Glossary N to Z

Please note: The following terms are provided as basic definitions, and are by no means comprehensive. Many definitions came from the Internet, but I do not endorse any of the attributed websites. I encourage you to do your own research if a particular subject is of interest. Sources and further information can be found at the website links highlighted at the end of the definitions.

Hint: Use the Find this page (Ctrl+F) feature on your computer to search for a key word.


Newtonian model
– The system of mechanics based upon Isaac Newton's laws of motion in which mass and energy are considered as separate, conservative, mechanical properties, in contrast to their treatment in relativistic mechanics. Source: Exavar His theories, such as the law of gravity, hold up pretty well in most cases, but not with tiny particles as explored in quantum mechanics.

After Newton, and up through the Industrial Revolution, the universe was likened to a giant clockwork mechanism, and God was reduced to the role of the prime clockmaker. Then quantum mechanics came along, and all hell broke loose in the scientific world because the Newtonian model didn’t hold true at the subatomic level.

Oversoul – like the ego, oversoul gets a top award for “word with a variety of interpretations.” Here are some interesting viewpoints:

The oversoul is a large fragmentation of god, and contains all of the pieces of each physical life that we have been, or will be, a part of. “Each oversoul has its own focus, talents, lessons it wishes to learn, and experiences it wants to have. Oversouls will also merge with other oversouls, ever expanding back into more Oneness.… So, as an individual person you may have your own memory of your lifetimes and you may also recall lifetimes shared by the collective memory of your oversoul. Sometimes, an individual may believe they are somebody in the “past” or “future” when they are sharing in the collective oversoul memory.” Source: Vibrani's One Source

Palm reading – See Chiromancy.

Peak experience – Abraham Maslow, father of humanistic psychology, describes a peak experience as one that takes you out of yourself, that makes you feel very tiny, or very large, and to some extent at one with life or nature or God. It gives you a feeling of being a part of the infinite and the eternal. These experiences tend to leave their mark on a person, change them for the better, and many people actively seek them out. They are also called mystical experiences and are an important part of many religious and philosophical traditions. Source: Personality Theories Several rock music artists discuss peak experiences in psychologist Jenny Boyd's wonderful book, Musicians in Tune. (See also Maslow, Abraham)

Pendulum – In metaphysics, a pendulum is simply a string or chain, weighted by a pointed crystal or some other form of heavy object. It’s a simple tool used for communicating and gaining guidance from our higher self (soul). It acts as an antenna that amplifies signals or energy vibrations emanating from a spiritual guide or the divine energies you’ve called upon. These vibrations focus their attention on the pendulum and cause it to move in specific directions, giving you answers to the questions you put to the tool. Spring Wolf's Paganspath Generally, it is useful when asking “yes” or “no” questions.

Diana the intuitive asked her pendulum which guy in TBIF was Robert Fludd. She said each name, and when it swung in a “yes” direction, she relayed his name to me.

Pentagram – The pentagram is a five-pointed star, often depicted within a circle. It represents the mysteries of creation and the soul of man in its relationship with the Universal Spirit.
The pentagram is used by many secret and occult societies, including the Rosicrucians, Kabbalists, and Freemasons, and is also considered a protective emblem among alchemists and magicians. During the Middle Ages, it had become a general symbol of spiritual wisdom and truth, and the figure was marked on doorways and windows to keep evil out of the house.

Physiognomy (fizzy-OG-nuh-me) – Also known as face reading, physiognomy is based on the correlation between the facial features and a person’s character. All facial characteristics including ears, hairline, eyebrows, and shape of face, lend information about the inner person. An excellent book on how to read faces is The Power of Face Reading by Rose Rosetree.

Priests – In today’s world, priests are often associated with the Catholic Church, but in ancient Egypt, priests had a variety of duties. At the head of the priesthood were the High Priests. Wisdom was regarded as extremely important, and those chosen as High Priests were experts in their fields of knowledge (architecture, astronomy, or medicine).

Other levels of priesthood included lay magicians and scribes. Magicians provided a service to their community, usually consisting of counseling, magical arts, healing, and ceremony.

The scribes were in charge of writing magical texts, issuing royal decrees, keeping and recording the funerary rites (specifically within The Book of The Dead) and keeping records vital to the bureaucracy of Ancient Egypt. The scribes often spent years working on the craft of making hieroglyphics, and within the priestly caste, it was considered the highest of honors to be a scribe in any Egyptian court or temple.

Priesthood wasn’t a total boy’s club either. According to the Crystal Links website, female priestesses’ main functions included playing music and dancing.

Projection – A psychological projection (or projection bias) is a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously transfers his or her own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts or/and emotions onto another person. Projection reduces anxiety by allowing the expression of the unwanted subconscious impulses/desires without letting the ego recognize them. The theory was developed by Sigmund Freud and further refined by his daughter Anna Freud, and for this reason, it is sometimes referred to as “Freudian projection.”  I’m a poster girl for projection.

Psyche – In psychoanalysis, the psyche refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, behavior, and personality. The word was borrowed from ancient Greek, where psyche referred to the concept of the self, encompassing the modern ideas of soul, self, and mind.

Psychic brick – A term I ripped off from Deena Zalkind Spear’s amazing book, Ears of the Angels. A psychic brick is someone who feels they have no intuition, or any ability to sense non-physical energy. If you looked in the dictionary for a psychic brick, you would see a picture of me with a large piece of cement on my head.

Pythagoras (580 BC–500 BC) – Greek mathematician Pythagoras is the author of the Pythagorean Theorem and one of the early founders of modern mathematics and geometry. He was also a legendary spiritual teacher and philosopher.

Around 529 BC, Pythagoras founded a spiritual community at Croton, Italy. He and his followers explored new ways of relating to the world by the study of numbers. “All is Numbers” was the central belief of Pythagoras and his followers. This is thought to have originated from their study of the ratios of musical harmonies, astronomy, and geometrical shapes. The mathematical understanding of music was an integral part of their philosophy and religion. Pythagoras believed in a cosmic harmony, which is the origin of his doctrine of the “music of spheres.” Source: 2Near the Edge (See also Music of the Spheres and Sacred Geometry)

Quantum physics (or quantum mechanics) – Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described by the Quantum Theory. There are five main ideas represented in Quantum Theory:

1. Energy is not continuous, but comes in small but discrete units.
2. The elementary particles behave both like particles and like waves.
3. The movement of these particles is inherently random.
4. It is physically impossible to know both the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time. The more precisely one is known, the less precise the measurement of the other is.
5. The atomic world is nothing like the world we live in.
Source: Physics and Astronomy

While at a glance this may seem like just another strange theory, it contains many clues to the fundamental nature of the universe and is more important than even relativity in the grand scheme of things.… Furthermore, it describes the nature of the universe as being much different than the world we see. As Niels Bohr, the Danish physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922, once said, “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” Source: Think Quest

Ramone, Joey – (1951-2001) Deceased lead singer for the punk band, The Ramones. Joey hailed from Queens, New York, where I was born. He was quite tall, about 6’4”.

Reincarnation – The concept of how a soul is freed from the body at death and can return into a physical lifetime with a new body over and over again. The main purpose of reincarnation is growth and expansion of the soul. Reincarnation levels the playing field so that a soul has infinite opportunities to grow despite the length or circumstances of a particular lifetime. In other words, what might appear to be a horrible lifetime (physical abuse, war, famine, etc.) actually provides the setting for the soul to work through karma.

Resonance – In acoustics, resonance is the intensification and prolongation of sound, especially of a musical tone. Resonance is sometimes called sympathetic vibration. If an E string is plucked on a guitar, a properly tuned second guitar in close proximity will vibrate “in sympathy.” The sound waves from the first guitar “pluck” the second guitar’s E string. People, like musical instruments, resonate at a certain frequency or vibration. Through the Law of Attraction, our frequency or resonance attracts people and situations of a similar vibe.

Rosicrucians – A secret society of the European Renaissance, Rosicrucian concepts were highly influenced by the Hermetica, an ancient Egyptian group of books containing spiritual wisdom and generally attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, “thrice-great Hermes.”

I was drawn to this secret brotherhood because of Dr. Fludd’s supposed association with the group. Several organizations today claim to follow the teachings of the Rosicrucians regarding personal enlightenment. According to AMORC, an acronym for Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, Rosicrucianism is not a religion and does not require a specific code of belief or conduct. Students come from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds.

The Rosicrucian path incorporates both metaphysics and mysticism. Metaphysics is that which falls beyond the five physical senses; for example, intuition, visualization, and healing techniques. Mysticism is simply the process by which you may eventually experience direct, conscious union with the Absolute, Divine Mind, Universal Intelligence.... This is not done by adhering to specific tenets or beliefs, but by learning and applying natural laws which, over time, allow you to experience Divine or Cosmic Consciousness. Source: AMORC Rosicrucian Order

Rune – Runes are an ancient Germanic alphabet, used for writing, divination, and magic. The word “rune” means “letter,” “mystery,” or “secret.” Runes were used throughout northern Europe, Scandinavia, the British Isles, and Iceland from about 100 B.C.E. to 1600 C.E. There are 24 rune letters, each with a specific meaning. When using runes for divination, the symbols are printed on little tiles. I’ve found it helpful to use Runes in conjunction with the Tarot.

Runic divination or “rune casting” is not fortunetelling in the sense that one actually sees the future. Instead, runes give one a means of analyzing the path that one is on and a likely outcome. The future is not fixed. It changes with everything one does. If one does not like the prediction, one can always change paths. Source: Runes. Alphetbet of Mystery

Sacred geometry
– The term "sacred geometry" is often used by archaeologists and anthropologists to describe architecture built using principles and mathematical ratios found in nature. Generally, sacred geometry is associated with physical buildings such as cathedrals, temples, mosques, megaliths etc. It is believed that such structures enhance our connection to God. Sacred Geometry can also be defined as opening the heart and mind to conscious evolution through geometric models. It is the study of geometric forms and the metaphorical relationships to transitions of mind, emotions and spirit.

The relationship of geometry and mathematics to music was discovered during the Classical Period by Pythagoras. He found that a string stopped halfway along its length produced an octave, while a ratio of 3/2 produced a fifth interval and 4/3 produced a fourth. Pythagoreans believed that this gave music powers of healing, as it could “harmonize” the out-of-balance body.

To explore the connection between numbers, geometry and music, I highly recommend A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science by Michael S. Schneider.

Sacred sound current – According to Debra Van Dyke, author of Travelling the Sacred Sound Current, the sound current is known by many names: the Sanskrit word for it is shabd. It is also known as the music of the spheres by Pythagoras, and many other traditions. When our consciousness is focused on the material world, we cannot hear the Great sound. The shabd is the transcendent power that is believed to be the creative and sustaining force of the universe.

Secret brotherhoodFreemasons and Rosicrucians are two well-known secret brotherhoods. The Great White Brotherhood is the name given in some metaphysical/occult circles to adepts of wisdom in or out of earthly incarnation who have assumed responsibility for the cosmic destiny of the human race, both individually and collectively. Are rock musicians a spiritual brotherhood?

Self-actualization – A term used in various psychology theories, often in slightly different ways. The Army motto, “Be All That You Can Be” is a simple way of describing self-actualization.

The concept was brought to prominence in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, as the final level of psychological development that can be achieved when all basic needs (safety, shelter, food, etc.) are fulfilled and the “actualization” of the full personal potential takes place.

Self-individuation – According to Carl Jung, the goal of life is individuation, the process of coming to know, giving expression to, and harmonizing the various components of the psyche. In understanding our uniqueness, and in undertaking the process of individuation, we tap into our true self. Jung believed that a human being is inwardly whole, but that most of us have lost touch with important aspects of our selves. Through listening to the messages of our dreams and waking imagination, we can contact and reintegrate our fragmented, buried parts.

Shadow – A term coined by Carl Jung, the shadow represents the part of our nature that we keep hidden from the world. It is the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde phenomenon. We live in a universe of polarities and opposites. To have light, you must have dark. The dark isn’t necessarily bad or evil, it’s just unconscious. From what I’ve read, every person’s consciousness encounters the archetype of the shadow.

Most of us want to show only our best side, our light, to the world, otherwise we fear people won’t like us and we will experience rejection. Anger, fear, and jealousy are a few traits none of us generally want to admit that we feel. In our efforts to suppress the shadow, we often unconsciously transfer it in onto other people (see Transference). I unwittingly transferred my shadow onto TBIF and their fans.

Soul – The way I see it, our ego runs much of our waking moments, but our soul shines through on occasion, like on the night of my spiritual awakening. I don’t know if anyone is certain what exactly constitutes the soul, but I think of it as a matrix of energy which remains connected to Source (God, the Universe) at all times. That’s why it’s so wise and can transcend the boundaries of time and space. The soul records all of our thoughts, emotions, and actions like a big tape recorder, and is the authentic part of ourselves.

Our life’s purpose is, in part, to wade through the ego’s fears and illusions, and connect more directly with our soul. When I’ve trusted and allowed my soul to guide me, amazing synchronicities occur.

Soul family – A soul family is similar to a soul group, but I believe an individual might belong to several soul families. For example, there are some people that you just can’t help but feel a strong connection to, like a brother or sister. These are often people in your soul family. According to some sources, soul families are not so rigidly defined that we can’t welcome souls into our soul family at any time. Soul families can overlap. For example, your biological family might be one soul family, some people you work with another, or rock music fans of a particular group may be a large soul family too.

Soulmate – The most popular concept of soulmates stems from Greek mythology, and focuses on the idea that devoted lovers may reincarnate together. Some people believe that souls are literally made and/or fated to be their mates, or to play other important roles in each other’s lives. However, according to various sources, friends, relatives, co-workers etc. can be our soulmates as well.

Soul recognition – In the book Only Love is Real, Brian Weiss beautifully describes a soul recognition. “The touch that awakens may be that of your child, of a parent, of a sibling, or of a true friend. Or it may be your beloved, reaching across the centuries, to kiss you once again and to remind you that you are together always, to the end of time.” For me, TBIF’s music was a spiritually awakening kiss.

Dr. Weiss goes on to say, “Soul recognition often takes the form of a sudden feeling of familiarity, of knowing a new person at depths far beyond what the conscious mind could know. You may intuitively know what to say or how they will react, which creates a feeling of safety and a trust far greater than could be earned in a short period of time. Soul recognition may be immediate, or subtle and slow. Not everyone is ready to see or remember the person right away. Divine timing is at work.”

Spread – The layout of divination cards, such as the Tarot, in a specific pattern. In some spreads, each position has a specific meaning, such as symbolizing an event that will happen in the future. The Celtic Cross, a popular ten card layout, is a good, broad-based spread, which offers a breadth of insight on a specific situation or question.
After using the Tarot for several months, I started pulling cards turned faced down, spread out like a fan, or dropping them into piles without any preset spread in mind. This was a way to begin to trust my intuition instead of following an established protocol. But there are times when I do follow a spread in order to receive more specific information.

Standing wave
– The combination of two waves travelling in opposite directions produces a standing wave. Piano, guitar, and violin strings all create standing waves due to the string being fixed on both ends of the instrument. Different standing waves, corresponding to different fractions, are called harmonics. For more information with illustrations and cool animations, check out websites such as: Strings, Standing Waves and Harmonics and The Physics of Music to your Ears.

Stevenson, Dr. Ian
(1918–2007) – Dr. Stevenson was the head of the Department of Psychiatry and the Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia. He devoted the last 40 years of his life to the scientific documentation of past-life memories of children from all over the world and had over 3,000 cases in his files. Many people, including skeptics and scholars, agree that these cases offer the best evidence yet for reincarnation.

Dr. Stevenson authored over 300 publications, including 14 books. In his publications, he identified numerous recurring and cross-cultural patterns of reincarnation, including the ages when children would typically speak about their memories (beginning at about two to three years and ending by seven or eight), the mode of death of the previous personality (often violent or sudden), and unusual behaviors (including phobias, unusual skills or interests, and gender confusion when the previous life was that of the opposite sex). His magnum opus, however, is a 2-volume, 2,268-page monograph reporting over 200 cases in which highly unusual birthmarks or birth defects of the child corresponded with marks, usually fatal wounds, on the previous person.

Subconscious – The part of the mind below the level of conscious perception is called the subconscious. According to Carl Jung, our subconscious mind is formed from knowledge and experiences gathered over our lifetime (and possibly from the lives of our ancestors where knowledge is stored in genetic structures). When you are completely aware of your subconscious and what is stored therein, you have reached self-realization and truly know yourself.

Sundante – A TBIF fan who, after receiving many of my lengthy intellectual emails, replied, “You just keep thinkin' Butch. That's what you're good at.” It’s a line from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Since life felt like emotional hell at times for this fan, I dubbed her Dante, as in Dante’s Inferno. It then dawned on me—if I was Butch Cassidy, instead of calling her Sundance or Dante, she could be Sundante!

Sybil –A 1976 television movie which dramatizes the life of a shy young graduate student, Sybil Dorsett (in real life, Shirley Ardell Mason), suffering from dissociative identity disorder because of an abusive early life. With the help of her psychiatrist, Sybil gradually recalls the harrowing childhood abuse that led to the development of thirteen different personalities.

Synchronicity – Yes, it is the name of an album by The Police, but it is also a term coined by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Synchronicity is the occurrence of a physical event in the world, at or near the time that it is being discussed or thought about. The essence of synchronicity is felt, for there is often significance and meaning associated with it. Source: Reality Shifters

The plethora of synchronistic events that occurred on my journey blew me away. I finally understood this was one way this psychic brick could know the Universe was communicating with me. It was so much fun to see where the synchronistic path would lead. This playfulness allowed me to find connections between ideas without a structured, rational process. Paying attention to synchronicities is one important step on our journey of self-discovery.

Swastika – Forget the Third Reich for a moment. There is archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dating from the Neolithic period (approximately 4,000 BC-2,000 BC). It has long been widely used in major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

Swastika, meaning “it is well,” is the symbol of auspiciousness, prosperity, and good fortune. The symbol of the 4-sided swastika is an archetype for the rotations of time and consciousness—moving clockwise and counter-clockwise—in upward or downward spirals, allowing souls to experience many levels of reality simultaneously.

My consciousness kept repeating the number four after my awakening—here’s yet another reason why. “The four limbs of the Hindu swastika denote the Four Vedas (symbolizing auspiciousness), four goals of life (denoting prosperity), four stages of life (signifying good fortune), four directions in space (symbolizing the Divine omnipresence), four seasons (symbolizing the cyclic nature of time), and four yugas of the world-cycle (symbolizing the natural evolution of the universe).” Source: DestinationOM

I’ve come across conflicting information regarding the meaning of the left/right facing swastika and why Hitler adopted the symbol, so I’m not sure what is true. I only know that when I asked about group reincarnation, and an intuitive saw the image of a swastika, it led to a greater understanding of my possible past lives.

Symbolism – A symbol is something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, and symbolism is used frequently in art and literature. In psychology, a symbol is an object or image that an individual unconsciously uses to represent repressed thoughts, feelings, or impulses. For example, electric guitars are sometimes referred to as phallic symbols. Isn't that interesting?

But according to Carl Jung, a symbol must not have any definition at all. It has many levels of meaning, not just one obvious one, and should represent a concept which is initially difficult to grasp intellectually in the full scope of its meaning. For Jung, a symbol is like a work of art which defies any simple description of all its nuances. If you can define it, it has changed from a symbol to a sign. Source: Astrologyzine

Symbolism makes interpreting dreams and synchronicities intriguing. Like mining for gold, you sift through layers of a symbol, and over time, deeper meanings are revealed.

Tao Oracle deck and book – by Ma Dava Padma. The deck’s 64 cards correlate to 64 possible hexagrams of the I Ching or “Book of Changes.” The Tao is a way of life that focuses on inner harmony and balance and respects the interconnectedness of all things.

Tarot – (TUH–row, rhymes with “hello”) The Tarot is a set of seventy-eight cards, each featuring various symbolic pictures. A standard Tarot deck is made up of 22 cards called the Major Arcana, or trumps, and four suits of 14 cards called the Minor Arcana, or pip cards.

Tarot cards can be used for practical problem-solving, creative visualization, meditation, self-improvement, and as a tool of understanding, but is most commonly used for divination. A traditional reading involves a seeker—someone who is looking for answers to personal questions—and a reader—someone who knows how to interpret the cards. After the seeker has shuffled and cut the deck, the reader lays out the chosen cards in a pattern called a spread. Each position in the spread has a meaning, and each card has a meaning as well. The reader combines these two meanings to shed light on the seeker's question.

The cool thing is, anyone can use the Tarot, not just readers. Since the images are archetypal, you don’t need any special intuitive gifts to glean insights. I was drawn to the Tarot after my awakening, and used it as a tool to help me explore the landscape of my unconscious.

Tetragrammaton (also YHVH) – The four letter tetragrammaton (Greek for ‘four letters’) is the ‘true’ name of the God of the Hebrew scriptures. It never appears complete in written form; only the four consonant letters, YHVH (in Hebrew, Yod, Heh, Vau, Heh, read right to left).

At the time the Hebrew scriptures were written, spoken language was considered to be very powerful. With a cosmology that viewed the creation as the result of an utterance, the name of the creator was considered very powerful knowledge. Therefore, the pronunciation of God’s name was kept a secret. Only the highest-ranking scholars were entrusted with this knowledge.

The tetragrammaton is central to the doctrines of both the Jewish and esoteric Kabbalistic traditions, where it is equivalent to the four Kabbalistic worlds of creation, the four elements, the four archangels, and the four cardinal directions. Source: Alt.Religion More four!

Third eye – The third eye (also known as the inner eye) is a metaphysical and esoteric concept referring in part to the ajna (brow) chakra in certain eastern and western spiritual traditions. It is also spoken of as the gate that leads within to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness.

In New Age spirituality, the third eye may alternately symbolize a state of enlightenment or the evocation of mental images having deeply personal spiritual or psychological significance. The third eye is often associated with visions, clairvoyance, precognition, and out-of-body experiences. People who have developed the capacity to use their third eye are sometimes known as seers.

Thor
– In Norse mythology, Thor was the eldest son of Odin and the strongest of all the gods. Thor is the Norse God of thunder and the inspiration for the Marvel Comics superhero “The Mighty Thor.” We celebrate the dude every Thursday, the day named after him. (Thursday is a contraction of Thor's day.) I was born on Thor’s day. Maybe that’s the root of my fascination with him as a kid.

Despite his huge and ferocious appearance, Thor is often referred to as a protector of both the gods and humans against the forces of evil. Since the word brother in Hebrew means "wall of protection" I question if the brotherhood of rock musicians are mythic figures of protection, like Thor, using the sound waves of guitars, drums, and the human voice to help protect fans from darkness.

Thoth – The Thoth Tarot deck is inspired by the ancient Egyptian god, Thoth, the patron of knowledge, secrets, and writing. He appears as a man with the head of an ibis holding a scribe’s palette and stylus.

Though some stories place him as a son of Ra, others claim that Thoth created himself through the power of language. He is the creator of magic, the inventor of writing, teacher of man, the messenger of the gods (and thus identified by the Greeks with Hermes), and the divine record-keeper and mediator.

According to ancient tradition, The Book of Thoth was the legendary repository of the Egyptian mysteries. Hence The Book of Thoth is connected with occult knowledge, mystery schools, and the esoteric secrets and magical systems that these schools taught. Aleister Crowley’s Book of Thoth incorporates the wisdom, philosophy, science, and magick of Egypt, melding eastern and western mystery traditions to create a comprehensive vehicle to studying the Tarot and finding self-knowledge. Source: The Book of Thoth

I find it fascinating that Thoth is similar to the messenger gods Hermes and Mercury, since I believe rock musicians are spiritual messengers. Everything is connected!

Three Night Stand – In late 1998, TBIF toured several cities playing their first three albums, one each night, on three consecutive nights. They were called “Three Night Stand.”

Transference – Transference is a phenomenon in psychology characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings for one person to another. According to several psychology websites, it’s a very common process, though few of us are aware that we transfer our inner-goobers onto others. After the Redding concert, it became obvious that I had transferred my shadow and unhealed childhood wounding onto TBIF and fans.

Trickster (archetype) – The trickster is a very important archetype in man’s history. Often both simultaneously a god and man, he is an alchemist (magician), creating realities in the duality of time and illusion. Trickster is a teacher and awakens us to who we are and allows us to explore the true purpose of our soul’s journey. Source: Crystal Links In the Tarot, the Fool and Magician cards symbolize the trickster. Hermes in Greek mythology is also a trickster. The trickster delights in mischief, but more importantly for the society hearing his myth, he (she) challenges and explains societal taboos.

Universal Waite Tarot Cards– Originally published in 1909, the Universal Waite Tarot deck was developed by mystic Arthur Edward Waite. He was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and asked fellow initiate and artist, Pamela Colman Smith, to illustrate the deck’s images. (See Major and Minor Arcana for images).

Universe – Generally a less charged word for God, All that Is, Our Creator, Source, or The Big Cheese.

Veil of forgetfulness – The veil shields a person from conscious interaction with memories from previous incarnations. By not readily recalling past lives, it helps us to focus on this lifetime and preserves individualization and free will. According to many sources, this does not mean the veil is impervious; feelings of familiarity, areas of interest, attraction and aversions to people, places and time periods, may all characterize a thinning or dissolution of the veil at times.

Vibration – When something vibrates, it rapidly moves back and forth. Music and sound are vibration. The dictionary states that a vibration, or vibe, is a “distinctive or emotional aura or atmosphere capable of being instinctively sensed or experienced.” I often refer to vibration as the energy that all things emit because everything in the universe vibrates. Even inanimate objects vibrate, but we simply cannot detect the vibration with our limited senses. However, you can often sense a vibration, or vibe, of another person. Our thoughts and feelings create vibrations.

Ultimately, I learned how many esoteric texts refer to God and sound as vibration. When we hear music that resonates with us, are we hearing the essence of God?

Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Frank Baum is best known as the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but he also used his story-telling genius to convey spiritual insights. Dorothy has four primary male characters helping her: Tin Man, Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wizard. Her journey mirrored my odyssey with the band in numerous ways. She needed to integrate four different aspects—emotions, intellect, courage, and intuition—into her psyche. I was trying to find all of the parts of myself, my soul, with the four guys in TBIF and their music.

Word –Echoed in all the world’s faiths and traditions, universal matter was created by sound: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,” St. John said in the Gospel of John. Hopi and Navajo traditions assert that in ancient times, shamans would utter words onto sand and create patterns, a concept not dissimilar to the Hindu mandalas, which are said to be expressions of the vibration of God. Source: The Crop Circular

In ancient Indian Sanskrit, Nada Brahma not only means God is sound, but also sound is the world.

YHVH – (see Tetragrammaton)