Maria Duval - Psychic medium �" How to becoming a top psychic medium...

Psychic medium �" How to becoming a top psychic medium...
A psychic medium is not born a top psychic medium but like any skill they develop their psychic ability through time. Psychic mediums all start off like everyone else who also have these latent psychic abilities.

However certain environmental conditions can dramatically improve their psychic mediumship skills. Being born to a family of healers and psychics helps program your mind to that fact that it is perfectly normal to become a psychic medium. Other factors are being fascinated with other healers and psychics to the point you read everything you can lay your hands to further open your mind up to the possibility of becoming a psychic medium.

Interestingly many people think that reading about psychic mediums and using psychic tools such as tarot cards etc will transform them into a psychic medium. The reality is the more they trust their intuition and still their mind the more psychic they will become. However being psychic and becoming a psychic medium are worlds apart.

The secret is rather surprising; listing to the spirits from the other side is all about raising your vibration by constantly clearing yourself of negative energy. In other words to become a psychic medium you first have to become a healer. Only then can you clear your space and your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical body to the point you will have accurate communication with the spirit world.

Negative energy will come to you in many forms it may be the location you are at, it may be someone you spoke to over the phone or in person or it may be as simple as your own negative thoughts and fears.

Irrespective of the source of the negative energy you must clear your space, everything you consume and all of your four bodies.

There are a number of easy techniques that will all help clear you of negative energy. The more well know ones are bathing in water with a few drops of organic cold pressed essential oils that you have intuitively selected another is to add Epsom Salts to your bath water. More advanced techniques involve your breathing and brushing your body down with water whether in front of the wash hand basin or in the shower or clearing the room with sage and breathing out the negative energy.

If you are not familiar with Reiki or a similar healing modality you may well think that all these negative energy clearing techniques are nonsense. However irrespective whether these techniques alter matter or our perception of reality the fact is that your psychic mediumship abilities and new found health and well being will transform your life.

Although your true psychic potential will be influenced to some extent by your genetics and environment, ultimately becoming psychic medium will be very much determined by what your learn and more importantly adopt in your daily life.

If you wish to explore your psychic ability and dramatically improve the quality of your life and your health then you should make the decision to start today.

International psychic medium and founder of the American Association of psychics and healers. Teacher of psychic development classes, law of attraction spiritual retreat and hands on healing classes. Also availiable for psychic mediumship and healing in person and by telephone. Call 970 586 9231 for details.

Witchcraft Supplies You'll Need
Crystals/Stones

Each rock (whether it is a crystal or not) has a higher or lower density vibration. This makes certain rocks (crystals & stones) powerful collectors of Magick energy.

Whenever you are in a situation where you are about to buy stones or crystals, it is important to physically touch different ones before buying them. It helps to close your eyes and really “feel” the stone �" concentrate on how the stone resonates with you, and select the ones that are special.

Here I list the most commonly used stones that will help you with your Magick work (along with their Magick properties):

Amber �" changes negative energy into positive energy; protection
Amethyst �" courage, psychic energies, dreams, healing addictions (especially alcohol), peace, happiness, love; opens crown chakra
Apache’s Tear �" protection, luck
Aventurine �" money, luck, mental agility, visual acuity, peace, healing; opens heart chakra
Azurite �" psychic energy, dreams, divination (the art of looking into the future), healing, concentration, transformation
Bloodstone �" courage, strength, victory, wealth, self-confidence, success in business and legal affairs; stops bleeding; helps regulate the first four chakras
Carnelian �" courage, sexual energy, verbal skill, peace; alleviates jealousy, apathy, fear, and rage
Chrysocolla �" wisdom, peace, love, communication, vitality
Citrine �" psychic powers, protection, creativity, sexual energy; deflects nightmares
Clear quartz �" intensifies energy (both positive and negative)
Coral �" protection from evil; resolves conflicts
Diamond �" courage strength, healing, protection, spirituality, mental and sexual abilities
Dolomite �" relieves sorrow
Emerald �" prosperity, mental and psychic abilities, dreams, meditation, visual acuity, love, peace, balance; opens the heart chakra
Fluorite �" balances and stabilizes relationships
Garnet �" strength, physical energy, healing, protection, purification, compassion; opens the root and crown chakras
Geode �" fertility, childbirth, meditation, freedom of spirit, psychic abilities, dreams, astral travel
Hematite �" grounding, calming, healing, divination, intuition, physical strength; aids restful sleep
Herkimer Diamond �" enhances psychic abilities and clairvoyance
Jade- healing, protection, wisdom, prosperity, love, long life, fertility, courage, peace
Jasper- healing, protection, health, beauty, energy
Jet- protection, hex breaking; dispels fear
Lapis Lazuli �" courage, joy, love, fidelity, psychic abilities, protection, healing, beauty, prosperity
Lepidolite �" peace, spirituality, psychic, strength, luck, protection, psychic abilities, emotional balance; deflects nightmares
Lodestone �" cleanses crystals and aligns their energies, balances the chakras, removes obstacles
Malachite �" power, energy, protection, love, peace, success in business, vision quests, gardening
Marble �" protection, dream recall, meditation
Meteorite �" enhances work with spiritual and celestial beings
Moonstone �" grounding, love, divination, sleep, gardening, protection, youth, harmony, peace, magick, travel
Obsidian �" grounding, divination, protection; deflects negativity
Onyx �" emotional balance, self-control (especially in sexual matters), binding, protection (especially against someone else’s magick), strength
Opal �" beauty, prosperity, luck, power, psychic abilities, visual acuity, emotional balance
Pearl �" manifests truth, peace, and serenity
Peridot �" protection, prosperity, sleep, health, emotional balance, intuition
Rose Quartz �" love, peace, happiness, healing (especially of the emotions)
Ruby �" prosperity, power, courage, integrity, joy; deflects nightmares
Sapphire �" psychic abilities, inspiration, love, meditation, peace, healing, power, prosperity, protection
Smokey Quartz �" healing, directing and absorbing energy, altered states; dissolves negative energy
Sodalite �" healing, meditation, wisdom, calm, grounding, stress reducer
Sunstone �" protection, energy, health, passion, sexuality
Tiger’s Eye �" courage, prosperity, protection, energy, luck, judgment and common sense, honesty, divination; eases depression
Tourmaline �" love, friendship, prosperity, business, peace, sleep, energy, courage, protection, inspiration; opens the third eye center, or the sixth chakra
Turquoise �" courage, protection, prosperity, luck, friendship, healing, communication, happiness, emotional balance, astral travel; strengthens all the chakras
Zircon �" protection (especially from theft), beauty, love, peace, sexual energy, healing, mental alertness, emotional balance



Herbs

Herbs also bring unique Magick energies to the table when doing spell work. Not only do we Witches use them for spells, but herbs are also becoming more popular to treat health ailments throughout the world.

Before ever ingesting herbs (for any reason), it is important to consult with a doctor or herbologist who can make sure that nothing you drink or eat will be harmful.

In your Magick you will usually ground herbs into fine powders, or stuff poppets with herbs that will release the energies you are looking for to bring about the best spell results.

Here is a listing of the herbs with their Magick properties:

Acacia �" Protection, psychic powers
Allspice �" Money, luck, healing
Almond �" Money, prosperity, wisdom
Amber �" For stability, self-confidence, and peace
Ambergris �" To awaken love and emotion
Angelica Root �" Used for protection and exorcism and to cause visions
Anise �" Protection, purification, youth
Apple Blossom �" For love and friendship
Balm of Gilead �" Attract new love, mend broken heart, protection, healing
Bayberry �" Money, good luck, peace, harmony, well-being
Benzoin �" Purification, prosperity
Bergamot �" Money, hex-breaking
Blessed Thistle �" For purification and protection from evil, used in hex-breaking spells
Buckeye �" Carry to attract money and to ward off aches and pains
Camphor �" To awaken past life memories, stimulates psychic awareness
Carnation �" Protection, strength, healing, vitality
Catnip �" Creates a psychic bond with cats, attracts good spirits, love and luck
Cedar �" Healing, courage, purification, protection, money, hex-breaking
Chamomile �" For sleep and meditation, and to attract money
Cherry �" Divination, love
Cinnamon �" Lust, love, success, power, psychic awareness, healing, protection
Clove �" Money, love, lust, exorcism, protection
Clover �" Protection, money, love, fidelity, success, exorcism
Coltsfoot �" Draws peace and tranquility, promotes visions, also used in spells involving animals
Comfrey �" For safety during travel and to draw money
Cyclemen �" To draw love and truth
Cypress �" For comfort and solace, to ease feelings of loss
Damiana �" Used for lust and love
Dragon's Blood �" Power amplifier, protection, love, banishing, potency
Eucalyptus �" Healing, protection
Five Finger Grass (cinquefoil) �" Protection, prophetic dreams, wisdom, and success in court cases
Frankincense �" Spirituality, protection, exorcism, consecration
Galangal �" For courage, strength, and for avoiding legal problems
Gardenia �" Love, peace, healing, spirituality
Geranium �" For fertility, health and love
Ginger �" Success, power, money, love
Ginseng �" For attracting love, luck and health
Gota Kola �" Meditation
Heliotrope �" To attract money and gain power
Hemlock �" To induce astral projection, to purify magickal knives or swords
Hibiscus �" For love, lust, divination
Honeysuckle �" Money drawing, psychic awareness, memory, healing, power, honesty
Hops �" Healing, sleep
Hyacinth �" For love and protection
Hyssop �" Purification, protection
Jasmine �" Love, prophetic dreams, money, sleep, love, healing, health, meditation
John the Conqueror �" Money, love, happiness, hex breaking, protection
Juniper Berries �" Protection, health, increases psychic powers
Lavender �" Chastity, love, peace, happiness, clairvoyance, longevity, sleep, protection
Lemon �" Longevity, purification, love, friendship
Lemongrass �" For lust, psychic powers and to repel snakes
Lilac �" Protection, banishing
Lily of the Valley �" For peace, harmony and love
Lotus �" Spirituality, love, protection
Magnolia �" Peace, nature spells, hair growth
Mandrake �" For protection, fertility, money and love
Marigold �" Protection, prophetic dreams, legal matters, psychic powers
Mistletoe �" Protection, love, fertility, health, exorcism
Mugwort �" Strength, psychic powers, healing, astral projection
Musk �" Courage, fertility, lust
Myrrh �" Spirituality, healing, protection, exorcism, transformation, consecration
Narcissus �" For peace and harmony
Nutmeg �" Fidelity, luck, money, health
Orange �" Divination, love, luck, money
Orange Blossom �" For beauty, love
Orris �" For love
Passion Flower �" Peace, sleep, friendship
Patchouli �" Fertility, lust, money, protection, divination
Pennyroyal �" For strength, protection, peace
Peppermint �" Love, psychic awareness, lust, mental stimulant, energy
Pine �" Healing, protection, exorcism, fertility, money
Plumeria �" For love
Primrose �" For protection and love
Rose �" Love, beauty, psychic powers, divination, healing, luck, protection
Rose Geranium �" Protection, fertility, love, health
Rosemary �" Mental powers, youth, protection, love, lust, purification, sleep, exorcism
Rue �" Healing, mental powers, protection, love
Sage �" Wisdom, animal guides, wishes, immortality
Sandalwood �" Spirituality, protection, wishes, healing, exorcism
Sassafras �" Health and money
Spearmint �" Healing, love, mental powers
Spikenard �" For good luck, fidelity, and health
Strawberry �" Love, luck and beauty
Sweet Pea �" For friendship, courage and strength
Tangerine �" Psychic powers, mental powers
Tea Tree �" Healing, anti-fungal
Tonka Beans �" Love, money, courage, wishes
Vanilla �" Magickal powers, mental powers, love, lust, rejuvenation
Vervain �" Love, protection, purification, peace, money, youth, healing
Vetivert �" Hex breaking, peace, luck, love, protection, exorcism
Violet �" Animal guide work, wishes, peace, love, luck, lust, protection
Witches Grass �" Happiness, lust, love, exorcism
Wormwood �" Psychic powers, calling spirits, protection, love
Yarrow Flowers �" Courage, love, psychic powers, exorcism
Yerba Santa �" Beauty, healing, psychic powers, protection
Ylang Ylang �" Love, lust, peace

Rose has been practicing different forms of Witchcraft for over 27 years. For more information on witchcraft supply visit her site The Ask Rose Ariadne Witchcraft Site"

Dream Interpretation: Numbers in Dreams
The symbolism of numbers is, of course, very ancient and has been codified in many ages and cultures. In general, dream numbers convey ideas, sensations and lines of force in the personality. Here is a brief synthesis of the hidden meaning of numbers as they appear in our dreams. ZERO - Zero denotes timelessness, super-conscious, eternity, and absolute freedom. It also symbolizes God. ONE - One stands for individuality, individuality solitude, the ego, leadership, originality, beginnings, and a winner. It also stands for a higher spiritual force. TWO - Two stands for balance, diversity, partnership, soul, or receptivity. It can also symbolize double weakness or double strength. There is a duality as in male and female, mother and father, yin and yang, etc. THREE - Three signifies life, vitality, inner strength, completion, imagination, creativity, energy, and self-exploration. Three stands for trilogy as in the past, present, and future or father, mother, and child, etc. FOUR - Four denotes stability, physical limitations, hard labor and earthly things, as in the four corners of the earth. It also stands for materialistic matters. You get things done. FIVE - Five represents your persuasiveness, spontaneity, daring/bold nature, action or the five human senses. This number may reflect a change in course. It is also the link between heaven and earth. SIX - Six is indicative of cooperation, balance, tranquility, perfection, warmth, union, marriage, family, and love. Your mental, emotional, and spiritual states are in harmony. It is also indicative of domestic bliss. SEVEN - Seven signifies mental perfection, healing, completion, music and attainment of high spirituality. Additionally, you are unique and eccentric. EIGHT - Eight stands for power of authority, success, karma, material gains, regeneration, and wealth. When the number eight appears in your dream, trust your instincts and intuition. NINE - Nine denotes completion and that you are on a productive path. Rebirth, inspiration and reformation. You are seeking to improve the world. TEN - Ten corresponds to closure, great strength, and gains. ELEVEN - Eleven stands for intuition, mastery in a particular domain, spirituality, enlightenment, and capacity to achieve. It is symbolic of your creativity and visions. TWELVE - Twelve denotes spiritual strength and divine perfection. THIRTEEN - Thirteen is a paradoxical number which means death and birth, end and beginning, and change and transition. It is symbolic of obstacles that are standing on your way and must overcome. You must work hard and persevere in order to succeed and reach your goals.

The Author used to write for Universal Psychic Guild the online psychics and astrology sites which offer online psychics, tarot card reading, psychic and more.

How to Seduce the 12 Horoscope Signs
Follow the advices and attract the person you desire. The following advices are quite general. You can consult Tarot or psychic for personal questions. To Seduce an Aries Man The type of woman who can attract an Aries man is one that demonstrates a sense of independence and is bold, adventurous, or spontaneous. They'll respect the freedom of a woman like this. They admire strength and courage. Aries men enjoy a challenge, and may find it enjoyable to be seduced by an assertive woman, while offering sufficient resistance to make it interesting. To Seduce an Aries Woman The type of man who attracts an Aries woman is brash and bold, daring and direct, and has a sense of adventure. They are drawn to macho types or men in uniform. They seek competition and challenges, so they prefer authoritative men who are hard to get. Aries women are attracted to winners, in sports or business or any form of competition. Seduction of Taurus Taurus man prefers a woman who is cute, cuddly, calm and comfortable, and shows affection with caresses and kisses. They prefer women who are easy-going, earthy and sensuous, and not too independent or energetic. To Seduce a Taurus Woman The type of man who attracts a Taurus woman is the classic strong and silent type. Men who are down-to-earth appeal to her, and it may be important to her that he likes animals or nature in general. A man who can cook, cuddle, and care for her physical comforts is of great interest to her. To Seduce a Gemini men Gemini men are attracted to women who are clever and changeable and can keep them guessing. They can be drawn to average looking women who are witty and interesting, and certainly more than to the beautiful but dull sort. To Seduce Gemini Woman The right man for the Gemini woman is clever and changeable, and a great conversationalist. Communication is very important to her, so the man who can share information and ideas is sure to be well regarded. To Seduce a Cancer Man The type of woman who attracts a Cancer man is one who will comfort and care for them. A woman who feeds a Cancer man and makes him feel loved may soon see them sharing her home, since home is where they most want to feel wanted and cherished and comforted. To Seduce a Cancer Woman The right man for the Cancer woman is protective, security-conscious, sensitive, and understanding. If she finds that he makes her feel safe and secure, she’ll feel herself drawn to him. To Seduce a Leo Man The type of woman who attracts the Leo man is one that they can feel proud to be seen with -- one who makes them look good just by having her on his arm. A woman who is gorgeous or dramatic or regal or aloof turns them on. To Seduce a Leo Woman The right man for the job of taming the Leo lioness is one who radiates warmth and shows his affection in a physical way. They are even more interested if he happens to be rich or famous or powerful or gorgeous (or all of the above) so that she can share the spotlight with her new love. To Seduce a Virgo Man The type of woman who attracts the Virgo man in search of company always appears well groomed and conservatively dressed -- and, above all, has an air of propriety. They are very particular, and desire nothing short of perfection in their potential mates, which can leave them out in the cold more often than not. To Seduce a Virgo Woman The type of man who attracts the Virgo woman is intelligent, impeccably mannered and groomed, practical, and reliable. Neatness and cleanliness are the single most important factors here for the approval of a Virgo lady. To Seduce a Libra Man The type of woman who attracts the Libra man has lots of class but isn’t too formal at the wrong times. She can be sort of sophisticated but not terribly stuck-up, sort of picky but not too particular, or any one of a number of contradicting categories, as long as she is utterly sincere in her attentions and has no hidden agendas for the relationship. To Seduce a Libra Woman The type of man who attracts a Libra woman is charming, polite, and well dressed -- it also helps if he’s good looking, romantic, and a bit old-fashioned as well. They tend to respond to mental and verbal flirtations more so than the crude physical kinds. To Seduce a Scorpio Man The type of woman who attracts the emotionally volatile Scorpio man is very vital, passionate, and intense. They rend to go for dynamic and powerful types of women who aren’t indecisive, weak willed pushovers. To Seduce a Scorpio Woman Scorpio women prefer a man who appears intense or inscrutable, and has a kind of magnetic charisma about him that hints at smoldering sexuality and unexplored depths of unbridled passion. To Seduce a Sagittarius man Sagittarius men like the type of woman who is honest, direct, and reliable -- basically a lover who is also a friend. They like a woman who's playful one minute, and philosophical the next, but always happy. To Seduce a Sagittarius Woman The man who attracts a Sagittarius woman is one who displays high moral and ethical standards, and lives up to their ideals of honesty and integrity. They want honesty, friendship, and fun from a potential mate. To Seduce a Capricorn Man The type of woman who attracts a Capricorn man is socially acceptable and somewhat formal or aloof -- not to mention quite serious about success and status. To Seduce a Capricorn Woman Capricorn women are after a man who seems serious, aloof, and detached, and somehow projects an inscrutable personal aura. They want a man who's ambitious and socially acceptable, and they are drawn to money, status, and power. To Seduce an Aquarius Man The type of woman who attracts an Aquarius man is intelligent, independent, free spirited, and a good conversationalist. Should she keep him guessing, or be a bit unconventional, she'll fascinate him, but if she's too emotional, he'll pass. To Seduce a an Aquarius Woman The type of man who attracts the Aquarius woman is intellectually interesting, logical, open-minded, and willing to experiment. A man with ideas and insights fascinates them to no end. Aquarius women are even more attracted if he seems unconventional or unpredictable or just unusual in some way. To Seduce a Pisces Man The type of woman who attracts the withdrawn Pisces man is romantic and emotional, sensitive and passive. Should she be intriguing or mysterious or able to make him feel secure, she could be just the one for him. Pisces men are fond of secret love affairs, as well as people who need help or emotional support. To Seduce a Pisces Woman The Pisces woman is after a man who is romantic, sensitive and either an imaginative dreamer or just lost and confused. The idea of a secret love affair can excite and entice her, and mystery intrigues her. You can also develop your own Tarot and psychic reading ability to find the solution to your specific questions. The simplest way to develop your psychic ability is through listening to your intuitive voice. For example, you can do your own Tarot card reading, and then ask yourself what these cards really mean. Trust your own psychic ESP! After all, no one can be a better Tarot reader than yourself.

"How to Seduce the 12 Horoscope Signs" was written by Elaine Fung. Elaine Fung is an expert in horoscopes and psychic subjects. In this article she provides us with useful tips to seduce any person we like just by knowing his zodiac sign. This is a public article, so, please feel free to use our content and give credit by linking back to us.

Galactic Empire, a Space-age Third Reich
Born in May of 1944, in Modesto, California, George Lucas lived a world away from the horrors of Fascist Germany. Yet its imprint is more than evident in Lucas’ life’s work and creative brainchild, the Star Wars Saga. Admitting that the Galactic Empire was based on Germany’s Third Reich, Lucas drew from history the characters and imagery needed to paint his evil regime. While some parallels are obvious�"such as the robotic white soldiers Lucas named “storm troopers,” the same name Hitler gave his personal bodyguards during World War II, other comparisons require a little digging. These comparisons make for a fascinating study.

Senator Palpatine and Adolf Hitler:
The story of Senator Palpatine as fleshed out in Episodes I, II, and III bears remarkable resemblance to Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Both men rose from obscurity to power, outwardly embracing democracy and the republic, while behind the scenes they worked for its ruin. In Episode II Senator Palpatine faces the dissolution of the senate with, “I love democracy…I love the republic,” while reluctantly accepting supreme power. It is unknown that he is also the Sith Lord, orchestrating the downfall of democracy. This echoes the history of Hitler, who also outwardly supported democracy, promising to play by its rules, all along forming a shadow government and an army among the ranks of his Nazi party. The similarity is most striking in the burning of the Jedi temple and the 1933 burning of the Reichstag which effectively dissolved the German senate. These spectacles were both masterminded to bring Palpatine and Hitler into power. Afterwards, Palpatine installs himself as Emperor, while Hitler declared himself “Fuhrer,” or supreme leader.

The leadership style of Palpatine continues to be modeled after Hitler, who then withdrew from the public eye and surrounded himself with only those whom he knew to be his loyal followers. While Hitler formed the SS�"a black-coated protection squad which protected him day and night and publicly carried out his orders, Palpatine as emperor created Darth Vader�"his black robed crony whose obedience to the Emperor extended to destroying whole planets. Hitler is remembered as evil embodied, and as such, Lucas could not have chosen a better figure to model Palpatine after.

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker Parallels:
In German, vater means “father.” Thus, Vader is a most interesting and deliberate choice for a character who is the father of the spiritual Star Wars hero. This father-son relationship finds its parallel in the relationship between the German poet and political rebel Albrecht Haushofer and his father, Karl. Karl’s frequent travels to Japan greatly influenced his life and thinking. He was particularly entranced by the samurai--the Japanese military aristocracy which Lucas drew on heavily for inspiration for the Jedi. In the 1920s Karl became involved with Hitler through his close student, Rudolf Hess (who later was considered Hitler's #3 man after Goring). Karl became instrumental in forming the alliance between Germany and Japan. An additional interesting side note is that a geopolitical contemporary named Maull existed at this time. Maul was a contemporary sith of Anakin Skywalker.

Young Albrecht, in a poem entitled Der Vater, alludes to an evil that shows itself once every thousand years. When Star Wars begins the sith had not been seen for that long. The poem continues by saying that Albrecht's father had power to stop this evil but instead he unleashed it, a power and choice that Anakin Skywalker made before becoming Darth Vader. While Albrecht worked alongside his father at first, attempting to bring peace to Europe through a treaty with England and France, he later saw the futility of his actions and joined the Bomb plot to assassinate Hitler and restore balance and peace in Germany. Here George Lucas departs from history; for while Luke succeeds in overcoming the evil that his father embraced, Albrecht was not as fortunate. He was arrested for his treasonous involvement and shot by an SS commando as Russian troops entered Berlin. Karl was also imprisoned after the war. Perhaps the remembrance of his son prompted his death in 1946. Before his death, Darth Vader redeemed himself by throwing off the Emperor’s influence and restoring balance to the universe. He is last seen taking his place among Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, thus becoming the Jedi he once was. Karl’s last act in life also resembled the Jedi when he committed suicide by seppuku, the traditional Samurai method.

Nazi Echoes
The discerning eye recognizes the overt Nazi overtones apparent in the Galactic Empire. This is no accident. George Lucas reportedly told costume designer and military historian John Mollo that he wanted the “baddies” to look Fascist. The atmosphere of rigid control and dehumanization was the ideal of Hitler, whose armies marched in stiff procession, going beyond the description of disciplined to robotic. The uniforms and caps worn by imperial officers in Star Wars were modernized versions of 1915 Bavarian Chevaulgers. The throne room scene in Episode IV is reminiscent of a Nazi propaganda film, further painting the image that history repeats itself. In this way watchers of Star Wars gain a lesson in history.

About the Author Francesca Black has always enjoyed Science Fiction and she manages the content at: Science Fiction Corner http://www.science-fiction-corner.com

Galactic Mystery - Matter - On The Dark Side
Scientific inquiry can be described as a sequence of observations leading to a hypothesis which must be tested by experimentation. The results either validate or invalidate the hypothesis which was under test. Unfortunately, the interpretation of the data sometimes does not elucidate some new truth but rather eclipses our thoughts into a new era of ignorance.

Heralding a new age in the cosmos, Norwegian Kristian Birkeland predicted that the universe likely consisted of an exotic component that would later be called dark matter. His comments about this subject matter appeared in a description of the Norwegian Aurora Polaris Expedition (1902-1903). Birkeland's ideas about the Expedition were published in the fateful year of 1913 which would see the rise of the socialist Federal Reserve System and the Income Tax in the United States of America, two key components of the communist manifesto. Evolutionary processes were in motion throughout all fields of endeavor. Economics, politics, science and the hearts and minds of men and women were in the balance whilst relativism not truth held sway over the modern imagination. Cosmology would suffer from the same 'evolutionary' mindset and Birkeland wrote as much:

"We have assumed that each stellar system in evolutions throws off electric corpuscles into space. It does not seem unreasonable therefore to think that the greater part of the material masses in the universe is found, not in the solar systems or nebulae, but in "empty" space."

In this fashion, Birkeland predicted that because of the 'evolutions' present within the cosmos most of the matter in the universe must be found in 'empty' space rather than that which is observable in stellar objects. It is currently believed that only four percent of the universe is of this ordinary visible stellar type. Further, about a quarter of the universe is made up of the ubiquitous dark matter with the rest of the cosmos being filled with the even more bizarre dark energy. It was Fritz Zwicky, a swiss astrophysicist working for Caltech, who would further the concept of dark matter through the aegis of the Virial Theorem.

This mathematical relation is a formula which bounds the energy of a set of particles. In another dark year in the steady evolution to slavery since 1933 saw the removal of gold from the accounts of american citizenry, Zwicky used the Virial Theorem in an attempt to ascertain the validity of the dark matter hypothesis. He focussed his attention on the Coma galactic cluster and his analysis provided prima facie confirmation for the existence of dark matter. By evaluating the amount of movement of those galaxies at the periphery of the cluster he was able to approximately surmise the aggregate of all the matter therein.

He was astonished to learn that this sum total of mass is different from a separately computed estimate. This other value was obtained by analyzing the sum total of galaxies and the brightness of the Coma cluster. Juxtaposing this value with the periphery computation he observed that there was a discrepancy of at a minimum four hundredfold. Since the galaxies were insufficiently massive to cause the computed orbital velocities there must be some other mechanism to explain this phenomena. This conundrum became in the scientific lexicon the missing mass problem. Zwicky had established the need for the existence of an invisible source of mass hitherto unknown which must provide the necessary gravitational effect for the cluster.

Thus, it is a fact of the current state of cosmology that the greatest set of evidence for dark matter comes from this galactic gravitational data. Scientists have even made galactic curves describing the rotational properties of stars versus the distance from the galactic center. When the gravitational data is plotted it can be shown that only a small portion of the observed speeds are explicable by classical computations. In other words, there is a scarcity of visible mass in the observed galaxies to attribute the sum total of gravitational effects to visibly observable stars planets and galaxies. Thus, the simplest way to explain this galactic mystery of insufficient mass is to hypothesize a non-detectable type of mass known as dark matter which can be the cause for the gravitational effects.

As more and more data is collected on these and other aspects of the universe, formulae and cosmological postulates are generated describing the results so obtained. Fulfilling the requirements of the aforementioned aspects leads some scientists to propose several different types of dark matter. The four main types of dark matter are called 1- baryonic dark matter; 2- warm dark matter; 3- cold dark matter and 4- hot dark matter. Dark matter ranges from the known to the predicted, from black holes to brown dwarfs to the massive compact halo objects (MACHOs), the neutrino, axions, WIMPS or weakly interacting massive particles and the esoteric neutralino. However, there is an alternative explanation for the gravitational effects which originally created the dark matter concept.

If an incomplete understanding of gravitation is factored into the picture, then it can be asserted that the dark matter interpretation is incorrect because some other cause is generating these phenomena. Several different contending theories have been developed to describe the observed galactic data. In particular, one of the main competing explanations is given by scalar tensor theories which try to combine the teachings of quantum mechanics with gravity. Amplifying these ideas leads to a variety of exotic ideas which challenge our most fundamental notions of physics and astronomy. Other concepts go even further and have been the subject of interest for astronomers like Dr. Riccardo Scarpa since these allow for a cosmology without the inclusion of the enigmatic dark matter.

Dr. Scarpa works at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago Chile using the Very Large Telescope Array at Paranal. With all of his experience in this field, it is interesting to note some of his most recent comments on the superfluous dark matter:

"Dark matter is the craziest idea we've ever had in astronomy. It can appear when you need it, it can do what you like, be distributed in any way you like. It is the fairy tale of astronomy."

In view of these comments one should ask if another scientific idea might be on the verge of collapsing. Indeed, astronomers are routinely using these other theoretical principles on a daily basis in infrared observatories around the world. Thus, it is very likely that we are simply wrong about all of this dark matter. It is within all probability that the only dark matter that we will ever find is that ignorant dark matter between our ears.

Michael Strauss is an engineer and author of Requiem for Relativity the Collapse of Special Relativity. www.relativitycollapse.net or www.relativitycollapse.com
Spiritual Tourism is a Real Crowd-Puller to India
Spiritual Tourism is a real crowd-puller to India! India and other culturally rich countries are fast finding out the importance of their spiritual traditions and beliefs in context of tourism; though, India has always been looked upon as the universal truth-finder's path and a land of inherent spirituality. This view has been reinforced by the many overseas tourists to the country who return with memories of individual sanctification and weary souls rejuvenated after having stepped on the many legendary Indian worship sites and pilgrimage centers. How the Celeb-factor has turned around the fate of Spiritual tourism: word of mouth and great publicity! The global gypsy feet owner with a penchant for finding again the reassurance of religious feelings and those on spirituality scouting for inner peace find India the ideal Yog-bhoomi (land of yogic science). Many celebrities have found the ancient wisdom of Indian spirituality personally rejuvenating and have made it world-famous by giving it publicity and international exposure in action, dressing-style, using Indian meditation and other forms of spiritual peace that is predominantly Indian; some of these youth icons include Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Meg Ryan. Indian counterparts like Shiv Khera, Swami Ramdev, Deepak Chopra and other motivating speakers and preachers of spirituality helped in building a brand image of India as a delight for spiritual tourism seekers with their inspirational discourses, seminars, public appearances and other related promotional and educational efforts for reviving interest in Indian spiritual tourisms. A tryst with spiritual tourism in India proves to be a balm to the global traveler's soul. India's innumerable saints and seers, success at peaceful attainment at enlightenment and strong emphasis on cultural diversity in various religious monuments such as Temples, Mosques, Monasteries etc having all received benevolent patronage has resulted in many places of worship being present for curious visitors from the tourism sector. Now, thanks to proper management and eco-tourism factors, this sector of spiritual tourism has gained more recognition.

Manoj Gursahani is the Chairman of India's first ecommerce travel portal- TravelMartIndia. Visit the blog for more travel related issues, travel tips and destinations