Golden Girl Project - Diao Chan

Diao Chan is a famous woman from ancient China. Considered one of the most beautiful women in ancient Chinese history. She's one of the historical and legendary Four Beauties of China. The other Four Great Beauties of ancient China are:
Xishi
Yang Guifei
Wang Zhaojun.
(I shall mention these other three 4 beauties of China in my future "Golden Girl Project" posts.)

Her name was Diao Chan, or Diaochan. She was possibly born in the year 161 CE (or Third Century, Late Eastern Han Dynesty). She lived in the Muzhi Village of the Shaanxi Province. This village is 3 km south-east of Xinzhou City.

Now first of all, this village has peach trees and apricot trees that don't blossom very much. This problem has been occuring since the birth of Diaochan. Few flowers grow as much as they used to. Yet once upon a time this region was pretty much fertile with natural garlands and hanging flowers decourating walls, arches and pillars. The trees there always used to give forth tons of fruit in ancient times. There is said to have been a link to Diao Chan with the sterility of plants.

The beauty of Diaochan was so incredible that she "eclipsed the moon" and "shamed the flowers".  The moon and flowers seem to be overwhelmed by this woman's luminous beauty. Her presence seemed to have this impact on the earth even after her death. Her grave site (named Diao Chan Cemetery) was also of recent interest too:

"the burial mound of Diaochan has been razed in catastrophes. Some ancient bricks, stone structural components, copper coins are often excavated from the site. It is said that they have relations with Diaochan." source 


Taken from Cultural China - "Legend has it that when Diao Chan paid offerings to the moon at midnight, Chang'e (the Chinese Moon Goddess) hurried to hide in clouds, for this beautiful lady made her feel inferior. The phrase “outshines the moon“ in the beauty-describing idiom “Beauty which outshines the moon and shames the flowers“ has Diao Chan as the very subject. This legend embodies in an exaggerated way Diao Chan’s beautiful appearance in the eyes of the Chinese people."

Out of the Four Great Beauties of China, Diaochan has few records about her life. She's become an almost legendary goddesslike woman who featured in a lot of action dramas and epics about ancient China. It's as if this woman had such remarkable power. Everyone respects her and loves her even to this day as she played a major role in Chinese history as well as inspired many over the centuries. A woman who was like a goddess, who effects the Earth near her presence, and continues to show her love, strength and beauty to generations. The woman Diao Chan has reached the West, as she comes as a quartet of four other beautiful historical women.      

Links:

The Four Beauties of China
More on Diao Chan
Cultural China 

Books:
Meng Fan Ren -"Diaochan's Biography"
Luo Guanzhong - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"

The picture is of "Daio Chan" as she is portrayed in "Dynasty Warriors".

Tree of Thunder

This oak tree is found at my nearest park.

Not far from my house is a park with a big oak tree, with braches outstretched both left and right. In the centre is a diagonal streak caused by lightning. That event of being struck by a lightning bolt happened shortly after I moved into this part of England. Some of the tree collapsed and was taken away. It looks more slender than it was originally since getting thunder struck. The lightning made a deep incision and charred off the tree's bark layer. This happened several years ago and today the tree still wears that lighting scar. So because of this, I've named this very tree Thor's Oak.

Trees struck by lightning happen. The storms are full of electricity and the bolts are attracted to the highest object. Lighting aims for tall metal points but even organic objects standing out alone in a clear area. So please avoid standing under trees when a thunder storm occurs.

When you look up "lightning oak trees" you should get images of trees covered in scratched and burn stripes.

In Norse myth, the god of thunder is Thor. Oak trees are sacred to Him. That is why I called the local tree this because it was struck by a thunderbolt.

What happens when a tree is hit by lightning? Obviously trees catch fire when lightning hits them but some survive and remain standing for years, despite what happened. Oak trees holding lightning signatures are blessed with energy and retain enough moisture to prevent total combustion.

These stricken trees hold energy formula from the sky. The lightning passed down through them and sent electric particals downwards into the ground, through their roots and at the heart of them. They carry potent magic because of this. The lightning continues to do something to those trees for trees contain a "memory" and record within it's wood. Rings will tell the signs in the distant future about it being hit by lightning. Lighting bolts shake trees as well as set them on fire but also they change other trees, full of atmospheric quality.

Photo by me and find me @ she-wolf-night.blogspot.com

Whirlwinds and Life balance

Tornadoes have been hitting the headlines a lot this year, and last year. Their violence rages across landscapes. They uproot trees, blow off rooftops, destroy houses, and worse: they kill. These violent breed of winds are tightly condensed forces of nature that consist of different elements. In the northern hemisphere, tornadoes spin counterclockwise but they spin clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Apart from the severe storm it is also vital to the planet we breathe.


Tornadic spirits

The Navajo Indians traditionally believed that whirlwinds and tornadoes are angry ghosts called "Chindi". Australian Aborigines also believed that tornadoes are unpleasant spirits of the dead called "whirly whirly". In the Middle East, such whirlwinds, especially dust devils, are considered demonic entites and genies. In ancient Greek mythology, the god Aeolus was a guardian, or keeper, of winds. Aura, Goddess of the breeze, was a beautiful but furious Titaness that slayed men and swallowed one of her sons. In Roman mythology, Tempestas is the goddess of violent wind and bad weather.  

Wind Turbines 

There are so many important advantages for having wind turbines. They're effective, clean, natural and provide lots of free energy. These are good for developing countries and they don't use recourses. There are no reasons against using wind turbines. The only problem with them is that people complain too much about them because of their appearance and noise. The turbines look like windmills and people have coexisted with mills for centuries. (Imho they look better than factories!). These windmills (turbines is what they all basically are) resemble the little plastic toy windmills that people have in their gardens or buy for their kids on the beach. I love the idea of wind power using wind turbines. I don't care if there's a few of them on my field. They look better than electric pylons, chimneys and phone masts out there now!


Spinning wheel vortex

The system of the vortex occurs in nature, when something is going underway. A vortex is like the channelling of air through an opened door or a window. A vortex is like a rotation of life passing across and moving elsewhere. The vast Milky Way is a vortext. The solar system moves on a wheel vortex. The universe spins. The sun always spins. Debris spins. Only gravity holds things down like glue. The vortex isn't bound by rules of gravity. Vortex is part of the supernatural, life, things that flow like air, water, light and sound. The symbol of the sun wheel turns clockwise. Wheels on cars and bikes turn counterclockwise as the motion is going forward and opposite.   


The Air Temple

Music and dance uses a controlled method of air. It's the same method for the development of whirlwinds except there aren't any clouds to stir up. It's from within. Creating a song and dance is the brewing excitement of energy. Then the release of burst energy through songs, music and performance comes. That is also an expression of the inner magic when you become part of the elements. The dancers play in unison while singers wail and call along a string of notes. This is a harmonious organic chime of spiritual winds that are made by people who put order from chas. Tornadoes are chaotic and violent. Singers and dancers are organised as well as gentle. The hardest and grubbiest genres of music is always part of the gentle whirlwind magic. However, some intoxicated rock star may clash in violence during a set!

Tapestries, like music and play, is a visual use of the same energy. Creativity made on a surface is the result of a whirlwind idea. Windchimes are a symbol of air made with Earth. Such light weight objects hang suspended and pick up a breeze, that plays them together and creates a music. Some can be made of wood, bamboo or metal. Musical instruments combine wind and air with mathematics. Tornadoes, hurricanes, sound, and even the arts all belong to the Air Temple.  

White Witchcraft

For those who work with white witchcraft, the power is a clockwise and harmonious show of affection and love is part of the glowing wind/air. They consist of spells for enchantments, health, medicine, healing, friendship, personal development and peaceful dreaming too. The understanding of magic is to view it as a small vortex. If you picture it as riding a bike, it will slow and stop of you give up peddling.

Everyone has a physical vortex, called Chakra, or "wheel", found on many parts of our bodies. The "wind wheel" Chakra is situated on the forehead. Fairies, angels, light eleves, goblins and other creatures of the air (including UFO's) are often spinning and dancing in their own play. Rules of their own to defy nature's law. Law is governed by gravity and this includes balance of nature in the cosmos. Too much wind is dense and forms a path channel. Chaos is ruled by non-gravity and a disperse of release. It's where new life is born and connects again with order and balance.

Where tornadoes are concerned, these destructive weather storms, a result of an imblanace and chaos in the air. The tornado is like a release of tension and anger. The tornado could be Mother Nature's fury at us for damaging the Earth. It may also be angry spirits and demons. The tornado also has a strange, uncanny positive side that certain Native American tribes believe in. They consider a tornadic force as a vacuum "cleanser" of the land. 

Links:
Tornadoes of 2012
European Severe Weather Database
TORRO
Storm chasing
Element of wind/air
Wind Gods
White Magic Way
Chakras