Open Thread - Friday, September 13, 2019

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Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother.
- Voltaire -

Happy Friday the 13th! Well, I funked up last week's open thread. Between sketchy Internet, the excitement of the storm and being invited out to party, I totally lost track of what day it was and did not realize I missed the open thread until Friday afternoon.

Things have returned to status quo around here. The digging has stopped and I am back online.

I think the Deep State was funkin' with my Internet.

Heh, they couldn't keep me down.

Have a great weekend! The thread is OPEN.

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Centaurea's picture

from Voltaire. To note, it's missing its final sentence:

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.
- Voltaire -

The dictionary definition of "superstition", according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (one of my favorite books about language, ever since the first edition was published in the late 1960s):

n.
An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.

n.
A belief, practice, or rite irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or by faith in magic or chance.

The Roman Catholic Church, as well as its Protestant post-Reformation counterparts, have always railed mightily against "magic" and "the occult". "Astrology is the work of the Devil! Kill the astrologers!" their priests would shriek, right before serving Communion wafers and wine that were - and still are by Catholics - considered to be literally the body and blood of a man who allegedly lived in ancient North Africa around the time of Augustus Caesar.

We know what the medieval oligarchic powers that be (also known as the Roman Catholic Church) did to so-called witches and other folks, such as herbalists, who failed to fall in line and thus threatened the medieval powers that be. This also included early astronomers such Galileo and Copernicus, whom the Catholic Church targeted because of their espousal of heliocentrism.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Same old same old. TPTB in 2019 accuse others of doing what they themselves are doing. Scapegoating, projecting, gaslighting, distracting, brainwashing. We've been ruled by mentally disordered sociopaths and psychopaths for a very long time now.

In my opinion, there's something that's "too long dominated the earth", but I'm not sure I'd agree with Voltaire about what that something is. Are religious institutions necessarily the "wise mother"? Is technology necessarily the "wise mother"? Is it possible for things that can't be observed or measured by currently existing scientific instruments to exist and have value nonetheless?

What makes something or someone "wise"? What makes something or someone "mad"? Is it a good thing or bad, to be wise or mad?

Which witch is which?

Irrational though it may be, I'll be enjoying the big ol' Harvest Moon this Friday the 13th.

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"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi

"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone

TheOtherMaven's picture

@Centaurea

In fact one of the earlier medieval Popes issued a bull telling people to let those poor deluded folks (i.e.the "witches") alone because there was no such thing as witchcraft.

That doesn't mean they were any less nasty to "heretics".

The witch-hunting hysteria maps almost exactly to post-Reformation Protestant countries. Maybe it had something to do with the vehement Protestant stripping away of protective layers of saints and Church bureaucracy, and demanding that every man stand on his own face to face with God. That's not exactly a comfortable position....

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Raggedy Ann's picture

I'm tired this morning, as hubby and I went to the state fair last night with a friend who is newly single and needing some love. Of course we stayed longer than we should and tge hour ride home seemed long and my alarm seemed early. At least it's Friday!

Smells like fall out there. The equinox is a week away. How time flies.

Have a lovely late summer day and weekend, folks! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Lookout's picture

The unlucky day is a fairly recent superstition...originating in the 1800's.

The superstition surrounding this day may have arisen in the Middle Ages, "originating from the story of Jesus' last supper and crucifixion" in which there were 13 individuals present in the Upper Room on the 13th of Nisan Maundy Thursday, the night before his death on Good Friday. While there is evidence of both Friday and the number 13 being considered unlucky, there is no record of the two items being referred to as especially unlucky in conjunction before the 19th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th

The Maya had an entirely different approach...

Regarding number thirteen, many applications were applied by Mesoamericans in order to predict the future, since the purpose of Maya astronomy was not the study of the universe for scientific purposes, but to understand the past cycles of time, and to project them towards the future with the aim of making prophecies.

The Maya considered it a sacred number, because according to their investigations, the year, which lasts 365 days in the Gregorian year, was divided into thirteen moons of 28 days each. In addition, the Mayan calendar included three calculations, which operate in perfect synchrony: the galactic, the solar and the lunar count; plus the day out of time, starting with the appearance of Sirius, on July 26.

https://www.joya.life/en/blog/13-sacred-number-mayas/

Perhaps today it would be wise to think like a Mayan instead of a European. We can make our on luck, and I hope you all have a "lucky" day.

Good to see you back up and running Tim.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

ggersh's picture

@Lookout western civilization have been getting most everything wrong
for quite some time.

To think almost all of mankinds history points
in a totally different direction than the direction
that has always been followed.

Modern day equivalent?

https://breakingdefense.com/2019/09/911-a-remembrance/

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=yuC_4mGTs98]

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley