morphy4ever: Of course! For example, I've read The Da Vinci Code and, although I thought the basic plot was okay, I didn't think much of the writing.

I would like to state that socalled "bestsellers" are nearly never "literature". And bestseller-lists on this board do not help to share "thoughts about ... unforgotten literature and narrators". Some of the bestseller-authors should be forgotten quickly in order to safe the taste for LITERATURE.

I like to see bestseller lists, even if I don't read the books myself. Its like looking at music charts, you don't have to like the music or approve of it, but its interesting.

harley: I´m awfully sorry, but I can´t agree. Nevertheless, for MY opinion music charts are even worse than bestseller list (I´m a lover of classical music and studied Russian Literature and Eastern Europe Literature). Tastes of human beings are different...

I´m sorry again for my statement regarding bestseller lists and music charts. I think there should not be room for bestseller lists on a "book"-board. I think they belong to "General Chat". Bestseller lists are just commercials, and their lobbiests are publishers, booksellers etc.

I'm sorry morphy, but I think this is exactly the place for bestseller book lists. Its a discussion board for books! Whatever your personal feelings, they are still books (and popular books if they made a bestseller list!) and as such open for discussion here.

harley: O.K., YOU´re the moderator. But for my opinion the board will be less interesting... Bestseller lists you can find every month or even week in a lot of newspapers and magazins. I thought this board somehow special. Nevermind: my fault.

morphy4ever: Best sellers help keep the book companies going, they allow them to be able to release other books that maybe of better quality but of less interest to Joe public.

any Clive Cussler readers out there?

Not here.. Any good?

I'm definitely NOT a best seller fan - of any sort - but I did find myself buying a couple of books recently that were recommended (somewhere) and am really thrilled with 'The Time Traveller's Wife'. I can't believe that Existentialism is once again rearing its head! Or perhaps that is a result of 9/11? After all, it was WW1 and WW2 that first fed it.

I also have the Da Vinci Code to read and some of Ian McEwan's books have been pretty enthralling.

The Discworld series. Even though the author is hit and miss at times. Well you would after doing so many of them.

I'm a die hard science fiction fan. I always was intrigued by the 'what if' thought to it. I keep meaning to read the Da Vinci Code but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

So you must read "Templar Revelation" by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince...

Andre Faria:BAPHOMET is coming!

ANTICHRIST: There have been many strange idols throughout the ages but the idol of Baphomet seems to be among the most mysterious. All which seems to be known about this unknown figure it that it is sometimes called the goat idol of the Knights Templar and the deity of the sorcerers' Sabbat. Even the name Baphomet seems to be a composition of abbreviations: 'Temp. ohp. Ab.' which originates from Latin 'Templi omnium hominum pacis abhas,' meaning "the father of universal peace among men."

The many accounts concerning Baphomet describe the idol as a monstrous head, a demon in the form of a goat, a figure with a goat's head and a body combining the characteristics of a dog, bull, and ass. The body was thought to symbolize the burden of matter from which arose the repentance for sin. The human hands formed a sign of esotericism to impress mystery upon the initiates. First they represented the sanctity of labor; and by pointing two lunar crescents, the upper being white and the lower black, they also represented good and evil, mercy and justice. The lower part of the goat's body was veiled but expressed the mysteries the universial generation symbolized by the caduceus or the phallus. The goat's female breasts were the only symbols of maternity, toil, and redemption.

Most accounts of the idol Baphomet were from the confessions of the Knights Templar at their trials after the Inquisition. This is why the idol still remain a fascination and a puzzlement. Instead of definitely establishing the existence of the idol the variances in the Knights confessions did the opposite. Not only is there an uncertainty whether the idol existed but, also, whether there was just one or several idols. The uncertainty of the idol's existence arises because some of the heresy and devil-worship charges brought against the Templars were never proven, and Baphomet was thought to represent the devil. During the knights' confessions the idol seemed to change or was shown in different forms. It was described differently as having a frightful head with a long bird and sparking eyes; or a man's skull; or having three faces. Some said it was made of wood while others said it was metal.

Although some accounts give the idol a goat's body as previously mentioned and others are vague, others described the head in detail. It possessed horns and between the two horns was a torch which represented the intelligence of the triad. Still below the torch, on the forehead, is the sign of the microcosm, or the pentagram with one beam in ascendant symbolizing human intelligence. The situating of the pentagram below the torch was to signify that human intelligence is the image of the divine intellect.

Among the heresy charges brought against the Templars was that some had embrace Mahometanism even though they had sworn to fight against every pagan belief. The charge arose when a knight confessed that he was made to adore the idol by kissing its feet and uttering the word 'Xalla,' which was a word of the Saracens. This was seized upon for proving heresy against the Order, but it must be remembered that western Christians were constantly trying to attribute the idol to Mahomet as an expression of their desire to persecute the Knights.

The belief in Baphomet still exists among some occultists. They hold the idol of the Templars was really the god of the witches deriving from the nature god Pan. In the 19th. century the Austrian Orientalist Baron Joseph von Hammer-Purgstal discovered an inscription on a coffer in Burgandy which he claimed indicated the Baphomet came from the Greek words meaning "Baptism of Metis (Wisdom)." This seemed to exalt Metis or Baphomet as the true divinity.

In the 20th. century German occultists formed the secret order of the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis or Order of Templars in the East). They installed the English occultist Aleister Crowley to head their British section. Crowley took Baphomet as his magical name.

Andre Faria:During the judicial proceedings and inquisitions that occurred during the suppression of the Templars, the name "Baphomet" was revealed as the name of an idol allegedly worshipped by the knights. These confessions and statements were made under torture or the threat of torture, and were later recanted; their historical value must be assessed in light of that fact. The Templar idol has been variously described as: an idol with a human skull, a head with two faces, a cat idol and a bearded head. The word's questionable etymology is discussed below.

During the suppression of the Knights Templar it was claimed by the Inquisition that the knights used a Baphomet as part of their initiation ceremonies. This, among other assertions, sealed their Order as heretical.

Eliphas Levi and Baphomet
A much more recent and well known depiction shows Baphomet in the form of a winged humanoid goat with a pair of breasts and a torch on his head between his horns. This image comes from Eliphas Lévi's 1854 Dogme et rituel de la haute magie (in English known as Transcendental Magic). Lévi considered the Baphomet to be a depiction of the absolute in symbolic form. Lévi on the symbolism of his drawing:

"The goat on the frontispiece carries the sign of the pentagram on the forehead, with one point at the top, a symbol of light, his two hands forming the sign of hermetism, the one pointing up to the white moon of Chesed, the other pointing down to the black one of Geburah. This sign expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice. His one arm is female, the other male like the ones of the androgyn of Khunrath, the attributes of which we had to unite with those of our goat because he is one and the same symbol. The flame of intelligence shining between his horns is the magic light of the universal balance, the image of the soul elevated above matter, as the flame, whilst being tied to matter, shines above it. The ugly beast's head expresses the horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely reponsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively; because the soul is insensitive according to its nature and can only suffer when it materializes. The rod standing instead of genitals symbolizes eternal life, the body covered with scales the water, the semi- circle above it the atmosphere, the feathers following above the volatile. Humanity is represented by the two breasts and the androgyn arms of this sphinx of the occult sciences."
Lévi's depiction, for all its fame, is not particularly authentic to the historical description from the Templar trials, although it is not unlike gargoyles found on several Templar-built churches— or Viollet-le-Duc's vivid gargoyles added to Notre Dame de Paris about the same time as Lévi's illustration.

Baphomet as a demon
Baphomet, as Lévi's illustration suggests, has occasionally been misunderstood as a synonym of Satan or a demon, a member of the hierarchy of Hell. Baphomet appears in that guise as a character in James Blish's The Day After Judgment. Jack Chick claims that he is a demon worshipped by Freemasons, a claim that apparently originated with the Taxil hoax. The head of Lévi's Baphomet was inscribed with a pentagram which is a symbol occasionally adopted by Wiccans and other students of the Occult. A goat head inscribed within an inverted pentagram, the upper points filled by the horns, the side points by the ears, and the bottom by the bearded chin, is a symbol occasionally adopted by Satanists and other followers of a Left-Hand Path. The head, horns and torch together take the form of a Fleur-de-lis.

A different interpretation of Baphomet is given by the Satanic group the Order of Nine Angles. According to the ONA, Baphomet is female, and is depicted as a beautiful mature woman, naked from the waist up, who holds in her hand the severed head of a bearded man. "The name of Baphomet is regarded by Traditional Satanists as meaning "the mistress (or mother) of blood" - the (Satanic) Mistress who sometimes washes in the blood of her foes and whose hands are thereby stained.

Etymology of the name "Baphomet"
Many theories exist as to the origin of the term, including:

From the Greek words 'Baphe' and 'Metis'. The two words together would mean "Baptism of Wisdom".
Atbash cipher for the Goddess Sophia. Dr Hugh Schonfield, one of the scholars who worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls, believed that the word "Baphomet" was created with knowledge of the Atbash substitution cipher, which substitutes the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet for the last, the second for the second last, and so on. "Baphomet" rendered in Hebrew becomes בפומת; interpreted using Atbash, it becomes שופיא, which can be interpreted as the Greek word "Sophia", or wisdom.
A deformation of the Latinised "Mahomet", a mediæval European rendering of Muhammad, the name of the Prophet of Islam.
Idries Shah proposed that "Baphomet" may actually derive from the Arabic word ابو فهمة Abufihamat, meaning "The Father of Understanding," and associated with Sufism.
Lévi proposed that the name was composed from a series of abbreviations: 'Temp. ohp. Ab.' which originates from Latin 'Templi omnium hominum pacis abhas,' meaning "the father of universal peace among men." An alternative reading could be tem. o. h. p. ab. for templi omnium hominum pacis abbas. The translation in this case is abbot of the temple of peace of all mankind, perhaps referring to the Templars themselves.

Shouldn't we be posting credits of who wrote those reviews / essays?

Ok, mine is from the on-line encyclopedia of the occult, mysticism, magic, paranormal and more...

The antichrist arthicle is not a review, I think. I believe it´s an excerpt from a book, "The Templars", or something like that...

Andre Faria: Some good reading:
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/dead/index2.html

LuckyCat9: I read this book some years ago. I´m not religious, but the way they deal with birth and death is amazing...

Andre Faria: The online exhibit is marvelous! I too am not religious, though there are some great thought provoking metaphors in dere. Inspirational to some show people as well.

LuckyCat9: Interesting link there! thank you!

Linda Howard

Oh my gawd.. I am laughing my butt off at this book.. too funny.. and I am only just starting the book.. any ladies out there that want a book they don't wanna put down.. and yet don't get offended this is the book for you.. not recommended to children due to the possible sex content.. ahem..

ok harley if I post the short list of book I thought were good here?

nobleheart: Sounds like a good idea to me!

I just finished this one and there were tears streaming down my face at the end! But there was more to that book than a love story. It was loaded with symbolism and existential inuendoes. Well worth a read!

ok since you asked.this is a short list of the best books I have read this year.
if you are going to post a MSG for me,please post this:

each will riase your conscience in its own way--8^) steve
wink by Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
lip service by kate fillion
A Short History of Nearly Everything by A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork by Mike Huckabee
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire
Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by Michael Savage
Stupid White Men by Michael Moore
The Good Fight by Ralph Nader
The End of Oil by Paul Roberts
Bush Versus the Environment by Robert S. Devine
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Andre Faria: So you must read "Templar Revelation" by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince...

Is this a good book? I moved a few months ago, and ordered this book right before I moved. I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I was just looking through the discussion board and happened across this and it reminded me that I had bought this book and it is still packed up. I need to dig it out. I also got a lot of books by Aleister Crowley packed away with it that I need to get out and look at also that I haven't had a chance to go through yet.

Just wondering, will the mode to pawn approval be changing anytime soon? :)

LuckyCat9: I will find out. I am unsure if all the boards are like this, or if just this board was like it because there was no moderator. I will try to have an answer for you within a couple days.

LuckyCat9: I have checked into this and the reason why it is set for "Pawns must be approved." I think since I am a new mod for the board we will start out with a fresh start and allow everyone to post. If any problems arise, I will deal with them on an individual basis, but if it gets to out of hand with to many problems, we will go back to the "Pawns must be approved" mode. So please be considerate in your posts.

Kata Liana: Yes, indeed it´s very good.

It´s speculative and controversial, but presents all ideas with logic. One of the best books I bought this year.

Andre Faria: great. I found the box it was in last night and got it out. I just finished a book so I think I will start this one next.

Kata Liana: Aleister Crowley

Just bought this bought last week and read it the same day.

It´s a child book that every adult must read. Just like "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull - a story", "Le petite prince" and "Historia de una gaviota y del gato que le enseño a volar"

I'm currently reading a book called "Speaking Freely : Trials of The First Amendment" by Floyd Abrams.