æon of horus or top row, from left to right

Just before Christmas (Sun in first Capricorn and Moon in ninth Gemini, just a day’s breadth from the Soltice), the historic Boleskin Manor on the shores of Loch Ness, owned by mystic Aleister Crowley and subsequently bought by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame (for its connection with majick) was partially destroyed by a fire that had broken out in the vacant residence.
Crowley choose this spot for its particular geographic resonance (appearances of the Loch Ness Monster could be attributed to certain demons and familiars from his pantheon) with his philosophy of Thelema and his mission of occult outreach and made some major modifications to the house to these ends. Ostracised as a traitor and corrupter of youth, Crowley repaired to a commune in Cefalù—by Palermo, Sicily—to establish his church, an anti-monestary in this ancient Greek outpost, until being banished under the same suspicions by Mussolini. Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same was filmed on the grounds of Boleskin and the motto “do what thou willst” features prominently in the band’s discography, as well as enjoying other pop culture appearances. The Sicilian abbey is currently on the market, though in grave disrepair.

pride of lions or queens and toms

As first seen on The Queen is not Amused, researchers have found lionesses in Botswana that have evolved to express more traits, like the mane, colouring and roar, of their male counterparts—perhaps to better protect their families from potential abusive mates or perhaps to sneak up on prey, since it is the females that do the lion’s share of the hunting and a lithe gazelle might not be so quick to react to a marauding but outwardly loutish lion.

The term evolution is put out there but it is more environmental influences in utero that is producing masculine cubs, so maybe cultivation is a better word. Nature is forever springing surprises and animal sexuality has been shown to be successively as varied and nuanced as our own, and many populations—under duress—have willed themselves gender-reassignments in order to continue the species. Who knew, however, that gender roles and those mantles of authority were just as variable and not well understood—even for creatures that we would not count as liberated? We’re not so clever as we’d like to believe—confident that a rooster would never allow a hen to crow at the sunrise, and I wonder if we’ll ever be compelled to drop gendered naming-conventions, as masters and husbanders, like lioness, nag, jack and jenny.

silk road or moshi moshi

Just to demonstrate that the Priory of Sion and associates do not have a controlling monopoly on the troupe of Jesus surviving (erm—or rather, skipping out on that whole ordeal) the Crucifixion and to later die in advanced old age after raising a family, Atlas Obscura explores an unlikely final resting place in a remote fishing village of Shingō/Aomori in northwest Japan that boasts the tomb of Christ—plus an adjacent burial mound with the ear of Jesus’ brother and a lock of hair of the Virgin Mary. There being no established account of Jesus’ adolescence, one creative gospel tells that Jesus sojourned to Japan for further instructions on the divine and returned to Israel to spread His message. Once realising that the message was not quiet resonate with the powers that be, Jesus’ brother (half-brother, I suppose) called Isukiri volunteered to be crucified in Jesus’ place...
Not that it is any less non-canonical, I think that name signifies “Jesus-brother” rather than a specific individual, and after all Jesus is really named Immanuel, God is with us. Fleeing the Holy Land, Jesus returned to Japan, carrying the only two relics that could be salvaged, a lock of His mother’s hair and Isukiri’s dismembered ear, to retire and become a rice-farmer. The family that claims descent from the Messiah are devout Buddhists.

velvet mafia

Dangerous Minds shares an interview with bon-viveur and iconic gadfly Quentin Crisp, wherein he reviews and rates his favourite gangster films, as the portrayal of violent death can be rather life-affirming.
Most of the movies that make Crisp’s top-ten list are classics from the Howard Hawks, Prohibition era (strange how most of the mob comes out of nannying) but interestingly also include a couple contemporary (to the time of the critique), like Millers’ Crossing and Reservoir Dogs. Mister Crisp (perhaps most unrecognised to modern audiences as Queen Elizabeth I in the adaptation of Virginia Woolfe’s—another poisoned-pen—Orlando) was himself celebrated as the titular character in the Sting song Legal Alien/Englishman in New York.