Travis Simpkins: Scotland

Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts

Sunday, April 6, 2025

The Mist-Filled Path. Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers and Seekers. Frank MacEowen

I'm enjoying The Mist-Filled Path: Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers and Seekers by Frank MacEowen.

In The Mist-Filled Path, Frank MacEowen, a preeminent teacher of Celtic spirituality, shows how embracing the indigenous wisdom of Scotland and Ireland can lead to healing and transcendence. Using his own travels and teachings along with Celtic stories and myths, he explores ancient traditions, eco-psychology, the ancient mother, altars and hearths, Oran Mor (the Great Song), contemplation, and mysticism. The book tells how to draw on ancestral roots to find a personal spirituality that also works for the greater good.

https://amzn.to/3Y6epif

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Rossyln. Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail. Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins

I'm enjoying "Rosslyn: Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail" by Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins.

It is said that Rosslyn Chapel is the last resting place of the Holy Grail and that the fabulous treasure is buried in its secret vaults. This text is the story of this mysterious chapel in Scotland, taking the reader on a voyage of discovery. The first book to explore the existence of a configuration of seven pre-Christian sites which formed the route of a pilgrimage of initiation used by Druids, Knights Templar and Christian Mystics in their search for true knowledge and enlightenment. Beginning at Compostela in Spain, the voyage of discovery proceeds to Tolouse, Orleans, Chartres, Paris and Amiens, taking us deep into a mysterious world where hidden streams of spirituality flow beneath the surface of European history, profoundly influencing the evolution of Western thought. The journey ends at Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, where the history of its founders, the Sinclair family, illuminates the revelations of Rosslyn and their significance for us today.

https://amzn.to/3Q4mtvI

Monday, October 17, 2022

The Shadow of Solomon. The Lost Secret of Freemasonry Revealed. Laurence Gardner

I'm reading "The Shadow of Solomon" by Laurence Gardner with an open mind. Gardner's views and books are controversial, but he was a Freemason and member under the United Grand Lodge of England for 20 years, so I'm curious about what points he decides to address.

What ancient mystery lies behind the creation of Freemasonry a lost secret so powerful that the Brotherhood itself has been on a quest to find it for three hundred years? For those of us lacking the resources to excavate occult secrets hidden beneath the Louvre or the Rosslyn Chapel, or within CIA Headquarters, The Shadow of Solomon is the next best thing. These pages reveal the true secrets of Solomon, from masonry to magic. Laurence Gardner's personal experience as both a Templar and a mason makes this fascinating journey through the history of the Bible, Knights Templar, Freemasons, and everything that followed all the more striking and immediate. Is it an accident that the world's attention should be turned to these men and their strange lexicon of symbols and secrets RIGHT NOW? What will happen when we understand that there is something we all have in common that is greater than nation or religion? Freemasons are often said to be the world's most influential secret society, yet the story of this enigmatic fraternity is wrapped in mystery and intrigue. Their involvement in shaping political world events has stretched over centuries, even to the extent that masonic principles lie beneath the establishment of the United States and its Constitution. The Shadow of Solomon is the definitive insider's account of the startling truth behind masonic history and the centurieslong search that the fraternity has undertaken to find its own lost secrets.

Sunday, October 9, 2022

Scottish Witchcraft. The History and Magick of the Picts. Raymond Buckland

I'm enjoying "Scottish Witchcraft: The History and Magick of the Picts" by Raymond Buckland. It is an interesting and informative look at the solitary practices of the PectiWita tradition.

From the ancient misty Highlands of Scotland to modern-day America come the secrets of solitary Witchcraft practice. The author of Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft introduces "PectiWita," or the craft of the Picts. Learn the history of these mysterious early Keltic people, their origins, beliefs, and celebrations. This book also explores the magic, sacred tools, herbal lore, song and dance, and recipes of the Scottish PectiWita tradition.

Raymond Buckland was actively involved in metaphysics and the occult for fifty years.

He was the author of more than sixty books, including such best-selling titles as Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, Gypsy Dream Dictionary, Practical Candleburning Rituals, and Witchcraft from the Inside. Ray lectured and presented workshops across the United States, and appeared on major television and radio shows nationally and internationally. He also wrote screen plays, was a technical advisor for films, and appeared in films and videos.

Ray came from an English Romany (Gypsy) family and resided with his wife Tara on a small farm in central Ohio. Beyond writing, Ray's other passion was homebuilt airplanes.

Sunday, November 28, 2021

The Sword and the Grail. Andrew Sinclair. Holy Grail. Knights Templar in America

I'm currently enjoying "The Sword and the Grail" by Andrew Sinclair. It is a well written text, focused on Prince Henry Sinclair and the Templars in America subject matter.

The discovery of a tombstone built by his ancestors set Andrew Sinclair on a trail that was to lead to major reassessments, not only of our understanding of the discovery of America, but also of the origins of the Freemasons and their role in world history.
Based on stunning new archaeological evidence, both in the US and in the UK, The Sword and the Grail details the part played by the Order of the Knights of the Templar-here proved to be the true antecedents of the Freemasons-in the discovery of America. As they fled the authorities who wished them destroyed, some of the outlawed Templars carried their treasure to St. Clair Castle, where the knights' relics are still buried. The tomb of their St. Clair Grand Master, with the grail carved on his stone, lies in Rosslyn, the core chapel of the Masonic movement. With the help of the sea skills and wealth of the Templars, the St. Clair Grand Master tried to found a new Jerusalem in the New World, landing with 300 colonists, first in what is now Nova Scotia and then in New England, more than 90 years before Columbus.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

"Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry" by John J. Robinson

Born in Blood

The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry

by John J. Robinson

M. Evans and Company, 1989

Brief Review by Travis Simpkins

Of all the many books written about the subject, Born in Blood by John J. Robinson presents the most convincing argument for a connection between the Knights Templar and the Freemasons. Well-structured and articulate, the text creates due pause for thought on a topic that is often too easily dismissed by both mainstream and Masonic historians.

According to Robinson, he did not set out to uncover any great historical secret, but rather to simply research the cause of England's Peasant Revolt of 1381. Repeated mention of The Great Society behind the uprising led Robinson to suspect that a secret society had existed in England far prior to the public unveiling of Freemasonry in 1717. He maintains that the Knights Templar did not cease to exist after their brutal suppression and execution in France in 1307, but rather went underground and on the run finding safe haven in parts of England and Scotland… their rituals and teachings filtered through the guilds of medieval stonemasons, eventually evolving into Freemasonry.

Robinson's strongest argument by far for the connection between the Knights Templar and the Freemasons rests with the bloody penalties and oaths contained within the three Ancient Craft or Blue Lodge Degrees: "The object of the oath is to instill total trust. Since, in the case of the fugitive Templars, betrayal would mean treatment much more horrible than a clean death, the penalty for breaking the oath would have needed to be something horrible. This called to mind the much condemned oath in the initiation of the Master Mason in the third degree, when he asks that his body be cut in two and his bowels burned to ashes should he break his oath of secrecy. Such a penalty would seem totally out of line for a broken oath taken by a stonecutting guild member, but would not have seemed too much to a man whose betrayal would mean days and weeks of torment with whips and chains and red-hot irons, with the the ultimate risk of being burned alive at the stake."

An intriguing historical timeline is drawn out through the pages, with the Templars in England gaining a 3 month head-start after seeing their French brethren burned at the stake, finding a weak opponent in Edward II and trustworthy allies in the army of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce of Scotland… and so on, up through the protestant Reformation. Some points are more clear than others and some revelations are, as can be expected, a tad stretched. Overall, the book is fascinating, especially when approached with an open mind and a desire for a romantic interpretation of Masonic history.

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: The Peasant Revolt of 1381

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: Knights Templar

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: Knights Templar. Jacques de Molay

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: Knights Templar. Burned at Stake

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: Robert the Bruce. King of Scotland

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: William Wallace. Scotland

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: Medieval Stonemasons

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: Freemasonry

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson

Born in Blood. John J. Robinson: The Knights Templar and Freemasonry

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Rob Roy (1995): Liam Neeson and Tim Roth in 18th Century Scotland

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones, and written by Alan Sharp, Rob Roy (1995) earned wide critical praise for the performances of it's cast. In the 18th Century Scottish Highlands, Rob Roy MacGregor is a clan chief and cattle drover whose honor puts him at odds with an unscrupulous and powerful nobleman. While the minute historical facts of the film's story are questionable, the attention to detail in the period costumes and sets is spot-on accurate and well-researched. The cinematography is both foggy and vibrant, capturing the rugged on-location scenes of the Scottish Highlands… with some sites so remote and isolated that the cast and crew had to be brought in by helicopter. Liam Neeson is great in the title role as Rob Roy MacGregor. Tim Roth is superbly sadistic as the dainty killer, Archibald Cunningham. Jessica Lange co-stars as MacGregor's dutiful wife. John Hurt is James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose. Andrew Keir is John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll. Eric Stolz and Brian Cox appear in supporting roles.