[HN Gopher] Obsidian Mirror Used by Elizabeth I's Court Astrolog...
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       Obsidian Mirror Used by Elizabeth I's Court Astrologer Has Aztec
       Origins
        
       Author : drdee
       Score  : 37 points
       Date   : 2021-10-10 00:45 UTC (3 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.smithsonianmag.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.smithsonianmag.com)
        
       | jhallenworld wrote:
       | You can make your own "scrying mirror"..
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIxNGvv-bfs
        
       | mymythisisthis wrote:
       | Like tinted glass?
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | sonofhans wrote:
       | If you're interested in John Dee, consider John Crowley's AEgypt
       | books[0]. Crowley is a fantastic writer, a true craftsman,
       | writing dense, detailed, and somewhat slow fantasy. John Dee and
       | other Elizabethan occultists feature prominently in the books.
       | 
       | 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AEgypt
        
       | chrisseaton wrote:
       | Note that although 'Aztec' sounds super old, they were actually a
       | civilisation from as recently as 1300 to 1550 or so, so not
       | nearly as long ago as it sounds, and actually relatively
       | contemporary To Elizabeth.
        
         | adolph wrote:
         | _Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603)[a] was Queen of
         | England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in
         | 1603. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen
         | Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House
         | of Tudor._
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I
         | 
         |  _To 21st-century eyes, [court astrologer John] Dee 's
         | activities straddle magic and modern science, but the
         | distinction would have meant nothing to him. He was invited to
         | lecture on Euclidean geometry at the University of Paris while
         | still in his early twenties. He was an ardent promoter of
         | mathematics, a respected astronomer and a leading expert in
         | navigation, who trained many who would conduct England's
         | voyages of discovery._
         | 
         |  _Meanwhile, he immersed himself in sorcery, astrology and
         | Hermetic philosophy. Much effort in his last 30 years went into
         | trying to commune with angels, so as to learn the universal
         | language of creation and achieve a pre-apocalyptic unity of
         | mankind._
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dee
        
       | Brakenshire wrote:
       | There's a 15 minute BBC radio programme based around this object
       | here:
       | 
       | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b01ghc4h
        
       | davidw wrote:
       | Obsidian gets around:
       | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figure?id=10.1371/...
        
       | motohagiography wrote:
       | How did an artifact for communicating with other worldly beings
       | that was an ancient and sacred artifact, which originated from
       | the _Aztecs_ , who lived on _the other side_ of the planet, get
       | all the way through Spain to not just anyone, but the head
       | Astrologer to the _Queen of England_? You have to ask the
       | question, could the connection be that the go-between for the
       | _Aztec empire_ and the Queen of England was brokered, even
       | indirectly, by extra-terrestrials? Ancient astronaut theorists
       | say yes.
       | 
       | I would say, no, it was by boat. But Smithsonian just giving up
       | and mixing archeology and the occult may signal a defeat, where
       | they were like, "the only way we're going to get young people
       | into the field is if we address this stuff, because that's what
       | they're interested in. Post that Queen's astrologer and Aztec
       | magic portal thing, and let's A/B it."
        
         | djur wrote:
         | The article says:
         | 
         | > [The Spanish] quickly began shipping treasures, including
         | obsidian mirrors, back to Europe... Dee was interested in the
         | Spanish Conquest and had probably heard stories about obsidian
         | mirrors... Dee may have bought the mirror in Bohemia (now part
         | of the Czech Republic) in the 1580s...
         | 
         | Not seeing any suggestion of magic portals or ETs here. It is
         | of historical interest that we've been able to verify the
         | Mesoamerican origin of these mirrors, and the connection to an
         | interesting figure like Dee makes a good headline. This isn't
         | an earthshaking revelation, and I don't think it's being
         | treated as such.
        
         | jameshart wrote:
         | Maybe they are A/B testing something because the article I get
         | when I view this link is not about aliens or the occult.
         | Perhaps I'm in the control cell.
        
           | BitwiseFool wrote:
           | I have no idea what pathways short-circuited in my brain, but
           | I didn't remember what A/B stood for and my brain said
           | "Aztec/Britain". And I was like, wait, we have a term for
           | Aztec to Britain testing, how in the hell did that happen?
           | 
           | Then suddenly, my brain started working properly again and I
           | remembered the concept of A/B testing.
        
           | estaseuropano wrote:
           | I too don't see any occult references, neither any suggestion
           | that this object was very unique. We know about it because he
           | used it and it ended in the British museum.
        
         | detaro wrote:
         | Huh? Where does the article say anything like that?
        
           | lapetitejort wrote:
           | I'm also puzzling over GPs comment. You can't describe the
           | mirror without saying how it was used. Nowhere does the
           | article say that it's the _product_ of occult or extra-
           | terrestrial activities.
        
         | dboreham wrote:
         | Could also have been Dr. Who
        
           | cperciva wrote:
           | Time Lords _are_ extra-terrestrial.
        
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       (page generated 2021-10-13 23:00 UTC)