert Anton Wilson, in this civilization turmoil, the monologues of all freaks, madmen, paranoid schizophrenics, and fools deserve the most attention. Well, I won't say, I'm very flattered.

One may even be tempted to repeat the esoteric statement that all human activities related to the sphere of the senses are an illusion. So also madness. This also includes our thoughts swirling in the head, a large part, if not all, of which is so-called a** thoughts. Both literally and figuratively.

Life as a theater of masks, a ship of fools, illusion, and madness:

Going further: all our hustle and bustle in life, that is, activity (being a madness related to senses, thoughts, and actions), has the opposite of:

1️⃣ Total, Non-Trance Zen / Non-Duality Meditation (i.e. Total Awareness)

2️⃣ Or total catatonia and then death (i.e. total ignorance)

It is worth having a middle ground while we are still alive. The radical Gnostic will say that it is madness to live in a cage of baryon and non-baryon matter created by the Architect Demiurge in general. He will want to get out of it.

Unconsciousness Gaining Consciousness

For me, the greatest madness is to combine being active with low awareness. Because then the whole couple will go on the whistle. So then you spend a lot of energy and the result is little, no, or even negative. Consciousness consists of many factors, it is multifaceted, and it is worth raising it as much as possible.

Because then you can create your value in this world with less energy and with more results.

I'm not going to fight the system or discover the truth. Because, first of all, everyone interprets it differently, being immersed in the everyday wheel of the senses. Secondly, what I'm doing now is playing with forms, shapes, and conventions. I research, analyze, observe, and combine/synthesize various pieces of reality, looking for the perennial philosophy there, i.e. bridges between them and common fragments. Then I share it with you, the recipient. You to research, analyze and observe my content, and of course, guess it through your own filters of worldly illusion. Just like me and all of us.

What is your madness?

A new conspiracy theory! James Webb Space Telescope is a space laser cannon

 Those who saw the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope had a chance to see distant clusters of galaxies that hide behind the night sky. Some people see this research instrument as something more.

There is a multitude of theories, ranging from such that it is a computer forgery to the theses that the James Webb telescope is to be used for surveillance of humanity. There are also those who believe that the shape of the unfolded mirrors resembles a stellar tetrahedron, which is an ancient Hebrew occult tool used to connect people with "heaven". The most interesting theory, however, is that the James Webb telescope is a gigantic laser cannon capable of destroying any place on Earth.

The James Webb Space Telescope is not the first research instrument to be affected by such infamy. The famous Hubble Telescope has received a similar reception. NASA researchers have been accused of deliberately editing the shots, which is true. Hubble takes separate color digital images through filters of red, blue, green, and other colors, which are then combined into what we know.

The different wavelengths of red light correspond to the radiation of hydrogen atoms, oxygen, and nitrogen ions, which are difficult to see. At the same time, ultraviolet and infrared are not visible at all. Therefore, it is necessary to correct them. Only then do the images become pleasing to the unscientific eye.

The theories surrounding the JWST seem absurd and difficult to take seriously. It can be expected that before the next photos from this instrument appear, the number of such visions will only increase. However, it is dangerous to dismiss such considerations out of hand, as the recent UFO revelations have taught us, so I leave you with the question. How do you think, can any of the theses presented so far be valid?

SECT - THE HIGHEST TRUTH

 In April 1995, the shocking news of a gas bomb attack on the Tokyo metro was spread to the world public. As a weapon, a combat agent called sarin was used. 12 people died then, and nearly 6,000 remain sick to this day. As it turned out later, the perpetrators of this macabre act were members of the Japanese sect of the Supreme Truth, also known as the Absolute Truth. Only then did people become aware of the real threat to public order and security that operating sects may pose.

Aum Shinrikyo - this is the original name of the sect - was established in 1984 in Japan. It comes from a group with a similar name. The first part of the name literally means the Brahmin initiation of God the Highest, God - the Spirit. The second part probably refers to Shintoism, an ancient Japanese religion characterized by the cult of mythical creatures, the spirits of famous people, or the forces of nature. Initially, the Supreme Truth was based in a small apartment in Tokyo, where yoga was practiced and "healing" drinks were consumed - probably derivatives of LSD. For the uninitiated, it is a drug that causes hallucinations, and disturbances of the senses, especially eyesight, euphoria, or depression. Sometimes it can cause symptoms of depersonalization, i.e. a violation of the sense of one's own identity.

In 1988, the sect was legalized as a religious group. Its guru and founder are now 44-year-old Shoko Asahara. He was born in Japan as a disabled child. As he was visually impaired, he was placed in a school for the blind. It is important because it was there, having a slight advantage over his blind peers, that he learned to manipulate others. After graduating from school, he worked in acupuncture but was arrested and imprisoned for abuse and fraud. After he left prison, he started organizing religious groups which, however, quickly disintegrated. So Shoko went to the Himalayas to reflect. When he returned to Japan, he announced to everyone that he had achieved nirvana (the state of absolute being and absolute consciousness, i.e. the attainment of the highest perfection) and that he had absolute truth. So he began to establish more temples, and his followers, it is not known why not only trusted him completely but also began to call him a master. In turn, Shoko Asahara, fascinated by the Eastern methods of treating diseases, published several books about the faith he practiced, claiming to give a state of enlightenment and complete purification. The cult followers believe that Shoko is the reincarnation of Imhotep, the Egyptian pyramid builder of 3,000 years ago. It is not known exactly where this connection with the Egyptian pyramids came from. The only clue in this regard is the fact that some apocalyptic sects and this is the Supreme Truth, believe that on the millennium day Satan will come out of the pyramids and begin to rule the world.

The doctrine of the sect is extremely complex, borrowing some threads from New Age. The sect's relationship with the Christian God and the Bible is also unclear.

There is no doubt, however, about the nature of the sect and its true face. Today it is known that it is one of the most dangerous sects in the world. Its goal is the total extermination of the land where only the members of Aum would remain. Currently, Shoko Asahara is under arrest, but his deputy, Kenji Takagi, is in charge of the sect. Nevertheless, the cult of the Absolute Truth is growing at a dizzying pace. So much so in Japan that it even poses a threat to that country's defense. There are assumptions that a number of Japanese officials have close ties to the Supreme Truth. After the attack on the Tokyo metro, such connections with representatives of politics and the military complex in Russia were also revealed. It must be mentioned that nowadays this sect is spreading in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia and Germany, and its assets are estimated at around one billion dollars.

The black threads of Aum's activities are not only the attack on the Tokyo metro. It is also an attack on defenseless people 1994 living in a building in the city of Matsumoto. Seven people died as a result of the use of sarin, and dozens of others suffered severe suffering from the absorption of the fumes of this gas. The judges who investigated the members of the sect lived in this building. It has been known since 1995 that the Supreme Truth has carried out numerous murders, kidnappings, and numerous medical experiments on people. Investigations also showed that they were involved in weapons collection, sarin production, and other poisons and hallucinogenic drugs. It is also suspected that they tried to acquire biological and even nuclear weapons. Members of the sect were even able to reach laboratories and armaments factories in Russia. They were also interested in research on electromagnetic waves.

As already mentioned, the Supreme Truth belongs to the group of apocalyptic sects, i.e. those focused on the end of the world or the end of civilization. Therefore, its members prepare for some catastrophic events in such a way that they collect weapons, stockpile food, and build shelters. They believe that when the end comes, they will rule the world.

The Japanese Aum has established its activities through the use of full isolation of group members, mechanisms causing "shifting states of consciousness" and collective hypnosis. This is typical of most sects. Changes in states of consciousness are changes in thinking. With the help of appropriate psychotronics, a person is brought into a state of ecstasy in order to detach from his own "I". In turn, in the state of hypnosis, certain patterns of behavior are suggested to a person, with which the person, being fully aware, would probably disagree.

Recently, the Supreme Truth has also been operating in Poland, especially in Warsaw, only under a different name, using the cover of a church, foundation, or association. It recruits young people, especially those educated in science and wealth. It is necessary to give the sect all their property. It probably has about a few dozen members.

A ghost appeared in the background while filming the Amazon documentary series

 

In a recent documentary series for Amazon Prime, a ghost seems to emerge shortly behind the show's host James May. On top of that, it happened while he was speaking in front of the mass grave.

The macabre anomaly has appeared on the new program "James May: Our Man in Italy," in which the former co-host of Top Gear visits attractions around the country. In the third episode of the series, a translucent figure appears behind the host in the background, emerging from behind the trees and moving while the host reads the text in front of the camera.

The most interesting thing is that May was visiting a mass grave at the time of the incident, so it is likely that the mysterious figure was actually a ghost.

After the mysterious moment became widely commented on by people on the Internet, the host even approached fans on social media to acknowledge this strange fact by writing:

"Thanks to everyone who noticed the" ghost "in episode 3 of my new series" Italy "Nobody saw it back then, so it's either a real ghost or just a little bit of damage to a digital file."

Indeed, the strange anomaly seen behind it can raise difficult questions and cannot be dismissed as a typical lighting effect

JonBenét Ramsey - mysterious death of a little miss

 JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was born on August 6, 1990, in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Her parents were Patricia "Patsy" Ramsey (1956-2006) and John Bennett Ramsey (born 1943). Her older brother, Burke, was born in 1987. The name JonBenét was a combination of two fathers' names. The second name was given to the girl after her mother. JonBenét attended High Peaks Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado.

John Ramsey was a businessman and president of Access Graphics, a computer software company. It later became a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. The man's first marriage ended in divorce in 1978. John had two adult children - a son and a daughter. In 1991, Ramsey moved with his second wife and their two children to Boulder. The seat of his company was located in this city.

Patsy Ramsey from an early age enrolled her daughter as a participant in various children's beauty contests. JonBenét, moreover, won several of them. It is worth adding that the woman herself participated in such competitions in the past. However, she appeared in them as an adult. This thread aroused great controversy among the media and public opinion after the girl's death. In the summer of 1997, about six months after the tragic event, the Ramsey family moved to a new home in Atlanta. In 2006, Patsy died of ovarian cancer at the age of 49. She was buried next to her daughter.

Little did Ramsey know that Christmas would turn their lives upside down. On December 25, 1996, the family was invited to a Christmas party by Fleet White, who was a friend of the family. They returned home quite late. JonBenét, who was given a bicycle for Christmas that day, went to bed around 10pm.

However, it is said that at night she sneaked into the kitchen, where she was supposed to argue with her brother about who would get Christmas delicacies. This information is quite important from the point of view of further events. I will also write about it later in the article.

On December 26, Patsy got up around 5:30 and went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. On the stairs, a woman found a two-and-a-half-page handwritten ransom note. The kidnappers demanded $ 118,000 for their daughter. One hundred thousand were to be in hundred-dollar bills and the remaining eighteen thousand in twenty-dollar bills.

John drew the attention of the police to a strange coincidence. This amount was the same as his Christmas bonus. This suggested that someone with access to this information was most likely involved in the case. Investigators then checked several Access Graphics employees who might have known the details of the bonus. However, no connections could be found. Investigators also considered the possibility that the ransom amount was a reference to Psalm 118. In this regard, they consulted Bible specialists.

Another unusual aspect was the length of the ransom note. It was also very strange that the only fingerprints found on this unusual document belonged to Patsy and the officers investigating the case. The use of exclamation marks and initials was also peculiar. After a few days, it was established that the note was written using a pen and notebook that had come from the Ramsey house. The FBI informed the police that it would be very unusual for such a memo to be written at the crime scene. According to a report by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), there were indications that Patricia Ramsey herself was the author of the ransom note. However, the evidence did not conclusively confirm this.

The case was consulted with forensic pathologist Michael Baden. The man admitted that he had never seen such a ransom demand in his 60-year career. He also did not think that a stranger had written the letter. However, a federal court ruled that it was highly unlikely that Patsy would write a handwritten note. The opinions of six certified handwriting experts were cited. The judge lamented the revelations of self-proclaimed specialists who did not have graphological knowledge and accused their mother.

The only people who were at home the night JonBenét died were her immediate family members, including her parents and brother. The ransom note contained detailed instructions and prohibited any contact with the police and friends. However, Patsy ignored this prohibition and contacted the police at 5:52 AM. She also called friends Fleet and Priscilla White and John and Barbara Fernie.

The police arrived at the Ramsey house within minutes. A cursory search of the house was carried out, but no signs of a break-in were found. Officer Rick French descended into the basement and headed towards the door, which was secured with a latch. He paused a moment in front of them, but walked away without opening them. The policeman later explained that he was looking for an escape route for the alleged kidnapper. When he saw the padlocked door, he ruled out that possibility and continued searching the house. Anticipating the facts a bit - JonBenét's body was later found just outside this door.

Since no trace of the girl was found, John began to prepare to pay the ransom. A team of forensic technicians (these were Veitch, Weiss, Barcklow, and their supervisor Reichenbach) was sent home. Initially, it was recognized that JonBenét had been kidnapped. Her bedroom was therefore the only room that had been fenced off to prevent the destruction of evidence. However, no precautions were taken to secure the rest of the house in this way. Meanwhile, Ramsey's friends and family, and even their clergyman, came to show their support. Although no one thought about it at the time, the guests probably destroyed a lot of evidence. Detective Linda Arndt arrived at the scene around 8:10. The woman hoped that further instructions from the kidnapper (hijackers) would soon arrive. The letter said that they would be in contact between 8:00 am and 10:00 am. However, no one called to collect the ransom.

Around 1:00 PM, Detective Arndt asked John Ramsey and Fleet White to double-check the house. The men began searching in the basement. John opened the slammed door that Officer French had stopped before. He searched this part of the house (where Christmas presents were said to have been stored) and found his daughter's body there. JonBenét's mouth was taped shut, a nylon rope was found around her wrists and neck, and her torso was covered with a carelessly thrown white blanket.

It was unusual that the girl was tied by clothes, thanks to which she could theoretically easily free herself. This fact spoke for the fact that the restraint could occur after the death of the 6-year-old in order to confuse law enforcement. John screamed, picked up the baby's body, and carried it upstairs. The crime scene was thus "contaminated" and the key forensic evidence was probably lost forever.

The parents and brother provided police with handwriting, blood, and hair samples for forensic examinations. John and Patsy answered police questions for over two hours. Burke was also questioned in the first few weeks after his sister's death.

JonBenét's funeral took place on December 31, 1996, at St. James in Marietta, Georgia. The girl was buried next to her half-sister Elizabeth Pasch Ramsey, who had died in a car accident almost five years earlier at the age of 22.

An autopsy showed that the cause of JonBenét's death was suffocation and a fracture of the skull. There was no conclusive evidence that the 6-year-old had been raped, although the sexual assault was under consideration. No semen was found, but vaginal damage was found. During the autopsy, the pathologist noted that the area of ​​the murderer's vagina was probably wiped with a cloth or a piece of cloth. Death was finally classified as a homicide.

The girl was strangled with the use of the so-called garrotte, which was made of a nylon string tied to two pieces of a broken brush handle. Thus, the girl's neck was wrapped. Some of the bristles of the brush were found where Patsy kept her painting supplies. The lower part of the brush was never found, however, despite extensive police searches of the house in the following days.

The autopsy of the girl also showed that traces of fully undigested fruit or vegetables were found in her stomach. It has been found that it may have been a pineapple that JonBenét allegedly ate several hours before her death. Photos of the house taken on the day the 6-year-old's body was found showed a bowl with pineapple pieces on the kitchen table.

However, neither John nor Patsy remembered putting a bowl on the table or feeding their daughter pineapple. The police, however, found nine-year-old Burke Ramsey's fingerprints on the vessel. Parents stubbornly repeated that their son slept all night until he woke up a few hours after the police arrived.

In December 2003, forensic technicians collected enough material from a mixed blood sample found on JonBenét's underwear to determine the DNA profile of the alleged perpetrator. It turned out that the genetic material belonged to an unknown male person and excluded each Ramsey's DNA. The material was then sent to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the FBI's database of over 1.6 million DNA profiles. However, the sample did not match any profile that was in the database. An analysis was carried out using the latest forensic techniques. An October 2016 report revealed that the original DNA contained genetic material from two people other than JonBenét.

A. James Kolar, who was the lead investigator in the district attorney's office and published a book on the JonBenét case in 2012. The man revealed that additional traces of male DNA were found on the string and brush. There were a total of six samples with genetic material. Unfortunately, it was not possible to establish whose DNA it was. Former FBI profiler Candice Delong concluded that identical DNA that appeared in several different places on many surfaces belonged to the killer. The forensic pathologist Michael Baden mentioned earlier, said: “Traces of DNA can get into places and clothes for various, not necessarily suspicious reasons. There is no forensic evidence to show that this is a murder committed by a stranger. "

Local police initially focused almost exclusively on John and Patsy. By October 1997, there were already over 1,600 people on the list of potential perpetrators. The aforementioned errors made in the preliminary investigation unfortunately significantly complicated the possibility of a solution to the case.

Detective Lou Smit came back from retirement in early 1997 to assist the Boulder County District Attorney's Office with the case. In May 1998, the man presented his findings to the local police. According to them, the Ramseys were not involved in their daughter's murder. However, the district prosecutor's office was unable to convince the officers that the parents were innocent. Due to a disagreement between the police and the prosecution and pressure to find and convict the perpetrator, Colorado Governor Roy Romer appointed Michael Kane as the special prosecutor who initiated the grand jury.

The two main investigators in the case had different views. Both Lou Smit (prosecution) and Steve Thomas (police) eventually dropped out of the investigation. Smit because he believed that the theory that an intruder was involved had been wrongly rejected. Thomas because the prosecutor's office interfered too much but did not properly support the police investigation of the case.

A jury was called on September 15, 1998, to consider prosecuting Ramsey for related charges. In 1999, the parents were accused of putting their child's life in danger, which ultimately led to her death. The second charge was obstruction of the investigation. However, district attorney Alex Hunter did not prosecute. The man did not believe that he could prove his parents' guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is required for a criminal conviction in the US. The American public also felt that the outcome of the trial before the grand jury was inconclusive.

Mary Lacy, who would become the next district attorney, took over the investigation from the police on December 26, 2002. It happened exactly on the sixth anniversary of the girl's tragic death. In April 2003, Lacy agreed with a federal judge ruling in a defamation case in 2002. The woman confirmed that the evidence was more in line with the theory that the burglar murdered JonBenét than with the hypothesis that Patricia Ramsey did. On July 9, 2008, the Boulder Attorney's Office officially announced that as a result of newly developed techniques for DNA extraction and verification (DNA tactile analysis), members of the Ramsey family were excluded as suspects in the case.

On February 2, 2009, Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner announced that Stan Garnett, the new Boulder District Attorney, had handed the case over to his team. Garnett also stated that there had been a statute of limitations for the acts accused of the parents of in the 1999 jury trial.

In October 2010, the Boulder police reopened the case. New hearings were held after the investigation began by a committee of state and federal investigators. It was expected that the investigation would use the latest DNA-related techniques. However, no breakthrough was achieved in the case.

In 2015, Beckner disagreed with Ramsey's acquittal, arguing that "acquitting anyone on the basis of little evidence that has yet to be proven when it is not even known whether it is related to a crime is absurd." He also added that the focus of the investigation should be on the transient DNA from JonBenet's clothing. In 2016, Gordon Coombes, a former investigator in the district attorney's office, also questioned Ramsey's complete absolution. The man said that "purifying someone on the basis of tactile DNA alone, especially when the crime scene has not been secured from the beginning, is really a stretch." Steven E. Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist employed by the Boulder government, was not at all surprised by this reaction. In his opinion, "Lacy's public acquittal of the Ramseyes was a big slap in the face of Beckner and the group of detectives who had been working on this case for years."

There are two types of theories regarding JonBenét's death. According to one of them, at least one family member (and possibly all of them) was involved in the girl's death. Initially, the police focused almost exclusively on this hypothesis. According to Gregg McCrary, a retired FBI agent, and profiling specialist, the statistical chance that a family member or guardian is involved in the murder of a child is 12 to 1.

In addition, investigators found no evidence of a break-in. The ransom-demand letter was supposed to be a confirmation that the scene had been staged. The detectives also saw no willingness to cooperate on the part of the parents to help solve the case of their daughter's death. The Ramsey's said their reluctance stemmed from fear that the police would not take seriously the possibility of an intruder-burglar having committed a crime. The relatives also suspected that they would be selected as key suspects in the case (which in fact happened).

One hypothesis is that Patsy hit her daughter in a fit of anger after she wet her bed during the night. She then had to strangle her to hide what had happened. The woman mistakenly believed that the girl was dead after receiving a blow to the head. However, no other situation could be found for Patricia to fall into such an uncontrolled frenzy. Brother JonBenét later said that he and his sister had never been spanked or experienced any form of physical abuse. Thus, he suggested that it was difficult to accuse his parents of a much more serious act of killing his own child.

Burke, who was nine years old at the time of JonBenét's death, was questioned by investigators at least three times. The first two conversations did not raise any concerns. In an interview with a child psychologist, it was stated that the Ramsey's appeared to have had "a healthy, caring family relationship." In 1998, Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said in an interview with a reporter that Burke Ramsey was not involved in his sister's murder. In May 1999, the district attorney's office reiterated that the 9-year-old was not a suspect.

The Ramseys offered a prize of $ 100,000 in a press announcement on April 27, 1997. Three days later, more than four months after their daughter's body was found, they were formally questioned for the first time by investigators.

In the TV documentary miniseries The Case: JonBenét Ramsey, which aired on CBS on September 18 and 19, 2016, a group of experts was introduced who assessed the evidence. According to one theory, Burke hit his sister on the head with a heavy object (possibly a flashlight) after she stole a piece of pineapple from his bowl. The boy, of course, was not going to kill the 6-year-old. The invited guests suggested that the ransom note was an attempt to cover up the actual circumstances of JonBenét's death. On behalf of Burke Ramsey, a family attorney filed defamation suits against CBS, the show's producers, and several of its participants.

Police and prosecutors leaned towards the intruder theory, in part due to an unidentified shoe mark left in the basement where JonBenét's body was found. Among the first suspects was neighbor Bill McReynolds, who was dressed as Santa Claus; former housewife Linda Hoffmann-Pugh or Michael Helgoth, who committed suicide shortly after the girl's death. Hundreds of DNA tests have been carried out to find a match to the genetic profile obtained during the autopsy - unfortunately to no avail.

Stephen Singular, the author of a book on mysterious homicide, which was published in 2016, mentions consulting cybercrime specialists. They believed that JonBenét, due to her multiple participation in beauty contests, could attract the attention of pedophiles.

It has been established that more than a hundred burglaries had taken place in the neighborhood where her family lived in the months before the murder of a 6-year-old. And there were 38 sex offenders within three kilometers of the Ramsey home. In 2001, former Attorney Trip DeMuth and Detective Steve Ainsworth of the Sheriff's Office said a more thorough investigation into the burglar theory should be carried out.

Lou Smit, the detective who conducted the case, after verifying the evidence, stated that it was an outsider who committed the crime. On the night of JonBenét's death, two windows were slightly opened to allow electric wires for the Christmas lights to pass outside. In addition, the basement window was broken and one door was left unlocked.

Smit's theory was that someone had entered the Ramsey house through a broken basement window. Many criticized this hypothesis because there was a large intact cobweb in the basement window. The steel grille covering them also had intact cobwebs, and the foliage around the grille was intact. There were also cobwebs in the tracks of the various windows, and dust and debris on some of the window sills. The detective believed that the intruder had overpowered JonBenét with a stun gun and taken her to the basement. Then the girl was to be killed and the perpetrator left a ransom note. Smit's theory was supported by former FBI agent John E. Douglas, who was hired by the Ramsey family. Smit believed his parents were innocent. For this reason, he resigned from the investigation on September 20, 1998, five days after the grand jury had been called.

However, the investigator continued to work on the case until his death in 2010. One of the people Smit suspected of having committed the crime was Gary Howard Oliva. The man was also indicated as a possible perpetrator at the very beginning of the investigation. Oliva called Michael Vail the day Ramsey died. The men knew each other from their school days. Gary confided to his colleague that he had hurt a little girl, but did not reveal any more details. At first, Vail had no idea what his friend was up to. However, he did recollect the facts when he heard in the media about the murder of JonBenét. He then went to the police and told about Oliva's strange confession. He suspected that he might have been the perpetrator of this crime. Unfortunately, the detectives did not pay due attention to this report, despite several calls from Vail regarding the case.

In 2000, Gary Oliva was arrested for illegally possessing weapons and drugs (specifical marijuana). The strangest thing, however, was that the detainee found a lot of photos of the killed 6-year-old. Investigators took DNA material from the man and compared it with the ones found at the crime scene. However, no agreement was reached, so no charges were brought against Olivie in relation to the little miss case.

In 2016, Oliva was arrested again. This time he was sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing child pornography. The man was also suspected of strangling his mother. 335 pictures of JonBenét were found on Gary's phone. 19 of them came from the girl's autopsy. They were probably photos that had leaked to the media. Even stranger were the pictures of the altars dedicated to the girl.

Oliva wrote a letter to Michael Vail while in prison. It showed that he was responsible for JonBenét's death. It was not a deliberate act, however, but an accident. The girl was about to slip out of his hands. Then her head hit the ground, as a result of which she allegedly died before his eyes. Oliva also complained that he didn't love anyone as much as Ramsey. However, no evidence was found to confirm the man's words. He was also truly obsessed with JonBenét. Perhaps it was also associated with mental disorders. In any event, this confession did not lead to a final solution to the matter.

On August 15, 2006, John Mark Karr was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand. The husband, 41, worked as a teacher in an elementary school at the time. The reason for the arrest was Karr's confession to murdering JonBenét. The man testified that the 6-year-old was drugged, sexually assaulted, and then accidentally killed by him. According to CNN, however, no evidence linking the man to the crime scene was found.

In his testimony, Karr provided only the basic facts that were generally known. He also did not provide any additional credible details. His claim that he had drugged JonBenét was also questionable. The autopsy showed that no substances of this type were found in Ramsey's body. The samples were taken from the alleged perpetrator also did not match the DNA found on the body of the more tragically murdered. He was eventually released from prison, but arrested shortly afterward for possession of child pornography. Unfortunately, the man's computer that was the main evidence disappeared under suspicious circumstances. So Karr was at liberty again.

In 2010, the man formally changed his name to Alexis Valoran Reich after revealing himself as a transgender person. The Washington State driver's license showed Delia Alexis Reich. According to Samantha Spiegel, the man intended to undergo sex reassignment surgery just to get closer to younger girls. Karr was also to be a member of the organization "Niepokalanie" dealing with the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.

Unfortunately, despite all these theories, evidence, circumstantial evidence, and the disclosure of the alleged perpetrators, it has not been possible to state unequivocally who actually killed the 6-year-old girl. The media and numerous internet detectives are still trying to find out what exactly happened that Christmas night.