Two of my favorite authors, and favorite Philips, have new articles out.

Philip Gardiner has a new article out at Book of THoTH which traces the evolution of societies and marketplaces from the time of nomads until we reached the, unhealthy, stage of economic based society. In it he makes some interesting connections between our pre-societal roots to our current situation, and explains step-by-step how we got here.

Philip Coppens has a great article, with tremendous pictures, on a subject that I was almost totally unaware of. His article on Tassili n'Ajjer, the "largest storehouse of rock paintings in the world”, takes a close look at the area and attempts to connect it to Egypt as the birthplace of ancient Egypt. Having been lucky enough to travel to the area himself, Philip has some really great pictures of some amazing rock art, and weaves an interesting tale that seems to possibly tie the pre-Pharaonic Egyptians to the area. He also denounces Erich Von Däniken's idea that many of the figures shown are evidence of ancient astronauts, and makes a convincing case for the use of hallucinogens in the art work.

This is a subject that I'll probably give more time to here in the future. Much like many of the people who think about such topics, I believe that neither the ancient astronaut theory nor the hallucinogenic vision theory explains the entire phenomenon, although I believe that each of them have their place in the discussion. I do believe that there are some instances where both seem to very adequately explain a local phenomenon, and I also believe that there are cases where each fail miserably. Much like what Mac Tonnies said in a recent post, reconciling the visionary and the physical has gnawed at me for a long time. Is it two, distinct, phenomena? Or two sides of the same coin?

Philip Gardiner's got another book coming out in March of 2007. This one's titled, "The Ark, The Shroud, and Mary: The Untold Truths About the Relics of the Bible" and looks like a fascinating read.

Why do the Ark of the Covenant, Mary's reliquary box, and Jesus' Coffer all have the same imagery?

Was the Ark the container of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments, or the Chalice? Does the image of the Shroud of Turin contain a bioelectric field?

These questions and others will be explored in The Ark, The Shroud, and Mary. In this unique and thought-provoking work Gardiner proves that the Ark of the Covenant, the Shroud of Turin, and Mary are united in ways never before imagined.

Traveling across the world, from Rome to India, Portugal to Egypt, Gardiner uncovers the trail of the Ark and finds that it does not lead to Ethiopia, as many believe, but instead in a direction that nobody could have imagined. The trail of the Ark takes Gardiner on a hunt into the very heart of an ancient secret society with clandestine meetings in far off lands.

Uniting the myth, tradition, and language of the Ark with the Shroud of Turin, Gardiner then goes on to re-date it, reveal how it was made, and identify whose image it actually recreates. Through his new-found contacts in the world of secret societies, Gardiner then shows how this incredible secret was protected by a dual brotherhood throughout time and was the secret source of the enlightenment spoken of by numerous orders from the Sufis to the Knights Templar.

Get all the info on this upcoming book at his blog.

Philip Gardiner has tentatively booked the latest speaker for the upcoming Forbidden Knowledge Conference 2007 in California.

I'm proud to announce he's someone that most readers of this blog should be quite familiar with...Mac Tonnies! Tentatively scheduled for December 13th of 2007, Mac will speak on the topic of his choice, yet to be decided I'm assuming. Congratulations Mac! A great choice by Phil on this one.

Of course, there will be plenty more speakers and announcements over the next few months as the schedule for the conference is finalized, so keep an eye out here for all the news.

Two big announcements today!

The cover for the upcoming book The Book of THoTH: Wisdom of the Ages has been chosen in the cover competition hosted by Renderosity. The first place winner, and the featured cover is right here:


(Image copyright BoT 2006)

I know Philip Gardiner and Michael Bourne had a hard time deciding on a winner, and six other entries each received prizes as well.

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the competition, the entries were amazing, and we ended up with over 200 of them!

Don't forget, there's still time to get your article entered into the competition to get it published in the book. That competition ends December 31st, and we've had some wonderful articles submitted so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes in over the last five weeks. With any luck I'll even get an article or two of my own entered this week.

Some big news from author Philip Gardiner was released at Book of THoTH on Wednesday. It seems that the Forbidden Knowledge Conference UK(FKCUK) will be expanding beyond the UK this year. On December 12th to the 15th, 2007, there will be a Forbidden Knowledge Conference in the US, specifically in California. So far the only names which he's released as confirmed speakers are Ellis Taylor, Clinton Deyer and Nick Pope, but he promises there are many big stars yet to be named on board. I'll be sure to post more info on this as I get it. I'm sure this is going to be a big event, and one to look forward to! I know I'm going to do my best to be out in California in mid-December next year.

I've basically got a bunch of interesting articles, and news, from Book of THoTH today, so I thought I'd wrap it all into my 200th post.

Have I really babbled that much in such a short time? Apparently I have...I hope everyone's enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it so far.

First up, IlluminatusRex, a BoT member, has written a new article titled "Why Are Aliens So Shy?" This articles takes a look at the extraterrestrial hypothesis from the stand point of them visiting, but not revealing themselves to people as a whole, and then explores the implications. IR did a nice job on this one and whether you agree with him or not, give his article a read and see what you think.

In the realm of extraterrestrial study there are few questions asked as often as the most natural one: "Why don't they reveal themselves?". Many theories have been created as an explanation for why this hasn't happened.

These 3 are probably the most prevalent ......

1. Revealing themselves would cause mass hysteria amongst us and/or we'd attack them.
2. Mankind is too unevolved and disappointing for them to associate with us.
3. They don't want to interfere with our natural course of development as a species.

Next up is Sol's new article "The Players of Null-A" which takes a look at philosophy, thought patterns, utopian society and auto-suggestion. This is a thoroughly researched article which is really quite enlightening. A must read.

Towards the middle of the 20th Century a novel and original system of thought arose, which was to have far-reaching implications on today's thinking patterns. It was a philosophical theory whose precise didactic argumentation was not readily accessible to laymen, which caused it to remain in the musky realm of scholars and tenured Humanities professors. It had furthermore been criticized as being an incomplete and distorted picture of our reality, and has been largely discounted in its original form by the philosophy establishment, except as a curious historical trend.

Thus the influence of this theory has largely escaped public notice. And yet from its inception, it had been used by its proponents for such a wide range of pursuits as treating shell-shocked soldiers or stopping college riots. It has also spawned several very interesting "cult-like" doctrines, such as Dianetics. Most curiously, many of this theory's tenets have been accepted for granted in the New Age era, though in an entirely different way than what its creator envisioned.

Such was the theory of General Semantics, as outlined by Count Alfred Korzybski in his 1933 book, "Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics."

There's also some new news on Philip Gardiner and Michael Bourne's upcoming documentary which I wrote about before. The new article includes quotes from Phil and Michael, along with the official announcement of Nick Pope's involvement.

Last up, but certainly not least, is the official launching of Beyond the Cosmos, which Philip Gardiner and I accidentally broke the news of a little early a couple of weeks ago.

Beyond The Cosmos is the brainchild of Philip Gardiner and THoTH from the Book Of THoTH. The site itself belongs to Angela Davies (Angel) and Philip Gardiner. In here you will find plenty of things to keep you informed and entertained, whilst being able to directly purchase items specifically geared to your interests.

The new site will focus on articles ranging from the paranormal to Ufology, from the esoteric to ancient mysteries. The internet is today's voice of the people. No longer do we need to impress the publishers or agents, now we can share our knowledge with the world. The team behind Beyond The Cosmos want this to be a portal for everybody so come along and join in. Bring your thoughts, your ideas, your knowledge and share with the rest of the world.