As I write this, all the TV stations are carrying the news of the day: Vatican has beatified the late Pope John Paul II. It was the fastest process of beatification in the almost 2000 years of the Church history. However, this post is not about the biography of the Blessed John Paul II (as he is officially addressed after the beatification) nor is it a news flash of this event. I am sure the web is full of such articles. This post is here to explain why is it such a special feat to be recognized as "Blessed" by the Catholic church because every such event means at least one testimony about something that science can't explain.

Some people take the whole issue of religions (especially their own) very seriously.
As a public service ( to help people read something fun in their coffee break ) we bring you this small list of fun with religion. Enjoy.

(Click on each image to see it in full size and on its source website.)

Seven year old Bogdan Ivkovic from Vlasotinac, Serbia sparked a wave of viral videos lately owing to his ability to attract objects like a magnet.

While most websites just comment on the contents of the videos of Bogdan, OccultCenter.Com brings you a more complete story thanks to our buddies from that part of the world.

Every now and then some movie or TV series makes a reference to the Nephilim. Reptilian conspiracy theories also reference the Anunaki. Today, on St. Valentine's day I thought would be the best occasion to make a post explaining quickly all about Nephilim, Nephlim, Anakim, Anunaki and what do they all have to do with the St. Valentine's day.

Recently I made a post about Rituale Romanum (Roman Ritual) a book containing the official Catholic exorcism ritual in Latin. I made that post simply because I have a copy of that book from 1776 and it is so picturesque that it just deserves a post.

Little did I know that since then I will receive a whole pile of emails asking for PDFs of Rituale Romanum both in English and Latin and for various other info on it.

Anyone remember 80es?
Back then the record players like the one above made it really easy for anyone to turn any given record backwards and search for "hidden messages" recorded backwards in the songs.

Countless and baseless rumors of secret Satanic messages in different songs were all the rage back then. Comedy "Little Nicky" with Adam Sandler made fun of that as Sandler, playing the misfit son of the Devil comes to Earth and shows his buddies secret messages on some really tame record.

With the arrival of MP3 players the record players were being consigned to the pages of history. They've become something that only occasionally springs up on garage sales and small kids ask their parents what was that used for. I already thought that this whole thing with backwards playing "secret messages" would end up being just an interesting side note next to the record players being displayed on the shelfs of the museums.

Today is Epiphany. A Christian holiday celebrating three holy kings, also known as three wise men or the Magi visiting baby Jesus. Everyone knows the standard story; They saw a star in the East, recognized that it means the birth of a king, so they brought presents : gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Some people also know that myrrh is a dried oleo resin of Commiphora species of trees. It smells nice and it was used in ointments, soaps etc.

Few people know that frankincense and myrrh were priced at their weight in gold back in those days. One ounce of gold, myrrh or frankincense was of the same value and thus equally worthy gifts.

Everyone knows what is an exorcism. We all saw it in some movies, documentaries etc. Not everyone knows that there is an official book that Catholic church uses for such procedures, and some non-Catholic exorcists like using it too.

Since this is not something you can just buy in your local bookstore, here is a little introduction to this book along with a few pictures of a copy from my collection; Rituale Romanum from 1776.

Here is a nativity story with a 21 century twist.
Some creative soul made a funny video of how Mary gets a text message from Archangel Gabriel telling her that she will give birth to the Son of God. She emails this to Joseph. He announces that on Facebook and his friends "like " his status... See the rest for yourself.

Just get a cup of coffee, sit back and hit play :)

David Rankine is an author who needs no introduction. His extensive work includes more than 20 books on the subjects of Occult and Western Esoteric Traditions. The "Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series" which he co-authored are among the most collectable occult titles in recent years.

We caught up with him during his break from lectures and workshops and asked him for an interview.

Even if you have never heard about this book, you have probably seen the illustrations from it. Dictionnaire Infernal, which is French for "Infernal Dictionary" was written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. This book has so much of a history and oddities associated with it that you could almost write a book about it. I will try to cram as much of it as possible into one blog post.

Many occult, esoteric and book aficionados are familiar with the Ritman Library.

Also known under the name of Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, it was established in 1984 when a Dutch businessman Joost R. Ritman decided to make his collection of books public. His work in the area of books and culture was acknowledged with several awards. He was knighted in the Order of the Dutch Lion in 2002.

Happy Halloween everyone!

For some facts about this holiday and its origin in Pagan festivity of Samhain, you can read up on it at Wikipedia's entry for Halloween".

For some anti-Halloween Christian views on it, you can go to
< href="http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/halloween.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/halloween.html

Favorite quote from the above link:

" Have you noticed how costumes and masks are getting generally more bloody, gory, and depraved each year? "

The year 2012 and "end times" are a hot topic these days. I was a bit surprised that despite all that atmostphere one small event went by completely unnoticed, so I am making a post about it to give the fans of this sort of stuff a little candy to look at. Bavarian State Library published on their servers manuscript Cgm 426, simply labeled as "Antichrist-Bildertext" which is German for "Antichrist Illustrated Text". It is a 15th century illustrated manuscript containing prophecies about the end times of the Earth.

Exactly 74 years ago today, on October 8, 1936 William John Warner, also known as Cheiro died. He was an Irish palmist and astrologer who also practiced Chaldean numerology. It was the palmistry (cheiromancy) that gave him his nickname - Cheiro. His wife, Countess Lena Hamon, said that he had predicted his own death accurately to the day and hour.