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Hathor was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god Ra, both of whom were connected with kingship, and thus she was the symbolic mother of their earthly representatives, the pharaohs.

She was one of several goddesses who acted as the Eye of Ra, Ra's feminine counterpart, and in this form she had a vengeful aspect that protected him from his enemies. Her beneficent side represented music, dance, joy, love, sexuality, and maternal care, and she acted as the consort of several male deities and the mother of their sons. These two aspects of the goddess exemplified the Egyptian conception of femininity. Hathor crossed boundaries between worlds, helping deceased souls in the transition to the afterlife.

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Knight of Cups

• ... that the Knight of Cups may indicate falsehood?
• ... that the Twice Told Tarot was illustrated by a theater professor?
• ... that magicians do not agree on the permutations of YHVH?
• ... that the occult horror film As Above, So Below was filmed in the Paris Catacombs?
• ... that the angel Cahethel influences agriculture and business?
• ... that political instability in Venezuela has led to a surge in the cult of María Lionza?
• ... that the book Sefer HaBahir has been published in over 14 editions?
• ... that the Cathars were massacred to annihilation by the Inquisition?

This month in history Representation of Halloween in the United States October - The British fleet lays off Esopus Island during the Revolutionary War. (1777) 2 October - Future King of England, Richard III is born. (1542) 2 October - Author and occultist Arthur Edward Waite is born. (1857) 2 October - Jack Parsons, American chemist, occultist, and engineer is born. (1914) 4 October - The Gregorian calendar is introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. (1582) 4 October - Ritual magician Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers is first initiated into a Masonic lodge. (1877) 7 October - The reference date for the origin of the Hebrew calendar. (3761BC) 9 October - Reginald Scot, author of The Discoverie of Witchcraft, dies. (1599) 11 October - An exorcism for the nuns of Loudun begins during the trail of Urbain Grandier. (1632) 12 October - The Salem Witch Trials are ended. (1692) 12 October - Author and occultist Aleister Crowley is born. (1875) 13 October - Hundreds of the Knights Templar in France are arrested at dawn by King Philip the Fair, and later confess under torture to heresy. (1307) 15 October - George Lusk, the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee in London, received the "From Hell" letter allegedly from Jack the Ripper. (1888) 26 October - Author and astrologer Sybil Leek dies. (1982) 27 October - Emperor Constantine is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. (312) 27 October - Condemned as a heretic, Michael Servetus is burned at the stake just outside Geneva. (1553) 29 October - The first trial for witchcraft in Paris results in the death of three people. (1390) 29 October - Occultist and author Anton Szandor LaVey dies. (1997) 31 October - Peter Stumpp, the Werewolf of Bedburg, is burned along with his mistress and daughter. (1589) 31 October - Thiess of Kaltenbrun, the Livonian Werewolf, is condemned to be flogged for heresy. (1692) 31 October - The holiday Halloween is celebrated in many countries.

Featured image Ordo Templi Orientis is an occult initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein, Franz Hartmann, and Theodor Reuss. Later, the O.T.O. was significantly shaped by the English author and occultist Aleister Crowley. After Crowley's death in 1947, four main branches of the O.T.O. have claimed exclusive descent from the original organization and primacy over the other ones. The most important and visible of these is the Caliphate O.T.O., incorporated by Crowley's student Grady McMurtry in 1979. Originally it was intended to be modeled after and associated with European Freemasonry, such as Masonic Templar organizations, but under the leadership of Aleister Crowley, O.T.O. was reorganized around Crowley's Thelema as its central religious principle. Photo credit: Museum of Witchcraft and Magic (More Images)

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