Lord Siva Destroys Tripura with a Single Arrow

There was an asura named Tara whose son was Taraka. Tarakasuara went to a place named Madhuvana and began to perform very difficult tapasya. He gazed at the sun and stood there with his arms raised. He stood on one leg and only on the toes of his feet. A hundred years passed. For those hundred years, Taraka drank only water and had no food to eat. For the next hundreds, he gave up water also and lived only on air. A hundred years were spent in performing tapasya inside water, another hundred years on earth and a hundred years more inside fire. For a hundred years he performed tapasya upside down, standing on his hands. And for yet another hundred years, he hung upside down from the branches of a tree.

The meditation was so difficult that Lord Brahma was pleased. He appeared before Tarakasura and said, I am pleased with your tapasya. What boon do you want? If you are pleased, replied Tarakasura, grant me two boons. The first boon should be that no one created by you should be as strong as me. The second boon should be that I should be killed only by Shiva’s son. Shiva at that point in time had no sons. Sati had died and although she had been reborn as Parvati, she had not yet married Shiva. Brahma granted Tarakasura the two boons.

The demon went to a city named Shonitapura and began to live there. All the other demons made Tarakasura their king. Thanks to the boon, Tarakasura was so strong

that the easily defeated his challengers, stealing all their belongings and employing them as his servants.

Tarakasura had three asura sons named Vidyunmali, Tarakaksha and Viryavana (tripurasuras). These three began to perform tapasya. For a hundred years they meditated standing only on one leg. For a thousand more years they lived on air and meditated. They stood on their heads and meditated in this posture for yet another thousand years.

Brahma was pleased at this difficult tapasya. He appeared before them and said, What boon do you want? Make us immortal, answered Tarakasura’s sons. I can’t make you immortal, replied Brahma. I don’t have the power. Ask for something else instead. Very well, then, said Viyunamali, Tarakaksha and Viryavana. Grant us the following: Let three forts be made. The first will be of gold, the second of silver and the third of iron. We will live in these forts for a thousand years. At the end of the thousand years, the forts will become one. This combined fort will be called Tripura. And if anyone can then destroy Tripura with only a single arrow that shall be the death destined for us.

This rather unusual boon Brahma granted. There was a danava named Maya who was very good at building work. Brahma asked him to build the forts. The golden fort was built in heaven, the silver one in the sky and the iron one on earth. Tarakaksha got the golden fort, Viryavana the silver one and Vidyunmali the iron one. Each of the forts was a big as a city and had many palaces and vimanas (spaces vehicles) inside.

The demons populated the three forts and began to flourish. The demigods did not like this at all. They first went to Brahma, but Brahma said he could not help them. After all, the demons had got Tripura thanks to his boon. The gods then went to Shiva for help. But Shiva said that the demons were doing nothing wrong. As long as that was the case, he did not see why the demigods were so bothered. They next went to Vishnu, who suggested that the problem was that the demons were doing nothing wrong, the solution was to persuade them to become sinners.

Out of his powers Vishnu created a man. This man’s head was shaven, his clothes were faded and he carried a wooden water-pot in his hands. He covered his mouth with a piece of cloth and approached Vishnu. "What are my orders?" he asked Vishnu.

Let me explain to you why you have been created, replied Vishnu. I will teach you a religion that is completely against the Vedas. You will then get the impression that there is no svarga (heaven) and no naraka (hell) and that both heaven and hell are on earth. You will not believe that rewards and punishments for deeds committed on earth are meted out after death. Go to Tripura and teach the demons this religion, which they are dislodged from the righteous path. Then we will do something about Tripura.

The being did as he had been asked to. He and four of his disciples went to a forest that was near Tripura and began to preach. They were trained by Vishnu himself. Therefore, their teachings were convincing and they had many converts. Even the sage Narada got confused and was converted. In fact, it was Narada who carried news of this wonderful new religion to king Vidyunmati. King, he said, there is a

wonderful new teacher with a wonderful new religion. I have never heard before. I have got converted.

Since the great sage Narada had got converted. Vidyunmati also accepted the new religon. And in due course, so did Tarakaksha and Viryavana. The demons gave up revering the Vedas, they stopped worshipping Shiva’s linga.

Vishnu and the other gods then went to Shiva and began to pray to him. When Shiva appeared, they told him that the demons had now become evil and should be destroyed. They had even stopped worshipping Shiva’s linga.

Shiva agreed to destroy Tripura. Vishvakarma was the architect of the gods. Shiva called Vishvakarma and asked him to make a suitable chariot, bow and arrow. The chariot was made entirely out of gold. Brahma himself became the charioteer and the chariot was speedly driven towards Tripura. The gods accompanied Shiva with diverse weapons.

By then a thousand years had passed so that the three forts had become a single Tripura. Shiva installed a divine weapon known as pashupata into his arrow and shot it at Tripura. The arrow burnt up Tripura into ashes in a split second. While the celebrations were going on, the shaven-heads religious teachers arrived. What are we supposed to do now? they asked.

Brahma and Vishnu told them to go and live in the desert. The last of the four eras was kaliyuga and in kaliyuga, evil would reign supreme. When kaliyuga arrived, they were to come back and begin their teaching afresh.

"There was a demon by the name Vidyunmali who was gifted with a glowing golden airplane which traveled to the back of the sun, and night disappeared because of the glowing effulgence of this plane. Thus the sun-god became angry, and with his virulent rays he melted the plane. This enraged Lord Siva. Lord Siva then attacked the sun-god, who fled away and at last fell down at Kasi (Varanasi), and the place became famous as Lolarka."

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1:7:18  Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Text and purport of HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

MALKUTH: The Kingdom Of Matter

DEFINITION:

Identified by Kaballah as "the Sephirah Malkuth," this Sphere of Aura-energy encompasses both Legs, Feet, Knees, Ankles and BASE OF THE SPINE; any or all of which can become 'sore' or traumatized by a crisis over ONE'S PLACE WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF MATTER; from wealth to health to ecology, every detail of one's relationship with NATURE and it's countless materials and lifeforms, including your fellow man.

Malkuth means 'The Kingdom;' and depicts the Material World of Nature as the "Kingdom" in which we must find a personal Way Of Life (or PATH) that puts us in harmony with all other parts of Nature. THAT IS NOT EASY TO DO!.. for we all have many desires, needs and interests that conflict with others. For instance, in order to eat, we kill other forms of life (plant as well as animal;) and SOMEHOW we must 'balance' that by giving-up some of our OWN life IN RETURN.. such as our labor and time spent replanting and caretaking Nature which we have "used" for our own satisfactions.

How to "use" and BE "used" within Nature HAPPILY and for the benefit of all we touch is the special focus of all Malkuth-related crises and life-situations. All of that can be summed-up as WALKING RIGHTLY in Life; consequently, Malkuth is called the Sephirah of PATHWALKING.. and whatever brought you here is connected with how to FIND and PERFECT your personal Path as a Soul.

Like all Branches of The Tree Of Life, Malkuth connects us with FOUR LEVELS of the Spiritual Hierarchy or "chain of command." Anytime your search for Holistic Synthesis or Wholeness points to this Sephirah, there is a strong probability that YOU WILL NEED TO CONTACT THIS CHAIN OF COMMAND IN SOME WAY before your crisis or problem will resolve itself completely. The Four Levels of this Branch Of Life are:

ASSIAH: The PHYSICAL Level.

The Physical Level of Hierarchy in all Sephiroth is the same; ASTROLOGICAL INFLUENCES and/or THE "I CHING" LIFE-CALENDAR. For any event involving this Sephirah that began suddenly and has not diminished since then, the Life-Calendar is probably the source of the influence; you should be able to see the pattern clearly (including when to expect it to end) by reading the Year-Hexagram from that Calendar. Any PROCESS that seems to be EVOLVING into ever-changing forms over a long period of time is probably due to ASTROLOGICAL CHANGES affecting one's place in the world around you, as reflected by Planetary Changes. Note that you will need both a Natal (Birth) Horoscope AND a Transit Chart for the current year, in order to understand these Planetary Cycles. The Planet EARTH (including Ascendant, Decendant, Midheaven and Nadir) directly governs this Sephirah in Astrology.

YETZIRAH: The PSYCHIC-SCIENCES Level.

The Science of Malkuth is TOTEMIC ANIMISM; the practice of relating with all parts of Nature AS LIVING SPIRIT-ALLIES who deserve our respectful and kindly COOPERATION. All ancient tribal societies are Animistic, and view the entire Universe as a Living Kingdom within which man has an 'office' of both great power and great responsibility. Animistic Pathwalking recognizes every plant, mineral, animal, element and force in Nature as HOLY and capable of being either wisely or unwisely related-to. It is the task of the individual Pathwalker to recognize each 'chance meeting' within Nature as MEANINGFUL for one's own life; and use that information to guide one's Path in life. Naturally, that requires a deep knowledge of the 'meaningfulness' of every part of Nature; the language of SYMBOLISM is an essential part of Animistic Science.

On it's simplest level, Animism begins with 'substances' such as the Mineral Elements.. using Crystals as a Meditation-tool, for instance. Later adding Herbology and dietary science to that, one can 'attune' one's body to Nature in such a way to become very "Organic" spiritually.. and begin to see and hear the great harmonious "Kingdom" of Nature speaking to you from the mouths of Birds, Animals, forces of the Weather and those subtler voices of the Nature Spirits who cultivate the whole of Nature's Garden.

Totem-Science.. the understanding that every Animal-Spirit caretakes a certain kind of GNOSIS or 'Special Wisdom' WHICH WE CAN OURSELVES ABSORB BY IDENTIFYING OURSELVES WITH THAT ANIMAL-SYMBOL, is the highest level of Malkuth-development. Whether through tattoos on the body, jewelry, artwork upon which one meditates or wearing some portion of the Totem Animal as a personal 'talisman,' totemic Animism bonds one to the Totem Animal and imbues oneself with the Gnosis-Wisdom and SKILLS of that Spirit-Animal. Eventually, Kaballah recognizes that the greatest Totem of them all will come to call upon any Totemic Pathwalker (like the Totem Animals themselves, often in DREAMS;) Adonai Malakh.. in the form of a half-man/half-animal "diety" who blesses one as part of his OWN Kingdom, and bestows the authority of a 'lesser King' over Nature upon the faithful Friend Of All The World.

Closely associated with Franciscianism, this Nature-God-contact is the final goal of all Animistic Paths.

To learn the meanings of the many plant, animal, mineral and Nature-forces in the Kingdom of Malkuth, click-on THE NATURAL WORLD. Some involvement with this material may be necessary for the solving of your Malkuth-related crisis.

BRIAH: The ARCHANGELIC Level.

Most western societies know of the great "Spiritual Intermediaries" who caretake our relationship with the Great Spirit, and refer to them as "Archangels." Asian societies normally call them "Boddhisattvas" and will need to turn to their own cultural traditions for guidance in contacting the right Bodhisattva for their Malkuth-related problems.. though ANYONE can call upon ANY Spiritual Authority and get useful results. The Archangel of Malkuth is named "Sandalphon," and he connects us with our Creator in the form called "Adonai Malakh" which is Hebrew for 'Lord King' or THE LORD OF NATURE.

The Angelic Order (or lineage of Devic Spirit-Workers, if you prefer) who serve this Sephirah are called the "KERUBIM;" who are depicted as Tetramorphic Creatures composed of equal parts of the Ox, Eagle, Lion and Man. These beings "underlay" Nature, in the invisible realm of the 'almost-physical;' and CAN be but seldom are glimpsed by human beings. Often called 'Nature Spirits,' and Devas by other cultures of the world, the Kerubim are responsible for "Ruling" the many Kingdoms of Plant, Animal, Mineral and Energy-based Nature. When we contact Sandalphon and his own King Adonai Malakh, our request for assistance in our Life-Path-Walking is answered by the Plants, Animals, Minerals and Energies within Nature, set in motion for us by the Kerubim.

To contact the Archangel of Pathwalking in the most direct way possible, jot-down the names just mentioned and then click-on KABALLAH-CIRCLE RITES where a reliable, long-used Ritual Meditation is listed.. and simply perform it as shown, inserting the proper names where prompted. This will trigger as much immediate Spiritual HELP for your problem or crisis as possible right now.

Repeated contact with this Archangel (asking each time for yet MORE clarity about your Right Path and more help with solving the specific details of your crisis or condition) over a period of days or weeks may prove extremely useful.. until you finally attain your OWN little "Kingdom Within Nature" perfectly-balanced with the rest of Life, which will finally end your Malkuth-related problem.

ATZILUTH: The GOD-ASPECT Level.

The "Aspect" or FORM of the Creator connected-with at Malkuth may look like 'Pan,' or Pegasus, Hanuman the Monkey-god of India or the Falcon-God Horus of Egypt; or he may take a very individualized form that holds meaning only for YOU.. but whatever

form he takes in your life depicts YOUR LIFE WITHIN HIS KINGDOM. Like all of the God-Aspects of mankind's pantheons, Adonai Malakh is A MIRROR OF THE SOUL. As we progress in our Soul-development, learning ever-higher uses of our own potential and powers of mind and hand, he brings to us different and better SYMBOLIC "FOOD" for our Souls to grow-by. Even if you cannot right now see that this is so, THAT IS HOW ALL OF YOUR EXPERIENCES OF HEALTH, WEALTH AND LIFESTYLE ARE BROUGHT TO YOU.

Mankind living in great cities has a tendency to forget that we are PERMANENTLY part of Nature. The gentle voices of the world of animals, the elements of wind, wood and water have become strange to us, since our ears have been lulled by the drone of engines and machines; but NATURE HAS NOT FORGOTTEN US. Still the totems walk through our sleeping hours.. even if we do not recognize them as Friends come to tell us about the coming events of our lives and the fulfillment of our personal needs and goals. "Tertium Organum" the Living Universe which the Greeks called Gaia, or Mother Nature, cannot be 'abandoned.' Even if we think we have left the Organic World behind with our cave-life early beginnings, it is still there and STILL rules our very survival. The Wise deliberately reconnect with it, and their Health, Wealth and Harmony is restored.

Many western peoples have forgotten that Nature is not "base" or 'unholy' but CREATED BY HEAVEN AS OUR HOME-GARDEN, and we were placed within it to "dress and keep it." It is not until we remember that and return to God as The King Of Beasts as well as the King of Heaven, that we truly understand the meaning of Life. Spirituality requires us to be PART OF NATURE as well as part of Heaven's family; indeed the two are ONE. It is the realization and attainment of your own Animal-Spirituality that brought you here to Malkuth.. poor, ill, inharmonious or LOST. Call out in the wilderness, and your King will hear you, and he will return your Wholeness to you. May your Kingdom COME! All around the edges of your city, it awaits you, beckoning with little hands of Fur, Feather, Fin and FRIENDSHIP.

Called ANUBIS (the Jackal-headed God) in the ancient Egyptian "paut Neteru" or Great Company of the Gods.. and considered the god of "Guidance" who leads 'the dead' onto the Path to Paradise.. the God-Aspect of Malkuth has always been associated with Pathwalking (a symbol of our personal Spiritual journey) as well as Friendly Companionship.. for Anubis is Egypt's version of the Dog ("man's Best Friend.") You may think of Anubis/Adonai Malakh as THE JOURNEY OF LIFE itself.. for (in terms of Spiritual Destiny) we are all already a bit 'dead;' and trying to come to Life by finding out who we are and where we are going as Souls. All of that is caretaken by Malkuth and it's Animal-God Soul-Guide, by any name.

FURTHER DATA SEARCH

USE BACK-ARROW ICON TO RETURN, WHEN DONE.

Haile Selassie IFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article contains Ethiopic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ethiopic characters.

Haile Selassie I

Emperor of Ethiopia

Reign 2 November 1930 – 12 September 1974 (43 years, 314 days)

Coronation 2 November 1930Predecessor Zewditu ISuccessor De jure Amha Selassie I (crowned in exile)

Head of State of EthiopiaPredecessor Zewditu ISuccessor Aman Andom (as Chairman of the Derg)

Spouse Empress MenenIssue

Princess RomaneworkPrincess TenagneworkAsfaw WossenPrincess ZenebeworkPrincess TsehaiPrince MakonnenPrince Sahle Selassie

Full name

Ras Tafari MakonnenHouse House of SolomonFather Ras Makonnen Woldemikael GudessaMother Weyziro Yeshimebet Ali Abajifar

Born 23 July 1892Ejersa Goro, Ethiopia

Died 27 August 1975 (aged 83)Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Religion Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

Haile Selassie

1st & 5th Chairman of the Organization of African Unity

In office25 May 1963 – 17 July 1964

Succeeded by Gamal Abdel NasserIn office

5 November 1966 – 11 September 1967Preceded by Joseph Arthur AnkrahSucceeded by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu

Rastafari movement

Main doctrinesJah ·

Afrocentrism · Ital · Zion ·

Cannabis useCentral figuresHaile Selassie I ·

Jesus · Menen Asfaw · Marcus

GarveyKey scriptures

Bible · Kebra Nagast · The

Promise Key · Holy Piby · My Life and

Ethiopia's Progress · Royal

Parchment Scroll of Black SupremacyBranches and

festivalsMansions · in United States · Shashamane ·

Grounation Day · ReasoningNotable

individualsLeonard Howell · Joseph Hibbert ·

Mortimer Planno · Vernon

Carrington · Charles Edwards · Bob Marley · Peter

ToshSee also:

Vocabulary · Persecution · Dreadlocks ·

Reggae · Ethiopian Christianity · Index of Rastafari articles

This box: view · talk · edit

Haile Selassie I (Ge'ez: ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ, "Power of the Trinity"[1]) (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen,[2] was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He was the heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition back to King Solomon and Queen Makeda,

Empress of Axum, known in the Abrahamic tradition as the Queen of Sheba. Haile Selassie is a defining figure in both Ethiopian and African history.[3][4]

At the League of Nations in 1936, the emperor condemned the use of chemical weapons by Italy against his people.[5] His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the United Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved seminal and enduring.[6] His suppression of rebellions among the nobles (mekwannint), as well as what some perceived to be Ethiopia's failure to modernize adequately,[7] earned him criticism among some contemporaries and historians.[8]

Haile Selassie is revered as the returned messiah of the Bible, God incarnate, among the Rastafari movement whose followers are estimated at between 200,000 and 800,000.[9][10] Begun in Jamaica in the 1930s, the Rastafari movement perceives Haile Selassie as a messianic figure who will lead a future golden age of eternal peace, righteousness, and prosperity.[11] Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life.

Contents [hide] 

1 Name 2 Biography

o 2.1 Early life o 2.2 Governorship o 2.3 Regency

2.3.1 Travel abroad o 2.4 King and emperor o 2.5 Conflict with Italy

2.5.1 Mobilization 2.5.2 Progress of the war 2.5.3 Exile debate 2.5.4 Collective security and the League of Nations, 1936 2.5.5 Exile

o 2.6 1940s and 1950s o 2.7 Charitable gesture o 2.8 1960s o 2.9 1970s

2.9.1 Wollo famine 2.9.2 Revolution

3 Imprisonment o 3.1 Death and interment

4 Children 5 Rastafari messiah

o 5.1 Question of his divinity o 5.2 Biographical film

6 Quotations 7 Honours 8 Military ranks 9 Ancestry 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References

13 External links

[edit] Name

Haile Selassie was born Lij Tafari Makonnen (Amharic ልጅ፡ ተፈሪ፡ መኮንን; Amharic pronunciation lij teferī mekōnnin). "Lij" translates literally to "child", and serves to indicate that a youth is of noble blood. He would later become Ras Tafari Makonnen; "Ras" translates literally to "head"[12] and is the equivalent of "duke",[13] though it is often rendered in translation as "prince". Tafari, his given name, in Amharic means "one who is respected", while Haile literally means in Ge'ez "Power of" and Selassie means trinity

(i.e. Haile Selassie "Power of the Trinity") his coronation name in 1930 (Haile Selassie was also his Christian baptismal name as an infant). In 1916 during the reign of the Empress Zauditu, she gave him the position of a regent and in 1928 this position was elevated, as she granted him the throne of Shoa, his title was then elevated to Negus, "King".[14][15]

On 2 November 1930, after the death of Empress Zauditu, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned emperor,[16] upon his ascension to emperor, he took as his regnal name "Haile Selassie", meaning "Power of the Trinity".[17] Haile Selassie's full title in office was "His Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings (Emperor) of Ethiopia, Elect of God" (Ge'ez ግርማዊ፡ ቀዳማዊ፡ አፄ፡ ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ፡ ሞዓ፡ አንበሳ፡ ዘእምነገደ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘኢትዮጵያ፡ ሰዩመ፡ እግዚአብሔር; girmāwī ḳedāmāwī 'aṣē ḫayle śillāsē, mō'ā 'anbessā ze'imneggede yihudā niguse negest ze'ītyōṗṗyā, siyume 'igzī'a'bihēr). This title reflects Ethiopian dynastic traditions, which hold that all monarchs must trace their lineage back to Menelik I, who in the Ethiopian tradition was the offspring of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.[18]

To Ethiopians Haile Selassie has been known by many names, including Janhoy, Talaqu Meri, and Abba Tekel. The Rastafari employ many of these appellations, also referring to him as HIM, Jah, and Jah Rastafari.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Ras Makonnen, father of Haile Selassie I, in 1902

Haile Selassie was born on 23 July 1892, in the village of Ejersa Goro, in the Harar province of Ethiopia. His mother was Woizero ("Lady") Yeshimebet Ali Abajifar, daughter of the renowned Oromo ruler of Wollo province Dejazmach Ali Abajifar.[19] His maternal grandmother was of Gurage heritage.[20] Haile Selassie's father was Ras Makonnen Woldemikael Gudessa, the governor of Harar. Ras Makonnen served as a general in the First Italo–Ethiopian War, playing a key role at the Battle of Adwa;[19] he

too was paternally Oromo but maternally Amhara.[20] Haile Selassie was thus able to ascend to the imperial throne through his paternal grandmother, Woizero Tenagnework Sahle Selassie, who was an aunt of Emperor Menelik II and daughter of Negus Sahle Selassie of Shewa. As such, Haile Selassie claimed direct descent from Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of ancient Israel.[21]

Ras Makonnen arranged for Tafari as well as his first cousin, Ras Imru Haile Selassie to receive instruction in Harar from Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin, an Ethiopian capuchin monk, and from Dr. Vitalien, a surgeon from Guadeloupe. Tafari was named Dejazmach (literally "commander of the gate", roughly equivalent to "count")[22] at the age of 13, on 1 November 1905.[23] Shortly thereafter, his father Ras Makonnen died at Kulibi, in 1906.[24]

[edit] Governorship

Tafari assumed the titular governorship of Selale in 1906, a realm of marginal importance[25] but one that enabled him to continue his studies.[23] In 1907, he was appointed governor over part of the province of Sidamo. It is alleged that during his late teens, Haile Selassie was married to Woizero Altayech, and that from this union, his daughter Romanework Haile Selassie was born.[26][27]

Following the death of his brother Yelma in 1907, the governorate of Harar was left vacant,[25] and its administration was left to Menelik's loyal general, Dejazmach Balcha Safo. Balcha Safo's administration of Harar was ineffective, and so during the last illness of Menelik II, and the brief reign of Empress Taitu Bitul, Tafari was made governor of Harar in 1910[24] or 1911.[28]

On 3 August he married Menen Asfaw of Ambassel, niece of heir to the throne Lij Iyasu.

[edit] Regency

The extent to which Tafari Makonnen contributed to the movement that would come to depose Iyasu V is unclear. Iyasu V, or Lij Iyasu, was the designated but uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. Iyasu's reputation for scandalous behavior and a disrespectful attitude towards the nobles at the court of his grandfather, Menelik II,[29] damaged his reputation. His flirtation with Islam was considered treasonous among the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian leadership of the empire. On 27 September 1916, Iyasu was deposed.[30]

Contributing to the movement that deposed Iyasu were conservatives such as Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis, Menelik II's longtime Minister of War. The movement to depose Iyasu preferred Tafari, as he attracted support from both progressive and conservative factions. Ultimately, Iyasu was deposed on the grounds of conversion to Islam.[12][30] In his place, the daughter of Menelik II ( the aunt of Iyasu) was named Empress Zewditu and made Regent for Tafari during his minority. Tafari was elevated to the rank of Ras and was made heir apparent and Crown Prince. In the power arrangement that followed, Tafari

accepted the role of Regent Plenipotentiary (Balemulu 'Inderase) and became the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire (Mangista Ityop'p'ya). Zewditu would govern while Tafari would administer.[31]

While Iyasu had been deposed on 27 September 1916, on 8 October the coup d'etat went awry. Iyasu managed to escape into the Ogaden Desert and his father, Negus Mikael of Wollo, had time to come to his aid.[32] On 27 October, Negus Mikael and his army met an army under Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis loyal to Zewditu and Tafari. During the Battle of Segale, Negus Mikael was defeated and captured. Any chance that Iyasu would regain the throne was ended and he went into hiding. On 11 January 1921, after avoiding capture for about five years, Iyasu was taken into custody by Gugsa Araya Selassie.

On 11 February 1917, the coronation for Zewditu took place. She pledged to rule justly through her Regent, Tafari. While Tafari was the more visible of the two, Zewditu was far from an honorary ruler. Her position required that she arbitrate the claims of competing factions. In other words, she had the last word. Tafari carried the burden of daily administration but, because his position was relatively weak, this was often an exercise in futility for him. Initially his personal army was poorly equipped, his finances were limited, and he had little leverage to withstand the combined influence of the Empress, the Minister of War, or the provincial governors.[32]

During his Regency, the new Crown Prince developed the policy of cautious modernization initiated by Menelik II. He secured Ethiopia's admission to the League of Nations in 1923 by promising to eradicate slavery; each emperor since Tewodros II had issued proclamations to halt slavery,[33] but without effect: the internationally scorned practice persisted well into Haile Selassie's reign.[34]

[edit] Travel abroad

In 1924, Ras Tafari toured Europe and the Middle East visiting Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, Geneva, and Athens. With him on his tour was a group that included Ras Seyum Mangasha of western Tigre Province, Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam Province, Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu of Illubabor Province, Ras Makonnen Endelkachew, and Blattengeta Heruy Welde Sellase. The primary goal of the trip to Europe was for Ethiopia to gain access to the sea. In Paris, Tafari was to find out from the French Foreign Ministry (Quai d'Orsay) that this goal would not be realized.[35] However, failing this, he and his retinue inspected schools, hospitals, factories, and churches. Although patterning many reforms after European models, Tafari remained wary of European pressure. To guard against economic imperialism, Tafari required that all enterprises have at least partial local ownership.[36] Of his modernization campaign, he remarked, "We need European progress only because we are surrounded by it. That is at once a benefit and a misfortune."[37]

Throughout Ras Tafari's travels in Europe, the Levant, and Egypt, he and his entourage were greeted with enthusiasm and fascination. He was accompanied by Seyum Mangasha and Hailu Tekle Haymanot who, like Tafari, were sons of generals who contributed to the

victorious war against Italy a quarter century earlier at the Battle of Adwa.[38] Another member of his entourage, Mulugeta Yeggazu, actually fought at Adwa as a young man. The "Oriental Dignity" of the Ethiopians[39] and their "rich, picturesque court dress"[40] were sensationalized in the media; among his entourage he even included a pride of lions, which he distributed as gifts to President Alexandre Millerand and Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré of France, to King George V of the United Kingdom, and to the Zoological Garden (Jardin Zoologique) of Paris.[38] As one historian noted, "Rarely can a tour have inspired so many anecdotes".[38] In return for two lions, the United Kingdom presented Ras Tafari with the imperial crown of Emperor Tewodros II for its safe return to Empress Zewditu. The crown had been taken by Robert Napier during the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia.[41]

In this period, the Crown Prince visited the Armenian monastery of Jerusalem. There, he adopted 40 Armenian orphans (አርባ ልጆች Arba Lijoch, "forty children"), who had lost their parents in Ottoman massacres.[42] Ras Tafari arranged for the musical education of the youths, and they came to form the imperial brass band.[43]

[edit] King and emperor

In 1928, the authority of Ras Tafari Makonnen was challenged when Dejazmatch Balcha Safo went to Addis Ababa with a sizeable armed force. When Tafari consolidated his hold over the provinces, many of Menilek's appointees refused to abide by the new regulations. Balcha Safo, Governor (Shum) of coffee-rich Sidamo Province was particularly troublesome. The revenues he remitted to the central government did not reflect the accrued profits and Tafari recalled him to Addis Ababa. The old man came in high dudgeon and, insultingly, with a large army.[nb 1] The Dejazmatch paid homage to Empress Zewditu, but snubbed Ras Tafari.[45][46] On 18 February, while Balcha Safo and his personal bodyguard[nb 2] were in Addis Ababa, Ras Tafari had Ras Kassa Haile Darge buy off his army and arrange to have him displaced as the Shum of Sidamo Province[47] by Birru Wolde Gabriel who himself was replaced by Desta Damtew.[44]

Cover of Time magazine , 3 November 1930

Even so, the gesture of Balcha Safo empowered Empress Zewditu politically and she attempted to have Tafari tried for treason. He was tried for his benevolent dealings with Italy including a 20-year peace accord which was signed on 2 August.[23] In September, a group of palace reactionaries including some of the courtiers of the Empress, made a final bid to get rid of Tafari. The attempted coup d'état was tragic in its origins and comic in its end. When confronted by Tafari and a company of his troops, the ringleaders of the coup took refuge on the palace grounds in Menilek's mausoleum. Tafari and his men surrounded them only to be surrounded themselves by the personal guard of Zewditu. More of Tafari's khaki clad soldiers arrived and, with superiority of arms, decided the outcome in his favor.[48] Popular support, as well as the support of the police,[45] remained with Tafari. Ultimately, the Empress relented and, on 7 October 1928, she crowned Tafari as Negus (Amharic: "King").

The crowning of Tafari as King was controversial. He occupied the same territory as the Empress rather than going off to a regional kingdom of the empire. Two monarchs, even with one being the vassal and the other the emperor (in this case empress), had never occupied the same location as their seat in Ethiopian history. Conservatives agitated to redress this perceived insult to the dignity of the crown, leading to the rebellion of Ras Gugsa Welle. Gugsa Welle was the husband of the Empress and the Shum of Begemder Province. In early 1930, he raised an army and marched it from his governorate at Gondar towards Addis Ababa. On 31 March 1930, Gugsa Welle was met by forces loyal to Negus Tafari and was defeated at the Battle of Anchem. Gugsa Welle was killed in action.[49] News of Gugsa Welle's defeat and death had hardly spread through Addis Ababa when the Empress died suddenly on 2 April 1930. Although it was long rumored that the Empress was poisoned upon the defeat of her husband,[50] or alternately that she died from shock upon hearing of the death of her estranged yet beloved husband,[51] it has since been documented that the Empress succumbed to a flu-like fever and complications from diabetes.[52]

With the passing of Zewditu, Tafari himself rose to emperor and was proclaimed Neguse Negest ze-'Ityopp'ya, "King of Kings of Ethiopia". He was crowned on 2 November 1930, at Addis Ababa's Cathedral of St. George. The coronation was by all accounts "a most splendid affair",[53] and it was attended by royals and dignitaries from all over the world. Among those in attendance were George V's son Prince Henry, Marshal Franchet d'Esperey of France, and the Prince of Udine representing Italy. Emissaries from the United States,[54] Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Belgium, and Japan were also present.[53] British author Evelyn Waugh was also present, penning a contemporary report on the event, and American travel lecturer Burton Holmes shot the only known film footage of the event.[55] One newspaper report suggested that the celebration may have incurred a cost in excess of $3,000,000.[56] Many of those in attendance received lavish gifts;[57] in one instance, the Christian emperor even sent a gold-encased Bible to an American bishop who had not attended the coronation, but who had dedicated a prayer to the emperor on the day of the coronation.[58]

Haile Selassie introduced Ethiopia's first written constitution on 16 July 1931,[59] providing for a bicameral legislature.[60] The constitution kept power in the hands of the

nobility, but it did establish democratic standards among the nobility, envisaging a transition to democratic rule: it would prevail "until the people are in a position to elect themselves."[60] The constitution limited the succession to the throne to the descendants of Haile Selassie, a point that met with the disapprobation of other dynastic princes, including the princes of Tigrai and even the emperor's loyal cousin, Ras Kassa Haile Darge.

In 1932, the Kingdom of Jimma was formally absorbed into Ethiopia following the death of King Abba Jifar II of Jimma.

[edit] Conflict with Italy

See also: Abyssinia Crisis and Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Ethiopia became the target of renewed Italian imperialist designs in the 1930s. Benito Mussolini's fascist regime was keen to avenge the military defeats Italy had suffered to Ethiopia in the First Italo-Abyssinian War, and to efface the failed attempt by "liberal" Italy to conquer the country, as epitomised by the defeat at Adowa.[61][62][63] A conquest of Ethiopia could also empower the cause of fascism and embolden its rhetoric of empire.[63]

Ethiopia would also provide a bridge between Italy's Eritrean and Italian Somaliland possessions. Ethiopia's position in the League of Nations did not dissuade the Italians from invading in 1935; the "collective security" envisaged by the League proved useless, and a scandal erupted when the Hoare-Laval Pact revealed that Ethiopia's League allies were scheming to appease Italy.[64]

[edit] Mobilization

Following the December, 5th, 1934 Italian invasion of Ethiopia at Walwal, Ogeden Province. Haile Selassie joined his northern armies and set up headquarters at Desse in Wollo province. He issued his famous mobilization order on 3 October 1935:

“ If you withhold from your country Ethiopia the death from cough or head-cold of which you would otherwise die, refusing to resist (in your district, in your patrimony, and in your home) our enemy who is coming from a distant country to attack us, and if you persist in not shedding your blood, you will be rebuked for it by your Creator and will be cursed by your offspring. Hence, without cooling your heart of accustomed valour, there emerges your decision to fight fiercely, mindful of your history that will last far into the future... If on your march you touch any property inside houses or cattle and crops outside, not even grass, straw, and dung excluded, it is like killing your brother who is dying with you... You, countryman, living at the various access routes, set up a market for the army at the places where it is camping and on the day your district-governor will indicate to you, lest the soldiers campaigning for Ethiopia's liberty should experience difficulty. You will not be charged excise duty, until the end of the campaign, for anything you are

”

marketing at the military camps: I have granted you remission... After you have been ordered to go to war, but are then idly missing from the campaign, and when you are seized by the local chief or by an accuser, you will have punishment inflicted upon your inherited land, your property, and your body; to the accuser I shall grant a third of your property...

On 19 October 1935, Haile Selassie gave more precise orders for his army to his Commander-in-Chief, Ras Kassa:

1. When you set up tents, it is to be in caves and by trees and in a wood, if the place happens to be adjoining to these―and separated in the various platoons. Tents are to be set up at a distance of 30 cubits from each other.

2. When an aeroplane is sighted, one should leave large open roads and wide meadows and march in valleys and trenches and by zigzag routes, along places which have trees and woods.

3. When an aeroplane comes to drop bombs, it will not suit it to do so unless it comes down to about 100 metres; hence when it flies low for such action, one should fire a volley with a good and very long gun and then quickly disperse. When three or four bullets have hit it, the aeroplane is bound to fall down. But let only those fire who have been ordered to shoot with a weapon that has been selected for such firing, for if everyone shoots who possesses a gun, there is no advantage in this except to waste bullets and to disclose the men's whereabouts.

4. Lest the aeroplane, when rising again, should detect the whereabouts of those who are dispersed, it is well to remain cautiously scattered as long as it is still fairly close. In time of war it suits the enemy to aim his guns at adorned shields, ornaments, silver and gold cloaks, silk shirts and all similar things. Whether one possesses a jacket or not, it is best to wear a narrow-sleeved shirt with faded colours. When we return, with God's help, you can wear your gold and silver decorations then. Now it is time to go and fight. We offer you all these words of advice in the hope that no great harm should befall you through lack of caution. At the same time, We are glad to assure you that in time of war We are ready to shed Our blood in your midst for the sake of Ethiopia's freedom..."[65]

Compared to the Ethiopians, the Italians had an advanced, modern military which included a large air force. The Italians would also come to employ chemical weapons extensively throughout the conflict, even targeting Red Cross field hospitals in violation of the Geneva Convention.[66]

[edit] Progress of the war

Starting in early October 1935, the Italians invaded Ethiopia. But, by November, the pace of invasion had slowed appreciably and Haile Selassie's northern armies were able to launch what was known as the "Christmas Offensive". During this offensive, the Italians were forced back in places and put on the defensive. However, by early in 1936, the First Battle of Tembien stopped the progress of the Ethiopian offensive and the Italians were

ready to continue their offensive. Following the defeat and destruction of the northern Ethiopian armies at the Battle of Amba Aradam, the Second Battle of Tembien, and the Battle of Shire, Haile Selassie took the field with the last Ethiopian army on the northern front. On 31 March 1936, he launched a counterattack against the Italians himself at the Battle of Maychew in southern Tigray. The emperor's army was defeated and retreated in disarray. As Haile Selassie's army withdrew, the Italians attacked from the air along with rebellious Raya and Azebo tribesmen on the ground, who were armed and paid by the Italians.[67]

When the struggle to resist Italy appeared doomed, Haile Selassie traveled to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela for fasting and prayer.[68]

Haile Selassie made a solitary pilgrimage to the churches at Lalibela, at considerable risk of capture, before returning to his capital.[69] After a stormy session of the council of state, it was agreed that because Addis Ababa could not be defended, the government would relocate to the southern town of Gore, and that in the interest of preserving the Imperial house, the emperor's wife Menen Asfaw and the rest of the imperial family should immediately depart for Djibouti, and from there continue on to Jerusalem.

[edit] Exile debate

The emperor arrives in Jerusalem.

After further debate as to whether Haile Selassie should go to Gore or accompany his family into exile, it was agreed that Haile Selassie should leave Ethiopia with his family and present the case of Ethiopia to the League of Nations at Geneva. The decision was not unanimous and several participants, including the nobleman Page (Blatta) Tekle

Wolde Hawariat, objected to the idea of an Ethiopian monarch fleeing before an invading force.[70] Haile Selassie appointed his cousin Ras Imru Haile Selassie as Prince Regent in his absence, departing with his family for Djibouti on 2 May 1936.

On 5 May, Marshal Pietro Badoglio led Italian troops into Addis Ababa, and Mussolini declared Ethiopia an Italian province. Victor Emanuel III was proclaimed as the new Emperor of Ethiopia. However, on the previous day, the Ethiopian exiles had left Djibouti aboard the British cruiser HMS Enterprise. They were bound for Jerusalem in the British Mandate of Palestine, where the Ethiopian royal family maintained a residence. The Imperial family disembarked at Haifa and then went on to Jerusalem. Once there, Haile Selassie and his retinue prepared to make their case at Geneva. The choice of Jerusalem was highly symbolic, since the Solomonic Dynasty claimed descent from the House of David. Leaving the Holy Land, Haile Selassie and his entourage sailed for Gibraltar aboard the British cruiser HMS Capetown. From Gibraltar, the exiles were transferred to an ordinary liner. By doing this, the government of the United Kingdom was spared the expense of a state reception.[71]

[edit] Collective security and the League of Nations, 1936

Mussolini, upon invading Ethiopia, had promptly declared his own "Italian Empire"; because the League of Nations afforded Haile Selassie the opportunity to address the assembly, Italy even withdrew its League delegation, on 12 May 1936.[72] It was in this context that Haile Selassie walked into the hall of the League of Nations, introduced by the President of the Assembly as "His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Ethiopia" (Sa Majesté Imperiale, l'Empereur d'Ethiopie). The introduction caused a great many Italian journalists in the galleries to erupt into jeering, heckling, and whistling. As it turned out, they had earlier been issued whistles by Mussolini's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano.[73]

Haile Selassie waited calmly for the hall to be cleared, and responded "majestically"[74] with a speech sometimes considered among the most stirring of the 20th century.[5]

Although fluent in French, the working language of the League, Haile Selassie chose to deliver his historic speech in his native Amharic. He asserted that, because his "confidence in the League was absolute", his people were now being slaughtered. He pointed out that the same European states that found in Ethiopia's favor at the League of Nations were refusing Ethiopia credit and matériel while aiding Italy, which was employing chemical weapons on military and civilian targets alike.

It was at the time when the operations for the encircling of Makale were taking place that the Italian command, fearing a rout, followed the procedure which it is now my duty to denounce to the world. Special sprayers were installed on board aircraft so that they could vaporize, over vast areas of territory, a fine, death-dealing rain. Groups of nine, fifteen, eighteen aircraft followed one another so that the fog issuing from them formed a continuous sheet. It was thus that, as from the end of January 1936, soldiers, women, children, cattle, rivers, lakes, and pastures were drenched continually with this deadly rain. In order to kill off systematically all living creatures, in order to more surely poison

waters and pastures, the Italian command made its aircraft pass over and over again. That was its chief method of warfare.[75]

Noting that his own "small people of 12 million inhabitants, without arms, without resources" could never withstand an attack by a large power such as Italy, with its 42 million people and "unlimited quantities of the most death-dealing weapons", he contended that all small states were threatened by the aggression, and that all small states were in effect reduced to vassal states in the absence of collective action. He admonished the League that "God and history will remember your judgment."[76]

It is collective security: it is the very existence of the League of Nations. It is the confidence that each State is to place in international treaties... In a word, it is international morality that is at stake. Have the signatures appended to a Treaty value only in so far as the signatory Powers have a personal, direct and immediate interest involved?

The speech made the emperor an icon for anti-Fascists around the world, and Time named him "Man of the Year".[77] He failed, however, to get what he most needed: the League agreed to only partial and ineffective sanctions on Italy, and several members even recognized the Italian conquest.[62]

[edit] Exile

Haile Selassie in 1942

Haile Selassie spent his exile years (1936–1941) in Bath, United Kingdom, in Fairfield House, which he bought. The emperor and Kassa Haile Darge took morning walks together behind the high walls of the 14-room Georgian house. Haile Selassie's favorite reading was "diplomatic history." But most of his serious hours were occupied with the 90,000-word story of his life which he was laboriously writing in Amharic.[78]

Prior to Fairfield House, he briefly stayed at Warne's Hotel in Worthing [79] and in Parkside, Wimbledon [80] A bust of Haile Selassie is in nearby Cannizaro Park to commemorate this time and is a popular place of pilgrimage for London's Rastafarian community.

Blue plaque commemorating Haile Selassie's stay at the Abbey Hotel in Malvern.

Haile Selassie stayed at the Abbey Hotel in Malvern in the 1930s and his granddaughters and daughters of court officials were educated at Clarendon School in North Malvern. During his time in Malvern he attended services at Holy Trinity Church, in Link Top. A blue plaque, commemorating his stay in Malvern, was unveiled on Saturday, 25 June 2011. As part of the ceremony, a delegation from the Rastafari movement gave a short address and a drum recital.[81][82][83][84][85]

Haile Selassie's activity in this period was focused on countering Italian propaganda as to the state of Ethiopian resistance and the legality of the occupation.[86] He spoke out against the desecration of houses of worship and historical artifacts (including the theft of a 1,600-year old imperial obelisk), and condemned the atrocities suffered by the Ethiopian civilian population.[87] He continued to plead for League intervention and to voice his certainty that "God's judgment will eventually visit the weak and the mighty alike",[88] though his attempts to gain support for the struggle against Italy were largely unsuccessful until Italy entered World War II on the German side in June 1940.[89]

The emperor's pleas for international support did take root in the United States, particularly among African-American organizations sympathetic to the Ethiopian cause.[90] In 1937, Haile Selassie was to give a Christmas Day radio address to the American people to thank his supporters when his taxi was involved in a traffic accident, leaving him with a fractured knee.[91] Rather than canceling the radio appearance, he proceeded in much pain to complete the address, in which he linked Christianity and goodwill with the Covenant of the League of Nations, and asserted that "War is not the only means to stop war":[91]

With the birth of the Son of God, an unprecedented, an unrepeatable, and a long-anticipated phenomenon occurred. He was born in a stable instead of a palace, in a manger instead of a crib. The hearts of the Wise men were struck by fear and wonder due to His Majestic Humbleness. The kings prostrated themselves before Him and worshipped Him. 'Peace be to those who have good will'. This became the first message.

[...] Although the toils of wise people may earn them respect, it is a fact of life that the spirit of the wicked continues to cast its shadow on this world. The arrogant are seen visibly leading their people into crime and destruction. The laws of the League of Nations are constantly violated and wars and acts of aggression repeatedly take place... So that the spirit of the cursed will not gain predominance over the human race whom Christ redeemed with his blood, all peace-loving people should cooperate to stand firm in order to preserve and promote lawfulness and peace.[91]

During this period, Haile Selassie suffered several personal tragedies. His two sons-in-law, Ras Desta Damtew and Dejazmach Beyene Merid, were both executed by the Italians.[88] The emperor's daughter, Princess Romanework, wife of Dejazmach Beyene Merid, was herself taken into captivity with her children, and she died in Italy in 1941.[92] His daughter Tsehai died during childbirth shortly after the restoration in 1942.[93]

After his return to Ethiopia, he donated Fairfield House to the city of Bath as a residence for the aged, until modified in the 1990s where it is now used as a residential meeting centre.[94]

[edit] 1940s and 1950s

British forces, which consisted primarily of Ethiopian-backed African and South African colonial troops under the "Gideon Force" of Colonel Orde Wingate, coordinated the military effort to liberate Ethiopia. The emperor himself issued several imperial proclamations in this period, demonstrating that, while authority was not divided up in any formal way, British military might and the emperor's populist appeal could be joined in the concerted effort to liberate Ethiopia.[89]

On 18 January 1941, during the East African Campaign, Haile Selassie crossed the border between Sudan and Ethiopia near the village of Um Iddla. The standard of the Lion of Judah was raised again. Two days later, he and a force of Ethiopian patriots joined Gideon Force which was already in Ethiopia and preparing the way.[95] Italy was defeated by a force of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations, Free France, Free Belgium, and Ethiopian patriots. On 5 May 1941, Haile Selassie entered Addis Ababa and personally addressed the Ethiopian people, five years to the day since his 1936 exile:

Today is the day on which we defeated our enemy. Therefore, when we say let us rejoice with our hearts, let not our rejoicing be in any other way but in the spirit of Christ. Do not return evil for evil. Do not indulge in the atrocities which the enemy has been practicing in his usual way, even to the last.

Take care not to spoil the good name of Ethiopia by acts which are worthy of the enemy. We shall see that our enemies are disarmed and sent out the same way they came. As Saint George who killed the dragon is the Patron Saint of our army as well as of our allies, let us unite with our allies in everlasting friendship and amity in order to be able to

stand against the godless and cruel dragon which has newly risen and which is oppressing mankind.[96]

On 27 August 1942, Haile Selassie abolished the legal basis of slavery throughout the empire and imposed severe penalties, including death, for slave trading.[97] After World War II, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. In 1948, the Ogaden, a region disputed with Somalia, was granted to Ethiopia.[98] On 2 December 1950, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 390 (V), establishing the federation of Eritrea (the former Italian colony) into Ethiopia.[99] Eritrea was to have its own constitution, which would provide for ethnic, linguistic, and cultural balance, while Ethiopia was to manage its finances, defense, and foreign policy.[99]

Despite his centralization policies that had been made before World War II, Haile Selassie still found himself unable to push for all the programs he wanted. In 1942, he attempted to institute a progressive tax scheme, but this failed due to opposition from the nobility, and only a flat tax was passed; in 1951, he agreed to reduce this as well.[100] Ethiopia was still "semi-feudal",[101] and the emperor's attempts to alter its social and economic form by reforming its modes of taxation met with resistance from the nobility and clergy, which were eager to resume their privileges in the postwar era.[100] Where Haile Selassie actually did succeed in effecting new land taxes, the burdens were often passed by the landowners to the peasants.[100] Despite his wishes, the tax burden remained primarily on the peasants.

Between 1941 and 1959, Haile Selassie worked to establish the autocephaly of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.[102] The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had been headed by the abuna, a bishop who answered to the Partriarchate in Egypt. Haile Selassie applied to Egypt's Holy Synod in 1942 and 1945 to establish the independence of Ethiopian bishops, and when his appeals were denied he threatened to sever relations with the See of St. Mark.[102] Finally, in 1959, Pope Kyrillos VI elevated the Abuna to Patriarch-Catholicos.[102] The Ethiopian Church remained affiliated with the Alexandrian Church.[100] In addition to these efforts, Haile Selassie changed the Ethiopian church-state relationship by introducing taxation of church lands, and by restricting the legal privileges of the clergy, who had formerly been tried in their own courts for civil offenses.[100]

In keeping with the principle of collective security, for which he was an outspoken proponent, he sent a contingent under General Mulugueta Bulli, known as the Kagnew Battalion, to take part in the Korean War by supporting the United Nations Command. It was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division, and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill.[103] In a 1954 speech, the emperor spoke of Ethiopian participation in the Korean War as a redemption of the principles of collective security:

Nearly two decades ago, I personally assumed before history the responsibility of placing the fate of my beloved people on the issue of collective security, for surely, at that time and for the first time in world history, that issue was posed in all its clarity. My searching

of conscience convinced me of the rightness of my course and if, after untold sufferings and, indeed, unaided resistance at the time of aggression, we now see the final vindication of that principle in our joint action in Korea, I can only be thankful that God gave me strength to persist in our faith until the moment of its recent glorious vindication.[104]

Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, photographed during a radio broadcast

During the celebrations of his Silver Jubilee in November 1955, Haile Selassie introduced a revised constitution,[105] whereby he retained effective power, while extending political participation to the people by allowing the lower house of parliament to become an elected body. Party politics were not provided for. Modern educational methods were more widely spread throughout the Empire, and the country embarked on a development scheme and plans for modernization, tempered by Ethiopian traditions, and within the framework of the ancient monarchical structure of the state.

Haile Selassie compromised when practical with the traditionalists in the nobility and church. He also tried to improve relations between the state and ethnic groups, and granted autonomy to Afar lands that were difficult to control. Still, his reforms to end feudalism were slow and weakened by the compromises he made with the entrenched aristocracy. The Revised Constitution of 1955 has been criticized for reasserting "the indisputable power of the monarch" and maintaining the relative powerlessness of the peasants.[106]

[edit] Charitable gesture

He sent aid to the British government in 1947 when Britain was affected by heavy flooding. His letter to Lord Meork, National Distress Fund, London said, "even though We are busy of helping our people who didn't recover from the crises of the war, We heard that your fertile and beautiful country is devastated by the unusually heavy rain, and your request for aid. "Therefore, We are sending small amount of money, about one thousand pounds through our embassy to show our sympathy and cooperation."[107]

[edit] 1960s

Haile Selassie contributed Ethiopian troops to the United Nations Operation in the Congo peacekeeping force during the 1960 Congo Crisis, to consolidate Congolese integrity and independence from Belgian troops, per United Nations Security Council Resolution 143. On 13 December 1960, while Haile Selassie was on a state visit to Brazil, his Imperial Guard forces staged an unsuccessful coup, briefly proclaiming Haile Selassie's eldest son Asfa Wossen as emperor. The coup d'état was crushed by the regular army and police forces. The coup attempt lacked broad popular support, was denounced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and was unpopular with the army, air force and police. Nonetheless, the effort to depose the emperor had support among students and the educated classes.[108] The coup attempt has been characterized as a pivotal moment in Ethiopian history, the point at which Ethiopians "for the first time questioned the power of the king to rule without the people's consent".[109] Student populations began to empathize with the peasantry and poor, and to advocate on their behalf.[109] The coup spurred Haile Selassie to accelerate reform, which was manifested in the form of land grants to military and police officials.

The emperor continued to be a staunch ally of the West, while pursuing a firm policy of decolonization in Africa, which was still largely under European colonial rule. The United Nations conducted a lengthy inquiry regarding the status of Eritrea, with the superpowers each vying for a stake in the state's future. Britain, the administrator at the time, suggested the partition of Eritrea between Sudan and Ethiopia, separating Christians and Muslims. The idea was instantly rejected by Eritrean political parties, as well as the UN.

A UN plebiscite voted 46 to 10 to have Eritrea be federated with Ethiopia, which was later stipulated on 2 December 1950 in resolution 390 (V). Eritrea would have its own parliament and administration and would be represented in what had been the Ethiopian parliament and would become the federal parliament.[110] However, Haile Selassie would have none of European attempts to draft a separate Constitution under which Eritrea would be governed, and wanted his own 1955 Constitution protecting families to apply in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 1961 the 30-year Eritrean Struggle for Independence began, followed by Haile Selassie's dissolution of the federation and shutting down of Eritrea's parliament.

In 1961, tensions between independence-minded Eritreans and Ethiopian forces culminated in the Eritrean War of Independence. The emperor declared Eritrea the fourteenth province of Ethiopia in 1962.[111] The war would continue for 30 years, as first Haile Selassie, then the Soviet-backed junta that succeeded him, attempted to retain Eritrea by force.

In 1963, Haile Selassie presided over the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity, with the new organization establishing its headquarters in Addis Ababa. As more African states won their independence, he played an important role as Pan-Africanist, and along with Modibo Keïta of Mali was successful in negotiating the Bamako Accords, which brought an end to the border conflict between Morocco and Algeria. Also in 1963,

on 6 October, Selassie addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations, referring in his address to his earlier speech to the League of Nations:

Twenty-seven years ago, as Emperor of Ethiopia, I mounted the rostrum in Geneva, Switzerland, to address the League of Nations and to appeal for relief from the destruction which had been unleashed against my defenceless nation, by the Fascist invader. I spoke then both to and for the conscience of the world. My words went unheeded, but history testifies to the accuracy of the warning that I gave in 1936. Today, I stand before the world organization which has succeeded to the mantle discarded by its discredited predecessor. In this body is enshrined the principle of collective security which I unsuccessfully invoked at Geneva. Here, in this Assembly, reposes the best – perhaps the last – hope for the peaceful survival of mankind.[112]

On 25 November 1963, the emperor was among other heads of state, including France's President Charles de Gaulle, who traveled to Washington D.C. and attended the funeral of assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

In 1966, Haile Selassie attempted to create a modern, progressive tax[citation needed] that included registration of land, which would significantly weaken the nobility. Even with alterations, this law led to a revolt in Gojjam, which was repressed although enforcement of the tax was abandoned. The revolt, having achieved its design in undermining the tax, encouraged other landowners to defy Haile Selassie.

Haile Selassie on a state visit to Washington, 1963

Student unrest became a regular feature of Ethiopian life in the 1960s and 1970s. Marxism took root in large segments of the Ethiopian intelligentsia, particularly among those who had studied abroad and had thus been exposed to radical and left-wing sentiments that were becoming popular in other parts of the globe.[108] Resistance by conservative elements at the Imperial Court and Parliament, and by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, made Haile Selassie's land reform proposals difficult to implement, and also damaged the standing of the government, costing Haile Selassie much of the goodwill he had once enjoyed. This bred resentment among the peasant population. Efforts to weaken unions also hurt his image. As these issues began to pile up, Haile Selassie left much of domestic governance to his Prime Minister, Aklilu Habte Wold, and concentrated more on foreign affairs.

[edit] 1970s

Outside of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie continued to enjoy enormous prestige and respect. As the longest-serving head of state in power, Haile Selassie was often given precedence over other leaders at state events, such as the state funerals of John F. Kennedy and Charles de Gaulle, the summits of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the 1971 celebration of the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire.

[edit] Wollo famine

Famine—mostly in Wollo, north-eastern Ethiopia, as well as in some parts of Tigray—is estimated to have killed 40,000 to 80,000 Ethiopians[8][113] between 1972 and 1974. A BBC News report[114] has cited a 1973 estimate that 200,000 deaths occurred, based on a contemporaneous estimate from the Ethiopian Nutrition Institute. While this figure is still repeated in some texts and media sources, it was an estimate that was later found to be "over-pessimistic".[115] Although the region is infamous for recurrent crop failures and continuous food shortage and starvation risk, this episode was remarkably severe. A 1973 production of the ITV programme The Unknown Famine by Jonathan Dimbleby.[116][117] relied on the unverified estimate of 200,000 dead,[114][118] stimulating a massive influx of aid while at the same time destabilizing Haile Selassie's regime.[113]

The 1973 Oil Crisis, the severity of which is demonstrated by this graph, hit Ethiopia amidst a devastating famine, compounding its effect and undermining support for the emperor.[106]

Some reports suggest that the emperor was unaware of the extent of the famine,[119] while others assert that he was well aware of it.[120][121] In addition to the exposure of attempts by corrupt local officials to cover up the famine from the imperial government, the Kremlin's depiction of Haile Selassie's Ethiopia as backwards and inept (relative to the purported utopia of Marxism-Leninism) contributed to the popular uprising that led to its downfall and the rise of Mengistu Haile Mariam.[122] The famine and its image in the media undermined popular support of the government, and Haile Selassie's once unassailable personal popularity fell.

The crisis was exacerbated by military mutinies and high oil prices, the latter a result of the 1973 oil crisis. The international economic crisis triggered by the oil crisis caused the costs of imported goods, gasoline, and food to skyrocket, while unemployment spiked.[106]

[edit] Revolution

In February 1974, four days of serious riots in Addis against a sudden economic inflation left five dead. The emperor responded by announcing on national television a rollback of gasoline prices and a freeze on the cost of basic commodities. This calmed the public, but the promised 33% military wage hike was not substantial enough to pacify the army, which then mutinied, beginning in Asmara and spreading throughout the empire. This mutiny led to the resignation of Prime Minister Aklilu Habte Wold on 27 February 1974.[123] Haile Selassie again went on television to agree to the army's demands for still greater pay, and named Endelkachew Makonnen as his new Prime Minister. However, despite Endalkatchew's many concessions, discontent continued in March with a four-day general strike that paralyzed the nation.

[edit] Imprisonment

The Derg, a committee of low-ranking military officers and enlisted men, set up in June to investigate the military's demands, took advantage of the government's disarray to depose Haile Selassie on 12 September 1974. General Aman Mikael Andom, a Protestant of Eritrean origin,[123] served briefly as provisional head of state pending the return of Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, who was then receiving medical treatment abroad. Haile Selassie was placed under house arrest briefly at the 4th Army Division in Addis Ababa,[123] while most of his family was detained at the late Duke of Harrar's residence in the north of the capital. The last months of the emperor's life were spent in imprisonment, in the Grand Palace.[124]

Later, most of the imperial family was imprisoned in the Addis Ababa prison Kerchele, also known as "Alem Bekagne", or "Goodbye, cruel world". On 23 November 1974, sixty former high officials of the imperial government were executed without trial.[125] The executed included Haile Selassie's grandson and two former Prime Ministers.[124] These killings, known to Ethiopians as "Bloody Saturday", were condemned by Crown Prince Asfa Wossen; the Derg responded to his rebuke by revoking its acknowledgment of his imperial legitimacy, and announcing the end of the Solomonic dynasty.[125]

[edit] Death and interment

On 28 August 1975, the state media reported that the "ex-monarch" Haile Selassie had died on 27 August of "respiratory failure" following complications from a prostate operation.[126] His doctor, Asrat Woldeyes, denied that complications had occurred and rejected the government version of his death. Some imperial loyalists believed that the emperor had in fact been assassinated, and this belief remains widely held.[127] One western correspondent in Ethiopia at the time commented, "While it is not known what actually happened, there are strong indications that no efforts were made to save him. It is unlikely that he was actually killed. Such rumors were bound to arise no matter what happened, given the atmosphere of suspicion and distrust prevailing in Addis Ababa the time."[128] Court testimony given by the emperor's servants, however, indicates that they were ordered to leave his rooms for the night, and that they returned in the morning to find him dead in his bed, with a strong chemical smell in the room.[citation needed] They further testified that the emperor had been in perfect health the night before when they

had left him. Professor Asrat Woldeyes also testified that his patient had completely recovered from the effects of the surgery and that there had been no complications.[citation

needed]

The Soviet-backed Derg fell in 1991. In 1992, the emperor's bones were found under a concrete slab on the palace grounds;[127] some reports suggest that his remains were discovered beneath a latrine.[129] For almost a decade thereafter, as Ethiopian courts attempted to sort out the circumstances of his death, his coffin rested in Bhata Church, near his great uncle Menelik II's imperial resting place.[130] On 5 November 2000, Haile Selassie was given an imperial-style funeral by the Ethiopian Orthodox church. The post-communist government refused calls to declare the ceremony an official imperial funeral.[130]

Although such prominent Rastafarian figures as Rita Marley and others participated in the grand funeral, most Rastafari rejected the event and refused to accept that the bones were the remains of Haile Selassie. There remains some debate within the Rastafari movement as to whether Haile Selassie actually died in 1975.[131]

[edit] Children

Asfaw Wossen, eldest son of Haile Selassie I, on a voyage to Jerusalem in 1923.

By Menen Asfaw, Haile Selassie had six children: Princess Tenagnework, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, Princess Tsehai, Princess Zenebework, Prince Makonnen, and Prince Sahle Selassie.

There is some controversy as to Haile Selassie's eldest daughter, Princess Romanework Haile Selassie. While the living members of the royal family state that Romanework is the eldest daughter of Empress Menen,[132] it has been asserted that Princess Romanework is actually the daughter of a previous union of the emperor with Woizero Altayech.[133] The emperor's own autobiography makes no mention of a previous marriage or having fathered children with anyone other than Empress Menen.

Prince Asfaw Wossen was first married to Princess Wolete Israel Seyoum and then following their divorce to Princess Medferiashwork Abebe. Prince Makonnen was

married to Princess Sara Gizaw. Prince Sahle Selassie was married to Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam. Princess Romanework married Dejazmatch Beyene Merid. Princess Tenagnework first married Ras Desta Damtew, and after she was widowed later married Ras Andargachew Messai. Princess Zenebework married Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa. Princess Tsehai married Lt. General Abiye Abebe.

[edit] Rastafari messiah

“ ... Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. ”

— Psalms 68:31

Today, Haile Selassie is worshipped as God incarnate [134] among followers of the Rastafari movement (taken from Haile Selassie's pre-imperial name Ras – meaning Head – a title equivalent to Duke – Tafari Makonnen), which emerged in Jamaica during the 1930s under the influence of Marcus Garvey's "Pan Africanism" movement. He is viewed as the messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to freedom.[135] His official titles are Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and King of Kings and Elect of God, and his traditional lineage is thought to be from Solomon and Sheba.[136] These notions are perceived by Rastafarians as confirmation of the return of the messiah in the prophetic Book of Revelation in the New Testament: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Root of David. Rastafari faith in the incarnate divinity of Haile Selassie[137] began after news reports of his coronation reached Jamaica,[138] particularly via the two Time magazine articles on the coronation the week before and the week after the event. Haile Selassie's own perspectives permeate the philosophy of the movement.[138][139]

Not all Rastafarian mansions consider Haile Selassie as Jesus Christ incarnate. One example is The Twelve Tribes of Israel, who consider him a divinely anointed king—thus Christ in his kingly character and defender of the Christian faith.

In 1961, the Jamaican government sent a delegation composed of both Rastafari and non-Rastafari leaders to Ethiopia to discuss the matter of repatriation, among other issues, with the emperor. He reportedly told the Rastafarian delegation (which included Mortimer Planno), "Tell the Brethren to be not dismayed, I personally will give my assistance in the matter of repatriation."[140]

Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on 21 April 1966, and approximately one hundred thousand Rastafari from all over Jamaica descended on Palisadoes Airport in Kingston,[138] having heard that the man whom they considered to be their messiah was coming to visit them. Spliffs [141] and chalices [142] were openly[143] smoked, causing "a haze of ganja smoke" to drift through the air.[144][145][146] Haile Selassie arrived at the airport but was

unable to come down the mobile steps of the airplane, as the crowd rushed the tarmac. He then returned into the plane, disappearing for several more minutes. Finally, Jamaican authorities were obliged to request Ras Mortimer Planno, a well-known Rasta leader, to climb the steps, enter the plane, and negotiate the emperor's descent.[147] Planno re-emerged and announced to the crowd: "The Emperor has instructed me to tell you to be calm. Step back and let the Emperor land".[148] This day is widely held by scholars to be a major turning point for the movement,[149][150][151] and it is still commemorated by Rastafarians as Grounation Day, the anniversary of which is celebrated as the second holiest holiday after 2 November, the emperor's Coronation Day.

From then on, as a result of Planno's actions, the Jamaican authorities were asked to ensure that Rastafarian representatives were present at all state functions attended by the emperor,[152][153] and Rastafarian elders also ensured that they obtained a private audience with the emperor,[154] where he reportedly told them that they should not emigrate to Ethiopia until they had first liberated the people of Jamaica. This dictum came to be known as "liberation before repatriation".

Haile Selassie defied expectations of the Jamaican authorities,[155] and never rebuked the Rastafari for their belief in him as the returned Jesus. Instead, he presented the movement's faithful elders with gold medallions – the only recipients of such an honor on this visit.[156][157] During PNP leader (later Jamaican Prime Minister) Michael Manley's visit to Ethiopia in October 1969, the emperor allegedly still recalled his 1966 reception with amazement, and stated that he felt that he had to be respectful of their beliefs.[158] This was the visit when Manley received the Rod of Correction or Rod of Joshua as a present from the emperor, which is thought to have helped him to win the 1972 election in Jamaica.

Rita Marley, Bob Marley's wife, converted to the Rastafari faith after seeing Haile Selassie on his Jamaican trip. She claimed in interviews (and in her book No Woman, No Cry) that she saw a stigmata print on the palm of Haile Selassie's hand as he waved to the crowd which resembled the markings on Christ's hands from being nailed to the cross—a claim that was not supported by other sources, but was used as evidence for her and other Rastafarians to suggest that Haile Selassie I was indeed their messiah.[159] She was also influential in the conversion of Bob Marley, who then became internationally recognized. As a result, Rastafari became much better known throughout much of the world.[160] Bob Marley's posthumously released song Iron Lion Zion refers to Haile Selassie.[citation needed]

[edit] Question of his divinity

According to Robert Earl Hood, Haile Selassie I "never denied or affirmed his divinity."[161] In Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music, Kevin Chang and Wayne Chen note

It's often said, though no definite date is ever cited, that Selassie himself denied his divinity. Former senator and Gleaner editor, Hector Wynter, tells of asking him, during

his visit to Jamaica in 1966, when he was going to tell Rastafarians he was not God. "Who am I to disturb their belief?" replied the emperor.[162]

After his return to Ethiopia, he dispatched Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro to the Caribbean to help draw Rastafarians and other West Indians to the Ethiopian church and, according to some sources, denied his divinity.[163][164][165][166]

In 1948, Haile Selassie donated a piece of land at Shashamane, 250 km south of Addis Ababa, for the use of people of African descent from the West Indies. Numerous Rastafari families settled there and still live as a community to this day.[167][168]

[edit] Biographical film

In 2008 a full-length feature film was produced by an Ethiopian film-maker, Tikher Teferra Kidane of Exodus Films, in collaboration with an Alaskan TV station Tanana Valley TV and 4th Avenue Films.[169]

[edit] QuotationsA house built on granite and strong foundations, not even the onslaught of pouring rain, gushing torrents and strong winds will be able to pull down. Some people have written the story of my life representing as truth what in fact derives from ignorance, error or envy; but they cannot shake the truth from its place, even if they attempt to make others believe it.—Preface to My Life and Ethiopia's Progress, Autobiography of H.M. Haile Selassie I (English translation)That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained and until the ignoble but unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique, and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and goodwill; until all Africans stand and speak as free human beings, equal in the eyes of the Almighty; until that day, the African continent shall not know peace. We Africans will fight if necessary and we know that we shall win as we are confident in the victory of good over evil.—English translation of 1963 Speech delivered to the United Nations and popularized in a song called War by Bob Marley.Apart from the Kingdom of the Lord there is not on this earth any nation that is superior to any other. Should it happen that a strong Government finds it may with impunity destroy a weak people, then the hour strikes for that weak people to appeal to the League of Nations to give its judgment in all freedom. God and history will remember your judgment.—Address to the League of Nations, 1936.

We have finished the job. What shall we do with the tools?— Telegram to Winston Churchill, 1941.Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.Today I stand before the world organization which has succeeded to the mantle discarded by its discredited predecessor.—In a speech to the United Nations.Misguided people sometimes create misguided ideas. Some of my ancestors were Oromo. How can I colonize myself?— in response to accusations by dissidentsI have heard of that idea [i.e., of Haile Selassie being the reincarnation of Jesus Christ]. I also met certain Rastafarians. I told them clearly that I am a man, that I am mortal, and that I would be replaced by the oncoming generation, and that they should never make a mistake in assuming or pretending that the human being is emanated from a deity."— Interview with Bill McNeil.A qualified man with vision, unmoved by daily selfish interests, will be led to right decisions by his conscience. In general, a man who knows from whence he comes and where he is going will co-operate with his fellow human beings. He will not be satisfied with merely doing his ordinary duties but will inspire others by his good example. You are being watched by the nation and you should realize that you will satisfy it if you do good; but if, on the contrary, you do evil, it will lose its hope and its confidence in you."— 2 July 1963 – University Graduation

[edit] Honours Chief Commander of the Order of the

Star of Ethiopia – 1909 Grand Cordon of the Order of

Solomon (Ethiopia) – 1930 Grand Collar of the Order of

Solomon's Seal (Ethiopia) Grand Cordon of the Order of the

Queen of Sheba (Ethiopia) Grand Cordon of the Order of The

Holy Trinity (Ethiopia) Grand Cordon of the Order of Menelik

II (Ethiopia) Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St

Michael and St George (GCMG) – 1917 Knight Grand Cross of the Royal

Victorian Order (GCVO) – 1924 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of

the Bath (GCB) – 1924 Stranger Knight of the Order of the

Garter (KG) – 1954 Knight of the Order of the Most Holy

Collar of the Order of Charles III (1954)

Collar of the Order of the White Rose

Medal of Military Merit 1st class (28 October 1954)

Grand Cross of the National Order of Vietnam- 1958

Order of Truth – 1958 Collar of the Order of the

Southern Cross – 1958 Collar of the Order of the

Leopard Order of the Lion Order of the Lion Order of Valor of Cameroon Order of the Sun of Peru Collar of the Order of the

Bust of the Liberator Simon Bolivar

Order of the Condor of the

Annunciation – 1928 Royal Victorian Chain – 1930 Grand Cordon of the Order of the

Chrysanthemum – 1930 Order of the Elephant – 1954 Order of the Gold Lion of the House

of Nassau – (25 May 1924) Collar of the Order of the Seraphim –

1954 Order of the Maha Chakri – 1958 Order of Suvorov 1st class – 1959 Collar of the Order of Muhammad Ali

– 1930 Grand Cross of the Legion d'Honneur

– 1924 Chief Commander of the Legion of

Merit – 1945 Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlevi –

1964 Collar of the Order of the Aztec Eagle

– 1954 Collar of the Order of the

Chrysanthemum-1956 Order of the Liberator San Martin Order of the Nile (22 May 1963) Order of Pius IX – 1970 Order of Idris I of Libya Order of Independence Order of Hussein ibn Ali Order of Muhammad Chain of Honor Grand Order of the Hashemites Order of the Crown of Italy – 1917 Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus –

1924 Order of the Redeemer (19 August

1924) Order of Leopold (Belgium) – 1924 Riband of the Three Military Orders

Of Christ, Benedict of Aviz, and St.James of the Sword (31 August 1959)

Order of the Tower and Sword of Portugal – 1925

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of William – 1954

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of

Andes Special Grade of the Order

of the Propitious Clouds Polonia Restituta of Poland

(1967) Order of Ommayyad Order of Mono of Togo Order of Congolese Merit Order of the Leopard of

Somalia – 1960 Order of the Equatorial Star Order of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria Order of the Source of the

Nile Order of the Eagle of

Zambia Special Class of the Order of

Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany – 1954

Collar of the Order of the Republic of Italy – 1955

Collar of the National Order of Honour and Merit – 1966

Knight Grand Band of the Order of the Pioneers

Grand Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart

Grand Star of the Decoration of Honor for Merit of Austria – 1954

Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 1st Class – 1958

Raja of the Order of Sikatuna of the Philippines

Commander of the Order of the Shield and Spears of Uganda – 1964

Order of the Yugoslav Great Star – 1954

Hilal-i-Pakistan, 1st Class – 1958

Star of Romania (1964) Order of the State Crown of

Malaysia (DMN) – (21 May 1968)

the Netherlands Lion – 1930 Order of the White Eagle of Poland –

1930

Collar of the Order of St Olav of Norway – 1949

Order of King Abdul Aziz, 1st Class, of Saudi Arabia

Order of the Star of Ghana – 1970

Order of the White Lion 1st class with collar

Banner of the People's Republic of Hungary, 1st Class with Diamonds – 1964

Military Medal of France – 1954

Jamaica Kings House Honouree, Jamaica – 1966

Necklace of the Order of Jean-Jacques Dessalines the Great – 1966[170]

National orders of Lebanon Chile, Central Africa Upper Volta , Chad, Benin,

Mali, Madagascar, Mauritania, Guinea and Niger.

Honorary citizen of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – 1972[171]

Honorary citizen of Belgrade – 1954[172]

Marduk - Rom 5:12 Reviewby Matt Hensch

.Marduk is one of those groups that have trashed their overall legacy by sticking to one sound and nothing else. Often hailed as one of the first second-wave black metal bands, Marduk have released a few good records, and then lots of CDs that have nothing but blastbeats, stupid riffs, and some moron drooling into his microphone. Still, fanboys continue to rub themselves over whatever has that over-the-top band logo of an inverted cross laced with the squad's name.

Case in point, Marduk is not original…at all, but the concept of a record that's not just total blasterbation would definitely be welcome to my ears. So when Marduk began stroking genitals with their supposedly-masterful Rom 5:12, I became

interested. Why? Because it was described as a total redefinition of their sound, and it is, but it fails to impress. Rom 5: 12 is a very different record; however, it's almost too different for Marduk to swallow. After pointlessly hitting notes for over a decade, Marduk has finally decided to take a new musical direction with Rom 5:12, but it comes with a price of several costly inconsistencies.

It might be shocking to a lot of people, but Rom 5:12 has hardly any blastbeats or rapid picking sections at all; only a few tunes possess that terribly random pounding style. Instead, these Satanic clowns present themselves in haunting atmospheric compositions filled with mid-paced riffing and simplistic percussion patterns. Surprisingly, this laidback style creates a different outlook on black metal, in which the focus is on deep, slamming pressure; not random blasting. The lethargic musical spine supports this record wholeheartedly, and it certainly makes Marduk look more original than what their other material could offer.

But there is a consequence for every action, and Marduk's beneficial alteration has its fair share of woes aside from its clear advantages.

Rom 5:12 is heavily damaged by the ever-lasting repetition factor induced by the atmospheric qualities that go on and on; we're talking like seven or eight minutes of the same thing, which isn't a blessing at all. Also, Mortuus' slobbering yelps have no place in this musical rebirth as he sounds out of place and off-key. Ironically, Naihmass Nemtheanga's guest clean vocal contribution on "Accuser/Opposer" actually clarifies the musical transformation into a more meaningful sounding perimeter; someone like him should be singing on such an epic release, not Mortuus.

Adding to the curses is the production, which is actually very good, minus its effect on the vocals. Honestly, Mortuus sounds like a cretin with a speech impediment; his drooling vocals are caught appearing rough, off-key, and with no pitch control at all, but it's the production that shows this. All the nice quality brings out what is typically missed, and since Mortuus is put at the very front of the recording, it's very easy to hear. The overall result is nothing short of a catastrophic meltdown caused by the single-pitched shrieks, but with the messy factor at an all-time high. What a terrible performance!

While it has a few good moments, Rom 5:12 is teebagged by the typical Marduk issues and some newer repercussions; change has aided the overall effort, but it is still a very mediocre effort. On a side note, it's certainly a good display of attempted progression on Marduk's behalf, but they still have a long way to go before the atmospheric element sinks into their sulfur-encrusted souls. I really hope Marduk continues down this uncharted musical path without looking back; it's definitely a healthier option than the blasting nonsense they did before.

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Omoroca

Daniel remembers Omoroca

Contents[hide]

1 Earth Culture of Origin 2 Alternate Names / Spellings 3 Presides Over 4 Personal Symbols 5 Earth Mythological References 6 Stargate References 7 Episodes 8 Related Characters 9 Related Articles

10 Further Reading

Earth Culture of Origin

Babylonian - Chaldaean

Alternate Names / Spellings

Omoroka, Thalath, Thalassa, Tiamat

Presides Over

The moon goddess, personified the sea, the divine water, the reflection of wisdom from on high.

Personal Symbols

The sea or divine water

Earth Mythological References

FRAGMENTS OF CHALDÆAN HISTORY, BEROSSUS: FROM ALEXANDER POLYHISTOR:

"BEROSSUS, in the first book of his history of Babylonia, informs us that he lived in the age of Alexander the son of Philip. And he mentions that there were written accounts, preserved at Babylon with the greatest care, comprehending a period of above fifteen myriads of years: and that these writings contained histories of the heaven and of the sea; of the birth of mankind; and of the kings, and of the memorable actions which they had achieved.He wrote of Omoroca:

There was a time in which there existed nothing but darkness and an abyss of waters, wherein resided most hideous beings, which were produced of a two-fold principle. There appeared men, some of whom were furnished with two wings, others with four, and with two faces. They had one body but two heads: the one that of a man, the other of a woman: and likewise in their several organs both male and female. Other human figures were to be seen with the legs and horns of goats: some had horses' feet: while others united the hind quarters of a horse with the body of a man, resembling in shape the hippocentaurs. Bulls likewise were bred there with the heads of men; and dogs with fourfold bodies, terminated in their extremities with the tails of fishes: horses also with the heads of dogs: men too and other animals, with the heads and bodies of horses and the tails of fishes. In short, there were creatures in which were combined the limbs of every species of animals. In addition to these, fishes, reptiles, serpents, with other monstrous animals, which assumed each other's shape and countenance. Of all which were preserved delineations in the temple of Belus at Babylon. The person, who presided over them, was a woman named Omoroca; which in the Chaldæan language is Thalatth; in Greek Thalassa, the sea; but which might equally be interpreted the Moon. All things being in this situation, Belus came, and cut the woman asunder: and of one half of her he formed the earth, and of the other half the heavens; and at the same time destroyed the animals within her.

All this (he says) was an allegorical description of nature. For, the whole universe consisting of moisture, and animals being continually generated therein, the deity above-mentioned took off his own head: upon which the other gods mixed the blood, as it gushed out, with the earth; and from thence were formed men. On this account it is that they are rational, and partake of divine knowledge."

In Babylonian myths, Tiamat (linked to Omoroca) is a huge, bloated female dragon that personifies the saltwater ocean, the water of Chaos. She is also the primordial mother of all that exists, including the gods themselves. Her consort is Apsu, the personification of the freshwater abyss that lies beneath the Earth. From their union, saltwater with freshwater, the first pair of gods were born. They are Lachmu and Lachamu, parents of Ansar and Kisar, grandparents of Anu and Ea.

In the creation epic Enuma elish, written around 2000 BCE, their descendants started to irritate Tiamat and Apsu so they decided to kill their offspring. Ea discovered their plans and he managed to kill Apsu while the latter was asleep. Tiamat flew into a rage when she learned about Apsu's death and wanted to avenge her husband. She created an army of monstrous creatures, which was to be led by her new consort Kingu, who is also her son. Eventually, Tiamat was defeated by the young god Marduk, who was born in the deep freshwater sea.

Marduk cleaved her body in half, and from the upper half he created the sky and from the lower half he made the earth. From her water came forth the clouds and her tears became the source of the Tigris and the Euphratus. Kingu also perished, and from his blood Marduk created the first humans.

Stargate References

The first mention of Omoroca is in the episode, 1.13 "Fire and Water":

In a history written by Berossus during the time of Alexander the Great, Belus conquered Babylonia. Omoroca, an amphibious, technologically advanced Oannes female, left behind her mate Nem on their volcanic desert world of Oannes to go to Earth in order to help humanity overthrow Goa’uld rule and free themselves from enslavement. She battled Belus, a Goa'uld leading a people who believed their god found pleasure, as they did, in every agony inflicted on their foes.

Nem, knowing only that his mate had travelled to Babylon to battle the Goa'uld Belus, lived alone for four thousand years, uncertain of Omoroca's fate. When he encountered SG-1, and found Teal'c and his symbiote among them, Nem believed that Omoroca had failed. It is during his interrogations of Daniel Jackson that Nem learns Omoroca succeeded in freeing the people of Earth. Daniel tells Nem that they owe her a great debt of gratitude and that because of her, humanity had grown to be a civilisation which rivalled that of the Goa'uld.

Daniel's memories are fleeting and fragmented. He agrees to allow Nem to use his memory technology on him and tells all he ever knew of Omoroca:

"And in that place there was Omoroca, a woman who came forth from the heavenly egg, who walked among men by day, but at night, she would retreat to the Great Sea to sleep, one of the beings called Oannes. The god Belus came down unto Babylon, unto the place of Omoroca, and he cut the woman asunder."

Nem had been alone for four thousand years and he mourned the loss of his beloved mate in grief and rage.

Though Stargate has never clearly stated a link between Marduk and Belus, the Oannes woman Omoroca was identified with the goddess Tiamat in Babylonian myth, which gives her strong links to the Babylonian god Bel-Marduk. This particularly brutal Goa'uld was imprisoned and punished by his own priests. Marduk was first discovered by a covert Russian Stargate team, who found he had been buried alive in sarcophagus with an alien flesh eating creature.

SG-1, accompanied by a second Russian team, went into the ziggurat in which Marduk had been imprisoned by his priests in order to rescue the missing covert team, while the Russians accompanying them were in pursuit of the fabled and powerful artefact the Eye of Tiamat. (5.08 "The Tomb") It is a reasonable conclusion that Belus was Marduk and that he obtained the Eye after defeating Omoroca, who was also known as Tiamat.

Sadly, the writers of "The Tomb" did not refer back to Omoroca, Nem, and the events of "Fire and Water".

The Eye of Tiamat was mentioned in the episode, 6.22 "Full Circle", when Daniel told Jack that Anubis was seeking the Eye of Ra on Abydos. This Eye, when combined with five others, including the Eye of Tiamat, would increase the power of a weapon powered by them by tenfold. Anubis had been successful in locating the other Eyes and was searching for the Eye of Ra to complete his set.

The New Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram

by Michael Osiris Snuffin (2002)

"Those who regard this ritual as a mere device to invoke or banish spiritsare unworthy to possess it. Properly understood, it is the Medicine of metals

and the Stone of the Wise."1

--Aleister Crowley

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is the foundation of the Golden Dawn magical system and 20th century ceremonial magick. Yet critical analysis of this ritual shows this foundation to be flawed. Elements of the LBRP are inconsistent with the pattern and structure of Golden Dawn ritual as well as modern magical theory. Many magicians have tried to rationalize these inconsistencies, but none have dared to significantly change the ritual itself--until now.

In this essay I will identify these inconsistencies or “blinds” and correct them to formulate a logical, perfected version of the LBRP. As the basis for my analysis, here is the LBRP as presented in the First Knowledge Lecture of the Golden Dawn2, broken down into four sections for the purpose of discussion:

The Qabalistic Cross

Take a steel dagger or knife in the right hand. Face East. Touch thy forehead and say Ateh (Thou art). Touch thy breast and say Malkuth (the Kingdom). Touch thy right shoulder and say ve-Geburah (and the Power). Touch thy left shoulder and say ve-Gedulah (and the Glory). Clasp thy hands before thee and say le-Olam (forever). Dagger between fingers, point up and say Amen.

The Construction of the Circle

Make in the Air toward the East the banishing Pentagram of Air and, bringing the point to the center of the Pentagram, vibrate the Deity Name Yod-He-Vau-He, imagining that your voice carries forth to the East of the Universe. Holding the dagger out before you, go to the South, make the Pentagram and vibrate similarly the deity name Adonai. Go to the West, make the Pentagram and vibrate Eheieh. Go to the North, make the Pentagram and vibrate Agla. 

Return to the East and complete your circle by bringing the dagger point to the center of the first Pentagram.

The Invocation of the Archangels

Stand with arms outstretched in the form of a cross and say: Before me Raphael. Behind me Gabriel. At my right hand Michael. At my left hand Auriel.

The Affirmation of the Circle

           Before me flames the Pentagram, and behind me shines the six-rayed Star.           Make the Qabalistic Cross as directed above.

 

1. The Qabalistic Cross

The purpose of the Qabalistic Cross is to establish the magician as the center of the Universe. It uses the concept of Adam Kadmon to identify the Microcosm (the magician) with the Macrocosm (the Tree of Life as a representation of the Universe.) Consider also that in order to construct a circle you must first establish the centerpoint.

The magician is instructed to draw a cross of light upon his body with the oration Ateh Malkuth ve-Geburah ve-Gedulah le-Olam Amen, translated in English as “Thou art the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory for ever, Amen.” The oration is taken from the last line of the Lord’s Prayer, spoken in Hebrew to emphasize its correspondence with the Tree of Life.

The first blind3 appears in the wording of the oration. The use of Ateh, “thou art” identifies the light with a external power, namely, “Our Father.” The same idea is expressed at the end of the oration with “Amen,” which is notariqon for Adonai Melekh Na’amon meaning “Lord, faithful King.” It would make much more sense (especially in light of the New Aeon) for the magician to identify himself with that light considering that he is establishing himself (not God) as the center of the Universe in this ritual.

Because the ritual uses the concept of Adam Kadmon in drawing the cross of light, three of the five words that make up the oration are names of Sephira which correspond to the appropriate location on the body: Malkuth, Geburah and Gedulah. It would thus make sense to exchange Ateh “thou art” with the god-name of Kether, Eheieh, which means “I am.” This identifies the magician with the light and provides a Qabalistic link with the appropriate sephira when touching the forehead.

Amen is exchanged for IAO, a solar formula of resurrection associated with Tiphareth, which is vibrated over the plexus in Crowley’s Thelemic adaptation of the Qabalistic Cross in the Star Ruby4. This change links all five phrases of the oration with the corresponding sephiroth of Adam Kadmon. The revised oration now reads “I am the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever IAO.”

When performing this version of the Qabalistic Cross, the magician not only identifies himself as the center of the universe but also forms a cross of the Elements within his aura. Eheieh is associated with Air, Malkuth with Earth, Geburah with Fire, and Gedulah with Water. IAO represents Spirit at the center of the Elemental Cross.

One further note on the Qabalistic Cross. While the original version instructs the magician to touch the breast when saying Malkuth, modern magicians often touch the groin at this point in the ritual. The latter method makes more sense, as it fully extends the cross of light over the whole body. Also, while the groin is given to the sephira Yesod, it is much closer to the feet where Malkuth resides. The crossbars of the cross of light are visualized as extending into infinity

2. The Construction of the Circle

The Circle defines the area to be controlled by the magician and protects that area from unwanted influences. The space inside the circle, once properly banished through the use of pentagrams and god-names, is considered to be sacred space within which the magician may communicate with and manipulate the energies of the Universe.

As a general rule of thumb, the magician moves clockwise to invoke and counterclockwise to banish. Yet in this banishing ritual we are instructed to draw our circle clockwise. This is the second blind. The correction is simply to draw the circle counterclockwise, moving from East to the North, West, and South.

The circle is warded in each Elemental quarter by a banishing Earth pentagram. This bias against the element of Earth is the third blind, based on the misconception that the material world is evil and inferior to the higher, more spiritual realms. The LBRP only works with one Element when four Elements are clearly defined.

The solution is to banish each element in its appropriate quarter. When using four banishing pentagrams, each is visualized in the color appropriate to the element: yellow for Air, green for Earth, blue for Water and red for Fire. The circle that unites the pentagrams is drawn in white to represent Spirit, the Element that binds and separates the other four Elements.

With the four Elements banished only the Element of Spirit remains, itself conterminous with the magician and the center of the circle5. Spirit is the Element that both binds and separates the other four Elements and must be present to formulate and balance the Elemental circle of the Elemental quarters.

Four four-letter Hebrew god names are used as words of power to charge the pentagrams: YHVH in the East, ADNI in the South, AHIH in the West, and AGLA in the North. Yet three of the four god-names are clearly associated with the element in the opposite quarter in which they is vibrated. This confusion of the god-names is the fourth blind of the LBRP.

Adonai is associated with Earth through the god-name Adonai ha-Aretz (Lord of Earth) in Malkuth. Eheieh is associated with breath and therefore Air. AGLA is notariqon for Ateh Gibor le-Olam Adonai (“Thou art mighty forever my Lord”), Gibor being of the same root of the fiery sephira Geburah.

The god name YHVH is a special case. This god-name contains all four Elements within itself and could be placed in any quarter, much like the god-name ARARITA in the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram. While it is a four-letter Hebrew god name, YHVH does not have any specific affinity to the Element of Water, nor does it begin with aleph like the other three names.

On a more subjective level, my experiments with the LBRP showed that YHVH does not resonate as well as the other three god names when used in their proper quarters. The energy was different, as if I had tried to fit a round peg into a square hole.

A short but intensive investigation revealed an appropriate god name to use for Water: ALVH, Eloah, “God”. Its root is AL, the god-name associated with Chesed and Water. The last two letters are VH, the last two letters of the Tetragrammaton. Eloah was the password of the Practicus Grade of the Golden Dawn, in which the powers of Water are invoked into the aura of the Candidate.

Furthermore, AL=31, a key of the Book of the Law, and VH=11, the number of Magick. 42 (ALVH) = 21 (AHIH) X 2. Eloah is a reflection of Eheieh, and reflection is a primary characteristic of Elemental Water.

The revised attribution of the god-names to the elemental quarters is as follows: AHIH for Air in the East, ADNI for Earth in the North, ALVH for Water in the West, and AGLA for Fire in the South. Vibrate the god-names while giving the Sign of the Enterer, and follow with the Sign of Silence. The first gesture projects a beam of energy into the pentagram, while the second gesture stops the flow of energy by severing the connection between the magician and the pentagram.

3. The Invocation of the Archangels

After the circle is constructed, the magician extends his arms in the form of a tau cross and invokes the Archangels of the Elements in the four directions. The tau cross is a symbol of the four Elements bonded and separated by Spirit. It is also a reaffirmation of the element of Spirit that is invoked through the Qabalistic Cross. It is with the authority of Spirit that the magician invokes the Archangels.

What is the purpose of invoking the Archangels? Some believe that they are the guardians of the circle, evoked outside to protect it. Yet the circle is already well-protected at this point in the ritual with banishing pentagrams and vibrated god-names. The real purpose of the invocation is to fill the Elemental void that has been created inside the circle after banishing the four Elements in the Construction of the Circle.

The Elemental Archangels represent the highest, most spiritualized qualities of the Elements. When the Archangels are invoked into the circle, the Elemental void is filled with spiritualized Elemental energy that serves to purify, balance, and energize the magician. As he invokes each Archangelic energy the magician should be able to feel it manifest in the appropriate quarter. This idea is vividly expressed by Israel Regardie in The Middle Pillar:

“The technique... is to imagine that the emanation from the archangel penetrates and cleanses the personality. That is to say, in the east from behind the archangel Raphaelshould be felt a gentle wind or

breeze, which, permeating the entire body, blows from it every trace of impurity. From Michael in the south, warmth at first of gentle degree should be felt, increasing in intensity to a powerful heat that burns and utterly consumes every blemish which troubled the personality. This purging should be felt as consecrating one to the service of the higher self. The same technique should be applied to Gabriel in the west, except that one is purified with water, while in the north one is invested with the stability and fertility of Auriel, archangel of the earth.”6

Remember that the magician, who is standing in the form of a tau cross, represents Spirit, the fifth Element which balances and binds the other four.

4. The Affirmation of the Circle

The ritual ends with the following oration: “Before me flames the pentagram, and behind me shines the six rayed star.” This places the magician between the symbols of the Microcosm (pentagram) and Macrocosm (hexagram). The intent is to symbolize the unification of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm, which in turn is a symbol for the Great Work, the goal of all magick.

Aleister Crowley modified this oration to read “For about me flames the Pentagram, and in the Column stands the Six-rayed Star.”7 Crowley visualized two hexagrams, one above him and one below him. “It flames both above and beneath the magus, who is thus in a cube of 4 pentagrams and two hexagrams, 32 points in all.”8 The argument for this arrangement is that 32 is the number of paths on the Tree of Life and the enumeration of AHIHVH, a god-name formed by combining AHIH and YHVH that symbolizes the unification of the Macrocosm and the Microcosm.

The column is the shape of the space that is created in the LBRP. The circle actually defines a column that extends vertically above and below the magician. It does not manifest as a cube or sphere, due to the passive construction of the hexagram. The hexagram is simply visualized and not drawn or charged with god-names like the other elements of the circle, and therefore does not carry the same warding power as the pentagrams in the ritual.

Furthermore, there is no need to ward the area above and below the circle. The construction of the circle banishes the four Elements; thus the column is comprised of the Element of Spirit. This column of Spirit extends into the infinite above and the infinite below, making it unnecessary to ward the vertical directions.

What is significant about Crowley’s interpretation is his identification of the Pentagram in the Affirmation with the Elemental pentagrams established in the quarters. This identification serves to affirm the ring of pentagrams that have been formulated to protect and define the circle. In effect, it identifies the circle as the Microcosm of the magician. In turn, visualizing the hexagram at the Tiphareth center establishes the Macrocosm within the Microcosmic circle. As before, this unification is a symbol of the Great Work, yet this interpretation is more complete in that it includes both elements of the ritual, the circle and the center.

To reflect these concepts, the Affirmation of the Circle has been revised to read “About me flames the pentagrams, and within me shines the six-rayed star.” With the utterance of first phrase, the magician focuses on the ring of pentagrams that

surrounds him; and with the last phrase the magician visualizes a unicursal hexagram centered on his plexus.

As a final note, I prefer to use a unicursal hexagram instead of a traditional hexagram because the lines of the former figure cross the Tiphareth center of the hexagram, while the latter figure does not connect with Tiphareth at all.

When all of the flaws of the LBRP are corrected and the elements of the ritual are properly balanced, a New Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram emerges:

1. Facing east, touch the forehead and say Eheieh (I am).

2. Touch the groin and say Malkuth (the Kingdom).

3. Touch the right shoulder and say ve-Geburah (and the Power).

4. Touch the left shoulder and say ve-Gedulah (and the Glory).

5. Clasp the hands upon the breast and say le-Olahm IAO (Forever, IAO).

6. In the East, trace the banishing pentagram of Air. Vibrate Eheieh.

7. Turn to the North and trace the banishing pentagram of Earth. Vibrate Adonai.

8. Turn to the West and trace the banishing pentagram of Water. Vibrate Eloah.

9. Turn to the South and trace the banishing pentagram of Fire. Vibrate AGLA.

10. Turn to the East to complete the circle. Extend the arms in the form of a cross and say:

11. Before me Raphael.

12. Behind me Gabriel.

13. On my right hand Michael.

14. And on my left hand Auriel.

15. For about me flames the pentagrams.

16. And within me shines the six-rayed star.

17. Repeat the Qabalistic Cross (parts 1-5).

 

Final Notes

I have been performing the NBRP daily for many months and found it to be very potent and effective, more so than the original LBRP. The NBRP not only creates a foundation for magical work, but also balances the Elements within the aura of the magician. (Interestingly enough, this is also the purpose of the Outer Order initiations of the Golden Dawn.) I have also used this ritual to prepare my temple for evocation with great success. I welcome and encourage any feedback or criticism on the NBRP; please contact me through this website.

Footnotes:

1 Crowley, Aleister "The Palace of the World." Quote taken from Liber ABA, page 745, footnote 507.

2 The Golden Dawn, page 53. The LBRP originated with the Golden Dawn and thus the Order's version shall be used here.

3 As a noun, "blind" means not only "something put forward for the purpose of misleading" but also "something to hinder sight and keep out of light."

4  Liber 25: The Star Ruby

5 This concept is clearly demonstrated in the Opening by Watchtower ritual.

6 Ibid, page 62.

7 Liber O.

8 Crowley, Aleister "The Palace of the World." Quote taken from Liber ABA, page 746, footnote 522.

Copyright (c) 2010 Michael Osiris Snuffin

back to MAIN

 Tripurasura samharam a story of destruction of evil.This is the story of tretayuga. There was an intelligent sage gritasmada. Once that sage had a very big cough. From that came a child. The main ambition of the child was to conquer the three worlds and to defeat indra. To change his mind the sage told that child to worship lord ganesha. he chanted the mantra of lord ganesha.. lord ganesha pleased with his devotion offered him boon, ganesha said to the child that “I will give you three cities made of gold, silver and iron, only lord shankara can defeat you and with one arrow all the three cities can be destroyed. With this boon tripurasura defeated all the kings of the earth, and all the gods of the heaven. He had two sons he gave the kingdom of lord bramha to one son and the kingdom of lord Vishnu to the other son. Narada advised all the gods to pray ganesha. Ganesha appeared before the gods and said that only lord shankara can defeat tripurasura. After that ganesha went to tripurasura in guise of a

Brahmin. He said to tripurasura that ‘ O King iam the master of 64 arts. Tripurasura said that show me your arts if iam pleased with your arts I will give you what ever you want. Ganesha said that I will give you three planes through which you can go any where in the world and you can fulfill any desire. Only lord parmeshwara can destroy them. With this tirpurasura became very pleased and asked Ganesha to ask him any thing in the world. Ganesha asked the idol of chintamani which was with lord shiva. Shiva refused to give that idol to  tripurasura, and there started a war between lord shiva and tripurasura. Lord Shiva destroyed all the three buildings , planes with a single arrow,Description of the chariot used in the war between Lord Shiva and Tripurasura. Prithvi was the chariot, sun and moon was the wheels, bramha was the charioteer, meru was the bow and Vishnu was the arrow. When Shiva released the arrow there was a lot of lighting emitted from it, by seeing the light tripurasura got fainted and the arrow destroyed all the three cities, the asuras athma came out of the body in the form of jyothi and entered Lord Shiva.  APPEARS BEFORE DEVOTEES AS THEY CALL. Lord shiva pushupathi appears before the devotes as they call him. Some of the stories relating to this are narrated here. A little child was sitting near a bank of river, while his father was taking bath in the river. His father was immersed in the water, the child became frightened, and shout father father. Listing to this lord Shiva immediately came to that child by sitting on nandhishwara. He is the father of the universe, he asked the mother of the universe to give milk to crying Child, later on the child acquired great knowledge and became great saint, and have written so many slokas on lord shiva and the goddess Parvathi. One story  from Linga Puram where Shiva granted the designation of Ganapatya and two oceans Of Milk and Curd. Upamanyu was a brilliant child, he was drinking milk, he cousin snathched milk from him. He started crying, he went to his mother and narrated the whole incident and she gave him a solution of powdered grains, but Upamanyu don’t want any thing other than milk. His mother said to him that – you should get satisfied with what ever you get. She also said that perhaps may in the our previous life we might

not have prayed lord Shiva that is the reason for our difficulties. Hearing this Upamanyu went to Himalayas to perform tapas. He continued his tapas as a result of that there araised a unbearable heat, the deities approached Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu understood the reason of such unbearable heat asked Lord Shiva for the help. Lord shiva wanted to test the Devotion of Upamanyu, he disguised himself in the form of Indra and went to Upamanyu.He started abusing Shiva which made Upamanyu very angry, he tried to kill him and failed. Then he tried to himself. Which made Shiva pleased and then Reaveled his identity, he granted the designation of ganapatya and also a ocean of milk and curd. 

Shiva has five faces one of them is sathyoojaatham .   Vedas define lord Shiva as Sathyoojatham which means appearing immediately as soon as his devotees call him.

Initiation Into Divine Light Manipulation

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Awakened:This is another article from series Initiation Into Magick, first article was named Initiation Into Aura Magick.

What is Divine LightDivine Light, also called simply Light or Akasha is primal Element (prima materia) which all remaining Elements origin from. Divine Light is positive energy as opposed to negative dark energy called Death Essence by Necromancers.Light and Dark energy are mutually exclusive. To be more exact, Divine Light is where is no Dark energy and Dark energy is where Light is missing.Dark energy can be banished either by extraction or by manipulation with Divine Light, I will teach you both.

Basic rituals based on Divine LightMost well known ritual based on Divine Light is Qabbalistic Cross Of Light. It's very good ritual for Aura purification and also for building Spiritual Authority. Qabbalistic Cross of Light was used a lot in Golden Dawn together with Lesser Banishing Pentagram Ritual (LBPR), Greater Banishing Pentagram Ritual and Hexagram Rituals. I recommend learning both Qabbalistic Cross of Light and Lesser Banishing Pentagram Ritual.LBPR is based on banishing 4 Elements using pentagrams drawn into air. These pentagrams are then charged with Akasha while vibrating Divine names.Another great ritual is Middle Pillar Rite.

Divine Light BodyThis is the most basic technique used as beginning for Divine Light Manipulation1. Relax yourself and také three deep breaths to get ready.2. Imagine your body as empty shell ready to get filled with energy3. Imagine Divine Light as pure white energy being everywhere around you.4. With each breat in, draw a part of Divine Light into your body using either pores on your skin or just by imagination (Pore breathing technique is very useful for this). Before drawing the energy into yourself you can also cultivate it by imagining some quality of the Light you want to suck into yourself (clairvoyance, protection, banishing, etc)5. Repeat step 4 till your body is totally full of Divine Light

Clairvoyance Technique1. Use Divine Light Body technique while imagining Divine Light with quality of Clairvoyance2. When your body is full, start drawing all of the energy directly into your eyeballs lending them the power of Clairvoyance.3. You can also use a confirmation formula: „I eyes are filled with power to see unseen“ or something like that4. When you are finished with the exercise, let Divine Light out of your body either directly from eyes or draw it back to your body and then let it go out with pores or imagination

This technique is well described in Initiation Into Hermetics by Franz Bardon toghether with Fire Water used for enhancing your sight and this very technique (Step VII).

Divine Light BarrierThis barrier is good for protection against Dark negative energy.1. Use Divine Light Body with qualities of protection and banishing.2. Draw Light from your body to either Heart or Solar Plexus or Root chakra3. With each breath in focus more on the energy and intention to protect and banish. With each breath out let the Light grow into sphere.4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 till sphere is enough large to shield your whole body.Very good imagination technique also is to imagine Dark energy everywhere around you forcing it away with each grow of the barrier.

Difference between Divine Light Barrier and Aura BarrierI don't like to compare these as Divine Light itself is quite complex topic, but let's say that Aura Barrier uses only your own energy as Divine Light Barrier uses positive energy all around you  (and also within you)

Dark Energy ExtractionThis technique is especially good for healing purposes. Most of diseases are attached to some part of body which makes it easier to locate it.1. Imagine that body part as full of Dark energy (if you are not sure about the location, imagine whole body of patient full of this negative energy).2. Put your hands in front of your body, palms facing each other. Hands should be about

30 cm apart (about one feet).3. Imagine Dark energy flowing from body of patient directly between your palms forming a sphere there.4. When you are done with extraction, use Divine Light Body with quality of banishing.5. Channel Light from your body to your hands.6. Clap strongly imagining scattering Dark Energy (very good in this case is also to imagine sound of breaking glass)

Dark Energy Extraction, version 2I have recently had an accident with axe resulting with 4 stitches on my index finger and inability to clap for a week. That meant I had to developer another version of Dark Energy Extraction where you use just one hand.Method is about to same except you hold your hand like you were going to create a Psi ball and you draw Dark Energy there.Contraction of Dark Energy is limited so it can overgrow a bit, don't let it get under your Aura, always have some distance.When you are done, point your palm facing down and send Dark Energy to Earth (grounding of energy).

Personal experience with Dark Energy ExtractionI haven't chosen white and black intentionally or because some convention, it's how I see it. Divine Light as very bright glow and Dark Energy as a black or rather very very dark grey smoke.First time I had seen this was quite scary as I had seen Dark Energy getting through my hand!. It would be also good to say that Dark Energy is not forming perfect sphere in your hand(s), but rather a fluffy sphere-like shape (maybe similar to cloud).During sending negative energy to Earth the energy doesn't move as sphere (at least not in my case), but rather slowly expand moving downward in a shape of pillar. It really looks like a pillar of smoke.You can also use water for grounding negative energy (very similar Water Magick technique was described by Franz Bardon in Initiation Into Hermetics.Don't forget to perform Qabbalistic Cross of Light and LBPR after any work with Dark energy.

Divine Light HealingThis is different style of healing, you are not working with Dark Energy directly, but rather banishing it with Divine Light.I don't have good experience with this as Dark energy always seemed to simply avoid Divine Light by moving to different parts of body. It's funny feeling for patient when their pain moves.1. Divine Light Body with quality of healing and/or reducing pain, etc2. Put your hands on patient and channel energy to your palms3. Channel Divine Light out of your hands into affected area of patient forming it into big orb touching your palms and sending away Dark EnergyDon't forget for purification rituals after this kind of healing else you are asking for a great deal of side-effects.

Another way is to suck Dark energy into your hands while channeling it through your body to Earth, but I don't recommend this practice.

Awakened:I wonder why there is no discussion under this article...

Vilhjalmr:This is an interesting idea, and the clairvoyance technique seems quite nice. I haven't posted here before, though, because I've always been skeptical of magical systems that involve just imagination. Is there anything more to it than simply closing your eyes and picturing energy?

Awakened:Quote from: Vilhjalmr on July 22, 2011, 10:37:45 PM

This is an interesting idea, and the clairvoyance technique seems quite nice.

Yeah, it is actually technique from IIH

Quote

I haven't posted here before, though, because I've always been skeptical of magical systems that involve just imagination. Is there anything more to it than simply closing your eyes and picturing energy?

Actually closing your eyes would totally beat the idea. One of my teachers told me that I should never close my eyes during meditations or energy manipulations because that way I limit one of great energy sources and therefore even my own ability.You are also right that imagination itself cannot do much.What is needed for this technique is realistic plastic imagination. You must imagine the energy in space so much that you will actually see it.I guess it would be good to say that for such imagination a good deal of will-power is needed (to imagine it and to maintain such image in front of your eyes).Another hint would be that such imagination is not held in mind's eye somewhere in your head, but can be seen also by your physical eyes.

BubbaFett:This is a lot like many energy training techniques I've read before. However at least you made it make sense, most do not. It would be easy to switch the concept of light and dark energy with positive and negative emotional energy (that's the way I see it). When I fix and emotional problem with someone I counter than negative emotion with the opposite positive emotion. I do like how you put it together. All the imagination/visualization does is direct the energy, if there is no will (intent) behind it then it's just using your imagination.

Awakened, how does the energy feel between your hands and/or how to people perceive your energy. I find that my energy feels very magnetic between my hands as well as hot or cold depending on my emotions. However when I heal my hands feel ice cold but the person feels heat (they have complain of feeling to much heat). Also what are the side effects of this type of energy work? Have you been able to project any sensation into someone yet?

On a personnel note I find that Paul Dong's book Empty Force is right about how energy (chi) effects people depending on sensitivity.