Owl of Bohemia hiding on the front of the One Dollar Bill

The Christian Bible makes reference to the figure of Molech numerous times:

�You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord!�
-Leviticus 18:21-30

�The king ruined Topheth in the Valley of ben Hinnom so that no one could pass his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech.�
-Kings 23:10

�And they build the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fires unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it unto my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.�
-Jeremiah 32:35

Molech is often found in relation with �demonic� entities such Lilith and Astoreth, Baal, Bel, Saturn as well as the Hebrew Yahweh. Similar sacrifices were held in honor of Yahweh as divine king and counselor, but the Bible went on to officially condemn this practice as being due to the outside influence of a heathen cult who took part in unholy customs. While the name of the sacrificial god Molek was later changed to Molech in order to stigmatize the practice of human sacrifice, it should be noted that the wise mythical character of King Solomon himself had temples of worship set up in honor of Molech/Baal. He also commanded hordes of demons to do his bidding and build his temples with a magical ring given to him by the archangel Michael, the name Solomon itself equating to the root of Sol, or �Sun�.

�When Solomon managed to return, he decided to surround himself by other demons, but fell prey to their evil influence. He fell in love with a woman from the Shumannite tribe. Although there is very little information concerning this, it seems most likely that this woman was goaded in her seduction by Lilith, the queen of demons and equal in power to the male Asmodeus. For her sake, Solomon built a temple to Baal, sacrificed to Moloch, and thus fell one of the great wise men, perhaps the greatest of all magi.�
http://www.perillos.com/asmodeus_7.html

Molech represents the title of �King�, and is the sun god of the Canaanites in old Palestine, as well as the Phoenicians and other people of Carthage. In the 8th-6th century BC, many of the firstborn children of Israel were sacrificed to him in the valley of Hinnom, south-east of Jerusalem. These sacrfices were enacted in order to renew the power of the sun, as well as to insure the prosperity of agriculture and fertility rites which transcend to the dawn of human history. These rituals themselves were already ancient in the time of Baal and Bel, dating back to Sumerian and Egyptian practices which honored the gods Ptah, Apis, Hathor and Marduk as far back as 3,500BC. In many regards, the worship of Molech is not unlike the ceremonies held for the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus, both of which were also sun gods or �shining ones�.

There are many tales where the Greek hero Hercules, another sun god, is acknowledged as an adversary of Molech, with related mythology stating that Hercules himself was assimilated into a Canaanite hodgepodge in which the son of Zeus took on the sacrificial role of Molech, accepting blood into the fires of his altar. On many occasions we find reference to �Molech-Hercules�, or �Bel-Marduk�integrated into a amalgamation of two distinct local gods who ruled the people. This might not seem so strange when we consider the fact that it was through the Israelites and Phoenicians that our system of written language was adapted through the Greeks, and transformed into our modern day phonetic system. Sharing and assimilation throughout ancient cultures, in their language, art, and even their gods, was not uncommon. Oftentimes this mergence would come in the process of warfare and the assimilation brought forth by conquering armies, other times it was more of mutual recognition of common religious and political attributes stemming from the Mesopotamian and Egyptian source cultures.

�From the time of Moses till the time of the prophet Hezekiah, a period of seven hundred years or more, the Hebrews were idolaters, as their records show. The serpent was reverenced as the Healer of the Nation; they worshiped the bull called Apis, as did the Egyptians; they worshiped the sun , moon, stars , and all the hosts of heaven; they worshiped fire, and kept it burning on an altar, as did the Persians and other nations; they worshiped stones, revered an oak-tree, and bowed down to images� they worshiped a virgin mother and child, they worshiped Baal, Moloch, and Chemosh (titles given to the sun), and offered up human sacrifices to them, after which, in some instances, they ate the victims.�
-Sarah Titcomb, Aryan Sun Myths (1889)
www.truthbeknown.com/cannibal.htm

From the Canaanite�s chief god of Baal/Molech and their sacrificial practices, we get the origins for the word �cannibal�. Huge wooden and bronze statues were erected to this god, hollow on the inside so that a fire could burn deep within. First born children were placed in the hands of this idol, and through an elaborate system of gears and mechanics, the hands of the statue would rise up to a large animated mouth so that �Molech� could �devour� the youths. Those attending the ceremony would gather before the giant statue playing their funeral drums, flutes and tambourines while screaming infants were fed to the fires of this god.

In Egypt the figure of Apis, the Bull god, was worshiped as the living personification of the creator god Ptah in Memphis. This deity was the son of Hathor/Isis, whom had created him with a divine flash of lightning. He was depicted with a sun disk surmounted between his horns, and alternately, the moon disk or symbol of the Uraeus. The ceremonial sacrifice of the Apis bull was heavily practiced in early Egyptian culture, after which the bulls would be mummified and interred in a huge sarcophagi, placed in the royal catacombs of the Necropolis. The Apis bull was meant to represent the spiritual relationship to human elements, and served as an intermediary between the world of the living and the dead. He was believed to speak directly to the elite members of the priesthood, who would in turn inform the populace about what �divine� information Apis/Ptah had bestwoed to the city. In the Old Testement it is the Apis bull which is honored by the Israelites by a golden idol at Mt. Sinai. Apis and Hathor were the prototype versions of what would eventually develop into the supreme rulers of Horus and Isis, as Ptah would later be replaced by Ra and other powerful solar deities representing the sun disk. To the Hindus, this divine creator would become Dyaus Pitar (Ptah), Pitar meaning �father�.

Eventually this transformed into the master Brahma, while to the Greeks it would become Zeus (Dyaus) and Dionysus. To the Romans, Pitar was a funerary god who ruled the underworld, though we could concievably see that Pitar would become Peter, as in St. Peter, the rock upon which the Catholic Church is built. There is a phallic connotation to Peter as well, in its recognition as the rock of the obelisk or sky scraper, erect in powerful attention, awaiting the goddess of the fertile sky and heavens.

As stated, Molech is also of direct mythical relation to the gods El, Kronos and Saturn. All of which are well known for devouring their own children. The Greek name Kronos, and the Roman name Saturn both equate to �time�, such as with a chronology which is named after Kronos. The day of the week named after Saturn is Saturday, which according to many devout Christians is the day which should be recognized as the true Sabbath; not Sunday. Alexander Hislop, author of The Two Babylons, states that the Chaldee pronounced the name as �Satur�, but in Amamaic it was spelled as �Stur�. This word �Stur�, is stated as having the numerical value of 666 and equating to the title of �The Hidden One�, or the covered and occulted secret. Saturn is often times associated with the figures of Lucifer- the Light Bringer, or Satan (Saturn or Sun worship).























Cremation of Care at the Bohemian Club

BELTANE IS BURNING
Beltane literally translates as �fire of Bel� or �bright fire�. Bel (Bile, Beli, Baal, Belinus) was known as the bright and shining one, such as the Persian/Roman accounts of Mithra and most other son gods. Bel son of EL, or Beli, is seen as the all father protector who is both the husband and son of the mother goddess. On Beltane Eve, which traditionally takes place between May 1st and 5th every year, heralding the return of spring and dating to times of antiquity, the ancient Druid priests would light two large �Bel Fires� fueled from the nine sacred woods; Birch, Rowan, Willow, Hazel, Elder Alder, Fir, Poplar and Oak. The Bel Fire is an invocation to Bel (the Sun God EL), so that he might bestow blessings and good fortune upon the people and crops at harvest time. Herds of animals were ritually driven between two fires as a symbolic act of purification, luck and fertility. An old Gaelic adage of � Eadar da theine Bhealltuinn� or �Between the two Beltane fires�, was a popular adage in the time of the Druids. The Bel Fire was seen as a sacred ritual of purification and cleansing, indicating the fruitfulness of the earth and the temporary conquering of the winter months. The home fires of the hearth would be extinguished before the event and rekindled with the rightous fire of Beltane, many of which were lit with human and animal sacrifice.

The �Maypole� was erected in honor of the occasion, and celebrations included frolicking along the country side in a very PAN like fashion, dancing around the Maypole, jumping over and running through fires, athletic competitions, feasting and wine, music, horse riding, flower collecting, ceremonial chants, human and animal sacrifices, sexual reenactments, orgies and finally more drinking. The symbol of flowers, mistletoe, birch and oak trees, running water, and the totem of the Maypole were customary in all Celtic Beltane ceremonies. The Maypole was generally around twelve-foot tall and was meant as an expression of sexual vitality, regeneration and fertility. This Druidic practice of worship was dedicated to the cycles of the natural world, and is most frequently recognized by the regenerative nature of �Jack of the Green�, or �The Green Man�.

Green Man Archive:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=4506.0

All Around the Maypole we go:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=5340.0

Participants danced around the Maypole and surrounding fires in an ecstatic manner which could easily be compared to drug induced Shamanic states. There are many signs that the Celts, especially the Druid priests who oversaw the ceremonies 2500 years ago, did engage in the ingestion of psychoactive drugs and plants during the festivities, as well as a good deal of alcoholic libations which fueled the fires of Beltane.

May is the month of sensuality and sexual revitalization, the blossoming of new flowers, the pollinization of the birds and the bees, the reawakening of the earth and her children. It is the time when man was believed to have first been reacquainted with the vivid colors and vibrant scents of the world. The tingling summer breezes and the sweet melodies of the birds as the rapture of summer returned after the long and tedious winter. It is a time of extraordinary expression of the elemental forces, animals and the cosmic cycles, and to the Celts it was a time of great enchantment and celebration, as well as sexuality and blood sacrifice.

Beltane marks the royal wedding of the �Goddess and God�, in a precisely similar manner to the ancient festivities held to the Mesopotamian Inana and Dumuzi, or the Egyptian Isis and Horus, the Babylonian Ishtar and Tammuz. Beltane marks the reawakening in the fertility cycles of earth represented by the symbolic sexual union between the divine masculine and feminine entities. This period has always been considered as signifying a sacred union between the Great Mother and her Young Consort, the coupling bringing forth new life on earth. It is the age old tale of the goddess, who must annually travel to the underworld (Hades) to confront the great dragon, and release her lover from the imprisonment of death (the winter months). Through her heroic actions the realms of the natural world, or agricultural fertility, depends upon the outcome and confrontation of divine and subterranean forces. It is on the spiritual level sprouting forth from the divine masculine and feminine that first brought about a heightened level of understanding in our ancient religions, as well as the perceived prosperity of the crops and fertility of the villages. In other regards it is all about the relationship between the earth and the sun and moon as we travel our course through the cosmic cycles.

Beltane is the last among the three fertility festivals held in the spring time, the others are Imbolc and Ostara. This annual ceremony of nature is celebrated halfway between the Vernal (spring) equinox and the summer solstice. In ancient times this period marked the arrival of summer as we arrived at our closest point to the sun. During Beltane the Pleiades star cluster comes to view right before sunrise on the morning horizon, while winter (Samhain) begins as the Pleiades becomes visible at sunset. The Pleiades cluster is made up of seven stars, called the seven sisters, in the constellation of Taurus (the bull/Apis). Like its winter counterpart of Samhain (Halloween), Beltane is believed to be a mystical period which time ceases to exist and the veils between dimensions are at their thinnist blanket of concealment. This is the time when the worlds of the living and the dead were believed to merge and become one magical union of both.

Through the associations with such malignant and sacrificial gods as Bel, Baal and Dagon, as well as the Egyptian Osiris, Greek Kronos and Roman Saturn, the figure of Molech retains an incestuous relationship with the deities of Astoreth (Astarte/Aserah), Athena and Lilith. These can all be attributed to the ancient goddess of Venus, which we will cover in future articles.

Part II: The Queen of May, Druid Initiation Ceremonies, Serpent Priests & the Cosmic Egg.

Part III: Arthurian Legend, the sacred cauldron, historical accounts and mythology from Ireland.

--Further Research--

Bohemian Grove Archive:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=152.0

The Franklin Coverup:
http://www.thelawparty.org/FranklinCoverup/franklin.htm

Teddy Bear�s Picnic:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/07.12.01/grove2-0128.html

Clan of the Canaanites/Cult of the Celts:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=2800.0

Rise of the Phoenicians:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=4507.0

Lilith- In a Season of Creatures:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=5671.0

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MAD is an Administrator at www.nwowatcher.com and co-host of the weekly Revolution Radio program. The archives can be found at www.revradio.org . Recent articles are available HERE