Apr 13 2023 - There's a sacred part in the Coronation

 

Something that I hadn't thought about - that King Charles will be "anointed" with sacred oil during his Coronation ceremony. The headline is that he has chosen to maintain the privacy of the ancient ceremony "during the most solemn part of the Coronation on May 6".  The press report says that he made the decision to honour his relationship with God. Rituals from ancient times are curious today.  For example, Queen Elizabeth II had a cloth-of-gold that was held over her head for the anointing. No report so far on what the cloth will be for Charles. And when did the anointing tradition begin?  It is The Old Testament's anointing of Solomon.  He was chosen directly by God. So the British monarch was at one time considered divine and appointed directly by God.   The ritual involved seems so out of alignment with our current social traditions.  And perhaps because there are so few kings and queens being anointed we experience the great gap of traditions and activities.  Here's what the National Post writes: "When Charles is crowned by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, he will experience what is believed to be a sacramental encounter with God. It is one of the rarest Anglican rituals, and the only European monarchical coronation that retains the practice of “unction,” the anointing of a new monarch with holy oil to signify God’s grace." The oil - the Chrism oil has been consecrated by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in March. The oil will be held in the Ampulla, the silver-gilt Coronation Spoon was first used in 1349, and has anointed every Monarch since King James I in 1603.  And what about the Crown?  With its controversial jewels being claimed by various countries.  And it has been estimated by financial analysts to be worth more than 5 billion pounds. How quaint: It has its own emoji!

Fruit trees were in full bloom in 2021 at this time.  And things were a week later last year, shown in the second picture.

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Jan 11 2023 - Hawaiian Telescopes

 

Mauna Kea is the site of many major telescopes. Its viewing conditions are the finest of any Earth-based observatory. The site lies at an elevation almost twice that of any other major observatory and above 40 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere; there is thus less intervening atmosphere to obscure the light from distant stellar objects. In total there are twelve facilities housing thirteen telescopes at or around the summit.  How tall are the buildings?  That was a shock to find out.  The proposed height of the Thirty Meter Telescope is eighteen stories.  This has attracted controversy due to the potential cultural and ecological impact. The multi-telescope "outrigger" extension to the Keck telescopes, which required new sites, was eventually canceled. Three or four of the mountain's 13 existing telescopes must be dismantled over the next decade with the TMT proposal to be the last area on Mauna Kea on which any telescope would ever be built. In Hawaiian religion, the peaks of the island of Hawaii are sacred.  An ancient law allowed only high-ranking aliʻi to visit its peak. You can imagine all kinds of people trekking up to the peaks for their scientific endeavours.   I thought the same would be true of Niagara Falls.  It was a sacred site to the many  tribes in the area. I am in awe of the geology - 13,000 years ago, when the first Indigenous peoples viewed the falls, it was located near where the present-day Lewiston-Queenston bridge is located.  That is a distance of approximately 9 kilometres from its current location.  We know Niagara today as a tourist place. Niagara is so "touristed" that Atlas Obscura names one of the sacred spaces as the Living Water Wayside Chapel on the River Road where only six people can sit inside "this delightfully quaint sanctuary."   Our picture today is my version of Under the Volcano. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

The Lotus - Deep Inside

The Lotus

The Lotus Today's images are close-ups of the inside of lotus flowers. "The Pink lotus is considered the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity, sometimes confused with the white lotus it is the lotus of the historical Buddha."  The colours that are distinguished in symbolism are the white, red, blue, pink and purple.  I would like to photography the blue lotus this coming summer.  What would be interesting is the contrast of the yellow interior with the blue petals.