"Harry Potter" Actress Would Be Honor Killing Victim

Muslim father and brother of Harry Potter star charged with threatening to kill her

The father and brother of an actress who starred in the Harry Potter films have been charged with threatening to kill her.
Afshan Azad, 22, has appeared in four of the movies as Padma Patil, a classmate of the young wizard.
She was allegedly attacked at her home in Longsight, Manchester, on May 21 this year.
Now her father Abdul Azad, 54, and brother, Ashraf Azad, 28, both of Beresford Road, Longsight, have appeared in court.

From March: Grey Matters column: Disenchanting News in the Land of Enchantment

Here's a Grey Matters column from Lesley that I missed somehow; it's from March. As Lesley says, it's not esoteric but definitely horrifying. (Although, serial killers share a definite esoteric place within that realm.) Disenchanting News in the Land of Enchantment

The victims are women, and, as with other serial killings with female victims, not much seems to be done about it, and particularly when the victims are "lower class" -- i.e. protitutes, drug addicts, etc.

Richelle Hawks:A Girl in Trouble is a Con/temporary Thing: Women on Myster

Richelle Hawks has an insightful piece on gothic novels and cover art for her Medusa's Ladder column at Binnall of America: A Girl in Trouble is a Con/temporary Thing: Women on Mysteries.

I have a guilty secret: I've long been a fan of gothic novels. They're romance novels, but with that extra vibe of preternatural weirdness; moors and castles, lighthouses, quaint English villages on the surface but some weird secret seeping through...the cover art used to have, as Richelle points out, the heroine standing in front of castle/lighthouse/foreboding estate. Strong yet vulnerable kind of thing. But now, the cover art shows parts -- pieces of the woman -- not the whole person. What does this mean? Read her article to find out!



Here's a great site I found that pays tribute to the gothic novel: Labyrinth13: In Praise of the Gothic Novel (and other Victorian delights.)

"Random" Killings

I've been noticing in recent days the number of "random" killings; murders, suicides,a lone gunman opening fire. Men killing their children and or wives, often before turning the gun on themselves, suicides, including a strange one in my city of Eugene, where a man shot and killed himself inside a movie theater while the movie was playing. The movie was Watchmen. A recent news item reported that statistically, the number of suicides are higher than usual since January. I'm not sure what this means, but it seems as if it means something. A part of myself is suspicious and can't help but think it has to do with mind control MKULTRA type of stuff; it's all wrapped up together at any rate, and certainly a signal...watching the signals...it seems that they just keep coming. . . you can read more at Octopus Confessional, where I have a few posts about specific reports.

Tarot, Maxi Pads, and Animal Sacrifice

Richelle Hawks has a great piece on commercials and advertising, on Binnall of America in her Medusa's Ladder column:Strange Days, Indeed: Notes on Identity and the Super Bowl Commercials And when I read this I just had to find out more:

"I found a magazine ad of an Always maxipad slapped on a tarot card."

If that isn't esoterica I don't know what is. It's teeming with esoteric symbolism.

I found the image; it appears on The Tarot Channel blog. Of course there isn't really a Tarot card called "The Protector" but here's what Tarot Channel says about the number II assigned to the ad card:

I'm thinking that the ad creators had to have some knowledge of Tarot because "The Protector" is assigned Roman numeral II, The High Priestess (who is, of course, associated with the moon).

And in a bit of synchronicity, my Trickster's Realm column for Binnall of America is also about commercials and advertising. Conspiracies and Cannibalism: Animals and Advertising.I didn't know Richelle's column was about commercials until she told me the other day; after I had been working on mine. I avoided reading her column until I sent mine off to Tim Binnall.

Richelle's is up now, mine will be up sometime tomorrow. And be sure to read all the great columns over there as well.

Echoes of the Georgia Bigfoot Hoax?

Fringe world is barely recovering from the Georgia Bigfoot body hoax, and now we get images of an alien body from Mexico. Mexico's UFO researcher Jaime Maussan has brought this story out, as has Joshua P. Warren, who recently appeared on Coast to Coast. The video clip link posted there leads us to the They Don't See Through Us blog, but the clip has been removed from YouTube. Not surprising, but frustrating.

If this was a once living creature of any kind, it's a sordid and gratuitous episode: capturing the thing, trying to drown it, putting the body in acid, killing it... finally succeeding. Adding to the seedy mystery is the tale that the rancher who found it was later killed, burning to death in his car. No proof or evidence of this, yet the story remains.

Other possibilities: monkey caught in a trap, found already dead, or, killed, etc. Rancher either tried to pass it off as a hoax, or genuinely thought it was odd.. endless speculation on motivations.

There are the obvious symbolic images and "twilight language" aspects of this story: the Mexican "alien," the deaths, the burnings,sacrifice ... the typical paranormal, esoteric happenings; removed YouTube clip, unsubstantiated stories.

There's talk of DNA testing in the works, all the usual. A lot of comments about a dead monkey, passed off as an alien. Questions about why would a well known UFO researcher such as Maussan, get involved in something like this?

Whatever it turns out to be and of course, it is not an alien from space, it is, on the one hand, creepy even, but on the other, business as usual. These things happen all the time in fringe world.

New Gray Matters Up at BOA

A very neat ghost/trickster story by Lesley for her Gray Matters column on BOA.

Tina Sena: GOD - In HIs Great Flying Mothership

Tina Sena has a really nice piece up on Binnall of America for her Esoterica column: GOD -- In His Great Flying Mothership. It's weird, because, for some reason, I've been thinking along these same lines, and I don't even know why -- about a connection between the "fallen angels" and aliens and UFOs. But especially about One Source kind of thing. I like what Sena writes here:

But for us here in the west, it's okay to go ghost hunting, ufo hunting, bigfoot hunting and the like and never associate any of these things with one great diversion. Maybe they are all from the same source. Maybe none of it is as weird as we think. Maybe we are just too primitive to get what's going on.

The Undecided

Whether your death comes with the aura of peace and contentment or your last breath stolen from you from a violent murder, there is a moment in the void to decide your fate. In a glimpse of darkness preceding the tunnel of light that escorts you to infinite happiness, there is a decision to be made. Do you proceed to your rightful place in the universe, overseeing all with wisdom and love or do you remain behind in a foggy and turbulent existence to complete a quest that your zealous soul deems worthy?
Tragic souls that have been viciously murdered often seek retribution from those guilty parties who selfishly stole their earthly rights. It may be a random perpetrator who slipped silently into their world donning a sharp blade and draining precious life blood. Or it could have been a trusted loved one who’s dark heart pulled the trigger to close the victim’s eyes one last time. Whomever the executioner may have been, the murdered soul retains the right to stay behind within a realm of justified limbo.
Endlessly searching the human world for their rightful vengeance, they pace the halls of oblivion. Wandering aimlessly with intent, they attempt to penetrate the veil between the worlds in search of easing their sorrows.
Some poor souls are so inevitably bound to their loved ones and feel literally torn from the envelopment from the love of family and friends. They hover with sadness and despair over their children or spouses debating how best to comfort them. With ardent loyalty, they sacrifice their voyage into the light to remain steadfast beside their grieving loved ones. Waiting patiently in the void for their beloveds to cross over to join them.
Occasionally, a wayward soul that has committed suicide will subject themselves to years of disembodied guilt due to their desperate decision. Dwelling in a world of depression or addiction, they reject their human form, choosing to end the precious gift of life early. Taught in the human realm that this is an act of sin, some feel unworthy of stepping onto the threshold of heaven. More than welcome to come home, these guilt ridden souls forever mourn their premature expiration.
When that inevitable moment arrives, when your blood ceases to course through your corporeal veins, whether from the hands of another, yourself or fate, which door will you choose? Door number one invites you to a home from which you came, filled with light, love and the merging of your soul into the afterlife. Door number two allows you the choice to reject your homecoming and remain in a metaphysical flux until you feel ready to move onwards in your spiritual existence.
Would you choose to be a ghost? Would you choose to haunt the living as alternative to entering a society of celestial beings? Ask yourself how you’d respond to being murdered or unjustly ripped from your mortal existence?
The choice is always yours.