To Main Page 2600 "Bring to me what I see By thy power Hecate. Altar power Must it be Earth and Air Fire and Sea Bring to me What I see By thy power Hecate." Place the bag inside your cloting and wear it every day for 7 days. Leave it on your altar every night visualizing prosperity. On the 7th day, hide it in the eastern portion of your house. There it is. It's a complicated spell, but it does work. BB Rowan Spell for contacting a friend Rowan Moonstone This spell should be used to cause someone with whom you have lost contact to contact you. It is not manipulation so much as an astral call for contact when you have no other way to reach them that you know of. You will need: White candle annointed w/ sandalwood oil Sandalwood incense photo of the person small glass of water. salt Light the white candle and the incense. Place the picture of the person on your altar. Put 2 heaping tablespoons of salt in the palm of your right hand. Let a small amount of salt trickle into the glass while making the sign of the equal armed cross of the elements. Make this cross 3 times. Say " Call me" three times as yo do this. Then set the glass on the altar and say "Get in touch with me, please." They should contact you by the time the water has evaporated from the glass. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2601 Coming of Age Ritual Notes Malakus Over the past weekend during an emotional upheaval I "Birthed" the concept for the ritual. I thought I would pass the concept on to you and see what you think. I have the ability to visualize a ritual from beginning to end, sometime with brief snatches of dialogue. It's like watching a play from the catwalks. This is how I see this ritual unfolding. The boy who is entering into Manhood will be abducted from the encampment where he is staying. The women of his Mother Grove will try to fight the men off from abducting the boy. When this skirmish is over and the boy is being taken off by the men the women will mourn the loss of the child. The boy will be stripped of his clothing and dressed in a deerhide loin cloth. He will then be blindfolded and his journey will begin. Where this ritual is being held there is approximately 5 miles of paths which the boy will journey over. He will be led by his Father who will carry a lamp to light his and his son's way. At the first prescribed stop the boy will be addressed by Herne. Herne, will speak to the boy of his wild nature, what it is like to be the hunter and the hunted. He will charge the boy with the responsibilities of becoming a man through Him. He will then tell the boy that He will meet him at the appointed place in the appointed hour. Never revealing when and where that is. Herne will withdraw into the woods as the Father and son begin to journey again. At the second stop the Father and boy will meet the Green Man. He represents the boy's earthy nature. He is the boy sexual responsibility as a carrier of sacred seed which is necessary to begin life. That he must act intelligently when it comes to the act of procreation. The Green Man as well will tell the boy that they will meet in the appointed placed at the appointed hour. The Green Man will stand in silence as the Father and boy leave. At the third stop the Father and boy will meet Loki\Rainbow Dancer. When I visualized the archetype I saw a myriad number of colours and flashed of refracted light. Loki will speak to the boy of his dreams, wishes and hope He will inform the boy that these are necessary even as a man. That he should not give them up but allow them to mature as he matures. Loki will also tell the boy that they will meet at the appointed place in the appointed hour. The Father and son will continue there journey until they reach the last stop on their journey. Here they will meet the Magus who is robed in black and you are unable to see his face. The Magus will speak to the boy of his inner true self, his highest ideals, his magical self. He symbolizes Divine Wisdom. When he is finished speaking he will also tell the boy of meeting in the appointed place in the appointed hour. All the archetype will be wearing masks that will be indicative of them. Herne with horns, Green Man with a mask made of leaves, Loki with the face of the fox, and the Magus with a black mask which entirely covers his face. All the other masks will not cover the mouth area. My Spirit Brother in Akron, OH is creating the masks and the staves for the four archetypes. After the journey has been completed he will be brought to the gateway of the ritual are Prior to the ritual itself the boy will be asked to select something that symbolizes his childhood and that he should bring it with him. When the boy is abducted those who abduct him must be sure to acquire this childhood symbol to be given to the father to take on the journey. At the gateway the father will stop the boy and inform him that he must now give up this childhood symbol in order to enter into the world of men. The boy must surrender the symbol before the rite can continue. The symbol will be left at the gateway. 2602 I didn see a traditional circle being cast, rather a ring of men hand in hand passing energy to form the circle. I keep hearing "a hand to a hand, to feed a hand" or a "brother to a brother". The circle will open to admit the father and boy The boy is still blindfold and will be place before the balefire facing the gateway through which he just entered. I see four men at various stage of the lives serving as Priests. One is just past puberty, the next has himself just become a father, the next being around 40-50 years (the age of the God at the time of his decline in power) and the last being the Grandfather. The four will each evoke one of the four achetypes that spoke to the boy during his journey. The Priest just past puberty will evoke Loki, the new father will evoke the Green Man, the 40-50 year old will evoke Herne, and Grandfather will evoke the Magus. Each will be evoked separately and when each has been evoked will enter the circle from where they have been waiting out of sight of the circle itself. Each will speak further to the boy of his mystery and present the boy with a "gift" which will enable the boy to commune with the archetype in times of trial in his life as a man. The last to speak will be Herne. Just as he is is finishing what he has to say he will be interrupted by the final archetype. This is the Great Mother. She will speak to the boy of his union with her and to truly become a man he must understand her magics as well. Herne and the Great Mother will argue (choice of words, maybe not the best) over who this boy/man belong. The Great Mother informs Herne that the boy/man belongs to Her. Herne informs Her that She was there at his conception and birth and that She will have him in death but now the boy/man belongs to Him. My Spirit Brother has a staff with a deer hoof end which I see being placed on the boy's heart while Herne claims him as his. During the claiming the boy's blindfold will be removed and the boy/man will see Herne for the first time with his hoof on his chest over his heart. After the claiming is finished the boy will be approached by the four Priests for the anointing. I have an anointing already written for this part of the rite. While the anointing is being done the four persons who are taking the roles of the archetypes will leave and return dressed as they wish. The boy will be taken to his father who will first greet the boy/man now as a fellow man and a guardian of the male mystery. The father will then take the newly made man to the North quarter where the Great Mother will speak to the newly made man bestowing Her gift to him. When the Great Mother speaks She will be heard only and not seen as if Her voice were being carried on the wind. The the newly made man will be taken to each man in turn in the circle who will give the newly made man a gift. I see the gift being wisdom something that they have learned of life and that they wish to pass on to help the newly made man's journey through life. As each man has an occupation which requires particular tools so does life require its tools. When all have granted their gift the newly made man will be asked to bestow his blessing upon a horn of ale which symbolized the cup of brotherhood of all peoples. The cup will be shared with all in the circle and will symbolized the universality of men. This is where I see the ritual ending. I see a simple feast being held where the ritual has been. More cups will be filled, stories share in the spirit of brotherhood. As the night wears on towards dawn the newly made made will be left to himself, the balefire and the night. He will return to the campsite from which he was abducted no longer as a child but as a man with all the responsibilities of a man. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2603 Lupercalia She-Wolf Lupercalia ia a Roman ritual of purification and fertility dating from such an ancient time that even the Romans of the first century B.C.E. had forgotten its origin and to which Gods it was dedicated and even the meaning of some of its symbolism. (Contrary to Z Budapest's statements, it was not known whether it was to Faunus and in fact I think it may have been sacred to the more ancient founding Goddess, Rumina, the She-Wolf of Rome.) Central to the ritual is the lustration (light flogging) with a goat skin scourge (see, Gardner didn't invent it). This was often accompanied by much rowdiness and horse-pla- y. The purpose was the purification of the people from curses, bad luck and infertility. The ritual is performed on February 15. The name of the month comes from the februa, anything used in purifying including wool (used for cleaning), brooms, pine boughs (which make the air sweet and pure), etc. The rite began in the cave of the She-Wolf in the city of Rome where legend had it that the founders of the city, Romulus and Remus, had been suckled by the wolf before they were found by a shepherd. The sacred fig tree grew in front of the cave. Vestals brought to the site of the sacrifice the sacred cakes made from the first ears of the last years grain harvest. Two naked young men presided over the sacrifice of a dog and a goat. With the bloody knife, their foreheads were smeared with blood, then wiped clean with wool dipped in milk. The young men laughed and girded themselves in the skin of the sacrificed goat. Much feasting followed. Finally, using strips of the goat skin, the young men ran, each leading a group of priests, around the base of the hills of Rome, around the ancient sacred boundary of the old city called the pomarium. During this run, the women of the city would vie for the opportunity to be scourged by the young men as they ran by, some baring their flesh to get the best results of the fertility blessing (you can see why the Christian church tried so hard to get this ritual banned, but it was so popular that it continued for quite some time under the new regime.) Except for the intrusion of foreign cults, this was the only Roman ritual where a goat was sacrificed. Dogs were only offered to Robigus (a guardian associated with crops), the Lares Praestites (the guardians of community), and Mana Genata (ancestral guardians). Because of the cave, the fig tree, the milk, and such, I suspect the very oldest forms of this rite honored a Goddess. Unlike some of the other Roman rites like the October Horse sacrifice, there is no other Indo-European equivalent in Vedic, Scandinavian, Irish, or Indo-Iranian traditions. With modifications, the Temple of Pomona performed Lupercalias and has a great time. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2604 Stones, A Short Catalog Tandika Star BLOODSTONE SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Bloodstone is a member of the Chalcedony family.It is a variety of quartz (silicon dioxide) often with some iron and aluminum. The chemistry is SiO2. It is dark, bright green spotted with red inclusions. The streak is white. This is considered a microcry- stalline variety of quartz and is not found in crystal form. ENVIRONMENT: Chalcedony is formed in several environments, generally near the surface of the earth where temperatures and pressures are relatively low. It commonly forms in the zone of alteration of lode and massive hydrothermal replacement deposits and as bodies of chert in chemical sedimentary rocks. OCCURENCE: India, Germany. NAME: This stone is also referred to as "heliotrope," which is derived from two Greek words which signify "sun-turning". It was given this name because of a notion that when immersed in water it would turn the sun red. Chalcedony is derived from Chalcedon, an ancient Greek city of Asia Minor. LEGEND and LORE: This is one of the birthstones for March. "Who in this world of ours, her eyes In March first opens, shall be wise. In days of peril, firm and brave, And wear a Bloodstone to her grave." (5) Ancient warriors often carried an amulet of bloodstone which was intended to stop bleeding when applied to a wound. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Because it is green, it can be used for "money spells". It is also considered a "lucky" stone for atheletes because it imparts courage and stamina. HEALING: Heliotrope is used today in conjunction with anything having to do with blood. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:I consider the ancient uses of bloodstone in line with what I use it for today. In addition, I consider it a "cholesterol buster", and wouldn't hesitate to apply it to any with this type of problem. Generally I would use it at the Heart Chakra. I've also used it successfully in situations where I needed "courage" to accomplish something. I will just carry a piece of it in my pocket for this purpose. NOTE: Chrysoprase, carnelian, jasper and agate are all forms of Chalcedony. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2605 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, byTandika Star. 5. Birthstone poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. an interesting experiment (BLOODSTONE cont.) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ- This is more about bloodstone, but I didn't want to include it in the main text. Read on, and you'll see why... A few years ago, I had a discussion with my daughter (who was about 13 at the time) about the "spiritual essence" of plants and stones. I explained to her that different people "see" this spiritual essence in various forms. Somehow, this led to a discussion of "devas", which she interpreted as "people, but without a body that we can see with mundane eyes." A few days later, I was reading a novel, reposed on the sofa in my livingroom. She was sitting on the floor by the coffee table, drawing in her sketchbook with her pastels. On the coffee table were several stones in a dish. One was an amethyst, one a bloodstone, one was some yellow/green crystal that someone had loaned to me because they wanted my "impressions" ...and there were some others that I don't remember now. I glanced over at my daughter, and she was holding one of the stones in her hands, with her eyes closed. She apparently had achieved some form of "altered state" because her little eyeballs were just wigglin' away (REM). A while later, I glanced over, and she was drawing a portrait. After she seemed finished and satisfied with what she was doing, I questioned her about it. She said she was drawing the "spirit/deva" of the stones in the dish. The one for bloodstone was an elf-like, male person. He had dark/black hair, green, slanted eyes, "Spock" eyebrows, and pointed ears. Because of the expression on his face, I asked her what she thought of him. Her comments were: "He is very fierce. I'm kind of afraid of him, because it seems like he is pretty strong and could get mad. He uses weapons...and can fight." My daughter didn't know anything about the "lore" connected with the stones. In addition, I found that "bloodstone" was very different from any of the other "stone portraits" that she did...The rest were much more "human"... ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2606 BROWN (PICTURE) JASPER SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Brown Jasper, sometimes called "picture" Jasper because of the beautiful variations in coloring, is a type of Chal- cedony. It is closely related to Quartz, with the chemistry of SiO2. The color variations are from trace amounts of other minerals, usually iron and aluminum. The hardness is 7. ENVIRONMENT: Chalcedony is formed in several environments, generally near the surface of the earth where temperatures and pressures are relatively low. It commonly forms in the zone of alteration of lode and massive hydrothermal replacement deposits and as bodies of chert in chemical sedimentary rocks. OCCURENCE: Montana, Utah and Wyoming are prolific locations for Brown Jasper in the U.S. In addition, fine specimens have come from Brazil, Uruguay and Egypt. Other colors and forms of Jasper are abundant in California, Texas and Arkansas. NAME: The name Chalcedony is from Chalcedon, an ancient Greek city of Asia Minor. LEGEND and LORE: Beautiful Jasper, with light and dark brown markings was referred to as "Egyptian Marble". Various Native American tribes used Jasper as a rubbing stone and some called it "the rain bringer". MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Brown Jasper is balancing and grounding. This stone, carved into an arrowhead, is worn to attract luck. It is a good stone to use after completing a ritual to help you regain your center and become grounded. HEALING: Jasper is stabilizing. It will help to reduce insecurity, fear and guilt. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I use a piece of Montana Picture Jasper, which is mostly brown and tan with a slight bit of sky or navy blue as a strong grounding stone for those who have an excess of energy at the Splenic Chakra.I've also used the stone as a basis for a "journey"...The stone looks like a scene of the Rocky Mountains. Finally, I've used Picture Jasper as a psychological tool:I will ask someone who is "looking for an answer" to gaze into the stone and describe all the symbols they see. Then I work with the client to form the "symbols" into some sort of answer. NOTES: Agate, Jasper, Flint, Sardonyx, and onyx are all forms of Chalcedony. In addition, particular colors of Chalcedony have specific names, such as Heliotrope, Bloodstone, Chrysophrase and Moss Agate. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2607 CARNELIAN SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION:Carnelian is the clear red to brownish red member of the Chalcedony family. It is a microcrystalline variety of Quartz(Si- licone Dioxide) and may contain small amounts of iron oxides. The hardness is 7, and the streak is white. ENVIRONMENT: Chalcedony is formed in several environments, generally near the surface of the earth where temperatures and pressures are relatively low. It commonly forms in the zone of alteration of lode and massive hydrothermal replacement deposits and as bodies of chert in chemical sedimentary rocks. OCCURENCE: Fine carnelian comes from India and South America. GEMSTONE INFORMATION:Carnelian is used as an alternate birthstone for the month of May.It is normally cut into cabochons, engraved, or made into seal stones or rounded, polished, and pierced for necklaces and other items of jewelry. NAME: The name means "flesh-colored", from [caro], meaning "genitive" and [carnis], meaning "flesh". LEGEND and LORE: Carnelian has long been associated with courage and cleansing of the blood. It was beleived that the stone would improve one's outlook, making the individual cheerful and expelling fears. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Katrina Raphaell says that Carnelian can be used to "see into the past". The "Crystal Oracle" says that Carnelian referrs to the Self, and Current Conditions. It is a grounding stone, and associ- ated with the Earth. As such, it is considered practical, sensible and balanced. Cunningham associates the stone with the element of Fire. He suggests it as a talisman against Telepathic invasion. HEALING: It is recommended for infertility or impotency. In addition it is used for purification of the blood. It has also been suggested that this stone will stop nosebleeding. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I call this the "sexy" stone...since I beleive it stimulates sexual appetites. I use it in the lower Chakras for infer- tility and impotency for men(I use Coral as the feminine counterpart.) I always get a good chuckle when I notice a man wearing a LARGE Cornelian belt buckle. In addition, I would use this stone for relief of pain from arthritis in men. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 3. Other Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 2608 4. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 5. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 6. Some of the healing information may come from "A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ CORAL SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: CaCo3, or calcium carbonate in the form of calcite, is the main constituent of calcareous corals; minor con- stituents are MgCo3, or magnesium carbonate and proteinaceous organic substances, which act as binding agents. At 2.5 to 4, the hardness is slightly higher than that of calcite. The skeletons of corals vary in color: from bright to dark red, slightly orange-red, pink and white. ENVIRONMENT: In all cases, coral consists of the branching skeletons of animals which live in colonies planted on the seabed at depths varying from tens to hundreds of meters. They are typical of warmish to very warm seas. OCCURENCE: The most famous of these organisms is Corallium rubrum, which lives in the waters of the Mediterranean and, despite its name,provides not only red, but orange, pink, and white coral. Similar to this are Corallium elatius, C. japonicum, and C. secundum, which maily live off the coasts of Japan, China, Indochina, the Philippines, and other archipelagos of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Coral colonies occupy large areas especially in the Pacific, but also near the coast of South Africa, in the Red Sea, and to the east of Australia. These latter colonies, however, consist of madrepore, which has little in common with the corals used as ornaments. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Most of the coral used since antiquity as an ornamental material comes from the calcareous skeletons of colonies of marine organisms of the phylum Cnidaria, order Corgonacea, genus Corallium. Corals take a good polish. They also have a certain degree of elasticity and can be heated and bent into bangles. Thin brancehes were and still are polished, pierced, and threaded, unaltered, into neck- laces. Larger pieces are cut into spherical or faceted necklace beads, pear shapes for pendant jewelry, or cabochons. It is also used for carved pieces and small figurines, in both oriental and western art styles. The most highly prized varities of coral are those that are a uniform, strong bright red. NAME: The name is derived from the Latin [corallium,] related to the Greek [korallion]. LEGEND and LORE: The oldest known findings of red coral date from the Mesopotamian civilization, i.e. from about 3000 BC. For centuries, this was the coral par excellence, and at the time of Pliny the Elder it was apparently much appreciated in India, even more than in Europe.Red coral has traditionally been used as a protection from the "evil eye" and as a cure for sterility. One of the Greek names for Coral was Gorgeia, from the tradition that blood dripped from the Head of Medea, which Perseus had deposited on some branches near the sea-shore; which blood, 2609 becoming hard, was taken by the Sea Nymps, and planted in the sea. (8) MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Coral is associated with Venus, Isis and Water. It has been used as a form of protective magic for children for hundreds of years. Cunningham recommends it as a luck-attractor for living areas.Sailors use it as a protection from bad weather while at sea. Red-orange coral is one of the four element gemstones of the Pueblo Indians. It is one of the four colors used for the directions in the Hopi/Zuni Road of Life. Coral is considered a representative of the warm energy of the Sun, and the southern direction. HEALING: Coral's healing properties are mostly associated with Women, young children and the elderly. For women it is said to increase fertility and regulate menstration. For young children, it is recom- mended to ease teething and to prevent epilepsy. For the elderly, it is used as a cure for arthritis. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I use coral at the lower Chakras for "Women's Healing." In particular, I will use it for disorders relating to female reproductive organs. I also use it magically, to represent female fertility.I have used it with some success for arthritis, but only for women. This is one of the stones that I "reserve" for female/feminine use. (I use Carnelian as the "male" counterpart.) I have not had an opportunity to try it for a young child. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones". 2. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 3. Other Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 4. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 5. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 6. Some of the healing information may come from "A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 7. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. 8. Some occult lore is from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2610 EMERALD SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION:Emerald is a type of Beryl, Beryllium aluminum silicate, frequently with some sodium, lithium and cesium.It's chemistry is Be3Al2Si6O18. Beryls range in color from Bright green (emerald), blue, greenish blue (aquamarine), yellow (golden beryl), red, pink (morganite) to white. The streak is colorless. It's hardness is 7-1/2 to 8. The crystals are Hexagonal and they are common. Fine emeralds have velvety body appearance; their value lies in their even distribution of color. Inclusions are common in emerald, but other stones of this group are usually most valuable when free of flaws. ENVIRONMENT: Beryl develops in pegmatites and certain metamorphic rocks. It occurs with quartz, microcline, and muscovite in pegmatites, and with quartz, muscovite, and almandine in schist of regional metamorphic rocks. OCCURENCE: Best emerald comes from Colombia.(NOTE: it is not necessary to spend thousands of dollars for a tiny chip of emerald to add to your healing/ magical collection. If you look around in rock shops, you may be able to come across some "less than perfect" stones that aren't faceted. I've found 4 of them, slightly larger than my fingernail and they were about $3.00 each.) NAME: The name is from the Greek [beryllos] indicating any green gemstone. LEGEND and LORE: Emerald is considered a birthstone for the month of May. "Who first beholds the light of day, In spring's sweet flowery month of May, And wears an Emerald all her life, Shall be a loved, and happy wife." (5) MAGICAL PROPERTIES: "If you wish to bring a love into your life, buy an emerald and charge it with your magical need through your visualization, perhaps while placing it near a green candle. After this ritual, wear or carry the emerald somewhere near your heart. Do this in such a way that it cannot be seen by others. When you meet a future love, you'll know it wasn't the visible jewel that attracted him or her." (3) The Greeks associated this stone with the Goddess Venus. It has come to represent, for many people, the security of love. Emerald, like allmost all of the green stones, is also advantageous for business/money ventures. HEALING: Emerald is said to aid perception and inner clarity. Because of this, they are also associated with healing diseases of the eye, and problems affecting eyesight. It was believed that emeralds could counteract poisons and cure disentary. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:I sometimes use Emeralds in a stone layout. I will use them for their psychological/spiritual values of clarity and perception. If I am using them for this purpose, I use them in the area of the Heart Chakra, in conjunction with Rose Quartz, or Rhodochrosite for balanced energy. I've also used them for prosperity consciousness. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2611 -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. Other sources may be "Stone Power" by Dorothee L. Mella. 4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. 5. Birthstone poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. --- GARNET (PYROPE) SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Pyrope Garnets are from a group of very closely related aluminum silicates. The Chemistry for the Pyrope variety is Mg3Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from deep red to reddish black and on rare occasions from purple and rose to pale purplish red (sometimes called [rhodolite].) The hardness ranges between 6-1/2 and 7-1/2. ENVIRONMENT: Pyrope occurs with olivine and hypersthene in peridotite of plutonic rocks. OCCURENCE: Pyrope Garnets occur in peridotite in Kentucky, Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, most Pyrope came from Bohemia, where it is still found today. The main sources nowadays, however, are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: The garnet species with red or purple varieties, including Pyrope are considered gemstones. Usually bright red, Pyrope can be a much less attractive brick or dark red. It can be perfectly transparent, but this feature is less visible in dark specimens. It is either made into fairly convex cabochons, or faceted, with an oval or round mixed cut or, more rarely, a step cut. The faceted gems have good luster, rather less obvious in cabochons. The most valuable types are, of course, the transparent ones with the brightest red color. Pyrope is relatively common, although less so than almandine. Very large stones, up to several hundred carats have been found; but these are rare and are found in museums and famous collections. NAME: The name comes from the Greek [pyropos,] meaning "fiery." The name "Garnet" comes from the Latin [granatus,] meaning "seed-like". LEGEND and LORE: Pyrope Garnet has long been associated with love, passion, sensuality and sexuality. Some Asiatic tribes used red garnets as bullets for sling bows because they pierced their victims quickly, and could not be seen well in the body when they mingled with the blood. 2612 Throughout the ages, Pyrope has been used as a curative for all types of ailments dealing with blood. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Pyrope is directly linked with the Will. As such, it is a strong stone for the Magician and Shaman. It is associated with Fire and Mars, Strength and Protection. It will help the practitioner tap into extra energy for ritualistic purposes. HEALING: While all Garnets are associated with the Root Chakra, Pyrope is particularly symbolic. It is used for healing when the subject involved has "lost the will to live", since it is directly related to the desire to live and achieve in this lifetime. This stone warms and aids blood circulation, rouses sexuality and heals the reproductive system and the heart. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: If you are already a strong willed individual or have a fiery temper that you need to learn to control, I suggest that you work with the Alamandine Garnets, rather than the Pyropes. This is a good stone to use for treating depression. Very often, when I've "worked" on an individual who has suffered a heart attack, I find that the individual is rather severely depressed (which I think is a side effect of the medication) and has lost the will to continue in this lifetime. I've found that fiery red Pyrope Garnets are a great help in this situation. ADDITIONAL NOTES: The Latin name [carbunculus,] (small coal or ember), is attributed to all red transparent stones. It is more often applied to Pyropes when they are formed into cabochons than any other stone. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones". 3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom, Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn. 7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L. Mella. 8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane Stein. 9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. --------------------------------------------------------------- GARNET (ALMANDINE) SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Almandine Garnets are from a group of very closely related aluminum silicates. The Chemistry for the Almandine variety is Fe2/3+Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from deep red to brown and brownish black. The hardness ranges between 6-1/2 and 7-1/2. 2613 ENVIRONMENT: Almandine occurs in diorite of plutonic rocks, and with andalusite, hornblende, and biotite in hornfels and schist of contact and regional metamorphic rocks. OCCURENCE: Well-formed crystals of Almandine have come from Wrangell, SE Alaska; from Emerald Creek, Benewah Co., Idaho; and from Michigamme, Michigan. Gemstone quality material is obtained in large quantities from Sri Lanka and India, where it is also cut; other sources are Burma, Brazil, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Australia. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Most red garnets come under the name Almandine, even when their composition is midway between that of Pyrope and Almandine and similar, in many cases, to that of Rhodolite. The reason for this is the similarity in their color and absorption spectrum characteristics. Almandine has a brilliant luster, but its transparency is frequently marred, even in very clear stones, by excessive depth of color. The cabochon cut is widely used, often being given a strongly convex shape and sometimes a concave base, in an effort to lighten the color by reducing the thickness. Rose cuts have also been used, particularly in the past. Nowdays, when the material is quite transpare- nt, faceted cuts are used as well, and sometimes square or rectangular step cuts. Gems of several carats are not uncommon. Faceted or even barely rounded pieces of Almandine, pierced as necklace beads, were very common in the recent past, but are now considered old-fashioned. NAME: The name Almandine comes from [carbunculus alabandicus,] after the city of Alabanda in Asia Minor, where gems were traded at the time of Pliny theElder. LEGEND and LORE: All red Garnet has long been associated with love, passion, sensuality and sexuality. Garnet is considered a birthstone for those born in January: "By her in January born No gem save Garnets should be worn; They will ensure her constancy, True friendship, and fidelity." MAGICAL PROPERTIES: The darker Garnets are associated with the Will and the Source of Life Incarnate. This is who and what we are in this lifetime. This stone is worn for protective purposes, and is thought to drive off demons and phantoms. HEALING: Almandine Garnets are used to heal skin conditions associated with poor circulation. They improve vigor, strength and endurance. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Almandine Garnets are particularly effective when healing "traumas" that are carried over from a past life and deal with sexuality and heart/love problems. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones". 3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 2614 4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom, Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn. 7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L. Mella. 8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane Stein. 9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. 10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. GARNET (SPESSARTINE) SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Spessartine Garnets are from a group of very closely related aluminum silicates. The Chemistry for the Spessartine variety is Mn3Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from brownish red to hyacinth-red. The hardness ranges between 6-1/2 and 7-1/2. ENVIRONMENT: Spessartine occurs with albite and muscovite in granite pegmatites and with quartz and riebeckite in blue schist or regional metamorphic rocks.. OCCURENCE: Large corroded crystals of Spessartine have come from the Rutherford No. 2 Mine, Amelia, Amelia Co., Virginia; crystals up to 1" in diameter have been found in several pegmatites in the Ramona District, San Diego Co., California; sharp, dark-red, well-formed crystals occur in cavities in rhyolite near Ely, White Pine C., Nevada; and brilliant crystals of Spessartine have been found with topaz at Ruby Mt., near Nathrop, Chaffee Co., Colorado. Gem material comes from the gem gravels of Sri Lanka and Burma. It is also found in Brazil and Madagascar. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: The gem variety of Spessartine Garnet is uncommon. It tends to be midway between spessartine and almandine in composition. The "aurora red", orange-red or orange-pink color is typical. It has good transparency and considerable luster. It is normally given a mixed, round, or oval cut. The weight does not normally exceed a few carats. Gems of about 10 carats are extremely rare and usually of an atypical, rather dark, unattactive color. NAME: Spessartine is named after an occurrence in the spessart district, Bavaria, Germany. LEGEND and LORE: In the 13th century garnets were thought to repel insect stings. A magical treatise, "The Book of Wings", dating from the thirteenth century says "The well-formed image of a lion, if engraved on a garnet, will protect and preserve honors and health, cures the wearer of all diseases, brings him honors, and guards him from all perils in traveling." MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Spessartine is normally considered to be red-orange to orange-pink. Thus it links the "will" with the "desire". It is a good stone to use when casting a spell for your "heart's desire", especially if it is of the orange-pink" variety. 2615 HEALING: The orange garnets are linked to the root and the belly chakra. They are beneficial in instances of infertility, dealing with reproduc- tive organs. Mentally, it inspires confidence in personal creativity and self-worth. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Spessartine is not as effective as Carnelian for instances of infertility. But it DOES help the mental attitude of the individual experiencing the difficulty. It is a warming stone, and works well for increasing circulation in the lower part of the body. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones". 3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom, Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn. 7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L. Mella. 8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane Stein. 9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. 10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. --- GARNET (GROSSULAR) SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Grossular Garnets are from a group of very closely related calcium silicates. The Chemistry for the Grossular variety is Ca3Al2Si3O12. These Garnets range in color from yellow, pink and brown through white and colorless. The hardness ranges between 6-1/2 and 7-1/2. ENVIRONMENT: Grossular occurs with wollastonite, calcite, and vesuviani- te in hornfels of contact metamorphic rocks. OCCURENCE: Being the commonest of all garnets, it is found in a variety of locations. Fine colorless crystals up to 1/2" across occur in Gatineau and Magantic Cos., Quebec, fine lusterous pale brown crystals 2616 up to 3" across were found near Minot, Androscoggin Co., Main, and beautiful white and pick crystals up to 4" across have been found near Xalostoc, Morelos, Mexico. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Grossular also has the typical crystal form of garnets, occuring in isolated crystals which are often complete, in the shape of a rhombic dodecahedron, sometimes combined with a trapezo- hedron. They vary from transparent to semiopaque. The typical color is light (gooseberry) yellowish green; but they can be a strong to bluish green, honey yellow or pinkish yellow, or even colorless. When transpar- ent, the crystals have good luster. Like other garnets, they have no cleavage. The greenish to yellowish varieties are used as gems. Grossular is not a rare mineral. The types used as gems mainly come from the gem gravels of Sri Lanka (honey yellow variety); the the United States, Canada, Mexico, Madagascar, Kenya. The green variety of grossular garnet, discovered a few decades ago and found mainly in Kenya, near the Tsavo National Park, is also known as Tsavorite (or Tsavolite) It is a light, verdant, or dark green, similar to the color of the better green tourmalines and sometimes, it is said, even comparable to African emerald. It has good luster. These gems, which are usually given a round or pear-shaped mixed cut, or occasionally a brilliant cut, are generally small, rarely exceeding one carat and never more than a few carats. NAME: Grossular is from the New Latin [grosssularia,] "gooseberry," because some Grossular crystals are pale green like the fruit. LEGEND and LORE: I do not find anything referring specifically to yellow or green garnets in my sources. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: While deep red garnets focus on "Will" and orange-- red garnets focus on "Desire", yellow garnets are focused on Personal Power and Personality. In addition they are (because of their color) associated with athletic prowess and Oriental philosophies. HEALING: Being linked to the Solar Plexus Chakra, yellow garnets are energizing. They can be used for the digestive organs, the diaphram (and the breath) and eyesight. Green garnets center their healing on the Heart Chakra. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: It is difficult to find a green stone that works well for the lower chakras and the lower half of the body. When I do total layouts for individuals with Aids, I use all green stones, whenever possible. The Green garnets work well for this. Since Garnet is the stone of the Root Chakra, the Will, and green is the color of the Heart Chakra, love, circulation, general healing, this stone works exceptionally well. I find that the yellow garnets work better for magical purposes than healing. For healing, there are several yellow stones that seem to work better for me. NOTES: Garnets are used in industry as an abrasive. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2617 2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones". 3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 6. Other Magical and Healing information may come from "\crystal Wisdom, Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn. 7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L. Mella. 8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane Stein. 9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. 10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. ----------------------------------------------------- LAZURITE (LAPIS LAZULI) SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Lazurite is a silicate of sodium calcium and aluminum, with some sulfur. It is a member of the sodalite group. It's chemistry is (Na, Ca)8(Al,Si)12O24(S,SO)4. The color ranges in shades of blue from violet blue and azure blue thru greenish-blue. Lazurite is distinguished from sodalite by its deeper color and fine grain. It is also softer and lighter in weight than lazulite. It is dull to greasy and the streak is pale blue. The hardness ranges between 5 and 5-1/2. ENVIRONMENT: Crystals are rare. It is usually granular, compact, massive. It forms in association with pyrite, calcite, and diopside in hornfels of contact metamorphic rocks. The opaque, vivid blue, light blue, greenish-blue, or violet-blue stone, consisting largely of lazurite but with appreciable amounts of calcite, diopside, and pyrite, is a rock called [lapis lazuli.] The stone is usually veined or spotted. Its value depends largely upon excellence and uniformity of color and absence of pyrite, although some purchasers prefer lapis with pyrite. OCCURRENCE: Lazurite is a rare mineral in North America, but it does occur on Italian Mt. in the Sawatch Mts. of Colorado; on Ontario Peak in the San Gabriel Mts., Los Angeles Co., and in Cascade Canyon in the San Bernardino Mts., San Bernardino Co., California. The finest lapis lazuli has come from Badakshan in Afghanistan, and less valuable material has come from Russia and Chile. NAME: The name is from the Arabic [lazaward], "heaven," which was also applied to sky-blue lapis lazuli. 2618 LEGEND and LORE: Lapis Lazuli was a favorite stone of the ancient Egyptians. In the past Lazurite has been burned and ground to form the pigment "ultramarine." It was consider an aid to childbirth, and has long been associated with altered states of consciousness and trance work. Lapis is sometimes designated as a birthstone for December, although turquoise is most common. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: To quote Cunningham: "This stone is used in rituals designed to attract spiritual love. Take an untumbled piece of lapis with a sharp edge. Empower the stone and a pink candle with your need for love. Then, using the lapis lazuli, carve a heart onto the candle. Place the stone near the candleholder and burn the candle while visualizing a love coming into your life." Actually, the most important magical aspect of lapis is it's ability to strengthen psychic awareness. Cunningham says "Despite its somewhat high price, lapis lazuli is one stone every stone magician should own and utilize."(2) HEALING: This stone is used at the Ajina, the Brow Chakra. It's related gland is the pituitary. The pituitary gland is also referred to as the "master gland" because it regulates all of the others. This location is also the center for the eyes, ears, nose and brain. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I don't often use Lapis for physical healing, unless I feel that there is a "link" between what is manifested as disease, and some conflict of the "higher self". I have used it for brain disorders (tumors, inflammation, etc.) More often, I use it in layouts where the client is trying to achieve an altered state of consciousness. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurrence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. -------------------------------------------------- LEPIDOLITE SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Lepidolite a potassium, lithium, aluminum fluorsilicate mica. Its chemistry is complex: K(Li,Al)3(Si,Al)4O10- (F,OH)2. It is pink, lilac, yellowish, grayish white or a combination of all of these. The streak is colorless. It is one of the softer stones, with a hardness of 2-1/2 to 3. ENVIRONMENT: Lepidolite is confined to granite pegmatites, where it occurs either as fine-granular masses near the core of the pegmatite or as stubby or tabular crystals in cavities. It is commonly associated with microcline, quartz, and tourmaline. 2619 OCCURENCE: Large fine masses of lepidolite have been mined at the Stewart Pegmatite at Pala, and superb sharp crystals have been obtained from the Little Three Pegmatite near Ramona, both in San Diego Co., California. It has also been mined in substantial amounts in several New England states and in the Black Hills of South Dakota. NAME: The name comes from the Greek [lepidos], meaning 'scale', in allusion to the scaly aggregates in which the mineral commonly occurs. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2620 LEGEND and LORE: Lepidolite is a stone that could certainly be con- sidered "new age" in the sense that it is just now coming into recogni- tion by healers and magicians. There is no "past lore" on this stone, to the best of my knowledge. Part of this may be due to the fact, that it is native to the United States. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: "This stone soothes anger, hatred or any other negative emotion. To quiet the entire house, place lepidolite stones in a circle around a pink candle." (2) HEALING: Lepidolite is also know as the "Dream Stone". It will protect the individual from nightmares, especially those caused by stress or an upset in personal relationships. It can be used in the same types of circumstances as Kunzite, namely for manic depression or schizophrenia. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: This is one of the most soothing and relaxing stones I've ever held. It is a beauty to look at, and calms the mind enabling it to concentrate on the TRUE source of a problem...instead of running around in frantic circles accomplishing nothing. The more rubellite in the stone, the better it will help the heart and mind work together. NOTES: Lepidolite has been used as a source of lithium. The above description of the appearance of this stone may be deceiving, as I found Cunningham's to be, also. All of the specimens of this stone that I have seen so far have been grey to a pale lavendar grey with "sparkles" of the lithium mica embedded in it. The heart-shaped cabuchon that I have also has very distinctive crystals of rubellite (pink tourmaline) and veins of white running through it. I was originally looking for a MUCH brighter lavendar stone. It is unusual, also, to find specimens that are cut and polished. Usually the stone is too "crumbly" to take a good polish. However, it is equally handsome in rough form. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. ------------------------------------------------------ MALACHITE SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Malachite is a basic copper carbonate. It's chemistry is Cu2CO3(OH)2. It ranges in color from emerald green thru grass green to shades of silky pale green. The streak is light green. It's hardness is 3-1/2 to 4. Crystals are rare. Most gem specimens display distinctive concentric colorbanding; (alternating dark green and light green bands.) ENVIRONMENT: Malachite is a secondary copper mineral and develops in the zone of alteration in massive, lode, and disseminated hydrothermal replacement deposits. Associated minerals are azurite, limonite, and 2621 chalcopyrite. OCCURENCE: The copper mines at Bisbee, Chochise Co., Arizona, are famous for their fine specimens of massive malachite and pseudomorphs of malachite after azurite. Mines at Morenci in Greenlee Co., and at Globe in Gila Co., Arizona, have yielded beautiful malachite specimens, of which some consist of alternating layers of green malachite and blue azurite. Fine malachite has also come from copper mines in California, Nevada, Utah, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. NAME: The name is from the Greek [moloche], "mallow," an illusion to the mineral's leaf-green color. Malachite is used as an ore of copper and as a gemstone. LEGEND and LORE: It is said that if malachite is worn, it will break into pieces to warn the wearer of danger. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Used to direct power towards magical goals. Protective, especially towards children. According to Cunningham, "Small pieces of malachite placed in each corner of a business building or a small piece placed in the cash register draws customers. Worn during business meetings or trade shows, it increases your ability to obtain good deals and sales. It is the salesperson's stone." (2) HEALING: If the malachite is of the blue-green variety, it can be associated with the Sacral Center, or Splenic Chakra (Svadisthana). Here, it's energy branches to the left, to the spleen. (It is intended in this position for those who are celebate.) In addition, if it is grass-green, it can be used at the Lumbar/Solar Plexis Center. "When the malachite is placed at the solar plexus and a piece of green jade is placed at the heart center and a double-terminated quartz crystal is placed between them, people may remember events that have been blocked for years. They may cry or scream. As these buried emotions are brought to the surface and released, a great weight is lifted and they soon feel renewed." (3) PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I am very careful about using Malachite. It has been my experience that the emotions that it releases can be very powerful, to the point of overwhelming some people. On the other hand, if the individual is ready to deal with them (in a "growth" period) it may work out just fine. You could "balance" the emotional content with a pink stone (such as rose quartz) to cut down some on the intensity. A few years ago, I broke my arm. To do so, I damaged the muscles and nerves in my wrist. I was in a lot of pain, and was searching for what I could do to help the situation. During a journey, I saw malachite, so I found a malachite heart which I held in the palm of the broken arm while meditating. I got a lot of relief from it. Now, if the wrist acts up, I use the heart, taped over the wrist area when I go to bed at night. It seems to help quite a bit. I now recommend malachite for nerve/muscle damage with some success. (4) -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2622 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. -------------------------------------------------- MOONSTONE SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Moonstone is one variation of Orthoclase. It owes its beautiful silvery to bluish sheen ('adularescence' or 'schil- ler') to its composition of extremely thin plates of orthoclase and albite. The thinner these plates are, the bluer is the sheen. There are also moonstones consisting mainly of albite. These are less translucent, but they can occur in a variety of colours: grey, blue, green, brown, yellow and white. There are also moonstone cat's-eyes. The chemical composition is KAlSi3O8 and the hardness is 7. The streak is white. ENVIRONMENT: The potash feldspars are important rock-forming minerals in plutonic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks. Adularia and sanidine are found usually in volcanic rocks. OCCURENCE: The main countries of origin are Ceylon, southern India (the district near Kangayam), Tanzia and Malagasy which, together with Burma, produces some of the finest stones with a deep blue schiller. White adularia crystals up to 2.5 cm (1") across have been found in gold-bear- ing quartz veins at Bodie, Mono Co., California, and in the silver mines of the Silver City district, Owhyee Co., Idaho. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Moonstone is always cut into cabochons, to display the cat's-eye, or schiller. NAME: Adularia (another name for Moonstone) comes from the locality in Switzerland, the Adula Mts. LEGEND and LORE: This stone has always been revered because of its lunar attraction. It was believed that the shiller in the stone would follow the cycles of the moon. (Becoming greatest when the moon was full.) In addition, it has always been considered a "feminine, or Goddess" stone. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Meditation with moonstone calls into consciousness the three-form moon phase goddesses, Diana/Selene/Hecate, the waxing, Full and waning Moon. These are woman as goddess in her ages and contradictions, Maiden/Mother/Crone. Cunningham favors this stone for spells involving love. In addition he has a longish essay on using it for a "diet" stone. HEALING: Because of it's feminine nature, Moonstone has long been considered a "womans healing stone". It is used traditionally for healing/balancing of female organs and hormones. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I use Moonstone at the Transpersonal Point, for connection to the Goddess and Universal Feminine Energy. This is the connection to dreams and dreaming, feminine "intuition", and "cycles". There are cycles of time, seasons, the moon, stars, etc. I also use/give 2623 this stone for those clients who are having difficulty being in tune with the feminine side of their nature. (Everyone has a masculine and a feminine side.) NOTES: In the past, this stone has also been called "Cylon Opal". -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 3. Other Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 4. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 5. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 6. Some of the healing information may come from "A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 7. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. 8. Birthstone poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. ----------------------------------------------- OBSIDIAN SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Obsidian occurs as volcanic lava flows that are thick and of limited area. Its black, glassy, lustrous, and often flow-banded appearance makes it rather easy to distinguish from the other volcanic rocks with which it is commonly associated. This mineral forms when a silica-rich magma of granitic composition flows onto the earth's surface, where it solidifies before minerals can develop and crystallize. It is, therefore, an amorphous solid or glass rather than an aggregate of minerals. The hardness of Obsidian is between 6 and 7; it will scratch window glass. Although generally black, it is more or less smoky along translucent to transparent edges; other colors are gray, reddish brown, mahogany and dark green. When it has small white "flower" designs in it, it is called Snowflake Obsidian. It is also possible to find pieces with a sheen, or chatoyance. This is often called Rainbow Obsidian. ENVIRONMENT: Obsidian is an environment for very few minerals. Lithophy- sae and spherulites may contain small but beautiful crystals of feldspar, tridymite, and cristobalite. OCCURENCE: Some locations of Obsidian bodies are California (Inyo, Imperial, and Modoc Cos.), Oregon (Crater Lake), Wyoming (Yellowstone Park), and Mexico (near Pachuca.) 2624 NAME: The name is dervied from the latin name for the mineral, [obsio.] LEGEND and LORE: Polished pieces of black Obsidian have been used for Scrying. Primitive peoples once valued obsidian highly, chipping and flaking it into knives, spearheads, and many other implements with razor-sharp edges resulting from the intersecting conchoidal fractures. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Obsidian is a very protective stone. It is also associated with the inner mysteries of the Goddess, symbolizing entrance to the labyrinth, the womb or the subconscious self. HEALING: Because of its protective qualities, Obsidian is a good stone for those who are soft-hearted and gentle. It will help to guard them against abuse. This stone cleanses toxins from the liver, so it is also good for people who are exposed to environmental pollutants. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: This is the "balance" stone for Clear Quartz Crystals. We jokingly refer to it around here as a "dark sucker"...mean- ing it will absorb all sorts of negative things. It is also a grounding stone, and I use it at the Base Chakra (below the feet) at the beginning of a layout to keep my client "grounded". In India, the women wear obsidian toe rings for the same purpose. I use Black Obsidian in conjunction with Quartz. If I'm not using Clear Quartz, I use Snowflake Obsidian. I also have a piece of Rainbow Obsidian, but it is relatively new and I haven't finished "conversing" with it, so I have no advice as to how to use it...at the moment. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. ---------------------------------------------- OPAL SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Opal is hydrous silica, often with some iron and aluminum. Its chemistry is SiO2.nH2O; amount of water varies up to 10 percent. It ranges in color from White, yellow, red, pink, brown to gray, blue and even colorless. It is most easily recognized by its rich internal play of colors (opalescence). Its hardness ranges from 5-1/2 to 6-1/2. It is vitreous and pearly. The streak is white. It is not found in crystal form, rather is is usually massive, botryoidal, reniform, stalactitic, and/or earthy. ENVIRONMENT: Opal is a low-temperature mineral and usually develops in a wide variety of rocks as cavity and fracture fillings. It requently develops as amygdules in basalt and rhyolite of volcanic rock and replaces the cells in wood and the shells of clams. 2625 OCCURENCE: Common opal is widespread and can be readily obtained at many places, but localities for precious opal are rare and seem to localized in W United States and Mexico. Magnificent examples of opalized wood can be found in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and lively green fluorescing opal (hyalite) occurs in seams in pegmatites in New England and North Carolina and in cavities in basalt near Klamath Falls, Oregon. Beautiful precious opal, as a replacement in wood, has been obtained in Virgin Valley, Humboldt Co., Nevada. Excellent fire and precious opal occur in laval flows in N Mexico. Nevada, Australia, and Honduras are sources for black opal; Australia and Czechoslovakia for white opal; Mexico and SW United States for fire opal. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Black, dark blue, dark green opal with dark gray body color and fine play of colors is called [black opal;] opal with white or light body color and fine play of color is called [white opal;] and transparent to translucent opal with body color ranging from orange-yellow to red and a play of colors is called [fire opal.] Play of colors depends upon interference of light and is not dependent upon body color. Black opal is the most highly prized, and fire opal is the most valued of the orange and red varieties. Most opal is fashioned into cabochons, but some fire opals are faceted. NAME: The word is from the Sanskrit [upala,] meaning "precious stone." LEGEND and LORE: Opal is a birthstone for October. "October's child is born for woe, And life's vicissitudes must know; But lay an Opal on her breast, And hope will lull those foes to rest." (5) Opals have traditionally been considered "lucky" stones...but only for those born in the month of October. It has been considered bad luck to wear them if you were born in any other month. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Opal is considered to be able to confer the gift of invisibility on its wearer. To accomplish this, Cunningham says "The gem was wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and carried for this purpose." He also says, "Opals are also worn to bring out inner beauty. A beauty spell: Place a round mirror on the altar or behind it so that you can see your face within it while kneeling. Place two green candles on eithe side of the mirror. Light the candles. Empower an opal with your need for beauty -- while holding the stone, gaze into your reflection. With the scalpel of your visualization, mold and form your face (and your body) to the form you desire. Then, carry or wear the opal and dedicate yourself to improving your appearance." (2) HEALING: Opals contain all the colors of the other stones, thus, it could be used in place of any of them. (They are akin to quartz crystals, in this aspect.) Generally speaking, Opal is used more frequently for healing the spirit, rather than the physical body. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Opals are probably my favorite stone. This may be partially due to the fact that they are my birthstone, and I have been surrounded by them all of my life. For me, they are protective and invigorating. I normally use them during Journeying, and when doing "readings" for other...anything where I am using altered states of consciousness. I find that they help me to understand the symbols of my 2626 visions in a way that makes them meaningful for others. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurance and Name are from (or paraphrased from) "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 3. Some of the healing information may come from "Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras" by Joy Gardner. 4. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. 5. Birthday poem from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. ----------------------------------------------------- VESUVIANITE (IDOCRASE) SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Vesuvianite is composed of calcium, magnesium and aluminum silicate, often with some beryllium and fluorine. The chemistry is Ca10Mg2Al4(SiO4)5(Si2)7)2(OH)4. Specimens range from brown and green to a rare yellow or blue. The hardness is 6-1/2. ENVIRONMENT: Vesuvianite forms by igneous and metamorphic processes. It commonly is metamorphic and occurs with grossular, wollastonite, and calcite in hornfels of contact metamorphic rocks; with chromite and magnetite in serpentinite of hydrothermal metamorphic rocks; and with wollastonite, andradite, and diopside in carbonatites. OCCURENCE: Gem-quality Vesuvianite has been obtained from a pegmatite in marble near Sixteen Island Lake, Laurel, Argenteuil Co., Quebec, and beautiful micromount cyrstals of purplish-pink color occur in massive Vesuvianite at the Montral chrome pit at Black Lake, Megantic Co., Quebec. The blue variety called [cyprine] has been obtained at Franklin, Sussex Co., New Jersey. Fine crystals up to 1-1/2 inches across occur in pale-blue calcite at Scratch Gravel, near Helena, Lewis and Clark Co., Montana, and spectacular material of similar nature occurs at quarries near Riverside, California. Beautiful pale-green massive Vesuvianite ([californite]) occurs in California at Pulga, Butte Co., and near Happy Camp, Siskiyou Co., and crude yellow prismatic crystals occur with grossular at Xalostoc, Morelos, and Lake Jaco, Chihuahua, Mexico. GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Translucent gray to green or nearly colorless Vesuvianite with green streaks is called [californite], and is often sold as "California Jade." Californite is fashioned into cabochons. Principal sources are the USSR, Italy, Canada and California. NAME: The name "Vesuvianite" is from the original locality at Mt. Vesuvius, Italy. The alternate name, "idocrase," comes from the Greek [eidos,] "form", and [krasis,] "mixture," because Vesuvianite may appear to combine the crystal forms of several other minerals. 2627 LEGEND and LORE: None found. MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Dolfyn associates this stone with Passion, enthus- iasm, warmth and devotion. HEALING: No specific information found, other than what Dolfyn states. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: None. I do not have a specimen of Vesuvianite. -------bibliography------- 1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased from)"The Audubon Society field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals". 2. Other scientific information may be from "Simon & Schuester's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones". 3. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gemstones" by E. H. Rutland. 4. Other precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from "Gem Cutting", sec. ed., by John Sinkankas. 5. Basic Legends, Lore and Magical Properties are from "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic", by Scott Cunningham. 6. Some magical and healing information from "Crystal Wisdom, Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones" by Dolfyn. 7. More legends and lore may come from "Stone Power" by Dorothee L. Mella. 8. Healing information is from "The Women's Book of Healing", by Diane Stein. 9. Additional healing information may be from "The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones" by William T. Fernie, M.D. 10. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and notebooks, by Tandika Star. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2628 AUTHOR: Jon Trott and Mike Hertenstein SOURCE: Cornerstone, vol. 21, iss. 98, pp. 7-9,11-14,16-17,19,30,38 DATE: 1992 TITLE: Selling Satan: The Tragic History of Michael Warnke NOTES: Copyright 1992 by Cornerstone Communications, Inc. "I always wanted to write him a letter and say, `Mike, when were you able to have this coven of fifteen hundred people?' About the most exciting thing we used to do was play croquet." ÄÄOne of Mike Warnke's college friends SELLING SATAN: The Tragic History of Michael Warnke by Jon Trott & Mike Hertenstein This is the story of well-known comedian, evangelist, and professed ex-Satanist Mike Warnke. Known as "America's Number One Christian Comedian," Mike Warnke has sold in excess of one million records. June 29, 1988, was declared "Mike Warnke Day" by the governor of Tennessee. The Satan Seller has, according to its author, sold three million copies in twenty years.[1] His 1991 Schemes of Satan quickly climbed the best-seller list. Mike Warnke's press material includes credits for appearances on "The 700 Club," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Larry King Live," "Focus on the Family," and ABC's "20/20." Mike has won numerous awards from the recording industry, including the 1992 Grady Nutt Humor Award. He continues to perform two hundred live shows a year. He is truly a figure of national prominence. Mike Warnke's ministry and public profile are based upon the story he tells of his previous involvement with Satanism. As written in The Satan Seller, the story goes like this: a young orphan boy raised in foster homes drifted from whatever family and friends he had to join a secret, all-powerful satanic cult. First, he descended into the hell of drug addiction. Then he ascended in the satanic ranks to the position of high priest, with fifteen hundred followers in three cities. He had unlimited wealth and power at his disposal, provided by members of Satanism's highest echelon, the Illuminati. And then he converted to Christ. A generation of Christians learned its basic concepts of Satanism and the occult from Mike Warnke's testimony in The Satan Seller. Based on his alleged satanic experiences, Warnke came to be recognized as a prominent authority on the occult, even advising law enforcement officers investigating occult crime. We believe The Satan Seller has been responsible, more than any other single volume in the Christian market, for promoting the current nationwide "Satanism scare."[2] Through the years, Cornerstone has received many calls from people 2629 who felt something was not right concerning Mike Warnke. After our lengthy investigation into his background, we found discrepancies that raise serious doubts about the trustworthiness of his testimony. We have uncovered significant evidence contradicting his alleged satanic activity. His testimony contains major conflicts from book to book and tape to book, it contains significant internal problems, and it doesn't square with known external times and events. Further, we have documentation and eyewitness testimony that contradict the claims he has made about himself. The evidence we present here includes testimony from Mike's closest friends, relatives, and daily associates ÄÄpeople whose names Mike disguised or omitted entirely in his "official" testimony. These people knew the real Mike Warnke, who was not a drug fiend or a recruiter for Satanism. But he was a storyteller. Michael Alfred Warnke was born November 19, 1946, to Alfred "Al" Warnke and his wife, Louise. Mike's parents lived in Evansville, Indiana, and according to their son's confirmation certificate, had Mike baptized at St. Anthony's Catholic Church.[3] When Mike was five, the Warnkes moved to Manchester, Tennessee, where Al opened Warnke's Truck Stop.[4] Located on Highway 41, north of town, the diner soon became part of the local landscape. On January 15, 1955, Louise, on her way home from town, lost control of the family's brand-new Packard and was killed. She was thirty-seven; Mike was eight years old.[5] Mike had other family, too, from his father's previous marriage. His half sister, Shirley Schrader[6] was twenty-two years older than he was. She first met Mike in 1954, when Al brought his family to California on a visit. As Shirley recalls, "Dad, Louise, and Michael came out to California in the mid-fifties. Prior to that, I wasn't writing my father. I didn't even know where he was. My dad had abandoned me when I was little. He was an alcoholic, and maybe twice in my childhood did he make any effort to communicate with my mother. So I was working and they came to my office, very unexpectedly. He says, `I'm your father,' and he came on big and strong, `Oh, my daughter, my daughter.' They spent maybe a week in California, and then went back to Tennessee." When Mike's mother was killed, Al flew Shirley to Tennessee for the funeral. During that visit, Al Warnke asked Shirley if she and her husband, Keith, would move to Manchester and help run the truck stop. "You always think, Wouldn't it be neat to know your own dad? That was probably one of the biggest mistakes I ever made." Shirley, Keith, and their six-year-old son Keith, Jr., came out to Manchester in February of 1955. But Al and Shirley soon had their problems. "He had me working days, with Thursday off, and he had my husband working nights, with a different day off. Then there was the fact that my father was a drunk. We weren't there but a few days when he went off on a big binge and didn't show up again for a week. There would have been enough money to support us all. But he forgot we were supposed to be paid." Al Warnke seems to fit the description given him by his son in his books and records. But what about Mike Warnke? Shirley recalls Mike as 2630 a little boy who spent a lot of time "sitting two feet from the television. I tried to tell my dad, `Hey, the boy can't see.' And he'd say, `Don't try to tell me about my son!' And my dad would give the kid ten bucks and send him uptown. That was a lot of money for those days." Disgusted with Al and his truck stop, but feeling empathy for Mike, the Schraders returned to California. Two years later, Al Warnke was dead of heart failure.[7] Mike Warnke's story of his life, The Satan Seller, opens just after Al's funeral, with adults discussing Mike's future as he eavesdrops. As the book indicates, the eleven-year-old boy was initially placed with his two aunts, Dorothy and Edna, who lived in Sparta, Tennessee. Warnke has a segment on his Mike Warnke Alive![8] album called "Tennessee Home and Blankety-Blank," in which he describes how he raised one aunt's dander with his crude, truck stop ways. The first night I was up there this lady came out and she said, "Well, honey, how do you think you're gonna like it here?" And I said, "Well, this is a pretty nice blank-blankety-blank place. We oughta get along pretty blank-blankety-blank well as long as you feed me blank-blankety properly." Aunt Edna Swindell[9] denies any such child appeared at her Tennessee home. "He was just a typical boy. We had no problems." What about his claims about being a foulmouthed brat? "He wasn't that here." Meanwhile, Shirley Schrader was trying to get custody of young Mike. "We wanted Michael," Shirley recalls. "And we fought through the courts for Michael for months before they let him come out here." Aunt Edna notes, "He stayed with me seven months. I guess if I wanted him, I could have kept him the entire time. His half sister in California wanted him, and that's where he wanted to go." Mike Moves in with the Schraders During the summer of 1959, Mike went to live with his half sister and her family near Riverside, California. Shirley confirms Warnke's story of how his Aunt Edna sent him to California loaded down with anti-Catholic materials. Shirley Schrader took the boys to church ÄÄthat is, she took her eleven-year-old son Keith with her to Catholic mass and allowed thirteen-year-old Mike to attend a nearby Protestant church. "And that was fine for as long as he wanted to do it, because we weren't going to force religion on him." In Riverside, Keith, Jr., attended a parochial schoolÄÄSt. Francis deSales. Mike eventually decided he wanted to go to that same parochial school. "He went for a year, until we moved up on the mountain," says Shirley. In February of 1961, the Schraders and fourteen-year-old Mike moved to Crestline, a small community planted among the pine trees atop the San Bernardino Mountains overlooking the vast San Bernardino Valley. The Schraders were well respected in Crestline. Community pillars, 2631 they ran a tight ship at home. Keith, Sr., head of the Pilot Rock Conservation Camp, was in charge of minimum security inmates assigned to fight forest fires. "We took the boys on camping trips. We rock hounded. We did things together," recalls Shirley. "We sat them down and had the sex talk. We had the talk about alcohol. We were a regular family." Keith, Jr., recalls, "Mike and I had a good time growing up together. We were real close during high schoolÄÄwhen we weren't fighting."[10] Mike Warnke attended Rim of the World High School. His best friends through these years were Tim Smith[11] and Jeff Nesmith.[12] "We'd spend lots of time at each other's houses," says Jeff Nesmith, "go to school dances together, proms, and one summer Mike and I worked for my dad in the construction business. We weren't hellions, but we weren't angels either. We had our parties, gate crashed some dances." All of Mike's friends and family we were able to contact denied his assertion that he drifted at one point to a "rougher" crowd. In fact, most of the kids Mike hung out with were, by all reports, good, clean, Catholic boys. Tim Smith and another local boy, David Goodwin,[13] were altar boys at St. Francis Cabrini Church. "Tim and I went to morning mass every day before school," says Goodwin. "Sometimes Mike Warnke attended mass with us." Tim's sister Terri explains, "I believe Mike got interested in Catholicism from hanging out with us. He was like a piece of furniture at our house."[14] One day Mike announced to the Schraders that he, too, wanted to become a Catholic. In the spring of his senior year in high school, Warnke was confirmed in the Catholic Church. His sponsor was Tim's dad, Paul "Jerry" Smith.[15] Two months after being confirmed, Mike graduated with the rest of his class at Rim High in the class of '65. Everybody we talked to who knew Mike Warnke at "Rim" remembers him first and foremost as a chronic storyteller. His high school partner in various escapades was Jeff Nesmith. Once, says Jeff, Mike had a date but no car, and Jeff had his parents' Lincoln. "Mike talked me into dropping him and his date off at a restaurant and then picking them up after dinner. Before we picked up Mike's date, we stopped at a local uniform store and got me a chauffeur's cap. From the moment the girl got into the car, Mike spun this wild tale about me being an orphan boy and how his family had taken me in, and how I sometimes performed various services for them such as being their chauffeur. She just soaked it all in." The thing that always struck Nesmith about his pal was that Warnke would never break out of character. "We'd go into some restaurant, and Mike would pretend to be a Russian immigrant who couldn't speak English. I'd translate Mike's order into English for the waitress. Sometimes ÄÄjust to get himÄÄ I'd order something I knew he'd hate. But Mike was always enough of a pro that he'd stick with it and wouldn't say anything . . . until we got outside the restaurant and he'd yell at me." The Schraders also knew Mike as a boy with the gift of gab. "Michael is a showman," says Shirley. "He is an actor, and he always swore he would never make a living with his hands, that he would make his living 2632 with his mouth." Keith, Jr., adds: "Mike is the kind of guy that can sell somebody the Golden Gate Bridge. Or swamp land in Florida. I gotta hand it to him. I wish I was as good a salesman." In high school, storytelling had been a diversion, a way to get by. According to his friends in college, it would increasingly become a part of Mike Warnke's identity. Mike Warnke at College Here begins the critical period described in The Satan Seller, the defining moment of Mike Warnke's later testimony and ministryÄÄhis involvement with and subsequent banishment from a satanic cult. On September 13, 1965, Mike Warnke began school at San Bernardino Valley College, a two-year school.[16] Mike writes in The Satan Seller that it was after he started college that he first was introduced to drugs, sex, and finally Satanism. And, he continues, it was only after the Satanists threw him out of their coven that he joined the navy. Warnke's military records say he entered the navy on June 2, 1966.[17] Therefore, whatever happened in Mike's life regarding Satanism had to have happened between September 13, 1965, and June 2, 1966. (See sidebar "Under a Full Moon," p. 9.) Mike, in his 1991 book, Schemes of Satan, claims to have had no close friends at college and to have virtually disappeared: In my own case, being away from home at college and not having any close friends there meant that almost no one could have known what was happening to me except, of course, the members of the Satanic Brotherhood, and they were not telling![18] In reality, Mike Warnke simply did what countless other freshmen have done: he found a new circle of friends. We found that new circle, and they were not a part of the Satanic Brotherhood. None of these people are mentioned by Warnke in The Satan Seller or anywhere else. Greg Gilbert[19] was one of Mike's first and closest friends at college. Today an English professor at a southern California university, Greg reflects upon the notoriety of his old college roommate. "After Mike became a star, I assumed that since he had gotten this far with his Satan story, he'd always get away with it. I never knew what to do. Who could you tell?" Right around the time college started in 1965, Greg met Mike through a mutual friend, Dennis Pekus.[20] Greg was living with his elderly grandparents in San Bernardino and took Warnke to meet them. "When my grandparents said they were from Tennessee, Mike said, `I come from Tennessee, too,' " Greg recalls. "Before the evening was over he had us all convinced he was a long-lost relative. Next thing we knew, he'd talked his way into living with us." Greg's college girlfriend, Dawn Andrews,[21] gave us her assessment. "The first time I saw Mike Warnke was at Greg's house. He was introduced to me as Greg's cousin," says Dawn. "He told everybody he was. I remember how upset I was when The Satan Seller came out, because what Warnke said was a lie. He has a very fertile imagination." 2633 Dyana Cridelich[22] was another of Mike Warnke's college friends introduced by Greg. "After he got famous, I always wanted to write him a letter and say, Mike, remember me? The one you gave the silver cross to? When were you able to have this coven of fifteen hundred people? Don't you remember, about the most exciting thing we used to do was play croquet in Greg's backyard?' " In The Satan Seller, Mike never mentions croquet. He was too busy becoming a teenage alcoholic. I attended classes regularly at first, but I wasn't about to cut down on my drinking. As the days went by, it became harder to concentrate on what the professors were saying, but I could still talk my way out of anything, and this carried me through. I was drinking so much by now, it was starting to wreck my stomach."[23] Was Mike a heavy drinker? Not according to those who knew him. "We drank occasionally," says Greg, "but mostly we just talked about it. We weren't of age, and alcohol was hard to come by." This group of college freshmen often sat on the lawn between classes, or got together in the student union cafeteria, The Tomahawk Room. It was there that Lois Eckenrod,[24] a girl who was soon to be his fiancee, joins the story. "Mike and I met in September or October, that first semester at Valley," Lois said. "It was only a couple of months before we got engaged. Hardly a day went by that we didn't see each other." His friends remember Mike Warnke as thin, with thick glasses and short hair. He was bright, he was mainly happy ÄÄthough Lois remembers he could swing easily to depression. Yet Mike says in The Satan Seller that when college started, he was a "heavyset, jovial guy" who only later lost weight due to drug use. His hair, he writes, was already collar length. Within a short time, he claims to have become a full-fledged hippie: I made a return trip to the Salvation Army and bought some black pants and freaky shirts. My hair was longer than ever, and I bleached it blond. I was really craving attention, and I got it. You know, weird people attract chicks.[25] "He looked like everybody else," says Greg. He did have one constant accessory, a silver cross. (This cross Warnke gave to Dyana, she says.) Warnke writes in The Satan Seller that he frequented a coffeehouse called Penny University, where he danced, obtained hard liquor, and got acquainted with the owner while practicing his fake English accent.[26] Lois says that she and Mike did go to Penny University, "quite a bit because Mike really liked folk music. But there was no room for dancing. The place was full of tables and stuff." Cornerstone also talked with John Ingro,[27] who in 1965 not only owned Penny U., but also was a district attorney (currently he is a San Bernardino judge). "You couldn't dance there. It was very small, and packed with chairs. As far as alcohol, we only served coffee at a penny a cup. That's where the place got its name." As for remembering Mike 2634 and the fake English accent? "No. Is this a joke?" Storytelling in the Tomahawk Room Storytelling developed into an art form among the Tomahawk Room crowd. One student, Gary Manbeck, is remembered as having some of the best stories. "Gary always told stories about being in the Green Beret," says Dawn. "He was very good, but I never thought any of it was true." Mike Warnke joined right in. "Gary and Mike vied for attention with stories, trying to be the life of the party," says George Eubank,[28] another of the Tomahawk crowd. "Who can one-up ya. That's a real good description of the two of them together." Warnke produced a never-ending stream of tall tales. "He claimed he had some kind of white witchcraft background," recalls Greg Gilbert. "He claimed he'd been reincarnated any number of times, that he was born in the Irish Moors in the 1570s. Along with his other stories, he claimed he'd once been a Trappist monk." In The Satan Seller, Warnke paints himself as a freshman guru, dispensing wisdom to an eager audience of disciples: Most of my friends were the pseudo-intellectual type. We liked to lie out on the lawn in the quad after classes and discuss psychology, philosophy, religion, art, and politics. Other students began coming around, and they seemed to look to me for answers to their questions. Anything I said was okay with them. And it was certainly okay with me. If they were that hung up for a leader, I was happy to oblige." [29] Greg Gilbert remembers things this way: "We sat out under the trees at school, all right. And there were times we listened to Mike tell his tall tales. But if Mike thought we believed what he was saying, or that we looked at him like some kind of guru, he was greatly mistaken. We were all part of the same bragging team." It was difficult, at times, to know whether Warnke believed his own stories or not. "I don't think it was in fun. I think he himself wanted to believe it," says Phyliss Catalano,[30] Lois's best friend. "I used to sit there and be embarrassed, because I'd think, How could somebody that young have done all these things? He'd done everything. And everything he told was with a straight face." Phyliss's mother, Mary Catalano,[31] saw Warnke on a regular basis when the gang gathered at the Catalano house. "He was a likable young man when he visited our house," she says, "but anything brought up in conversation ÄÄhe'd done it. He said he'd been a Greek dancer, and he'd dance for us, round and round. He said he'd been a professional ambulance driver. And he was a monkÄÄhe'd come to the house all dressed in black. Of course, we never believed him. We just said, `Boy, is he one big liar.' " In college, as he'd done in high school, Warnke continued to costume himself for his roles. Mike particularly liked being a priest. "I remember at Halloween he dressed up like a priest and went around pretending," says Dawn. "My parents saw him ÄÄthey're very CatholicÄÄ so 2635 I heard about it." Another occasion for the priest impersonation was a double date with Lois and Phyliss and her boyfriend David Gibbet. "I'll never forget when he went dressed as a priest to Jay's Coffeehouse," says Lois. "He met us there, and came walking in wearing robes and a white collar. I about died." Yet another student, Tom Bolger,[32] recalls Warnke boasting how he'd dressed as a priest and gone panhandling in downtown San Bernardino. "He said he'd made fifty dollars." And finally, Greg recalls Mike unsuccessfully using the priest bit to get drinks. "He got the robes at a costume shop, went to Corky's Liquor Store, and tried to get Christian Brothers wine for the mass. They just laughed him out." "The Satan Seller" And the Way Things Really Were According to The Satan Seller, though, things are by now getting serious. The story is set in motion by the mysterious college-age individual named "Dean Armstrong," who Warnke alleges was a satanic high priest. Mike says Dean lured him into drug use, sexual promiscuity, witchcraft, and Satanism. We will examine these elements of the story, then compare each with what witnesses remember. For starters, Mike's associates at school affirm that none among them remotely resembled the Dean character in The Satan Seller. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ 2636 According to the book, Mike was encouraged by Dean to quit drinking so much and start smoking marijuana. Mike tells Dean no, but later an unnamed roommate brings up the subject again: My stomach was still hurting. I tried everything I could think of, except giving up drinking. My new roommate suggested I try . . . [grass], and not wanting to be left out, I finally went along with it. . . . . . . I really liked marijuana.[33] Regarding drug use, Greg laughs. "Drugs? No way, not at Valley, and not in 1965. Two years later there was plenty of grass around, but back in '65 we still believed Reefer Madness." Did Warnke ever talk about drugs around anybody else? "None of us were into drugs," says Dyana. "We didn't even smoke cigarettes." Yet in The Satan Seller, Warnke and his friends are allegedly full-blown into drug use early in the year: When we tried the peyote, we decided it was better and heavier than pot. We also started eating mescaline in our food in increasing quantities, and from there we went on to reds. . . . . . . Some doctors came to the campus to conduct controlled group experiments on [LSD]. My friends and I decided to volunteer for the tests.[34] Not only do Mike's friends deny controlled or uncontrolled experimentation with drugs, but according to the records, no LSD experiments took place on the campus of San Bernardino Valley College. This was underscored in our conversation with Dr. George Zaharopoulos, head of the Social Sciences Department at Valley. "I taught here during those years, and we never, ever, asked for or had any LSD experiments take place here. This is only a junior college." In ®The Satan Seller¯ Mike not only claims to have used drugs, but to have been a major-league drug trafficker: One time I took some money for a drug payoff down to El Centro, a burg in the desert of California, not far from the border town of Mexicali. A really big load was involved, and this caused quite a flap. It was the most money I had ever seen at one time ÄÄfifty thousand dollars in bundles of hundred-dollar bills.[35] On his Mike Warnke Alive! album, Mike further claims: I'd had hepatitis four times from shooting up with dirty needles. I had scabs all over my face from shooting up crystal. I was a speed freak. I weighed 110 pounds soaking wet. My skin had turned yellow. My hair was falling out. My teeth were rotting out of my head. I'd been pistol-whipped five or six times. My jaw had been broken. My nose had been almost ripped off. I had a bullet hole in my right leg. Two bullet holes in my left leg. Greg Gilbert and the others saw Mike on a daily basis, and say that it is totally impossible for Mike to have had hepatitis, facial scabs from injecting "crystal," and wounds from being shot three times. 2637 "Without us knowing it? It's a lie," Greg says. Lois's reaction to Mike's tale? "That's just make-believe," she states. "Mike never fell in with drugs. My dad was an alcoholic, and because of our family situation, I'd had to move in with the Catalanos. So I was really sensitive to things like that. Second, I was training to be a nurse, and I think I would have known if he was using drugs. I wouldn't have dated Mike if he was drugged. I didn't even allow people to drink around me." In The Satan Seller, drugs and sex were the magnet that drew Mike Warnke along. Warnke gradually found himself running errands for Dean, attending occult discussion meetings, until, finally, Dean decided his charge was ready for the real thing: a satanic ritual service. The Black Mass in an orange grove turned out to be just what anybody would expect who's seen ®Rosemary's Baby¯ or other films of this genre: black robes, a naked woman on the altar, blasphemy and incantations. "After the Invocation of Satan, I listened intently to the Offertory, where the members offered their souls to Lord Satan."[36] According to ®The Satan Seller¯, Warnke signed his name in blood to give his soul to Satan, and a few pages later took over the coven from Dean as the new High Priest. I swung the now screaming cat over the smoking caldron and then over the heart of the girl on the altar. Then, when the sword point touched the cat's belly, I thrust it in. "Now!" I suddenly shouted. . . . I drew an upside-down star on the girl's stomach, with the freshly spilled blood. From the weird utterances that now came from her mouth, I knew we were being graced by the presence of one of the denizens of hell.[37] Just before he published The Satan Seller in 1973, Warnke brought manuscript copies to his old high school friends Jeff Nesmith and Tim Smith, and asked them to sign affidavits swearing the events depicted were true. Jeff Nesmith had lost track of Warnke after high school and had little idea what he did during college or who he hung out with. On a rare visit to Mike's apartment during his college days, Mike asked Jeff to join a "coven." But Jeff laughed it off, thinking it was one of Mike's stories. In any event, when Warnke asked Jeff to sign the affidavit, he refused.[38] "My initial reaction to the book was, `Come on, Mike! This is poppycock!' " Tim Smith dropped out of college after only two months, but notes, "I had contact with Mike off and on all the way through the fall of 1965 until the summer of 1966." Tim states he never saw Warnke with long hair or in the drug-induced emaciated state he claimed to be during that period. "Sign the affidavit? I told him, `Nope. Can't do that.' " Warnke's two high school buddies saw him sporadically throughout the year, but not every day. Yet Mike brought Jeff and Tim the affidavits, but not Lois, Greg, Dawn or the others. It does not speak well for the veracity of Warnke's claims that he did not ask those who knew him on a daily basis in San Bernardino Valley College to endorse his story. 2638 The College Crowd and the Occult Interestingly, most of Mike's college friends did dabble in occult activities. "Some of them were into seance and Ouija board type stuff," says George Eubank. "But it wasn't serious, just the kind of stuff freshmen in college play with. Especially sheltered freshmen in college that are all of a sudden free from their parents, spreading their wings, so to speak." Bill Lott,[39] another college student who is now a Christian, took the experimentation more seriously. "People were messing around with stuff like reincarnation, tarot cards, Ouija boards. Mike was one of those people. But he never talked about Satanism or being a devil worshiper," Lott says. "People talked about witches and Ouija boards," says Dawn. "It was that era. None of us belonged to a coven, and none of us were witches. If we'd have thought anybody was serious, it would have scared us to death. We did table tipping once, and the table tipped and that was that. No more table tipping for me." Warnke and a few of the guys created a not-so-secret society. "We started a club called The Royal Order of the Lantern," says Greg. "We played chess, drank beer, and told tall tales. It was a group that really never took off." Adds George Eubank, "The Royal Order of the Lantern had to do with this lamp we'd stolen from somebody's driveway. Warnke wanted to get an apartment and have a group of guys. I don't think it was supposed to be secret. It was supposed to be fun and games. It flopped because nobody was willing to put the effort into it. Mike carried it as far as he could at the time. It was kind of a defunct fraternity that never got anywhere." The Royal Order of the Lantern is a far cry from ®The Satan Seller¯'s fifteen hundred followers in three cities, financed by a worldwide network of Satanists. Mike eventually did get his own apartment, and the place became a favorite hangout for the Tomahawk Room crowd ÄÄthe guys in particular. Mike gave both Greg Gilbert and Bill Lott keys. The apartment "was above a garage," says Greg. "There was an exterior stairway that went up to a room with an open-beam ceiling, the gable coming to a point." In The Satan Seller, Warnke describes the exterior of his apartment in this way: a second-floor apartment approached by an outside stairway. The interior, however, was redecorated by the Satanists after Warnke became high priest: A long, low, oxblood leather couch replaced the sagging old brown horsehair one, and there were two sets of bookshelves full of books [on the occult]. . . . The biggest surprise was on the floor ÄÄtwo chicks sitting on a white rug . . . . . . . "We hope you like it, Mike, because we come with the apartment," said the blonde one named Lorraine.[40] The two women allegedly remained at Warnke's beck and call, rarely leaving the apartment unless it was to get groceries or drugs. "It's a fantasy," says Dennis Pekus, who knew Mike in both high school and 2639 college. Greg Gilbert says he never knew Mike Warnke to have a girlfriend in college besides Lois Eckenrod. None of the college friends who frequented the apartment ever saw occult books, an oxblood leather couch, or two love slaves. Mike says plenty of "soft pink sex"[41] is at the center of his satanic experiences. These begin with the orgies Warnke says initially drew him into the coven: Then they split off into couples. It was great, because there was a girl for every guy, not like most places I had been where there is a chronic chick shortage. Cool-looking, sexy girls, too. . . . These chicks were free-lovers. . . . "Come on over here, Mike," a blonde said.[42] Then there's the sexual recruiting Mike says he helped organize and rituals that degenerate from cat killing to the rape of an innocent virgin. (Warnke is careful to exclude himself from direct participation in the rape, though he writes that it was his idea.) In a later book, Schemes of Satan, Warnke suggests that sex was a routine part of the rituals: On more than one occasion, I regret to admit, we participated in ritual sexual abuse that even involved rape. Most of the time I was too doped up to perform sexually, but I would watch these lust rituals with great desire.[43] Such tales of perversion and criminal activity raise serious questions. If Mike led in acts of rape and other violent crimes, why (after his conversion) didn't he turn himself in and aid the police in apprehending his old satanic friends? If, on the other hand, his rape and abuse stories are not true, what does this say about the imagination of their author? Mike's college crowd completely rejects these stories of violence and sexual perversion. "Oh, my goodness, no," says Phyliss. "To talk about sex orgies and all these drug parties. He didn't do them with Lois and me, that's for sure!" "I never slept with him," says Lois. "We kissed and hugged, but I never would have had sex with him because I was a very devout Catholic, and I wanted to be a virgin till I got married. Thank God I didn't marry him." There always seemed to be a story. In college, as in the high school role-playing with Jeff Nesmith, Warnke refused to drop out of character. "He played it to the end," says Greg. "He never gave up. That was the remarkable thing about him. We'd question him about his stories and he always came up with some half-baked answer. And you couldn't disprove what he was saying ÄÄthat was the common thread. It was never anything we were likely to have the real answer for or the time to check into. So he could say anything he wanted." Warnke's refusal to admit to his own storytelling made him 2640 untrustworthy in the eyes of some members of the group. "I didn't know anything about his past, so I didn't know what was true and what wasn't," says Dawn. "I didn't feel like he was sincere in anything he did. If the situation required him to be macho, he was macho. If it required him to be mean, he was mean. He just sort of blended into the situation and tried to monopolize everyone. There was nothing real about him." Mike and Lois Plan Their Marriage By Christmas of 1965, Mike and Lois were seeing each other on a daily basis. "It was pretty fast that we said we were going to get married," says Lois. "Within two or three months of school starting, he gave me a rose ring with a diamond in it. It cost $60. He had to make payments on it. I thought he really loved me. And I thought I loved him, too." In The Satan Seller, Warnke has gone through his drugs, sex, and promotion to high priest before Christmas of 1965. (Trying to fit the long list of his claims onto a real calendar is a challenge. See sidebar, p. 18) Shirley Schrader says Mike had Christmas dinner in Crestline with the family. "He didn't seem emaciated by drugs to me," she says. College records show Mike Warnke left school after the first term. "Most of us dropped out after the first semester," recalls Lois. The group continued to hang out together at Mike's apartment, the Catalanos', and elsewhere. What about the Mike in The Satan Seller who flew around the country on satanic business trips to San Francisco (where he allegedly met Anton LaVey), New York, and Salem, Massachusetts? "You're a real traveling salesman for Satan, Mike, and we want you to go to Salem and get more hip with some really serious organization."[44] "How could he fly when he didn't have two pennies?" asks Lois, who adds that Mike never went anywhere, and when he did it was with her. "If he says he was a Satanist between September of 1965 to June of 1966, he's lying. How could I not know my boyfriend was into Satanism? I don't remember there ever being a time when we didn't see or talk to each other every day." Every day? "Yes," says Lois. "We went to movies together, I went to the country club with him in the mountains, we went to the beach. We used to go to Jay's Coffee Shop in San Bernardino. That was the big thing. He introduced me to hot fudge sundaes. I spent the majority of that year with him." Lois says she and Mike used to play pool over on Highland Avenue in San Bernardino. We read her a story from Warnke's book Hitchhiking on Hope Street. In it Mike writes that he got into a gunfight with Ray, a local pimp, at the pool hall: I was drunk as a skunk when I shot at him with the .44, because I missed him by a country mile and blew off the corner of the pool table. . . . The two of us went roaring down the street, screaming and shooting. . . . . . . he . . . got off a lucky shot. It hit me in the leg and 2641 knocked me down.[45] The predictable reaction: "Oh, my goodness. You're kidding. . . ." Lois dissolves into laughter. According to The Satan Seller, Mike Warnke's reign as a satanic high priest ends, apparently sometime in the spring of 1966, when Warnke crumples under the strain of too much responsibility and too many drugs. On a "Focus on the Family" radio broadcast, he described his appearance at this time: "I had white hair. It was about down to my belt. . . . I had six-inch fingernails; I painted them black."[46] (See picture, p. 8, taken April 30, 1966.) Warnke says he was intentionally overdosed with heroin by one of his live-in love slaves and thrown, naked, on the steps of a local hospital. After a few weeks of drying out at the hospital, Warnke escaped by joining the Navy.[47] On the ®Mike Warnke Alive!¯ album, he describes his hair length the night before boot camp: "It hit me just below the pockets." He continues: The night before I went to boot camp I went to this party. . . . I smoked a bunch of dope and ate a bunch of reds and got crashed out in a corner. . . . But the girl I was with decided the thing that would really be cute is if she braided my hair. . . . She put beads with the first bunch, feathers with the next bunch, a piece of red ribbon about that long with the last bunch, braided it all together, and hung a jingle bell on the end of each braid. Lois says she was the girl who gave Mike his going-away party. When she heard this story for the first time in 1979, she was furious. "I couldn't believe it when I heard that!" she says. "I'm the one who gave him the going-away party! We never touched drugs. He never had long hair ÄÄhis hair was short, short, short!" Greg and Dawn, who had just gotten married, offered Lois the use of their apartment for the party. "I bought a big cake decorated with a navy boat," Lois remembers. "It said `Ship Ahoy, Mike.' Dawn and I made food and pop, and we had a bunch of people over. It was just clean fun. I took him to the bus stop, put him on the bus to go to boot camp," Lois says. "We were supposed to get married when he finished." Mike, Sue, and Campus Crusade On June 2, 1966, Mike Warnke joined the U.S. Navy. During the time he was there, he and Lois stayed in touch by letter. According to Warnke's official story, boot camp is where he meets two Christians who are such a bold witness for Christ that the ex-Satanist converts to Christianity. According to his service records, Mike Warnke graduated from boot camp August 22, 1966.[48] His fiancee, Lois, and the Schrader family attended graduation. "I went down with a friend and gave Mike a St. Christopher medal," says Lois. There was a fifteen-day leave after camp ended. During this time Lois noticed a change in Mike. "He was different. He was carrying a Bible. I asked him about it, and he said he'd found Christ at boot camp. He was real excited about being a Christian, finding God." Within days Mike told Lois "he'd had this 2642 Christian conversion and he had to go on. That this was it. I didn't see him anymore after that." The Satan Seller, once again, tells a different story. There is, of course, no mention of Lois Eckenrod before or after boot camp. Instead, when Warnke returns home from boot camp, he begins dating Sue Studer, a fellow Rim High alumnus who was soon to become his first wife. "I turned around and was surprised to see Sue Studer, the girl who had always dated the football heroes. Sue was still as pretty as ever."[49] Warnke writes that he then told Sue of his recent conversion to Christ, and to his delight Sue replied she, too, had become a Christian. "Sue had worked on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ at the Arrowhead Springs Headquarters."[50] In The Satan Seller, Mike Warnke says that he was chased by Campus Crusaders attempting to convert him when he was the campus Satanist. However, Lois and several others do remember Mike Warnke taking some interest in religion and Campus Crusade before boot camp. "I remember him starting to get interested in religion," Lois says. "He'd go up the hill to Campus Crusade's headquarters." Just how early Mike dabbled with Christianity is unclear, but at least one witness says she saw him proclaiming faith in Christ in 1965, a whole year before The Satan Seller says he became a Christian. Charlotte Tweeten,[51] a 1964 Rim graduate who attended Valley College, told Cornerstone, "It was in the fall of 1965. I know that because by winter I had already left school. Mike Warnke came up to me while I was sitting there drinking coffee and started proselytizing me. It was the born-again thing. Mike was doing his religious thing and Sue Studer was with him." On September 7, 1966, Mike Warnke reported to Hospital Corps School in San Diego.[52] Mike gives us our choice of stories as to why he chose to become a medic. In The Satan Seller he writes he joined the Hospital Corps because "I could be of more use to God mending guys than swabbing decks."[53] On the album Hey, Doc!, he says he joined the Hospital Corps because of drugs and nurses: "Dope and women . . . for pay . . . far out!"[54] In late 1966, Warnke graduated from medic school and, after training with the marines at Camp Pendleton, went to work at the naval dispensary in San Diego.[55] Marriage records show Mike and Sue Studer were married May 13, 1967, in Crestline.[56] Soon after, the couple moved onto San Diego's Louisiana Street. While in San Diego, the Warnkes visited Scott Memorial Baptist Church, pastored by now well-known church leader and author Tim LaHaye and his wife, Beverly. In The Satan Seller, Warnke offers one version of what happened when the LaHayes visited the Warnke home. Mike says he told Tim LaHaye about the Illuminati. I had already told him I had been to an occult conference. "There were some weird guys that seemed to be the real backers of the whole thing. . . . I heard the word Illuminati."[57] 2643 "The conversation really wasn't like he put it in his book," says Dr. LaHaye.[58] "I brought up the term Illuminati first. I had been reading a book on the subject, and I tried testing him to see if he really knew anything about it. He didn't seem to have ever heard the word before." "Mike gave us a little of his testimony," says Beverly LaHaye,[59] who is now the head of Concerned Women for America. "He said a book about the leaders of the Satan church had disappeared off his shelf when he became interested in Christianity." Dr. LaHaye sums up, "His type of personality tells stories for effect, not for accuracy." Mike in Vietnam In November of 1967, the Warnkes moved back to Camp Pendleton and Oceanside. In May of 1969, Warnke was transferred from Pendleton to the Third Marine Division, Vietnam.[60] Warnke says he spent his time in Vietnam, like so many who served there, anesthetized from the experience of war by drugs.[61] The following is a list of the other things Mike Warnke says happened to him while in Vietnam: My faith was weakening fast![62] A buddy of mine was killedÄÄa mortar shell landed directly on him, disintegrating him except for his shoes.[63] I was existing from one bottle to the next.[64] The message [a spy] was carrying was a detailed description of myself and the skipper, identifying us as prime targets for the Viet Cong. . . . . . . I shot a spy, went to my tent, cooked dinner, and ate. And something died inside of me.[65] I was the first to enter the tent [of marines who had been "fragged"ÄÄkilled by their own people]. [66] Anyway, one day we were into this fire fight. . . . Everybody is shooting at each other. . . . . . . All of a sudden: zooooom, zonk, and my arm is pinned to the ground with an arrow! I look over at this other Marine Corps sergeant, who goes, "Only you, man, only you!"[67] One time I went through a village and was handing out candy bars to little kids. Just standing in the back of my Jeep. . . . When I get done, I'm putting the box back and this twelve-year-old kid goes in his house, comes back out with a gun, and shoots me.[68] Add to the list this story from Keith Schrader, Jr.: "Mike told me that he killed a man in a bar fight in the Philippines." Despite the impression such a long list may give, records show Warnke was in Vietnam for only six months. In The Satan Seller Mike says that he was wounded twice. In his 2644 second book, Hitchhiking on Hope Street, he says he was wounded five times.[69] Military records obtained by Cornerstone show that Mike Warnke, hospital corpsman, second class, service number B98 05 49, received one Purple Heart, and, along with the rest of his unit, several additional medals. The Third Marine Division he was connected to was withdrawn from Vietnam in October of 1969 and sent to Okinawa.[70] Warnke was sent back to the U.S. in the spring of 1970 and for the first time was able to see his infant son, Brendon Michael, born December 2, 1969, while Mike was overseas. In return for reenlisting for six more years, Mike was enrolled in cardiopulmonary school. The Warnke family settled in San Diego. George Wakeling,[71] who worked with young drug addicts, says he was contacted by Mike around this time. George was the founder of the Drug Prevention Center, or "the Hotline," a ministry to addicts at the Melodyland Christian Center in Anaheim. Mike started spending time at the Hotline, and getting instruction from Hotline speaker Dick Handley. It was through the Hotline that Mike made his first contacts with Jesus Movement-era Christianity. Mike Meets the Jesus Movement Melodyland was one of the Southern California centers of the charismatic renewal movement then sweeping the Church. The ex-addicts and others who ran the Hotline were among the original Jesus People, part of a new youth counterculture uniquely compatible with the charismatics. Both preferred informal gatherings and a vital, experience-oriented faith. The culturally conservative Melodyland crowd thus understood when the exuberant young hippies suggested "getting high on Jesus." Both groups majored on the theme of acceptance. The mainstream church was sadly out of touch with the needs of counterculture youth and, even more sadly, unwilling by and large to reach out to them. But Pentecostal denominations such as the Assemblies of God seemed to grasp what God was doing among children of the sixties. Uncritically, without attacking the cultural preferences of the young, many charismatics and Pentecostals shamed their mainstream peers by being (in Paul's words) all things to all men. But as with nearly all revivals, there were problems with the newly revived. The mix of uncritical acceptance plus emphasis on experience was easily taken too far. It opened the door for various cults among the Jesus People; it also opened the door for those with fascinating though unprovable conversion stories. "A lot of people came to the Hotline and told their drug testimonies," says Ron Winckler,[72] a leader there. "Mike Warnke came with the added attraction of the Satanist experience, which was a big hit with the Full Gospel Businessmen and charismatics. The times were right for that sort of testimony." Hotline speaker Dick Handley and friends in Crestline had introduced Mike Warnke to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Through Handley, Warnke met Dave Balsiger, a writer who had done promo work for Melodyland and now was media director for charismatic evangelist Morris Cerullo. 2645 After starting a youth ministry in San Diego, Cerullo had come in contact with kids dabbling with the occult and decided to write a book on the subject. Balsiger was assigned the job. It was during this time he met Mike Warnke and enlisted his aid. The book was to be called ®Witchcraft Never Looked Better.¯[73] They also created a specially outfitted trailer, purchased to house "research materials" such as voodoo oil, graveyard dust, and fortune-telling spray. The vehicle, dubbed the "Witchmobile," was to be unveiled at an upcoming Morris Cerullo convention, The Seventh Deeper Life Conference.[74] Cerullo's vision, Warnke's story, and Balsiger's media talents combined to make the January 1972 meeting a smash. A twelve-page tabloid on Cerullo was inserted into the ®San Diego Evening Tribune.¯ Warnke and the Witchmobile were introduced to the media at a press conference, and at the Saturday night youth rally.[75] Christianity Today covered the event, noting that Cerullo "bore down heavily on the theme that satanic forces are loose in the nation."[76] Mike Warnke, who gave a seminar on the occult, was one of the newsmen's favorites. After the January 1972 conference, Warnke and Balsiger parted with Cerullo and decided to write a book together about Mike's Satanist experience. We asked Dave Balsiger about evidence for the story told in the book. Was he concerned about that? "Oh, yes." And what was the evidence Mike offered for The Satan Seller's fifteen-hundred-member cult; the all-powerful Illuminati, the intricate rituals complete with various knives, candles, books, and robes? "Mike took me to some of the sites." (The reader should recall that Mike's experiences had allegedly occurred six years before the book was written.) "I saw where there had been a fire started. And there were some indications of cultic writings and graffiti."[77] During the first half of 1972, Warnke had been working hard (with the help of Morris Cerullo's organization) to get out of the navy so he could go full-time into the ministry. "I helped him write letters," recalls Cerullo staffer Jean Jolly,[78] "and I got hold of [Congressman] Del Clawson's office. We got him out of the navy." On June 2, Warnke was granted an early discharge on conscientious-objector basis.[79] "As soon as he got out, Mike sent a letter to Morris Cerullo's headquarters and said we were forbidden to use his name or his material," recalls George Eckeroth,[80] who headed Jolly's department. "And Balsiger left Cerullo around the same time." Mike launched his ministry under the banner "Alpha Omega Outreach." In mid-June, Warnke went to Explo '72 in Dallas, a sort of Campus Crusade version of Woodstock attended by over eighty thousand.[81] Guideposts was running a feature on Warnke's story,[82] and his book was due in the fall.[83] "The Satan Seller" a Best-seller Logos International released The Satan Seller in early 1973.[84] At that moment, Christian publishing was in the midst of an unparalleled boom with the success of blockbusters like The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey and the Praise books by Merlin Carothers. 2646 While the party lasted, Logos was the life of the party, the industry leader in both output and income.[85] Yet, as a former Logos editor has admitted, the boom-time books were often "too quickly written."[86] That same year, Logos published Michael, Michael, Why Do You Hate Me?,¯ the purported story of born-again rabbi Michael Esses. A later expose revealed Esses' bogus credentials and immorality.[87] Into this heady atmosphere The Satan Seller was born. The book was positively reviewed in publications ranging from Moody Monthly to The Christian Century, with nary a question as to its credibility.[88] "The only thing I remember about that book is that it sold better than we thought it would," says Logos founder Dan Malachuk. Indeed, by April 1973, The Satan Seller was a religious best-seller.[89] Other ex-Satanist testimonies followed Warnke's. John Todd's warnings about the Illuminati and a conspiracy of witches were promoted in a series of Jack Chick comic books. According to Ron Winckler, Todd visited the Hotline once with a group of underlings to check out Mike Warnke. "There was a backstage confrontation," says Ron Winckler."Todd accused Warnke of stealing his material about the Illuminati." Another alleged ex-Satanist, Hershel Smith, purchased the Witchmobile from Morris Cerullo and began his own tour. Smith's testimony, seen in the 1974 book The Devil and Mr. Smith, coauthored by Dave Hunt, was an apparent effort to one-up The Satan Seller.[90] Hershel Smith eventually dropped out of sight. Todd's story was later discredited. When a book debunking Todd was written, Mike Warnke wrote the forward. "We as Christians have to be careful of those who take the name of the Lord in vain," said Warnke. [91] In Ron Winckler's analysis, "Mike Warnke had the jump on John Todd. He understood the Full Gospel mind-set better." Now a published author, Mike Warnke found increasing demand for his story and told it in coffeehouses and churches beyond the West Coast.In August of 1973, Warnke spoke at a Christian music festival in Pennsylvania. The Jesus Movement had spawned its own music, and Warnke gravitated toward this fraternity of musicians. Tim Archer of the group The Archers, told the crowd at Jesus '73, "Mike Warnke is the Chaplain of Gospel Rock."[92] In his travels, Warnke had met Charles Duncombe, an elderly Pentecostal evangelist. "Brother D," who started in the ministry under English preacher Smith Wigglesworth, was loved and respected by all who knew him. In 1974 Mike, Sue, four-year-old Brendon, and newborn Jesse[93] all moved to Oklahoma near Duncombe's small school, Trinity Bible College. Mike would a