www.bibliotecapleyades.net/mistic/meteorites_religion.htm
what is this passage really hiding? Very ancient rituals with meteorites, considered holy
by humans, performing similar rituals and similar actions becaue under the power of those
parasitic form of lives brouth by the falling stones...
in Genesis 28,[5] when Jacob, fleeing from the wrath of his brother Esau, falls asleep on a stone and dreams of a ladder stretching between Heaven and Earth and thronged with angels; God stands at the top of the ladder, and promises Jacob the land of Canaan; when Jacob awakes he anoints the stone (baetylus) with oil and names the place Bethel. Another account, from Genesis 35[6] repeats the covenant with God and the naming of the place (as El-Bethel), and makes this the site of Jacob's own change of name to Israel. Both versions state that the original name of the place was Luz, a Canaanite name.
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Throughout the ages, meteorites were venerated as sacred objects by different cultures and ancient civilizations.
The spectacular fall of a meteorite, accompanied by light and sound phenomena, such as falling stars, smoke, thunder, and sonic booms, has always kindled the human imagination, evoking fear and awe in everyone who witnesses such an event.
For obvious reasons, the remnants of these incidents, the actual meteorites, were often kept as sacred stones or objects of power.
They were worshiped, and used in their respective religious ceremonies.
The Winona Meteorite Find Site
From Prehistoric Times to Ancient Egypt
Actually, several Native American tribes venerated pieces and fragments of the Canyon Diablo meteorite (image below), a giant iron meteorite that excavated Arizona's famous Meteor Crater upon its impact about 50,000 years ago.
Archaeological finds throughout the United States and Mexico, proved that Canyon Diablo fragments had been traded briskly centuries before Columbus reached the shores of the New World.
The Winona meteorite was found in a stone cist in the prehistoric Elden pueblo, Arizona, in 1928.
The circumstances of the find suggest that the builders of the pueblo had kept the meteorite as a sacred object after actually witnessing its fall. The tribes of the Clackamas in Oregon claim that they once worshiped the Willamette meteorite, one of the largest irons known, weighing about 15 tons.
Prior to their hunting trips, the Clackamas dipped the heads of their arrows and lances into the water that had gathered in the large cavities of the iron - they were convinced that this ritual would harden their weapons and grant them success in their hunt.
Native tribes throughout the world venerated meteorites, and similar stories have been told from Greenland, Tibet, India, Mongolia, and Australia. Pure iron has always been rare and so there is little wonder that iron meteorites were especially coveted by ancient civilizations as raw material for cultic knives and weapons in times prior to the Iron Age.
Such knives and daggers have been recovered from the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs, from Mesopotamian sanctuaries, and from the graves of the leaders of the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca, in both Americas.
Winona - A Sacred Meteorite? The Willamette Iron Meteorite
From Ancient Greece to Mecca
The ancient civilizations of the occident are no exception, and there are several examples of the worship of meteorites in Greco-Roman tradition.
Mircea Eliade, an expert in religious history, claims that the Palladion of Troy, the Artemis of Ephesos, as well as the Cone of Elagabalus in Emesa, were actually meteorites - stones that had fallen from the sky, objects from heaven, believed to contain supernatural powers.
Richard Norton mentions the sacred stone in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, a rock that was said to have been thrown to Earth by the Supreme Being, Kronos, marking the "omphalos", the navel of the world.
The Roman historian, Titus Livius, tells the story of the meteorite of Pessinunt, Phrygia, a conical object known as the Needle of Cybele, the goddess of fertility. After the Romans had conquered Phrygia, the meteorite was conveyed in a gigantic procession to Rome, where it was worshiped for another 500 years.
Even in the monotheistic religions of Judaeo-Christian tradition we find traces of an ancient meteorite cult.
In the Hebrew language, meteorites were called "betyls", an equivalent to the Greek "baitylia", meaning "the residence of God". In the Bible, we find a story where Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites, beds his head on such a betyl-stone in the desert. In his sleep, he has an impressive vision of a stairway to heaven leading directly to the throne of God.
The story says that Jacob was full of awe when he awoke, and that he built a temple around that stone.
However, nothing of this temple has been preserved up to this day.
Emperor Trajan stone of Aphrodite in the temple of Paphos
There is another famous example from the Middle East, but there is some dispute about whether the object of veneration is actually a meteorite or not.
We are referring to the "Hadschar al Aswad", the sacred "black stone", to which all Moslems pay homage on their "Hadsch", their pilgrimage to Mecca and the most important sanctuary of the Islam, the Kaaba.
Each Moslem has the duty to make this pilgrimage once in his lifetime, to visit Mecca, and to walk around the Kaaba - a cubic building - seven times.
Then, he has to pause at the southeast corner of the Kaaba to complete the ritual, touching or kissing the Hadschar, also known as "Yamin Allah", meaning "the right hand of God".
Tradition says that this stone is a betyl, a meteorite that was given to Abraham by the archangel Gabriel. That stone also played a most important role in the life of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, who immured it into the wall at the southeast corner of the Kaaba.
The Hadsch is a rather strange ritual since Islam prohibits the worship and veneration of objects, but it seems that this tradition is much older than Islam itself. The Hadschar might be a true betyl, a real meteorite, since it is said to have a black crust and a light-gray interior.
However, it might also represent a rather large Wabar pearl, a meteorite related impact glass that is found in central Saudi Arabia, not that far from Mecca. It's a pity that scientists haven't solved the mystery surrounding this sacred stone, but for normal religious reasons it has not been allowed.
Wouldn't it be great to know that there is at least one ancient betyl left, and that it is still venerated after more than perhaps 2,000 years?
The Famous Kaaba in Mecca The "Hadschar al Aswad"
From the Middle Ages to Ensisheim
There is little evidence of any cultic veneration or worship of meteorites in Europe during the last 1,500 years.
The guiding influence of Christianity condemned all pagan rituals and beliefs during the Middle Ages, leaving only traces of preceding religions and customs. However, even today meteors are regarded as omens in some rural regions in Germany, France, and Italy.
Some people believe that seeing a shooting star is a good omen.
They will literally wish upon a star, convinced that their wish will come true if they don't tell anyone what they have wished for. Others regard meteors as bad omens, and they make a cross, saying "Amen", "God guide it", or something similar to avert bad luck.
If we take into account the fact that these habits reflect older traditions, we can say with certainty that meteors and meteorites were poorly understood in the Middle Ages, and treated the same as other supernatural phenomena.
The Ensisheim Meteorite Fall Historic Fall of Ensisheim, 1492 The Thunderstone of Ensisheim
This ambiguity is well documented for one of the most famous European falls.
On November 7, 1492 - the very year when Columbus discovered the New World - a huge triangular stone landed with much noise in a wheat field outside the small town of Ensisheim, Alsace, at that time still belonging to Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.
A young boy who had witnessed the fall led a crowd of curious people to the place where a black stone lay in a meter-deep hole. After they had pulled it out, people began chipping off pieces of the rock as good-luck talismans, until they were stopped by the town magistrate.
Immediately, he had the unusual stone transported to his residence in an effort to protect it and his careless citizens.
The whole affair attracted much public attention, causing Emperor Maximilian to visit Ensisheim 15 days after the fall to hold court over the "Thunderstone of Ensisheim" and to determine the meaning of the occurrence. After some consideration, he decided to take the fall as a good omen in his ongoing wars with France and the Turks.
However, he ordered that the stone had to be preserved in the local church - fixed to the wall with iron chains to prevent it from either wandering around at night or departing in the same violent manner by which it had arrived.
Today, the main mass of this famous meteorite can still be seen in the Regency Palace of Ensisheim as the centerpiece of a most remarkable meteorite collection.
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Baetylus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Emesa temple to the sun god Elagabalus with baetyl at center
Baetylus (also Bethel, or Betyl, from Semitic bet el "house of god") is a word denoting sacred stones that were supposedly endowed with life. According to ancient sources, these objects of worship were meteorites, which were dedicated to the gods or revered as symbols of the gods themselves.[1] A baetyl is also mentioned in the Bible at Bethel in the Book of Genesis in the story of Jacob's Ladder.[2]
In the Phoenician mythology related by Sanchuniathon, one of the sons of Uranus was named Baetylus.[3] The worship of baetyls was widespread in the Phoenician colonies, including Carthage, even after the adoption of Christianity, and was denounced by Augustine of Hippo.
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the term was specially applied to the Omphalos,[4] the stone supposed to have been swallowed by Cronus (who feared misfortune from his own children) in mistake for his infant son Zeus, for whom it had been substituted by Gaea.[5] This stone was carefully preserved at Delphi, anointed with oil every day and on festive occasions covered with raw wool.[6]
In Rome, there was the stone effigy of Cybele, called Mater Idaea Deum, that had been ceremoniously brought from Pessinus in Asia Minor in 204 BC.[3] Another conical meteorite was enshrined in the Elagabalium to personify the Syrian deity Elagabalus.
In some cases an attempt was made to give a more regular form to the original shapeless stone: thus Apollo Agyieus was represented by a conical pillar with a pointed end, Zeus Meilichius in the form of a pyramid. Other famous baetylic idols were those in the temples of Zeus Casius at Seleucia Pieria, and of Zeus Teleios at Tegea. Even in the declining years of paganism, these idols still retained their significance, as is shown by the attacks upon them by ecclesiastical writers.[3]
Among monotheists, a similar practice survives today with Islam's Black Stone.
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when Jacob awakes he anoints the stone (baetylus) with oil and names the place Bethel.
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opular Wikipedia articles that use the word anoints:
Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus' feet, foreshadowing his entombment.
—Jesus
Samuel then proceeds to Bethelehem and secretly anoints David king.
—Samuel
In Luke, an unidentified "sinner" in the house of a Pharisee anoints Jesus' feet.
—Disciple (Christianity)
In this sacrament a priest anoints the sick with oil blessed specifically for that purpose.
—Sacraments of the Catholic Church
After destroying all evidence of his past, Sonny rebaptizes himself and anoints himself as "The Apostle E. F.
—The Apostle
" It is at this meal that a woman (Martha's sister Mary, according to John) anoints Jesus with expensive perfume.
—Martha
In baptism, if the person baptized is not to be immediately confirmed or chrismated, the minister anoints them with chrism.
—Chrism
The identity of Mary Magdalene is believed to have been merged with the identity of the unnamed sinner who anoints Jesus' feet in .
—Mary Magdalene
During martial law, the president also anoints deans of faculties and majors, and can also enlist or oust people in the private sector.
—President of Egypt
It consists of seven prayers and at the conclusion of the prayers, the priest anoints each member of the congregation with the holy oil.
—Holy Week
In the "Iliad", Aphrodite anoints Hector's corpse with "ambrosial oil of roses" to maintain the integrity of his body against abuse in death.
—Rosalia (festival)
Like a magic spell that has suddenly been broken, dawn arrives at the very moment Sylvia playfully "anoints" Marcello's head with fountain water.
—La Dolce Vita
This position typically involves a ceremonial initiation called "diksha" by the monastery, where the earlier leader anoints the successor as "Acharya".
—Matha
Vaishnavism is one of the "bhakti" schools of Hinduism and devoted to the worship of God, that sings his name, anoints his image or idol, and has many sub-schools.
—Moksha
The Lion King" begins when Rafiki, a mandrill, anoints Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, presenting him to a gathering of animals at the Pride Rock.
—The Lion King (franchise)
Then, using his fingers, he takes some of the blessed oil floating on the surface of the baptismal water and anoints the catechumen on the forehead, breast, shoulders, ears, hands, and feet.
—Anointing
Next he anoints the twelve internal and twelve external wall-crosses with chrism before walking around the church three times inside...
—Dedication
He anoints the person on the forehead and says this blessing: Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given...
—Anointing of the Sick
The priest anoints the recipient with chrism, making the sign of the cross on the forehead, eyes, ears, nostrils, breast, back, hands and...
—Chrismation
...General Compson, and Isaac's older cousin McCaslin Edmonds, he kills his first buck, and Sam Fathers ritualistically anoints him with its blood.
—Go Down, Moses (book)
...as the representative of the people of Tonga and of the Church at the coronation of a King or Queen of Tonga where he anoints and crowns the Monarch.
—State religion
...as the representative of the people of Tonga and of the Church at the coronation of a King or Queen of Tonga where he anoints and crowns the Monarch.
—Tonga
The Archbishop, sitting, then anoints the king with the Chrism in the form of a cross on the top of the head, on the breast, between the shoulders, on both...
—Coronation of the French monarch
...two books narrate how Jesus made a visit to the house of Simon the Leper at Bethany during the course of which a woman anoints the head of Jesus with costly ointment.
—Simon the Leper
Kundry washes Parsifal's feet and Gurnemanz anoints him with water from the Holy Spring, recognizing him as the pure fool, now enlightened by compassion, and as the new...
—Parsifal
...notion of a divine right of kings could be traced to the biblical story found in 1 Samuel, where the prophet Samuel anoints Saul and then David as "mashiach" or king over Israel.
—Divine right of kings
In the Roman Rite of the Latin Church, the priest anoints the sick person's forehead with oil (usually in the form of a cross), saying: "Through this holy anointing, may the...
—Anointing of the Sick (Catholic Church)
...thronged with angels; God stands at the top of the ladder, and promises Jacob the land of Canaan; when Jacob awakes he anoints the stone (baetylus) with oil and names the place Bethel.
—Bethel
...pours consecrated oil from an eagle-shaped ampulla into a filigreed spoon with which the Archbishop of Canterbury anoints the sovereign in the form of a cross on the hands, head, and heart.
—Coronation of the British monarch
Normally, in the operation of the gift of prophecy, the Spirit heavily anoints the believer to speak forth to the body not premeditated words, but words the Spirit supplies spontaneously in order...
—Pentecostalism
It is derived from the washing of the bell with holy water by the bishop, before he anoints it with the oil of the infirm without and with chrism within; a fuming censer is placed under it and the bishop prays...
—Church bell
...concluded that the singer does not exalt herself to become "the highest sex object or an egotistical pop princess" but anoints herself "as sexual goddess, she is at once desiring and desired, fulfilled and fulfilling".
—Partition (song)
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Benben Stone Fact File
Name: The 'Benben Stone' is also referred to as the Ben-Ben stone, a sun stone and as a pyramidion. Others have referred to it as the Stone of Destiny
Location of the Benben Stone: The Benben Stone was located on the top of an obelisk in the Sun Temple of Atum Ra at Heliopolis.
Significance: The sacred Benben Stone is connected with the creation myth, and the sun god Atum (known as Atum-Ra and then Ra, the Supreme Solar God) and the nine gods of the Ennead of Heliopolis
Symbol: The Benben was one of the most potent symbols of ancient Egypt symbolizing the Primeval mound and housed the spirit of the sun god Ra
Symbolic Connections: The Benben is strongly associated with ancient mythology and legends relating to the Bennu Bird and the Tree of Life.
The Pyramids: The first pyramids were believed to have been built emulating the shape of the Benben Stone, the residence of the sun god Ra. The capstone on the pyramids were venerated as the dwelling of the sun god. The dead pharaoh, buried deep inside the pyramid was therefore under the direct protection of the solar deity
[Modificato da sp3ranza 06/08/2017 04:57]