Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Fast of Ṭeveth and the non-end of the World

Jewish date:  10 Ṭeveth 5773 (Parashath Wayḥi).

Today’s holidays:  Fast of Ṭeveth (Judaism), Fourth Sunday of Advent (Roman Catholicism), Saturnalia and Larentalia (Roman religion), Feast Day of St. John Belushi (Church of the SubGenius), HumanLight (Secular Humanism).

Greetings.

1) Today is the Fast of Ṭeveth, which commemorates the siege on Yerushalayim.  More information can be found in “Asara B'Tevet” and “Fast of 10th of Tevet Marks Siege of Jerusalem”.  Needless to say, because of the fast, I am not particularly active today and will not wax poetic on anything.

2) Friday was supposed to be the end of the World according to various New Agers and a Christian sect known as “Almighty God”.  Also needless to say, these people were wrong.  The articles on the “Mayan apocalypse” did not stop, so today you get a followup.



Peace and have an easy fast.

’Aharon/Aaron

Friday, December 21, 2012

Still waiting for the end of the World

Jewish date:  8 Ṭeveth 5773 (Parashath Wayyiggash).

Today’s holidays:  Feast Day of Peter Canisius (Roman Catholicism), the end of the World (predicted by New Agers), Winter Solstice (Neopaganism, Thelema), Divalia (Roman religion)

Greetings.

I did post yesterday on the predicted end of the World which is supposed to be happening today.  However, I have been deluged with a large number of relevant articles on the “Mayan apocalypse”, with reactions ranging from paranoia to commercialism.
Finally, I would like to round things out with a bit of relevant religious humor.  A while back there was a cartoon from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal:



This cartoon has been recaptioned into something relevant to today:



Peace, Shabbath shalom, and be happy this is not the end of the World.

’Aharon/Aaron

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Happy end of the b’ak’tun!

Jewish date:  7 Ṭeveth 5773 (Parashath Wayyiggash).

Today’s holidays:  Thursday of the Third Week of Advent (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of St. Cheech/St. Chong (Church of the SubGenius), Mother Night (Neopaganism), Saturnalia (Roman religion).

Greetings.

I apologize for having not posted for some time now.  I have been busy with other matters, such as computer programming, and certain things have not been my highest priority.  (Trust me:  you do not want to hear me play the mezzo arpeggione right now, I have practiced so little since ’Elul.  It sounds like I am trying to torture my instrument to death.)  This week I have made a good deal of progress on a review of Neopagan material, but I still need to write about another two books.  (And after that I need to look into and write about Discordianism, the Church of the SubGenius, The Secret, older magical materials, and so on ad infinitum…)

In the meantime, I cannot ignore that many people are worried that tomorrow is the end of the World (as we know it, at least).  I strongly doubt this is correct.  While few think that this world will last forever, many have predicted its imminent demise in recorded history, and so far they have all been wrong.  I see no reason to think that the current crop of doomsayers are correct.  Rather than wax poetic  about why the current predictions of impending destruction are baseless, I am going to refer you to some good articles which explain why:


Those who want to understand why people predict the end of the World may wish to read “Psychology Reveals the Comforts of the Apocalypse” by Daisy Yuhas.

I have also found a number of articles detailing the unusual behavior of people expecting the end of the World:


I hope to post again next week.  Until then, please follow the advice written on the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:  “Don’t panic.”

Peace.

’Aharon/Aaron