| FOGS News Volume XIII number 2 summer solstice 2002 |
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| Celestial phenomena: all change? |
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| When beggars die there are no comets see |
| The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes |
| Calphurnia, 'Julius Caesar'II ii 30 W. Shakespeare |
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| COMETS, eclipses and meteor showers all spelled some kind of heavenly portent to our ancestors, be they |
| annually anticipated Leonid or Perseid showers or, more ominous, a succession of lunar and solar eclipses. |
| The thrice-repeated Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces in 6B.C. is well known as the presaging |
| 'star of Bethlehem'. These two great planets became conjunct in 1980 and made a second appearance in April |
| 2002 along with a myriad heavenly companions forming a line in our evening sky. A third return is yet to come. |
| Already this year we have had two comet visitors - Utsunomiya at equinox and Ikeya Zhang, accompanied |
| by the Pi Puppid shower for good measure, in time for Beltaine. If we were still of superstitious bent, might we |
| not see the celestial portents as our ancestors viewed such displays: the changing of the old order; the birth of |
| the new? 'A comet and many signs appeared in the sky' in 596 foretelling the deaths of Columba and Pope |
| Gregory, say the Annals of Ulster. In 734 another comet 'a great dragon' seen in autumn followed by thunder |
| and a lunar eclipse on new year's day 735 is said to have foretold the death of Bede. Charlemagne's passing |
| in 814 was marked by a total solar eclipse. Closer to home, Pictish king Dubh, son of Malcolm was ambushed |
| in Forres, his body hidden under the bridge at Kinloss in July 966 during a solar eclipse. Chronicle of Kings: |
| 'the sun did not appear so long as he was concealed there.' Medieval famines and plagues were invariably |
| associated with comets and eclipses.But there is hope. Virgil understood equinoctial precession, proclaiming |
| (Christian) Age of Pisces a Golden Age, marked in the heavens by the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction. Pisces is |
| giving way to the Age of Aquarius, long heralded as the next rung on the Earth's ladder to ascension. He would |
| no doubt see our troubled times, 'working iniquity in secret', as an inevitable prelude - again marked by the |
| planetary giants - to a new tilting, a new world-age. |
| ©2002 Marian Youngblood |
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| FOGS Dowsing Day & July AGM |
| ALL FOGS are invited to attend our 2002 AGM on Sunday July 21 at 2p.m. at Midmar Kirk - carpark at |
| kirkyard gate, map ref. NJ 699 065, approx 3miles W of Echt and within a rich prehistoric & early historic |
| landscape. We have never had an official dowsing day and so it is a bonus that Peter Donaldson and Phyllis |
| Goodall have offered a 'divining masterclass' for members and guests with or without dowsing knowledge or |
| experience. AGM business will be brief, so that the dowsing may begin immediately thereafter. Midmar kirk |
| is, as many know, home to spectacular recumbent and flankers of a damaged stone circle with a lesser-known |
| monolith a short distance north at Balblair. We have kindly been permitted to pitch a tent at Balblair, but |
| suggest you park at the kirk gate for convenience. Phyllis & Peter already have their own theories about this |
| special landscape, but all will be revealed on the day. Bring a picnic or your own refreshment and be prepared |
| to have your senses opened. There is already a good set of circumstances to relate Midmar/Balblair to tree-girt |
| Sunhoney stone circle just one mile distant and an avenue linking the sites has been detected... The remains of |
| early historic ancestor to Ballogie (Midmar) Castle lie to the S on the Cunninghar motte with tiny S.Nidan's |
| church nearby. Sightlines include Iron Age Barmekin of Echt and midsummer moonrise point Blackyduds of |
| Hill of Fare - - and more. This special opportunity is free to all FOGS, and guests are asked to contribute £3 |
| to our 'charity events' box, but any guest wishing to join FOGS (annual membership £10 now due) is warmly |
| welcome. |
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| Oxford Prophets Conference |
| American initiative, the 'Prophets Conference' is an annual gathering of visionaries, sacred practitioners and |
| speakers and authorities on ancient sites world-wide. This year it will hold its 16th congress at the famous |
| debating chamber in Oxford Union - the first gathering in Europe - August 9th-11th, with wrap-around dates |
| of visits to nearby ancient sites Avebury, Rollright and Stonehenge [Aug.7,8,12]. In addition to a wide range |
| of international speakers from various sacred traditions, the pilgrimages to local sacred sites will be conducted |
| by author Paul Devereux with Templar historian Karen Ralls. Details and booking available on their website: |
| http://www.greatmystery.org/oxfordconference.html |
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| DUPPLIN returns to Strathearn |
| IN previous newsletters we have tried to keep you informed on developments surrounding the 9thC Dupplin |
| Cross which formerly stood as guardian over the ancient Pictish capital of Forteviot. Taken to Edinburgh in |
| 1998 for 'conservation purposes' [HS], it appeared at the opening of the new Museum of Scotland as |
| centrepiece for the medieval collection. Now in March 2002, after some negotiation by local parishioners, it |
| has been returned to Strathearn, not to its hillside position, but installed inside nearby St. Serf's Church, |
| Dunning. St.Serf's is a late 12thC church with original tower, on a 9thC CÈli DÈ (culdee) monastic site rooted |
| in tradition of its founder Serf who is notoriously hard to date, but probably 6thC. In Aberdeenshire, Serf is |
| associated with pre-Reformation chapels at Monkeigie (Keith Hall) and Colpy and is known as the mentor of |
| Mungo (Kentigern) who, in addition to having a cell at Kinnoir, Huntly, was subsequently bishop of Glasgow |
| where he died in 612. St.Serf's church at Dunning has a venerable tradition and while we hope Historic |
| Scotland will eventually place a plaque or other reminder of Dupplin's past on the Forteviot hillside, its new |
| home is nothing if not welcoming and appropriate. The great cross, inscribed with the name of its patron, |
| king Custantin (d.820), founder of Dunkeld, is itself a masterpiece of 9thC Pictish craftsmanship. Its new |
| setting is framed by an 11thC carved stone arch which supports the 12thC square tower. While two |
| centuries separate the schools of carving , the soft lines of the arch somehow enhance the cross, carefully |
| lit to advantage. Dunning can be proud. |
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| CANMORE revitalized |
| MIDSUMMER was chosen by RCAHMS as time to unveil its new map service 'CANMAP'- a revelation |
| within its rather cumbersome database Canmore - web: http://www.rcahms.gov.uk - where searchers may |
| access online maps of any chosen area in Scotland. A first over the rest of UK. |
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| New books |
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| Shamanism ed. Neil Price ISBN 0-415 25255-5 a new compilation of essays: which succeeds in |
| relating a prehistoric view of the world to modern magic. |
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| Alba: Gaelic kingdom of Scotland AD800-1124 by Stephen Driscoll ISBN 1-84158 145-3 |
| insight into the transitional kingdom co-ruled by Picts and Scots. |
