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The Origins of Chess

 

A Tribute to Dr. Ricardo Calvo - Part 3

Part 1 Tribute to Dr. Calvo
Part 2 The Renaissance Thread Page 1
Part 3 The Renaissance Thread Page 2

From: Delphi "Chess, the Goddesses and Everything Discussion Forum"
A friendly and informative dialogue with Dr. Ricardo Calvo

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From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 12/20/99 8:25 am To: ALL (123 of 232) 18.123 in reply to 18.122 JanXena, That was a wonderful discovery about the Goddess, the dragon, and Chess. I was doing some research about Luis de Santangel and I ran across this interesting thesis about Christopher Columbus. Was Chris Columbus a Catalonian? http://www.sola-sole.com/merril.htm LOVE Isis May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: ALPHETA 12/20/99 4:41 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (124 of 232) 18.124 in reply to 18.123 Sis, that looks like an interesting piece you found on Columbus, I will read it fully later on, I just scanned the first few lines but it ties into some information I found about Columbus actually living in Spain and being married to one Spanish lady while having an apparently long-term affair with another Spanish lady! I haven't had time to post about it because I've been doing other things for Goddesschess and still attempting to research the Italian connection with Templars, the Conversos, Castles and the changes in the game of chess. The Boi/Syracuse story was just too good to pass up!

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 12/23/99 7:22 am To: RICALVO (125 of 232) 18.125 in reply to 18.124 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, this little Indian, just call me Pokahontas (-:, has been researching the Renaisance and it's cast of Characters for hour apon hour, day after day, the house work and shopping are not getting done, oh well, I am having fun. Last night I was reading about the Medici's. And I found this site about the relationship between the Medici's and the Jews. This site ties into the posts (I think they are #90's) you did earlier. http://www.medici.org/jewish/jewmedici.html Happy Solstice My Friends. Your little Indian, Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: ALPHETA 12/24/99 12:50 am To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (126 of 232) 18.126 in reply to 18.125 Greetings, 'Sis. Livorno, yes! Bingo, see post 120! Sis, have you come across any information tying the Medicis to the Templars??? I wish there were ten of me - one to work on Chess Poetry, one to work on Ch'Essays, one to work on Chesstories, one to work on the IGK Pages, three to constantly research all these fascinating subjects and hints and clues, one to make a living, and the rest to eat, drink, and make merry with my chess-playing hommes, LOL!

From: PIMANDER 12/24/99 2:37 am To: ALPHETA (127 of 232) 18.127 in reply to 18.126 Well! What took you two gals so long? (LOL!) After all its been just a little over two weeks since the question of "conversios" was posed. Since Pi is still basking in Malta (something about the islands attracts him) he's lazy and not much help. Fact is, I had begun to despair that the Renaissance puzzle would require some extra special dispensations. What I found startling is that Jews in Northern Italy were identified by special badges even as early as the 1500s. Some "old traditions" are less savoury than others. The Medici and the Borgias obviously gave and took their clues from an exemplary "Prince". I shudder to think how deeply entrenched this sort of exclusionist feeling remains to this day. Imagine having to thread the turnstile of acceptance on a daily basis. Sounds like purgatory to me. a bientot Wallace

From: RICALVO 12/24/99 2:46 am To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (128 of 232) 18.128 in reply to 18.125 At the beginning of the soltice, My tribe wants to send greetings to the White Godess. Forget about house work and shopping, my charming Pokahontas. Since you are an Indian princess, reject all misleading priorities of white men, particularly their devotion to gold. Buffalos, chess prairies and poetry is much more important. You are doing well with the Medici«s. Patton, here is an Italian poem on chess and love from the begining of the 16th century. It is not particularly matching with your tanks, your uniform and your stnky cigars, but it is a love poeme. No tranlation yet into the sioux language, but Italian is beautiful SB Matteo Bandello: Il giuoco degli Scacchi e il giuoco dell'Amore. "La Nencia dˆ al Bandello scacco matto" Spesso Madonna a Scacchi far m'invita e piglia per suo Rege un dolce sguardo, bellezza per Reina, ed ond'i m'ardo, con que' begli occhi per Arfil s'aita. Rocche 'l parlar, e fa la speme ardita e pace e guerra cavalcar i' guardo motti, sdegni, furor, attender tardo atti, cenni, no... s“... pedoni addita. Ed io per Rege le appresento il core con pietoso mirar, con gli occhi morti tema, silenzio, e gelosia. Strazio, pianto, servir, riso, dolore Fede, credenza e passi male accorti: ma beltˆ dammi scacco tuttavia. (sonetto CLIV, tratto dal Canzoniere. M.B. 1485-1561)

From: ALPHETA 12/24/99 4:01 am To: RICALVO (129 of 232) 18.129 in reply to 18.128 Honored Chief, I did a quick Alta Vista translation of the poem and it came up - er - rather "short", LOL! An example of one "tranlated line" (and I use the term "translated" very loosely): "Strazio, I plant, to serve, badly shrewed rice, pain Faith, sideboard and steps: but beauty dammi scacco however." Okay, $10.00 US to anyone who can make sense of THAT! I will hunt around a bit to see if I can come up with a more suitably rendered English translation. However, I did decipher enough to see that this poem is about an intense love affair with The Game - something about how the "Madonna of Chess invites the King with her sweet look and the beauty of the Queen, for whom he burns (?), and the beautiful eyes of the Bishop"!!! WELL! I certainly hope the Bishop is, in fact, a Bishopress or else my delicate (some would say "Puritan") Midwest-American sensibilities may be heartily offended! Sniff, sniff! I wonder: would the "Madonna of Chess" be our well-known "Black Madonna"??? Is the "Madonna of Chess" none other than the beautiful Queen herself, tempting her King into a game he knows he can never win??? LOL, I love it, I just love it! Obviously a poem with many layers of meaning, depending upon where one rests on the ELO scale!

From: ALPHETA 12/24/99 4:11 am To: PIMANDER (130 of 232) 18.130 in reply to 18.122 Greetings, dear Dragon. Here are some interesting links on Arethusa: For a picture and a retelling of the story of Arethusa, go to http://www.honors.montana.edu/~heather/arethusa.html
For more pictures of the Spring of Arethusa, go to
http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/italy_sicily/Syracuse_Arethusa/ac850436.html
For a excellent synopsis of the story of Arethusa, she who is called the "patron [sic] nymph of Syracuse", along with several pictures of Arethusa coins, an explanation of the connection of Artemis/Diana (another chess connection) to the story, as well as renderings of Shelley's Poem "Arethusa", a translation of Ovid's poem to the goddess/nymph, and a translation from the Latin references to Arethusa of Virgil's "Aeneid", go to
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Coins/Arethusa.html
Finally, for Shelley's poem and a revised and updated "translation" of same by Robert DUNCAN, go to http://www.wmich.edu/english/tchg/lit/pms/Duncan.Shelley.html

From: PIMANDER 12/24/99 6:57 am To: ALPHETA (131 of 232) 18.131 in reply to 18.130 Ah! We see what happens when symphonies are reduced to nursery rhymes! I am hard to please I know - but shame on Mr. Shelly for so much as attempting his poor trace of Ovid's footsteps. Even Duncan is no match for the master. The metre and the stroke of Ovid's images are hard to equal. I for one am not a great fan of Victorian sentimentality and the soulless indecision of Duncan's prose-poem leaves me cold! Says Pi: (Whom I must quote) We thrive upon the rhythmic, writhing, warmth of consonants uncoiling in the bowels of vowels - The fireside chants and catlike convolutions catering to the unconscious. And sometimes, Wallace Stevens... We have no use for elegies or Ezra Pound - though Eliot is rare and ripe and round While Donne is overlooked for Milton's sake - the art of poetry forsaken for the craft of state The sound of Shakespeare never fails to please - within his prose a son'rous Italian breeze... Says I: (Whom Pi would never quote) What made the great poets great? Who then was their mother? Ricardo - if you please, Will you tell us another Toscannini story? Says Puck: (Whom everyone likes to quote but I prefer to imitate) Less magic in the pen than in the ear I trow I'll end it here 'ere romance takes a garish bow Makes asses of us all from top to Bottom And crowns each with a cap of blue bell blossoms :-)Edited 12/24/99 2:03:22 AM ET by PIMANDER

From: RICALVO 12/25/99 2:17 am To: ALL (132 of 232) 18.132 in reply to 18.131 A Sioux Christmas card. Dear Wallace, Patton, Terpsy, Isis etc. Christmas, New year, (they lie about a so called new Millenium). Anyway, greetings for all of you and an (estimulating?) poem SCAFFOLDING "Masons, when they start upon a building, Are careful to test out the scaffolding; Make sure that planks won«t slip at busy points, Secure all ladders, tighten bolted points. And yet all this comes down when the job«s done Showing off walls of sure and solid stone. So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be Old bridges breaking between you and me, Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall, Confident that we have built our wall" (Seamus Heaney, again. I am listening too much to medicine men)

From: PIMANDER 12/25/99 2:46 am To: RICALVO (133 of 232) 18.133 in reply to 18.132 Hello Sitting Bull Shhh... Very quiet in here tonight... The Church of Chess. Thank you for your Seamus "reprise" and many more to come I hope. Poetry is great medicine, is it not? Christmas greetings to you and Wise Whale. If you happen to hear from a Chess Collector give him my special regards as well. Some Gods and Goddesses might not celebrate Christmas or other orthodox holidays. I respect that, but I also think any excuse to celebrate is a good excuse... :-) Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Wallace

From: ALPHETA 12/27/99 12:57 pm To: ALL (134 of 232) 18.134 in reply to 18.126 Greetings, a quick post before I must be off to Officeworld. I have been digging out further information on Livorno; unfortunately, most of what I found is pretty superficial. However, there is a wonderful picture of one of two surviving fortresses (I don't know if this is the one built by one of the Medicis in the 1500's) at http://www.traveleruope.it/livorno.htm. Notice especially the round tower, and the style of this building is very reminiscent of the Templars castle at Antioch (at least I think it's Antioch), the last Christian stronghold before the final expulsion in 1298 (?) from the Kingdom of Jerusalem - I'll try to dig up the website to that picture so you can do a comparison of the styles. There are apparently many towers and at least one other fortress in and around Livorno which, given the history of the principalities of the Italian peninsula, makes sense. The port was "founded" by Francesco de Medici I, but the Lorena family was there at least as early as the 8th Century. There were settlements in the area near Livorno going back as far as the Bronze and Iron ages, occupied by several different cultures and later the Etruscans established several nearby communities. The Etruscans themselves are somewhat of a mystery people. Although the Romans report studying their written literature, and apparently the Emperor Claudius could read and write Etruscan and even wrote a book in Etruscan, little of their writing has survived and apparently most of it is not well-understood. It is written with an archaeic Greek alphabet from right to left (like Hebrew) and while the words can be pronounced, the meaning of many of the words is still unknown; the language apparently does not closely enough resemble any past written or presently surviving languages to be tied into the Indo-European language family (hmmmm, interesting I'm just now reading a book on etymology). There were at one time at least different theories about who the Etruscans were and where they came from, but apparently the current consensus is that they were an indigenous people all along, whose culture was first influenced by extensive trading with the east and later conquered and absorbed by the Romans. One thing I do remember about the Etruscans is that their women were treated as equals, a rarity in the ancient world.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 12/28/99 10:10 am To: ALL (135 of 232) 18.135 in reply to 18.97 While I was traveling through Renaisance Europe, visiting Florence, Bologna, Madrid, Valencia ....I arrived in Iceland.:-) I found this romantic Icelandic tale (1250 CE), filled with wonderful POETRY, and many references to the Goddess. Here is just one line from "The Life and Death of Cormac The Skald", "In the Game that wins hearts on her chessboard." http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/cormac/ Then I found myself in Avalon with Lancelot playing Chess.(-; In "The High History of the Holy Graal- Branch XXIV" in stanza IV you will find us. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/graal/ After my romantic interlude with Lancelot I heading for Sadana Island to do some scuba diving at the Sandana Island Shipwreck (1755 CE), and I may have found a bone chess piece, you can see the object in question at this site. http://www.adventurecorps.com/96report.html I am still on tour, and I don't know when I will return, so, stay tuned for further updates and surprises. LOVE Isis May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 1/4/00 4:34 am To: RICALVO (136 of 232) 18.136 in reply to 18.135 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, Thank you for sending me to Europe, this tour is getting very interesting. My most recent stop, on the tour, was to The Villa Borghese, Pincio. It seems the Borghese family liked to play Goddesschess. I went for a stole in the beautiful gardens, and found The Tempietto di Diana, and at the center of this beautiful temple is a round chess board. Wait till you see the pictures, they are wonderful. Now that I have visited the Boghese's Temple of Diana, I am on my way to meet the Borghese family, I need to know this family better. Sitting Bull are there any good web sites about the Boghese family that I should look into. Maybe even a tour guide.(-: Yours Always, Pokahantas

From: RICALVO 1/4/00 5:13 am To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (137 of 232) 18.137 in reply to 18.136 Sweet Pokahuntas: There is one expertt in Roman round board games. The Tempietto of Diana belongs obviously to the group of protochess expressions. The name of this expert is Dr. Ulrich SchŠdler. Before giving you his private e-mail, send yours via Alpheta. He is a very busy researcher. He knows a lot, but I am not (yet) allowed to divulgate his private e- mail, tjhogh we are preparing together a book on these subjects. Yours truly SB

From: ALPHETA 1/5/00 4:34 pm To: ALL (138 of 232) 18.138 in reply to 18.134 Greetings, all! Here is a website that has an extensive list of Converso/Marrano names as well as a list of the sources from which the names were compiled. http://www.sephardim.com I have just started looking further into this; the name "Lucena" is on the list; so is "Calvo".

From: RICALVO 1/6/00 6:20 am To: ALPHETA (139 of 232) 18.139 in reply to 18.138 Patton: If you research too much, you will need a lot of stinky cigars. Tell me whether you want my book on Lucena (in Spanish), or an English summary which could be posted. Best regards for Jocques SB

From: ALPHETA 1/6/00 6:35 am To: RICALVO (140 of 232) 18.140 in reply to 18.139 Head Chief Sitting Bull, How can I choose? I cannot! Of course I wish for your information to be posted here (or at Goddessches in a SPECIAL PRESENTATIONE ESSAY!!!!!!!) I will leave it to your discretion... I should tell you that today we became aware that our "Chess History" posts at the Art Bell website were deleted. Therefore, as far as JanXena is concerned, this is now THE FORUM for those TRULY dedicated to discovering the TRUE origins of chess to post their hypotheses, post their dicussions of various related topics, and posts their proofs (or hints thereof), or CONTRA arguments! Ha! As if such could realistically exist in the true light of scientific inquiry! Chess Discussion - Renaissance Research Subscribe

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 1/11/00 7:49 am To: ALL (141 of 232) 18.141 in reply to 18.140 While on assignment I discovered this site, "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy", http://www.idbsu.edu/courses/hy309/docs/burckhardt/3-10.html I found references to the Borgia-Este's, Chess, Dante, poetry, and this, "the papal goddess vanishes 'like a bird' ". This is a Very interesting quote, it is located about half way down the page. What exactly does it mean? There are also references to Spain and Venice. Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: PIMANDER 1/13/00 5:19 am To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (142 of 232) 18.142 in reply to 18.141 HULLO! Having taken a few non-Y2K whacks to the old Mac lately, (not to mention a very bad flu) I am making a slow recovery and tracking down some lost bookmarks. What a backlog! Pocahontas: "the papal goddess vanishes 'like a bird' That sounds highly visionary - enigmatic enough to be a hidden gold mine... I'd have to study the context more carefully, but I find it also evokes a more concrete idea... I'll hazard that your phrase could be a reference to the "flight of Minerva's Owl". (Harold Innes: "The Bias of Communication") Innes wrote about historical processions and cultural transformations - especially the "mythic" process whereby expressive cultures, in the face of an impending decline or supercession, jettison their spores - which take flight and land in other soils - or - as in the case of Minerva's owl - perch in different temples. I believe this "Minerva's Owl" mythology is particularly important in describing the overall conditions which may have prevailed following the intensely collaborative period which saw many cultures sirring the pot in pre-Renaissance Spain. I need to find a copy of Innes' book. If I recall correctly, it should connect quite soundly with the history of Spanish cultural bequests. Diana and Minerva are apparently synonymous. Having just returned from viewing your prior posting of her temple, I am particularly taken by the aspect of the circular chessboard. Can a conventional form of chess be played on a circular board?!

From: ALPHETA 1/13/00 6:32 am To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (143 of 232) 18.143 in reply to 18.141 A whole entire post disappeared - shoot! So now I'm gonna short cut because I'm tired and it's time to go to bed! Besides the Minervan Owl Pi so obligingly pointed out in post 142, take a look at other references to "bird" in connection with the sacred "active force", often denoted in the Hebrew and Christian/Greek Scriptures as the "Holy Spirit" (older translations called this the "Holy Ghost" but that infers an eternal soul, a pre-Christian Greek concept that is repudiated in more accurate Bible translations): (1) the Dove (a symbol of the Christ but also an earlier and ancient symbol of the Goddess - best known biblical reference is the "Dove" appearing above the Christ's head at his baptism in the Jordan River); (2) the Crow - ties into ancient Celtic religious traditions - the "crow" is often equated with the "Crone" ("death"), one of three aspects of the primeval Goddess; (3) the Phoenix - a cross-cultural symbol of death and rejuvenation.

From: RICALVO 1/20/00 1:50 am To: ALPHETA (144 of 232) 18.144 in reply to 18.143 Our tribe is now concentrated in black madonnas and bird symbols. In the meantime, can you explain to me the meaning of "MiV"? Do it openly or privately SB

From: ALPHETA 1/20/00 4:10 am To: RICALVO (145 of 232) 18.145 in reply to 18.144 Strictly speaking, the "MiV" are the "men in violet" - meaning the high rulers of the catholic church who have a vested interest in maintaining their elistist power strucure which subjugates women and historically has cast "woman" as the cause for humankind's "fall from grace". In a broader sense, "MiV" as a description can apply to anyone who maintains this traditional and biased belief of woman's inferiority to the man. Of course, everyone conveniently forgets that it was Adam who was first instructed by Jehovah/Yahweh as to what he could not eat in the Garden, and Adam who obviously imperfectly passed on the instruction to Eve; Eve was deceived by the serpent, but Adam was not deceived; he ate because Eve asked him to. So - you tell me - who was at greater "fault" here? All philosophy aside, the MiV represents a certain "attitude" toward the female of the species - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 1/20/00 6:56 am To: RICALVO (146 of 232) 18.146 in reply to 18.144 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, Patton did a splendid job explaining who the MiV (men in Violet) are. They are also the men who plagiarized the Goddess writings and tried to destroy the Goddesses Pyramids at Giza, and the ones that reworked the Sphinx at Giza, they are the ones that invaded the peaceful matriarchal societies, all over the world, and destroyed them, they are also the ones that replaced the Triple Goddess, in a standard deck of playing cards, with the modern court cards, and they are the people behind the alterations to Chess. They are the slavers of the world. The way we came about the name MiV(men in violet) was early in the Weave when we were discovering that the colors designated to men and woman were switched. Originally, blue and violet were the feminine colors and the reds were the masculine colors. The old switcherroo. I believe the MiV started wearing the feminine colors in order to usurp the Goddesses powers. Does that make the MiV drag queens? ;-) Have you seen the movie "MiB The Men in Black" (The Good Guys)? If not, get a video of it and have some fun. While watching the movie think of the MiV as the Bugs and the giant cockroach. Have fun at the movies. Ricardo, you are MiB. LOVE Isis May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: RICALVO 1/20/00 1:24 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (147 of 232) 18.147 in reply to 18.146 I am purchasing the video MiB right now. The problemm is that chess and the Goddess are linked with non violence, but the whole history and the current situations make pacifism a difficult attitude. Pacific chess may be the only way out, anyway. Are we strong enough to afford it? Any answers? Sitting Bull

From: ALPHETA 1/21/00 4:24 am To: RICALVO (148 of 232) 18.148 in reply to 18.147 Greetings, Sitting Bull. Remember, darling, that "his"tory has been told through the eyes of the so-called victors. Thus, for instance, in America we have the majority view told through the eyes of the conquering Anglos wiping out the not-so-noble red-skinned (and therefore inferior) savages (along with most of the buffalo) under the doctrine of "manifest destiny"; in 1938 we had Japan invading China and committing mass genocide, as so eloquently portrayed in Pearl S. Buck's "Dragon Seed"; in 1994 we had the Hutu slaughtering the Tutsi in Rwanda; and we have ongoing genocide in the former Yugoslavia - a story yet to be told in full. The Game is perceived as a "war" game because we have been told it is to be thus perceived, through the so-called "victor's" masculine eyes! Most people will accept this "bill of goods", but we here know there is an entirely different perspective to The Game. Perceptive men and women throughout the ages have known this to be true. Thus has arisen the saying "they may win the battle but lose the war"! We are all, each of us in our own way, in this "war" for the long haul, Sitting Bull. It is a war of attrition but it is also much, much more. There will always be a few who will carry the torch of truth forward, S.B. We here, in our own small way, are doing - each of us - our respective parts! As for the MiV, I give them respect as a formidable foe, but I have no fear of them. What fear does a goddess of truth have for purveyors of lies? If she is worthy of her title, she has no fear of THEM at all, but will continue upon her own unique path.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 1/22/00 7:39 am To: RICALVO (149 of 232) 18.149 in reply to 18.148 Great and Honorable Sittingbull, Responding to Post 147 By nature people are very peacefull and non-violent, just look to our closest relatives in the animal queendom, the primates. Primates would rather eat, make love, sleep, and play, rather then make battle, Personally, I feel my distant cousins and I have a great deal in common. People and animals are controlled by fear, so what does the MiV do, invent the boogieman, or satan, or witches, ect. to scare the people and there by control the people. The game is Contol. The other day I was watching a history program on TV and the were talking about Nostradamus, and they said that he was a "Spanish - Jew", and that his family converted to catholisim for safety during the inquisition. The program mentioned that Nostradamus studied the Torah secretly. S.B is this true? May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: RICALVO 1/24/00 3:09 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (150 of 232) 18.150 in reply to 18.149 Swet and inquiring Pokahontas: Our tribe shares your convictions. Before commenting on our cousing the primates, remember the the pale faces have forbidden in some American states by law to teach about the discoveries of Darwin till today. As for Nostradamus, our librarian has read only three works, which is not much (there are more than 1000 studies and books on the subject). On the whole, the idea of a Jewish ascent in Nostradamus appears as a most plausible one. There are however great experts among the pale faces. We shall send some smoke signals if you wish to continue your hunting efforts. SB

From: ALPHETA 2/2/00 7:22 pm To: ALL (151 of 232) 18.151 in reply to 18.150 Greetings, darlings. I have found this excellent page that gives a concise overview of the history of the Iberian Peninsula and the unique interaction of the three cultures that eventually mingled there: Spanish (Christian), Jewish, and the Moors (Muslim). I think it gives a good background setting for our inquiries in this thread. Seems all things lead - not to Rome - but to Castille!

From: ALPHETA 2/2/00 7:30 pm To: ALL (152 of 232) 18.152 in reply to 18.151 Duh! LOL! I forgot to post the link referred to in 151 - here it is http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/papers/halevi1.htm

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/5/00 5:26 am To: ALL (153 of 232) 18.153 in reply to 18.152 Hello Folks, Due to transportation difficulties I have been visiting a friend in England while other travel arrangements were being made:-) Now that new transportation has arrived I can continue my tour around the Mediterranean Sea. :-) My little de tour was not a loss, for I found this interesting location filled with all sorts of information about the Spice Trade. Did you know that Mohammad was in the Spice Trade? His first wife, Khadijeh, was in the Spice Trade. http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/spice.htm This little Indian is on her way to blazing new trails through Europe in my New Chevrolet Blazer:-) Pokahantas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/7/00 5:34 am To: RICALVO (154 of 232) 18.154 in reply to 18.153 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, now that I have a new horse, I named her Blazer, I am on my way to Austria to visit the Hapsburgs, do you think they will role out the Red Carpet for me, yeah, sure, and the pope is a heterosexual.;-) Maybe I should wear a disguise. This is big time MiV territory, Oh, My Goddess, I just remembered, Hitler was Austrian. What has led me to Austria and the Hapsburgs is the fact that they had, and if my instincts are correct, they still have a Big influence through-out the world. Charles II Charles V Ferdinand I "Emperor of Austria" Maria Teresa These are just a few of the Hapsburgs I have located so far, I am sure there are many more influencial relatives through -out Europe. Henry the Navigator had ties to the Hapsburgs, I don't know if he was related by blood, I do know Lisbon was the center of the Hapsburg's Spice Trading enterprise. If you don't get any smoke signals from me please send the MiB agents "X" (Patton), and "R" (You, Sitting Bull), to rescue me:-) LOVE Isis May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: RICALVO 2/7/00 1:40 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (155 of 232) 18.155 in reply to 18.154 Pokahontas: In Vienna you can find one of the most useful libraries for your research (the National Library, in a building next to the "Hofburg" or Emperor«s Palace). There is a huge chess section, too. Another interesting link, less known, is IFK (Internationales Forschungszentrum fŸr Kulturwissenschaften) at the Kokoschkaplatz 2. You can refer the name of prof. Strouhal, and eventually my own name (I was a guest in a meeting organized by them). Your best help may be a woman named Monika. Keep us Informed (Patton and SB) in case a rescue action is needed. May Manitou protect you

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/12/00 3:57 am To: RICALVO (156 of 232) 18.156 in reply to 18.155 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, I have a couple of questions that you might be able to help me with. I remember reading about a law that was made during the Renaissance that did not allow a woman to be the primary ruler. I can't remember where I read this, Darn. I thought you might know. I have come to understand that during the Spanish Inquisition the Spanish Jews that converted to catholocism had to relinquish their entire estates, or was it just a percentage of their estates? It sounds like the Old Extortion Racket to me. LOVE Pokahontas P.S. My Daughter Poke'mon tas sends her best to you and your Tribe:-)

From: RICALVO 2/12/00 8:06 am To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (157 of 232) 18.157 in reply to 18.156 Sweet Pokahontes: According to the archives of our tribe women were excluded from the inheritance of the crown in most European kingdoms because of the so-called "Salic law", adopted officially in France in the 13th century. It still appies to the Spanish monarchy, for instance. The name comes from the Sals, a tribe established in France before Charlemagne. Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 were not allowed to carry with them their funds, except a minimum. Jews converted yo catholicism were not expoliated in principle. The general frame was however that Jews were not land owners, and their richness was portable, or of inmaterial administrative type ( loans, documents etc). This is what we believe to know, I shall ask Wild Impetus who know a lot. Greetings to Pkomon tas, who is welcomed to the smoking of a pipe for the peace SB

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/13/00 5:00 am To: RICALVO (158 of 232) 18.158 in reply to 18.157 Great Sitting Bull, Poke'montas sends her best to you and your Tribe. She will be honored to smoke the pipe of peace with you when she is old enough to smoke. :-) Peace. Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: RICALVO 2/14/00 6:08 pm To: ALPHETA (159 of 232) 18.159 in reply to 18.10 Patton: Our love must remain in secrecy, but our tribe has discovered a new path for searching the truth. There is an article in a strange paper under the tittle "Covered identities: St Maria" written by a woman. Her name is Kathleen Kulp-Hill. Eastern Kentucky University. No more date in our archives, but she lectured on this in april 1999. I think she can be a tremendous reinforcement for our confused troops. Do your best and you would be allowed to call me Omar Bradley

From: ALPHETA 2/15/00 12:51 am To: RICALVO (160 of 232) 18.160 in reply to 18.159 Greetings, Bradley. I'll issue some orders and get my crack research staff to work on finding and contacting the Doctor.

From: ALPHETA 2/15/00 7:13 pm To: RICALVO (161 of 232) 18.161 in reply to 18.147 Greetings, Bradley. I sent you a private email concerning my progress in finding and contacting Dr. Kulp-Hill because I was having difficulty getting a post to go through. However, I think it is working once again so I will tell all. I located Dr. Kulp-Hill at Eastern Kentucky University in the Foreign Languages Dept. and sent her an email inquiring (1) as to where I can get a copy of the article "Covered Identities: St. Maria" and (2) inviting her look us over and join in if she wishes. I did a search for the article on the internet but did not find it, I didn't think it would be but I was hoping... So, now I will await to hear from Dr. Kulp-Hill.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/16/00 7:46 am To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (162 of 232) 18.162 in reply to 18.154 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, Let me run this by you and see what you think. In the 15th century,as it is in the 20th century, the Spice Trade influenced politics. (Today the spice trade, illegal drug trade, is the second largest industry in the world, computers is the first.) In the 15th century Islam invaded Java, and other Spice Islands, and destroyed the native peoples society and took over the Spice production. The Dutch destroyed spice crops to drive the prices up. I figure the prices of spice in Europe went through the ceiling. It seems Islam had a monopoly on the spice trade. With the high price of spice it made it more profitable to explore for new spice fields. We have discovered that Egyptian mummies had residues of tobacco and cocaine. Tobacco and cocaine were only grown in the Americas. The way I figure it is that the MiV discovered how profitable the control of spice production was and decided to invade the Americas, just like islam and the Dutch did in the Spice Islands. The only thing holding them back was the cost. The cost of putting together a fleet of ships and an army was enormous, so they reverted to extortion, robbery and pilaging (Jews, Moslems and women were the targets of this reign of terror.) to finance the invasion of the Americas. Christopher Columbus's voyages were most likely reconnaissance missions for the invasion. Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: RICALVO 2/16/00 12:26 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (163 of 232) 18.163 in reply to 18.162 Pokahontas: Obviously you got a privileged brain for historical interpretation. Brilliant. As our tribe sees it, there are also non commercial factors involved, at least in regard to Islam and to Spain. The main project was the passion for building up a power system were Religion and Civil Codes are the same. Medieval attempts in Christianity named it "the unification of the two swords of St, Peter". Charlemagne«s Europe, Austro-Hungarian Empire strived to a similar goal. Later, the revolutions in France, or Russia, or even the Nazi-Germany. Nowadays, Mammon, the God of money, seems to keep the leadership, and all religious values are dependig of it. Please, send me one dollar for this message (in God we trust). Sitting Bull

From: ALPHETA 2/16/00 3:53 pm To: ALL (164 of 232) 18.164 in reply to 18.161 Good morning, all. I heard from Dr. Hill this morning. Here is part of her message: A version in Spanish "Las identidades encubiertas de Santa Maria" will be published in the next issue (n¼ 11) of "Concentus Libri," Bolet’n informativo de Concentus Libri, Asociaci—n de Bibli—filos de Espa–a (see http://www.concentus.es or E-mail: concentus@lite.eunet.es or edilan@mad.srvicom.es). This bulletin is affiliated with the publishing house Edil‡n, which does facsimile editions of illuminated manuscripts. Unfortunately for me, I don't read Spanish! She also said she'd drop by and check us out. Isis, that was an interesting interpretation of Christolfo Colombo's trip to the Carribean. I read the article in the link you sent me the other day about Middle East artifacts found scattered throughout the Americas - I will have more to say about that later.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/17/00 5:56 am To: RICALVO (165 of 232) 18.165 in reply to 18.163 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, I am very flattered, thank you for the compliment. In your post you brought up the issue of the United States money with "In God We Trust" on it, this is one of my pet peeves. The Constitution of the United States of America has been circumvented by the MiV for too long. We have a thing called "Separation of Church and State", in our Constitution, the only problem is, the lawmakers and Supreme Court don't seem to understand what "Separation of Church and States" means. I should hold a tutorial class and explain it to them. ;-) It angers and embarrasses me to know that my Government has abused their power and circumvented this Law. It just goes to show how powerful the MiV are. The Constitution is the most beautiful set of laws to live by. I Love and support our Constitution, and I do my very best to uphold and protect it. I must now prepare the outline and required reading list for my tutorial class on Constitutional Law:-) Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: RICALVO 2/17/00 3:58 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (166 of 232) 18.166 in reply to 18.165 Fierce Pokahontas/Sweet Georgia: Your post is impressive. You are right, and MiV are powerful. Therefore, first priority is survival. Our tribe believes that the only action we can do is to keep the thinking with our own heads, because it is somehow contagious to a certain degree. Chess is a mirror of all this. Moves and plans should be disclosed with opportunity. The greatest American I have know is a certain Robert James Fisher, born in Chicago 1943. He is still fighting for survival in Budapest. As a leader of a tribe, i must be prudent, though I admire Patton too. SB

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/18/00 1:50 am To: RICALVO (167 of 232) 18.167 in reply to 18.166 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, I think of myself as fiercely patriotic. I Love my country, and its' Constitution, I am prepared to protect it in the only way I know how, with the pen, or in this case the computer. I am like a mother bear protecting her cubs ;-) I do agree with you that life is mirrored in Chess. This is what makes the game so fasinating and popular. I would like to see children in school learn to play Chess as part of their education. The lessons that can be learned by playing the game will serve a person well throughout their lives. Mr. Fisher? I don't think I know who he is. Is he a Chess player? Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: ALPHETA 2/18/00 3:44 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (168 of 232) 18.168 in reply to 18.167 Isis! I am shocked. You don't know who Bobby Fisher is??? Of course you do - you just didn't recognize his "formal" name! Remember the movie - "Searching for Bobby Fisher" - well he's THE REAL McCOY! He is one of the greatest chess players of all time, and some would argue that he is THE greatest of all time. Sure would love to see a game between him and the Big K. Hey Isis, do you think you could round up a casino or two to float a prize of about $5 million or so - we might be able to lure Fisher out of "retirement"... Just think of the show we could stage... Anyone know how to get in touch with Mr. F... Sitting Bull, I am on the trail of my very own copy (a reprint) of Murray, I am waiting to hear back from Barnes & Noble who are checking an advertisement for such a book at the unbelievable price of $58.00. That would be less than what it will cost me to copy your Benjamin Press edition! Friday, thank goddess! That means tomorrow I have a "free" day and will be able to get some work done for Goddesschess and do a few posts here as well - there's a long way to go yet on the Chess/Gnosis article! My problem is that I am spending too much time playing chess instead of researching and writing about it!!!

From: RICALVO 2/18/00 5:47 pm To: ALPHETA (169 of 232) 18.169 in reply to 18.168 Patton: the Benjamin Press copy was a present from Wild Impetus, who for some strange reason likes you. May be we should talk more about Fisher. Recently, a group of 64 top grandmasters and journalists awarded him with the tittle "the greatest chess player of the century" (Kasparov was second, in a distance.). Details in a German chess magazine named "Schach". Isis is patriotic. Sould we mention a famous sentece of Dr. Johnson about patriotism? (Personally, as an Indian, I feel troubled with this word). The hatch of war from our tribe remeins still under the earth. SB

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/18/00 11:17 pm To: ALPHETA (170 of 232) 18.170 in reply to 18.168 Duh!, I must have gone brain dead, Bobby Fisher "The Greatest", and didn't recognize his formal name. As you well know "Searching for Bobby Fisher" is one of my all time favorite movies. I think the last time Bobby heard his formal name used was when his mother caught him playing chess at the club instead of being in school. I can hear her now, "Robert James Fisher why are you not in school?" (-: Why is it that when a mother is Real Mad at her child she uses their full name? Patton, I will see what I can do to get a Casino in town to come up with some Serious prize money for a rematch. I think it is a Great Idea. Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: ALPHETA 2/20/00 4:29 pm To: RICALVO (171 of 232) 18.171 in reply to 18.169 Good morning, S.B. I am honored by Wild Impetus' gift of Murray's book - but I know how difficult it is to part with a much loved book. So, I figured if I can get one of my own at a reasonable cost, I will return yours and that way everyone will be happy! I did a search at Barnes & Noble on a hunch, to see if they had anything listed - and there it was. I'm still waiting to hear back - it may not come to anything at all, the book might have already been sold to someone else. As for why Wild Impetus likes me, that's easy darling - it's because we are alike! We even have the same hair color! You're be in for the time of your life when you get to Las Vegas in August! Isis, me, and W.I. - the three of us on the town, wheeee! How will you keep up?

From: RICALVO 2/21/00 12:10 am To: ALPHETA (172 of 232) 18.172 in reply to 18.171 Patton ,darling: A present can NEVER be returned. WI said during one of my tricky interrogations that "The word of a Queen is a word of a Queen". My recent inquiries point to a film influence. Barnes & Noble are not perfect. Talking about films, I would recommend Stanley«s Kubrick "Paths of Glory" regarding patriotism, but the video has perhaps dissapeared. Our tribe looks carefully to your group. Las Vegas is a dangerous city, but according to my foes, my ability of survival has been sometimes underestimated. SB

From: ALPHETA 2/21/00 3:02 am To: RICALVO (173 of 232) 18.173 in reply to 18.172 I will cease and desist, Sitting Bull, and cancel the order with Barnes and Noble. One would not want to upset the most generous Queen... I have just started reading a book by Michael Chricton, "Timeline", which is about a group of researchers who go back in time to France in the Middle Ages as part of a top secret project, using quantum physics technology. Besides being a very good "read" perhaps I will learn a great deal about the Middle Ages and one never knows, even about the goddess herself. I am also making progress in my studies of etymology. Somehow, I "feel" that many mysteries to the origins of The Game can be unlocked by studying the ancient proto-European language, although Gerhard has always told me this is a waste of time! But it is so fascinating. I am reading a book by Merrit Ruehlen "The Origin of Language" and he demonstrates quite ably that one does not have to know anything at all about foreign languages in order to be able to group similar language families together based on similarities in basic words such as "hand", "foot", "blood", "me", etc. I seem to have a knack for classifying the language families correctly as I work through the lessons he presents in the book - this is a field where a woman's intuition serves very well! I have worked my way through the Romance languages, Asian languages, African languages, and most recently, Native American languages. At this point, I believe the horse may be an important clue to the origins of The Game. We know, of course, about the knight - a rider and a horse. Another piece that was originally connected with a horse was the rook - which used to be a chariot! I don't know how or why the transformation from "chariot pulled by horses" to a "tower or castle" took place, but I believe it is significant that two of the "officer" pieces were directly related to horses ("ekhos" in the proto Indo-European language). Of course, none of this has anything to do with Renaissance Research! I will have to stop having so much fun putting together articles for our chess tabloid spoof and start spending time doing serious research again...

From: RICALVO 2/22/00 1:00 am To: ALPHETA (174 of 232) 18.174 in reply to 18.173 Good evening, Patton, Crichton writes very weel about too many matters. Etymology is a very fluid field, and has been misused for political directed misinterpretations. As you can see in Murray, Rook is an ambiguous term The Persians designed with it a mythological bird. Caucasian tribes adopted it as a river boot, instead of chariot. Arabic poetry makes a word play because "Rukh" means also cheek:"My beloved lady gave me check-mate with her two ivory cheeks" etc. In the Renaissance, Vida«s poem in Italy transformed the piece into a castle, God knows why. Horses is not a proper translation of the Arabic word "faras". Its real meaning, as stated bi Alfonso«s translators in 1283 is Knight, or man on a horse. Like Indians. Let me know whether our tribe can be of assistance in your research. SB

From: PIMANDER 2/22/00 5:18 am To: RICALVO (175 of 232) 18.175 in reply to 18.174 Greetings Sitting Bull, Isis and Patton - Peering into the ceremonial haggis, I divine some new news. It may be old news to some - but I like what I have seen. Ipuwer divulges the Tuat. In the Egyptian Book of the Dead - we see some interesting spells - particularly the "go-spell" and accompanying "enfold spell". On the tightrope to the gods - if the knight turns left he is devoured by Archons - if he turns right he is consumed also - but with a much better fate. More to the point - the basic Egyptian mythologies which underlie early Christian Gnosis also pose grave questions to Judaism. We find Isis hiding a young god in the rushes. We find many other things that would upset the orthodox views of either religion. Now, as I read in Hopi legend of ant people and those who hid their treasure in the crevaces of the Grand Canyon - it comes to pass that acheologists have stumbled onto an vast underground city - complete with mummified remains of men, copper artifacts of remarkable strength, sophisticated pottery etc. Glyphs resemble a combination of Tibetian and Egyptian motifs. http://www.infomagic.com/~abyte/hopi/ A bientot Wallace

From: ALPHETA 2/22/00 4:55 pm To: RICALVO (176 of 232) 18.176 in reply to 18.174 S.B., it was Vida who turned the chariot into a tower - by the strength of a POEM?!? Incredible! Then again - did Vida have any secret Templar or Masonic connections??? Hmmmm, an Italian Mason...

From: ALPHETA 2/23/00 4:56 pm To: RICALVO (177 of 232) 18.177 in reply to 18.174 Sitting Bull, my mind is in a daze. While posting about the Templars and their connection to the Black Madonna under the "Masons" thread, leading up to a tie-in to Vida and his transformation of the "rukh" to the "rook", it occurred to me that if - prior to "Sacchia Ludus" the "rukh" was a chariot - would not the European chess sets of the period have contained chariots rather than castles? Surely some such sets must have survived if the transformation from chariot to rook took place less than 500 years ago. But if this is so how come, for instance, the Lewis Chess Pieces do not show any chariot pieces, but a piece called a "warder" - a sort of guardian piece - a term which I believe to be closely associated with a castle's "keep" or strong tower? I am confused.

From: RICALVO 2/24/00 10:03 am To: ALPHETA (178 of 232) 18.178 in reply to 18.177 Dear Patton: In matters of history, including chess history, we all are confused, not only you. Winner write always their biased interpretation about the facts. For your question: No need to find Christian medieval chess pieces. The design of the Rook is described by King Alfonso in 1283. It had nothing to do with the castle or tower which appears after Vida«s poem. Black Madonnas is another story, and our tribe is collecting materials on it. More telling for most of the relevant questions of recent chess history is the archetype of Bobby Fisher. Our tribe has somthing to say, but the question is: Are the Goddesses reliable? We understand unconscious fears, such as your snakes and spiders. Our medicine man was put in trance for solving your first paragraph. Snakes would have a long interpretation, deserving perhaps its own forum. Spiders are easier: A Polish mother, according to him, woul explain a lot. BF is of crucial importance. Let me know wheter we must arise and go there, but this time it will be not the peaceful lake of Innisfree. Sitting Bull

From: ALPHETA 2/24/00 7:54 pm To: RICALVO (179 of 232) 18.179 in reply to 18.178 Sitting Bull, does a Polish mother make one not afraid of spiders, or merely teach one how to squish spiders, which is what I do if they dare to venture into my living quarters (if they are outside in the garden or in the basement I leave them alone, spiders have to have places to live too). Did I tell you that my mother's maiden name was Jablonski, LOL! As for snakes, fortunately the only ones we have around here are garter snakes and they don't come into the house! Out in the garden I just ignore them. I don't ever want to run into a python or rattler though! You are tantalizing me (and probably everyone else here) with your cryptic utterances concerning BF. You know my penchant for rushing in to help, flags flying, heedless of the consequences (some might call me an interfering hussy, but that's just because they don't know what's good for them, ha!); but as I am a nobody in the world of chess and am very ignorant of the vast majority of chess political issues and subtleties, of what possible assistance could I be? Indeed, I might do more harm than good!

From: RICALVO 2/25/00 12:00 am To: ALPHETA (180 of 232) 18.180 in reply to 18.179 OK Patton: I will start posting materials our tribe knows weel. Just wait till monday, because I must travel SB

From: ALPHETA 2/25/00 1:43 am To: RICALVO (181 of 232) 18.181 in reply to 18.180 Oh no you don't - I'm not letting you off the hook THAT easily! Are you familiar with the movie "The Quiet Man", produced in 1951 I believe and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in her very first starring role? "Innisfree" plays a significant role in that film, Sitting Bull. It is a song that plays throughout the movie, and it also represents John Wayne, who was a boxer, a prize-fighter, who was a contender for the championship, a brual and ruthless opponent in the ring - until he killed a man with a blow to the head in a fight. He retires from the ring, he goes to his ancestral homeland - Ireland - and falls in love with Maureen O'Hara. He is now a man of peace, a man who wants to forget his past even as it haunts him, a man who has demons that he cannot put to rest. He woos and eventually marries Maureen, but there is conflict with her older brother over the dowery money. The climax of the movie involves an epic fist fight - a real "donneybrook" - between John Wayne and the brother. In the end, after they have beaten each other to pulp, they are friends - based on mutually earned respect! I know about "Innisfree". I would go there willingly (I would land as many punches as I take!) - but I can't speak for the others here. Do you understand?

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 2/28/00 8:03 am To: RICALVO (182 of 232) 18.182 in reply to 18.178 Great and Honorable Sitting Bull, Not to worry about Snakes and Spiders. The MiB (Men in Black) are well trained on how to handle them, snakes and spiders are in the same catagory as cockroaches, and look what happened to them in the movie MiB;-) If there is a story that needs to be told there is no better forum then this to tell the tale. Especially with three Mother Hens to protect all involved. Hens eat spiders and have been known to run snakes off. Let us open the doors and windows to this mysterious subject and look at in the light. Please Sitting Bull tell our Tribe more. Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: RICALVO 2/29/00 7:16 pm To: Isis (GEORGIA18) (183 of 232) 18.183 in reply to 18.182 Fisher is too great to deal with him in a single posting. First of all, he was asked about his "anti-Semistism". His answer was: "I have nothing against the Arabs" Yes, one must be very careful wen selecting words about important matters. I propose this in this forum. Someone can be anti- Israel (by the way, orthodox rabbis are), anti-Jeweish or anti- Semite, but differences are important, particularly if we are going to talk about BF. SB

From: ALPHETA 5/20/00 2:10 am To: RICALVO (184 of 232) 18.184 in reply to 18.183 Greetings once again, Sitting Bull, Venerable Chief of our small tribe. While working on an article for this month's issue of The International Chessoid involving the Templars (I hope you will find it funny when it is finally published) I had occasion to obtain an Alta Vista English translation of parts of your article on the Templars. As I understand it, the article discusses one particular colored engraving out of "The Chess Book" compiled by King Alphonso X of Spain, depicting two gentlemen dressed in Templars garb, playing a game of "ajedrez", and how to interpret the engraving to assist in analyzing and solving the particular chess problem to which it is attached. One of the parts I "translated" is talking about the figure on the right of the engraving, who is pointing, with his forefinger, to the tower or "roque" of e8 to indicate that this is the piece that moves in the first play of the solution of the problem. What has transfixed me is the use of the word "tower" for the word "roque". Elsewhere in these posts you have stated that the castle - a "tower" - did not come into popular use as a chess piece until the sixteenth century (through the auspices of a very popular poem of the time). However, Alphonso's "Book of Chess" bears a date of approximately 1283, well over 200 years before the introduction of the "castle"/tower as a chess piece! Did references to the "roque" as a "tower" show up elsewhere in Alphonso X's compendium on chess?

From: RICALVO 5/20/00 7:25 pm To: ALPHETA (185 of 232) 18.185 in reply to 18.184 No, Patton. Rook was mistranlated as a tower in the 16th century. Not before. Our librarian "Crazy Rat" can purchase pertinent data for you, if you wish (don«t wait too much because I shall ride with him very soon to foreign praries) SB

From: ALPHETA 5/20/00 8:23 pm To: RICALVO (186 of 232) 18.186 in reply to 18.185 Venerable Chief, I can understand a mis-translation. However, the piece on the board that tbe figure appears to be pointing to does not look like a "chariot". Are you coming to America? When - and where?

From: RICALVO 5/20/00 10:35 pm To: ALPHETA (187 of 232) 18.187 in reply to 18.186 SB is now sleeping after his trip. I am "Crazy Rat" the librarian. Rukh has been translated as the mythological bird, as a charriot, or as a boat. The mistake of interpreting it as a tower comes from Vida«s poem in the 16th century, because of "Elephantus turritus" was considered wrongly (the small tower in the back of the Elephant). The whole debate has had implications in some fields, as Heraldry (See "Der Roch", by A. Van der Linde. Berlin 5.5..!873) I can send a copy of the German paper to your adress, because I like you, Alpheta, and SB sleeps a lot forgetting his PC. Crazy Rat

From: ALPHETA 5/20/00 11:42 pm To: RICALVO (188 of 232) 18.188 in reply to 18.187 Greetings, Crazy Rat. My, what a lot of people are using S.B.'s computer while he sleeps. Hmmmmm.... I would be happy to accept a copy of the German article in question. However, I do not read German. Approximately one year ago I purchased a translation program to assist me in rendering German into English. It is not a very good program, but it is better than nothing. You point to Vida's poem as the impetus for the change from the small tower on an elephant (the elephant was the "bishop") to the tower as "rook". However, the "rook" ("roque") was always a chariot. Under Vida's poem, should not the bishop have been changed to a tower, instead of the "roque"?

From: ALPHETA 5/20/00 11:44 pm To: RICALVO (189 of 232) 18.189 in reply to 18.188 Silent Snake, I felt it best to move this discussion from the BF forum to this forum. It seems to fit better over here. I present Silent Snake's post done at BF, in full: Here is "Silent Snake", warrior on duty in the tribe of garrulous SB. He produced recently, together with M. Pennell, a completion of some analysis of Alfonso, which may be interesting for you. I need a horse an a refuge after killing SB. He sold his soul to the Devil. "EDWARD I AND CHESS By Ricardo Calvo and Mike Pennell The Codex of King Alfonso the Wise "Libro del Acedrex" (1283) contains 150 miniatures. Several of them have a historical content. The miniatures portray continuously members of the royal entourage. King Alfonso appears several times and also his son D. Sancho. They are clearly recognizable because of the crown which indicates their royalness, and the ornaments in the mantle: a lyon and a castle (arms of Leon and Castille). But in fol. 54v, there appears a particular royal couple: a young prince playing against a royal lady. He has a page, and she is with a maid. He bears a crown, is young and blond haired, but his mantle has no distinctive emblemes. He wears a checky shirt. We suspected that the miniaturist intented to portray prince Edward of England with his fiancŽe Elionor of Castille during his long staying at the Spanish court. They married in Burgos 1254. The physical description of King Edward is recorded as follows: "His features were refined and regular. The only thing that marred their perfect beauty was a slight droop of the left eyelid which he has inherited from his father" (T. F. Tout 1893. British Library). As we looked again in fol 54v from Alfonso«s Codex, it was clear to us that the painter portrays undoubtedly prince Edward, as had suspected. The left eye shows the inherited "ptosis palpebralis". There is no other character in the miniatures with anything similar, and the eyes of the others in the same miniature are well open. The hair is blond, as described for the prince before his mature manhood. A short notice on this discovery appeared in "The Chess Collector" vol. VI. Nr .2. April 1997. ("A discovery" by M. Pennell and R. Calvo). The interest ist firstly historical, since iconographical or sculptural representations ef Edward I were made a posteriori, bur the miniature portraying him is contemporary. The historians of Art (prof. HollŠnder, personal communication) have so far believed that physical features appear in pictures only from the 14yh century on. This miniature would be then a precedent in the history of porttraiting. Finally, it has interest for the ohtalmologist, because even if the ptosis palpebralis is known, the hereditary form described foe Edward is quite ecceptional. Edward I was a good chess player. "His mastery of legal argument was as formidable as his prowes in arms, and he excelled at chess... Sir Arthur Bryant (b. 1899) "The Age of Chivalry" (1963) vol II of "The Story of England". "The chronicle descriptions suggest chess playing and hunting as his leisure oursuits. Household accounts confirm that he played chess, for there are recordas of his financial losses at the game in 1278, and a gift of a board to him. The losses do not occur in later accounts-perhaps his game improved, or no one dared to beat him-but his continuous interest is shown by an inventory of his possesions from 1300, which includes an ebony chess set, and one of crystal and jasper. His second wife, Margaret of France, had two splendid sets worth forty pounds each". (M. Prestwich "English Monarchs-Edward I" pp. 111-115). The inventory at the "Liber quotid. garderobae a.r. Edw.I, 28, London, 1787, 350-351 says "Una familia oro scaccario de jaspide et cristallo, in uno coffro,-Una familia de ebore pro ludendo ad scaccarium". The following story is told of Edward: "One day in his youth he was playing chess with a certain knight in a vaulted chamber. Without any particular reason he rose from his seat and went to the other end of the room. Thereupon a huge stone crashed down from the roof destroying the chair on which Edward had been sitting. He atributted his preservation to Our Lady of Walsingham whom whe held ever afterward in special honour" (Walshingam in Norfolk is still today a place of pilgrimage). The source, quoted by Murray ("A history of Chess". Oxford 1913, p. 449) is Nicholas Trivet "Annales" ed. London, 1845, p. 282 and the latin account is as follows:"Adolescens cum milite quodam in camera testudinata ludo scaccarii occupatus, subito nulla occasione praestita inter ludendum surgens discesserat, lapisque inmensae magnitudinis, qui sedentem conquassasset, in eodem loco ceciderit" The miniature shows the characters sitting around a chess board with following position: White Ke3, Ra3, Rf3, pawn e6. Black: Ke1, Nc3, pawn e7, mate in three..The solution is 1. Rc3, Kd1 2. Kf2, Kd2 3. Rfd3 mate. The black pawn at e7 is needed to avoid losing because of "bare King" rule. The white pawn deprives black of waiting moves. The problem is a repetition of problem 82 (fol 52r) with reversed colours. This other miniature shows two Muslim warriors, and the text states: "mate in three, moving each piece only once". This kind of conditions point to an European origin of the position, because Arabic mansubat do not use such limitations. Moreover, this particular problem doesn«t appear in previous islamic sorces. Could it havebeen composed by prince Edward himself? The lady in the miniature is also Elionor of Castille, a queen adored by the English folk. The miniaturist painted a mysterious sign on her forehead. She went with her husband to the Crusades, were she saved the life of Edward by sucking a poisoned blessure inflicted by a group af "hashashins".Edward was deeply in love with her, and when she died (1290) in Harby (Nottinghamshire), Edward built a path of twelve crosses between this place and Westminster Abbey. Lincoln, Grantham, Stanford, Geddington, Northampton, Stony, Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, Saint-Albans, Waltham, West Cheap. The last one is Charing Cross."

From: ALPHETA 5/21/00 12:10 am To: RICALVO (190 of 232) 18.190 in reply to 18.189 Greetings, Silent Snake. Have you actually killed our Venerable Chief, Sitting Bull? If you have, I will personally hunt you down and dispatch you to the Happy Hunting Grounds with my Magic Compass without further ado. The Chief is a particular friend of mine, and I do not take kindly to such assaults on my friends! Beware shadows, clouds, and spectres. I, Alpheta, an incarnation of the White Goddess, shelter in all of these things - and more! There is no escaping my vengeance! My book on the "Queens of England" by Norah Lofts says the following about Eleanora of Castile: "Born 1244, married 1254, dies 1290" Yikes! She was only 10 years old when she married Edward I of England, who was 15 and, by all accounts, was nearly full grown (6'2") at the time! It is reported, however, that her life as a child, and as a queen of England, was a happy one. It is said in Lofts' book that "The little bride was well-received in England where Henry III [her father-in-law and King of England] had taken pains to see that she did not suffer too much from the English climate. Her chamber at Guilford Palace was to have glazed windows, a raised hearth and a chimney. She was also to have a wardrobe. These specifications are evidence of how rare such amenities were at the time". While the young Eleanora grew up, Edward was away waging war - against the Scots, on Crusade, against the French, etc. Eventually he came home and the marriage was consummated. Eleanora promptly bore 3 children in 3 years. In 1269, she accompanied him on Crusade. Here is what Lofts had to say about the assasination attempt: "She was with him in Joppa when an assassin made an attempt upon his life. Contemporary stories speak of Edward having been struck by a poisoned dagger and of Eleanora sucking the poison from the wound. It is certain that Edward attributed his recovery - from the wound and the surgery which followed it - to the care and attention given him by his wife. Yet, when during his convalescence, he made his will, though he provided well for Eleanora, he left her no power, not even the custody of her children. This may have been a slight, but a protective measure. "On this campaign, Eleanora bore her fourth child, a girl, called from her birthplace, Joanna of Acre." Eleanora lived to see many of her eight children, including her two oldest sons, die. Her last child, a boy, was born at Caernarvon Castle on the Welsh coast - a wild and raw place, and a newly built, bare-bones castle. The child was born in the midst of war. Edward, who had temporarily defeated the Welsh, "promised them a prince who could speak no word of English - and produced his baby son. The baby who was to become Edward II was recognized as Prince of Wales, a title worn proudly by the eldest son of the King of England, from that day to this." Eleanora died while en route to join her husband, the King, near the Scottish border. On the funeral train back to Westminster, where the King insisted Eleanora be buried, he left the twelve crosses to memorialize where the body of his beloved "chere reine" rested overnight. Lofts states: "As the courtege neared London all the principal citizens, clad in black, lined the roads and when she was interred Edward arranged for Masses and dirges and for two wax tapers to burn for ever by her tomb. They burned until the Reformation, three hundred years later. And one by one all but three of the crosses vanished. But how many of the hurrying thousands who use Charing Cross station every day associate its name with Eleanora, Edward's "chere reine?" "Chere reine", in the vernacular: "Charing".

From: RICALVO 5/21/00 8:27 am To: ALPHETA (191 of 232) 18.191 in reply to 18.190 Well done, Alpheta. The circle is almost completed. King Edward and Eleanor lived in the part of Londond named nowadays "Elephant&Castle". Some connections to chess, the elephant or the tower? Me has done ethymological research as well. Elephant & Castle is a corruption of "L«Enfant de Castille", dedicated to Eleanor (French was the court languafe in England). SB is still sleeping, but I can send you privately the picture of Edward and Eleanor playing chess. I need only your blessing, oh Goddess. Crazy Rat

From: ALPHETA 5/21/00 1:00 pm To: RICALVO (192 of 232) 18.192 in reply to 18.191 Good morning, Crazy Rat, Silent Snake, and Sleeping Beauty S.B. Please send me the picture of Eleanora and Edward. I am sure I will be able to use it in one way or another. I am nearly finished with the May issue of The International Chessoid. I have only one more article to write and format properly, then I will attempt to upload the whole to our server. I have never done this operation before so I hope it goes well!

From: RICALVO 5/21/00 11:20 pm To: ALPHETA (193 of 232) 18.193 in reply to 18.192 Ugh, Patton: Your last orders have been obeyed. Our librarian recalls me to send you data on Major General Lawrence J. Fuller.. Well, he published in "Chess Review", July 1955, pp 205-207 "The Synthetic Method of Chessplay or Frankling K. Young revisited". Fuller was then only a Liutenant Colonel, but his paper atracted our attention about the 7 Young volumes published between 1894-1923. Er...Crazy Rat stealed some papers from Fuller, and I am urging him with violent methods to disclose his knowledge. After a few hours (I am still sleepy), he told us this: "THE MINOR TACTICS OF CHESS Volume I, Chess Strategetics Series. SubTitle: A Treatise on the Deployment of the Forces in Obedience to Strategic Principle. Franklin K. Young and Edwin C. Rowell. Little, Brown, and Company. 221 Pages. Boston, 1924. Prom the Preface: The elements of a new theory of play. That part of the system which governs the opening. The sp’rit of the complete theory. Leibnitz pronounced chess an exact science. Petroff placed Át on a level with the integral calculus. Anderssen declared that its intricacies were more abstruse than the most profound mathematics. Chess is symbolic of the supreme science, the science of force. The study of chess may profitably engage the attention of the ablest intellects. The noblest mental diversion which the ingenuity of man has devised. Chapters on the Board, the Pieces, the Game, Notation, and the Normal Position. A textbook for beginners but with some of the underlying theory and terminology of the system. Illustrative Games: Two games (Morphy v. the Allies, Paris (1858) and Blackburne v. Weiss, New York (1889È are g’ven with extensiva notes in 36 pages. Minor Tactics: The balance of the book, four chapters, develops the true subject matter of this first volume of the seven-volume series. "As the minor tactics of warfare treats of the proper construction of the various component parts of an army, preparatory to the beginning of a campaign, so the minor tactics of chess deals with the arrangements of the pleces upon the board , in the opening of a game, before the initiation of those manoeuvres for attack, defense, and counter-attack, which constitute the more active stages of the chess battle." Principles and patterns are developed for the proper posting of pawns and pieces both individually and in relation to each other for maximum force and mutual interdependence. Pawn Positions: Formations include salients, supporting parallels, angles of resistance, and the normal pawn base. Pawn units and pawn integrals. Five open pawn integrals and three close pawn integrals with their supporting maxims. Positions of the Pieces: Plece unitz and piece integrals. Four knight units, six bishop units, three rook units, five queen units. Table of integrals for the piece units, combining them with appropriate pawn integrara. Primary Bases: "A complete and consistent disposition of all the chess pieces in the opening of the game, preliminary to the midgame, ’s called a primary base". There are 11 Open Primary Bases and 4 Close Primary Bases. These are patterns or models to be approximated as closely as possible. Appendix: Fifteen games illustrating the 15 primary bases" So, you can start researching

From: PIMANDER 5/22/00 6:29 am To: RICALVO (194 of 232) 18.194 in reply to 18.193 Friends, Delphians countrymen, I apologize for being late boarding this fast moving boat. I see you are very busy citizens of the world and wish you luck in your travels and endeavours. May Italy render unto Sitting Bull the things which are Sitting Bull's. My Copyright Curse upon the thief! By St.George, St. Andrew and St Patick! Do I spy a snake and another snake! Alphonso should have chosen his friends more carefully. But then, today I am a biased and angry Wallace. Edward I stole my scone - that long legged, one eyed Jack! Knave of hearts! He did other things to me personally that were even more unkind. Ach, what's a poor Scottie to do? Sitting Bull -- Wallace, Pimander and the slow-moving McLean have traced your previous suggestions on McLean geneology and discovered many interesting things - among them the legend of the Stone of Scone - the Stone of Destiny or, Jacob's Pillow as it is also called. The story begins with Jacob - who, in Biblical legend, laid his head upon the stone as he witnessed the angels ascend and descend upon the ladder. This is unlike the contemporary McLean - who, in his frivolous youth, got stoned on Timothy Leary's favourite food, (ahem) and witnessed a similar phenomena. Years ago, I would say it was all by accident - but no longer... So, we have it that the stone followed a route that took it from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean - first to Sicily, then to Braganza. Afterward it moved again to Tara, the ancient capitol of Ireland and thence beyond, with McErc to Scone. It stayed in Scone for many years but was moved to Dunstaffage (sp?) and then, oddly, to the Island of Iona, one of the MacLean holdings in the Western Isles - a place of particular religious significance where many priests and kings lie buried. We come again to see the name of Braganza associated with the fortunes of Clan MacLean. Thank you for helping us re-start our search - which began when I was five years old and heard my grandmother speak of Daniel (friend of lions) and the Stone Kingdom in the same breath. This she did in English. I never forgot for some reason. Other times I heard her speak in Gaelic - a language which some say is very like Armenian. Our suspicions now focus on the ancient Culdee religion and the secrets of Celtic priests, whom we believe passed on many things for recovery at a future date. We suspect also that The Reverand Charles Lutwidge Dodgeson (Lewis Carroll) knew something about this and hid many secrets in his Alice books. It is said that Victoria adored his writing - but I believe she may have feared it also. The clergy knew all about everyone's family histories and some were particularly good at remembering even the tiny details. When the white rose was painted red in Alice - we have a sign of whitewash and propaganda. More immediately, as regards the priesthood, in dreams we have Merlin in the tower with upraised right hand. Much of the logos is fragmentary, but we are making progress in typical Wallace fashion. Unlike Alpheta the Wise, there is no pattern in the way we strike. We also wish to see the Griffon in heraldry and will track the winged lion to his checkerboard lair. We have found a perfect likeness in gold at the Oriental Institute of Chicago. Although it roars loudly - it is too old! A grandfather lion. Like the Griffon, are quiet most of the time - but very vigilant and inwardly busy. Wallace

From: RICALVO 5/22/00 7:58 pm To: PIMANDER (195 of 232) 18.195 in reply to 18.194 Wallace: It is a pleasure to observe your slow, vigilant progress in the best McLean mode. It was unpolite to bring the issue of Edward I before you, but this king deserves attention (don«t you agree, Wallace?) The medicine man in our tribe thinks that your suspicions agains priesthood are partly influenced by your past expereiences. Montreal has too many churches. and some can be burned out. We shall report after our Italy trip. We wish you to remain Gaelic. SB & WI

From: ALPHETA 5/23/00 1:21 am To: RICALVO (196 of 232) 18.196 in reply to 18.193 I recognize an order when I see one - even we Generals and "Wise Alphetas" take orders upon occasion! I will undertake research - I will fit this in somehow!

From: ALPHETA 5/23/00 1:29 am To: PIMANDER (197 of 232) 18.197 in reply to 18.194 Hello Pi. The following ties in directly with your mention of the Stone of Scone as "Jacob's Pillow" - and I found the reference entirely by accident as I was doing further research on goddess worship and her connection with stones/rocks, as first written about many posts ago and in (I think) another forum altogether. Oh well, this all ties in together, somehow. First, a visit to Mount Moriah, Israel, the mountain upon which the ancient site of ÒSalemÓ was situated Ð the city of Melchizedek, mysterious priest/king of The Most High God mentioned in the Bible in connection with Abraham. Many centuries later an apparent descendant of Melchizedek Ð ÒAdonai-zedek, King of JerusalemÓ, was conquered by JoshuaÕs armies; however, the city was apparently not conquered at this time. Abraham has another connection with Ð if not Salem itself, the Mount Moriah area, for the Bible identifies this as the place where he was directed by Jehovah to take Isaac and sacrifice him, eek! Apparently Jewish tradition places the site of the aborted sacrifice at the crest of Mount Moriah! The next mention of Salem in the Bible is when the annointed one, King David, conquers the city from the Jebusites and the place becomes known as Òthe City of DavidÓ. Sometime in the intervening centuries, the place had changed from ÒSalemÓ to ÒJerusalemÓ which means, according to my trusty Bible encyclopedia, ÒPossession (or foundation) of Twofold PeaceÓ. Although my bible encyclopedia does not go so far as to say that the Jewish Temple built by Solomon was built on the actual crest of Moriah, internet articles I read today point to the crest as the place where tradition says the Temple was built, with the very peak being enclosed within the Holy of Holies. This very same ÒstoneÓ is, in fact, incorporated into the Muslim ÒDome of the RockÓ today. By the time David conquered the city, it had been a possession of the ÒCanaanitesÓ for several centuries and, except for my BibleÕs interpretation of Melchidezek as a priest/king of the Most High God , may perhaps have been a center of ÒpaganÓ (read this as ÒgoddessÓ worship), as most high places in ancient Canaan (later Israel) were known to be. Perhaps even Melchidezek was a priest/king of the Most High Goddess! We do not know. He is shrouded in obscurity. In any event, itÕs a good bet that this clear space at the top of the mountain, owned by the King of the city at the time of DavidÕs conquest, was a site of goddess worship/ritual. Check out these links: http://jeru.huji.ac./il/eb221.htm http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/html (I hope I typed these correctly). One more note for this post. Mount Moriah is reputed to be the place where Jacob, after bedding down for the night and using one of the stones from the area as a ÒpillowÓ (apparently they had very hard heads in those days!) had the dream/vision about the ladder leading to heaven, with the angels travelling up and down (hmmm....), and where he then engaged in a wrestling match with an angel, until the angel finally won the match by touching Jacob on his thigh socket, apparently causing excruciating pain and thus winning his freedom and permanently crippling Jacob; and thus Jacob earned a change of name to ÒIsraelÓ: Contender with God or, perhaps, God Contends! Hmmm... Other than reporting the bare facts, my Bible Encyclopedia has nothing further to say on this extremely unusual account. Another hmmm.... More to follow Ð right now I must go to the grocery store!

From: ALPHETA 5/23/00 2:35 am To: ALL (198 of 232) 18.198 in reply to 18.197 I am copying the last couple of posts to the Goddess, Towers and Chess thread as well as posting here, since these themes are fast approaching being totally interwoven into the overall picture of The Weave. By the way, I did not mention it in my last post, but early Jerusalem had the Gihon Spring as its primary water source, apparently lying to the south of the summit of Mount Moriah. At the time David took the city the water source lay outside the city walls, and this was still the case a few hundred years later when King Heziakiah was confronted with an attack by - the Syrians? In any event, Heziakiah undertook an amazing engineering feat for the day, having two teams of men starting out from two separate points tunnel under the city in the bedrock toward each other, to build a conduit from the Gihon Spring, under the city walls, eventually ending up toward the western foot of the mount at the Pool of Siloam (my directions may be a bit off here, I'm working from my memory which isn't always accurate). The Pool of Siloam still existed in Jesus' day and I think still exists today. I think I posted about this particular project once before... The reason I mention this is because of the historical connection between water/rivers/springs with worship of goddesses - at least in the Mediterranean Basin, Anatolia, the Middle East, and Europe, including Albion (England) (there are some reports, particularly in the far east and in the Americas, of springs/rivers in conjunction with trees or other natural features of the landscape being the residing place of gods, and are thus accorded sacred status and are revered as places of worship). thus, Mount Moriah presented a two-fold reason for goddess worship: a high place AND a spring. While I was not able, in the brief amount of time I am able to devote to research, to discover a website that specifically connected Mount Moriah with goddess worship, I did find a site (I did not copy the url) that connected the well-known goddess Asherah to Canaan and, as I have written in posts here previously, she is mentioned many times in the Bible, in the most condemnatory words! It was an interesting website - it sells replicas of the ancient goddesses, and had little biographies of all of the primary goddesses of ancient (and not so ancient) times. As this site depicted her, Asherah was not much to look at, but it did connect her to "the Syrian goddess Dea Anna" who was worshipped with fierce devotion in Ephesus - yes, Diana of Ephesus - she of the many breasts who got Professor Shah T. Ranj into SUCH trouble over at The Chess University. I believe I have read that the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. More to follow...

From: ALPHETA 5/23/00 3:03 am To: ALL (199 of 232) 18.199 in reply to 18.198 On the continuing tour of sacred places, we next visit Bodhgaya, India, where Shakyamuni Gautama, the Prince Siddhartha, experienced an extraordinary experience to become the Enlightened One, the founder of one of the great religions in the world, Buddhism. Because this stop is not directly connected with the focus of my researches, I unfortunately did not spend as much time researching here as other places I believe may be more directly connected to the origins of The Game. However, I mention this stop for reasons which shall become apparent. I got some information on this spot from the "Sacred Places" website sited earlier, http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/sacredplaces.html which is a site presenting a lot of good information in a rather condensed format. Following one of the links from "Sacred Places" to http://www.investindia.com/DIWebzine2/bodhgaya.htm I found the following fascinating information: It was under a Bo tree ("ficus religiosa" - notice the Latin title for this species of tree, I love it! - the tree of awakening - Bodhi), SITUATED NEAR THE BANKS OF THE RIVER NIRANJANA (aka Falgu), that Siddhartha meditated and attained enlightenment. Let's see - the website does not give dates, but I seem to recall Buddhism started in the mid-500's BCE. Anyway, the tree that stands at this sacred site today is apparently a direct descendant (through sappling transplant) of the original tree under which the Buddha sat. I quote the following from the website: "Close to the tree is a red sandstone slab which is revered as the Vajrasan or the Buddha's throne marking the spot where the Buddha sat in meditating. ..." And more: "The Mahabodhi temple erected near the tree, has a slender pyramidal spire which is 52 metres high and houses a gilded image of the Buddha, with his hands touching the earth calling the eart as witness to his austerities. At the corners of the basement [ground floor, I think] of the spire were added four smaller towers. ..." And more: "South of the temple 3 kms. away is a lake close to the village Mucharim. Muchalinda, the multi-hooded snake king guards the lotus in the gardens [apparently a reference to the extensive gardens around the temple]. The legend is that Muchalinda protected the Buddha against the thunder and rain sent by the asuras and demons, to disturb his meditation." So, in connection with the founding of one of the world's great religions, we have: (1) a tree (biblical references to Asherah, as well as references to other goddesses, denote the proximity of their worship to poles, standing stones, and TREES); (2) a stone, upon which the Prince (note the designation of his royal personage) was seated when he achieved enlightenment; (3) a river and - nearby - a lake, i.e., SACRED WATERS. Please follow along with me on this journey...

From: ALPHETA 5/23/00 3:52 am To: ALL (200 of 232) 18.200 in reply to 18.199 Our next stop is to a "post" I discovered this morning when I did a quick and dirty search under "Stone of Scone" on AltaVista. People familiar with The Weave may recognize the name of Sinclair that seemingly magically appears here: Chief Head Stone (of Scone?)

To: Subject: Chief Head Stone (of Scone?) From: "William Stuart Buehler" Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 22:18:22 -0700 Reply-To: sinclair@mids.org Sender: owner-sinclair@mids.org ------------ Dear Sinclairs, RE the Stone line of discussion I've picked out an exerpt from one good reference to the general subject of the "Head Stone": "The Stone of Scone: It is called Jacob's Pillow. Jacob asked God for a sign as he put his head on a pillow stone. He had dreams and visions. He kept the stone. It became a tribal treasure. God told Moses to strike the stone with his staff. Moses struck the Stone twice. For his disobedience he never saw the Promised Land. Water came from the stone for over two million people...." I'm not disagreeing with anything already said, I hope to add to it however. My comment is too technical to go into much detail so I'll just hit it lightly. Its "metaphysical" and I'm not trying to prove anything, just present another view to layer into the ongoing ideas. I am interested in sa[c]red geometry as a form of "blueprinting" mental process ...complementary ideas or states of mind and being that work in holistic formats. The scripture is a detailed manual for this which also integrates the ethics of any specific format into the energetic forms ...providing the Hebrew is used in a spiritual context, forget the English. The Hebrew alphabet is a coded system. The letter "resh" (#200) is translated "Chief Head Stone" and the letter was drawn as a head (left profile) in the original protosiniatic style of hieroglyphics before block letters. Meanings remain the same. The Templars apparently used Hebrew as a form of spiritual communication and used a geometric grid system that was controlled by a specific pole called the "Resh"; the ability to operate this system demanded that the operators be "of the Resh, of the Christ or Chief Head Stone." (1 Pe 2:1-10; Ps 118:18-23 are examples.) The grid, called the "Reshel", is very complex and its operation has taken me several years of study to even begin to penetrate. A large 28 mile diameter land grid around Edinburgh uses the format and we find Templar towers, chapels, etc. in key poles. Rosslyn Chapel is the controlling Resh pole in the system. The Edinburgh Matrix is a primary part of a much larger system covering Europe. The much earlier St. Columba also used this system with as much understanding as the later Sinclair Templars and also included the Edinburgh Matrix in his larger application, apparently including the Rosslyn site. The purpose of this system was not to control people but rather to facilitate spiritual processes in higher levels and with more efficiency (economy of right kinds of energy, consciousness). Its use was secret so nothing was written; I can offer no references. One of the processes was to "shift reality frames" by something called an "L-shift"; this echnology gets into definitions of time continua as well as other dimensions. BASICALLY it creates a "horizontal" reality then does a 90 degree shift (golden ratio math is used). Scripture is full of this but its somewhat coded ...the "Head Stone becoming the Corner" is one example that also notes the "gates" used (the Ps 118 ref.). The "head stone" or pillow stone of Jacob's is erected (an L shift) into a pillar called "Bethel" or Temple of God. Angels used it to get "from there to here" symbolically. Nathaniel was the same functional operator in the synergistic holistic unity of the 12 disciples (John 1:43-51). You might begin to see how this thing is used. For every sacred form there is a Pillar/tube of light connective ..."above as below", etc... with its own mechanics within a temple-of-12 format. So the Resh pole is related to a pillar, in Rosslyn the two main pillars: Boaz and Yah-chen. The whole of Rosslyn becomes the base or 90 degree hinge point for Edinburgh's system but Rosslyn has its own internal grid that is the same as Edinburgh's. Within the Rosslyn Chapel the main altar is the "Lady Altar" on the main axis but in the Lady Chapel beyond the Mari Pillar, eastward of it. Continuing on the main axis we find the resh pole in the L shaped crypt, in the small room properly called the Sacristy. The Resh pole in the L, on the axis, is the real Chief Corner Stone of the Chapel in the spiritual context of its being the Christ's altar. When the energetic pole centering this Christos half of the system is moved into the point of the Lady Altar (Mystic Marriage) the geometry then permits the Christos' resh pole or "Stone" to pivot into (or under) the two Pillars of Boaz and Yah-chen. This specific position is the fully active mode of the Reshel grid and to my own way of thinking the creation of the REAL Head of Christ or the Head Stone related to the two pillars. You can appreciate that the average tourist is not going to be able to activate this system except as 1 Peter 2:1-10 applies. This is not just some ancient system; Clan Sinclair once had the technology as well as the state of consciousness and being needed to bring the system on line. I believe that the Clan, and humanity, still has the potential and the system itself is time-less ...just sitting there ticking over. There are clear applications of the above re the sacred Stone (throne) used to coronate the monarch. The priests would ensure that the Stone was charged with the aspects of the Kingdom and the coronation would then transfer the aspects into and as the monarch. The monarch literally became the land and people. If the kingdom was sick, we had a "Lame King" with a vested interest in getting the place healthy again. (This assumes that the priests were competent to begin with.) The best example of this stone throne that I've seen is at Rennes Les Bains in southern France in the Languedoc, Rennes le Chateau Matrix. It has the correct Hebrew letters/glyphs inscribed in it (ignore the carved graffiti) and a sacred well by it. In Edinburgh, on a larger scale, "Arthur's Seat" in the Holy-Rood is the same for a larger kingdom grid. Scotlands' governmental buildings are connected with it. In effect, if Scotland decided to come on line with Christic principles it would have the machinery in place to have effect on the Planet-Kingdom. If one understood the applied mechanics of the grid system and Arthur's Seat an interesting history of Scotland's troubles ...the "Lame King"... could be developed. N Blessings Be... William < ...[Message truncated] View Full Message

From: PIMANDER 6/1/00 4:10 am To: RICALVO (221 of 232) 18.221 in reply to 18.217 Hail to the chief! No, we will not be nonchalant about this special stone. It has caused much interest lately. I will contact Mike in the hope that he may furnish me with new material. Actually, I don't mind if Edward stole my stone, as long as it is has been returned in good working condition. a bientot Wallace

From: RICALVO 6/2/00 12:19 pm To: ALPHETA (222 of 232) 18.222 in reply to 18.220 Grizzly asked the questions. Answers: Judith was invited to Frankfurt, but she declined because it would be too exhausting after his scheduled compromise in Mexico for a quadrangular Tournament inmediatly before. She has already played twice in Linares (1994 and 1997) Her plans for this year include the FIDE World Champinship in Delhi-Teheran. ÒI guess I shall playÓ. Her reticence is due to the shaky credibility of FIDE regarding the realization of the project. Any other questions? Grizzly is in very good terms with Judith and her husband Gustav SB

From: ALPHETA 6/3/00 3:32 am To: RICALVO (223 of 232) 18.223 in reply to 18.222 Holy Korchnoi! Judit is married? When did this happen? How come I haven't seen any chess gossip on this marriage? Who is Gustav? Sitting Bull, you've been holding out on me! Well, no wonder she doesn't want to play in so many tournaments! Do you realize what this means? I'll have to completely change all of my future TIC articles regarding Judit and her series of romances with unlikely males in her never-ending search for a husband! Good goddess! Maybe I can do a story around her romance and marriage to Gustav! Do you have any details? How did they meet? When did they meet? How long did they date before they realized they were "made for each other"? Is he handsome? Is there a picture of him somewhere on the Internet? What's Gustav's last name? How's that for enough questions for you. Ohmygoddess! Judit married! Eek! Do you realize that if this is not general knowledge how many men all over the world will suffer broken hearts???

From: ALPHETA 6/3/00 3:47 am To: RICALVO (224 of 232) 18.224 in reply to 18.222 P.S. Please ask Grizzly to ask Judit if she still has the ambition to be the World Chess Champion. I checked her FIDE rating the other day and she has dropped in the rank. She is now, I believe, ranked 46th in the world. What does she feel her chances would be to achieve that goal against the current players? Has S.B. told Judit about The International Chessoid? Good Goddess, she would probably die laughing at those articles, since she is already married! S.B., why didn't you tell me?

From: RICALVO 6/3/00 3:44 pm To: ALPHETA (225 of 232) 18.225 in reply to 18.224 Your questions will be answered, one after the other, by Grizzly. Gustav is handsome, dark haired, well looking and with noble eyes.Hungarian, he prefers to speak in German. By profession, he is veterinary and doesn«t play chess (Judith always stated that she would never marry a chess player). Gustav looks somhow as a sensitive artist, because he speaks slowly and stuttering at the beginning. Right now has started the first game Anand-Polgar, where our tribe is protecting her. More to come, Patton. SB

From: RICALVO 6/4/00 3:31 pm To: ALPHETA (226 of 232) 18.226 in reply to 18.223 So spoke Judith:"Of course I would like to become World Champion, but I need a realistic approach. For the moment, I am trying to play better and better, with no exaggerated goals.Last year, I was exhausted after Batumi, needing some rest. After this, my energy was recovered in Bali and Malmoe". Silent Snake is a skilled questioner, because he never asks questions and acts mainly as a listener while driving. He must send me a full report after the trip. SB

From: RICALVO 6/4/00 4:02 pm To: RICALVO (227 of 232) 18.227 in reply to 18.226 Here is SB. In my left, Judith Polgar is seated enjoying our discussion group. Now he types following for you all: "Hi I am still here in Leon and watching the Anand-Shirov game.I have just read your massages and thanks for following my carrier I hope you are enjoying it" Judith Polgar

From: RICALVO 6/4/00 4:28 pm To: ALL (228 of 232) 18.228 in reply to 18.227 Judith, is happy watching the forum, and her eyes brilliant when she say laughing "The Goddess are wonderful" Continues W Im

From: ALPHETA 6/4/00 10:37 pm To: RICALVO (229 of 232) 18.229 in reply to 18.228 Greetings, Wild Impetus and Sitting Bull! And to the lovely Judit, Chessgoddess, thank you for gracing our forum with your presence! If my ELO was about 3000 points higher, I'd ask you for a game... Too bad I was not here earlier to see your messages - I was out having breakfast with one of the hommes with whom I play chess on occasion. This afternoon I was at church for services (2 hours), and then I answered several emails. I was not able to watch the Shirov-Anand showdown and I have not checked to see who won! I will have to do so immediately after I finish this post. I am planning an article on Judit's victory at Malmo for the June issue of The International Chessoid, tentatively entitled "Judit Kicks Big-Time Butt", and will weave the story around her continuing career as Ambassador of "Baluchistan". Questions: (1) What is the next tournament Judit will be at? (2) Does she plan on playing in the U.S. Open this year (she won it in 1998, yes yes yes!) (3) I have done many searches under Judit's name and have never discovered a personal website for her (although there are several websites devoted to her). Has she considered sponsoring an "official" Judit Polgar website where fans could come and check the latest news and get updates and some personal comments on her tournament schedule and results? We would be happy and able to do so, as part of our Goddesschess site. (4) Does she ever get lonely on "the road", seeing as she's the only femme playing chess amongst all the men players? (5) Does she have the chance to get together very often with her sisters? They are scattered all over the world now (New York, Israel, Hungary). I would miss my sisters (I have 3 younger sisters) if they were so far away. (6) Does she think Kramnik has a realistic chance of winning against Kasparov in the BrainGames tournament scheduled for October? Hope I'm not too late with my questions!

From: PIMANDER 6/6/00 4:07 am To: RICALVO (230 of 232) 18.230 in reply to 18.228 Hail to the chief, his wise consort and the incumbant Queen of Chessland! Sneaky Pi waves at the passing car and muses that once Judit wins the world title from Kasparov, the queen and king will have to change places on the chessboard. We foment further gender revolution from a safe vantage to avoid the pepper spray and sloganeering. Good luck to the Princess. Long may she reign! Pi

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 8/3/00 7:52 am To: ALL (231 of 232) 18.231 in reply to 18.188 Here is a link to an article about the Automaton. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m3210/8151_353/58408701/p1/article.jhtml Enjoy Pokahontas May the Hand of the Goddess Always be with You.

From: Isis (GEORGIA18) 1/27/01 6:56 am To: ALL (232 of 232) 18.232 in reply to 18.231 Here is some in formation about Chris Columbus' Coat of Arms. http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/c-Columbus/columbus.html

Christopher Columbus Man and Myth
After five centuries, Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure who has been variously described as one of the greatest mariners in history, a visionary genius, a mystic, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naive entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist. Columbus's enterprise to find a westward route to Asia grew out of the practical experience of a long and varied maritime career, as well as out of his considerable reading in geographical and theological literature. He settled for a time in Portugal, where he tried unsuccessfully to enlist support for his project, before moving to Spain. After many difficulties, through a combination of good luck and persuasiveness, he gained the support of the Catholic monarchs, Isabel and Fernando. The widely published report of his voyage of 1492 made Columbus famous throughout Europe and secured for him the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and further royal patronage. Columbus, who never abandoned the belief that he had reached Asia, led three more expeditions to the Caribbean. But intrigue and his own administrative failings brought disappointment and political obscurity to his final years. In Search and Defense of Privileges Queen Isabel and King Fernando had agreed to Columbus's lavish demands if he succeeded on his first voyage: he would be knighted, appointed Admiral of the Ocean Sea, made the viceroy of any new lands, and awarded ten percent of any new wealth. By 1502, however, Columbus had every reason to fear for the security of his position. He had been charged with maladministration in the Indies. The Library's vellum copy of the Book of Privileges is one of four that Columbus commissioned to record his agreements with the Spanish crown. It is unique in preserving an unofficial transcription of a Papal Bull of September 26, 1493 in which Pope Alexander VI extended Spain's rights to the New World. Much concerned with social status, Columbus was granted a coat of arms in 1493. By 1502, he had added several new elements, such as an emerging continent next to islands and five golden anchors to represent the office of the Admiral of the Sea.

Columbus' Coat of Arms
As a reward for his successful voyage of discovery, the Spanish sovereigns granted Columbus the right to bear arms. According to the blazon specified in letters patent dated May 20, 1493, Columbus was to bear in the first and the second quarters the royal charges of Castile and Leon -- the castle and the lion -- but with different tinctures or colors. In the third quarter would be islands in a wavy sea, and in the fourth, the customary arms of his family. The earlist graphic representation of Columbus's arms is found in his Book of Privileges and shows the significant modifications Columbus ordered by his own authority. In addition to the royal charges that were authorized in the top quarters, Columbus adopted the royal colors as well, added a continent among the islands in the third quarter, and for the fourth quarter borrowed five anchors in fess from the blazon of the Admiral of Castille. Columbus's bold usurpation of the royal arms, as well as his choice of additional symbols, help to define his personality and his sense of the significance of his service to the Spanish monarchs.

Book of Privileges
The Book of Privileges is a collection of agreements between Columbus and the crowns of Spain prepared in Seville in 1502 before his 4th final voyage. The compilation of documents includes the 1497 confirmation of the rights to titles and profits granted to the Admiral by the 1492 contract of Santa Fe and a