AUTHORS NOTE
The Wihtwara trilogy™ charts the lives of an ancient peoples
from the 1st century to 686 AD
and the relentless march of Christianity over the Pagan world. The deep union, understanding
and rituals these ancient peoples held towards our Earth were stamped upon, ridiculed and the
peoples violated for their beliefs. It was for the most part an ingenious cover-up. Clever minds
assigned and re-invented Christian holy places on pagan sites of worship. Pagan names for these
special sites were demonized. An important pagan burial mound on the Isle of Wight was renamed
“the devil’s punchbowl”!
One aspect stands out above all others and that is the subjugation of the feminine
within
this pagan world by Christian missionaries and with it, the subjugation of the Earth. Mother
Earth was paramount in the minds and soul of all pagan peoples. For without her acquiescence and
that of the gods aligned to the sky and weather, they felt alone.
Those missionaries sought and succeeded in burying underfoot every link and aspect of
feminine
worship because the replacement was for the one male god to be honoured and worshiped. I have
not found one reference in the book of words they carried of any respect and veneration of the
natural world, neither plant nor animal, sacred soil or mystical sky or to the equality afforded
to women (it has been either the Madonna or the whore!). In this book of words, Man is above
nature.
Yet if we go to the discovered Nag Hammedi gospel, quite another story is written. The
synod
of Nicæa (Nicea), that meeting of high church leaders put paid to so much original belief.
And the Roman Catholic Church was truly born at this time.
In 686 AD the massacre of the Wihtwara, led by a power hungry Cædwalla, and
enforced by
Bishop Wilfred, wiped off the face of our beautiful island, a beautiful peaceful pagan people.
The vacuum left behind that terrible death haunts us, like the mourning we are
experiencing
now, it leaves an indelible mark on our souls.
But we are coming back to remembrance. We are honouring the Wihtwara again.
We gather on April 22nd for King Arwald’s day and the Wihtwara are honoured.
And a message from our Ancestors;
“We only ever truly die, when we are forgotten!”
Lest we forget!
Bletsunga Beorhte
Bright blessings,
Jan Harper Whale (aka, Wahl)
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AUTHORS NOTE
“One day, a piece of archaeological work literally plopped into my inbox. Excavations at
Clatterford Villa, Isle of Wight. I owe a debt of gratitude to Malcom Lynne and his team, whose
pivotal work at Clatterford exposed and named votive remains and hermetic artefacts definitively
showing Eastern religions were indeed practised at the villa and on Wihtland.
“Pines cones are known to be associated with the mystery religions, especially those devoted
to the deities of Bacchus and Mithras. The pinecones found at Clatterford villa were used as
symbols of immortality. It is known that imported whole pinecones were used as votive offerings
in temples. It has been suggested that black shiny materials, such as jet and shale are linked
to eastern mystery religions that became popular in the 3rd century A.D.” (Excavations at
Clatterford Roman Villa, Isle of Wight, by Malcolm Lynne and the Hampshire Archaeological Group.)
The thirteen-pointed star braecleat, which I have placed at the beginning of each book in
this story, is a hermetic artefact of great importance, because it is so ancient and magical. We
have been tricked into falsely believing the number thirteen is bad. The Roman Catholic Church
has long tendrils, yet thirteen was the number of people in the original Nazarene Last Supper.
And thirteen was also the number I have mentioned in the sacred meal celebrated on Mithras’
birthday date of 25th December.
In the occult science of numerology, it is said, “He who under-stands the number 13 will be
given power and dominion.” So, in relation to countries and empires, it is no accident that the
USA has grabbed the mystic and given this magical number 13 to their flag, with 13 stars, and 13
stripes. On the dollar bill there are 13 steps on the pyramid of the Great Seal. The motto
above, 'Annuit Coeptis' has 13 letters. The official birthdate of the United States of America
is 'July the Fourth', containing 13 letters. And so on...
But I believe the significance of this number 13, for our Ancestors was placed heavenwards
and astrologically understood. The Romans revered the Sun god, Mithras, or Mithra in his Eastern
lineage. The Sun conjoins with the great star of Sirius, whose longitude is 13 degrees Cancer.
Sirius is the first-magnitude star that is 40 times brighter than the Sun and is the star that
rules all African people. It was venerated in ancient Egypt from time immemorial and was held
with great reverence by the ancient Egyptians because it rose heliacally with the Sun at dawn,
during the inundation of the life-giving waters to the River Nile.
And even more so, looking to our Pagan roots, we celebrate the solstices and equinoxes
governed by the passage of our Moon in 13 weeks x4 which gives us our number of weeks in the
year. And lastly, if there were left any doubts to the sacredness of the number 13 in our lives
as human beings, the thirteenth letter of the alphabet is M, which finds its roots in the 13th
letter of the Hebrew alphabet, “mem” (meaning Mother) and is the ancient Phoenician word for
water. The Egyptian word for water is “moo”. M is the most sacred of all the letters, for it
symbolizes water, where all life begins.”
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