"Many of their practices were purely shamanistic, whilst others were more closely connected with medieval magical rite. But they were not only magicians among Celts, for we find that magic power was frequently possession of women and poetic craft. The art magic of Druidism had many points of comparison with other magical systems, and may be said to have approximated more to that black magic which desires power for sake of power alone, than to any more transcendental type. Thus it included power to render oneself invisible, to change bodily shape, to produce an enchanted sleep, to induce lunacy {Their foes were obviously already quite there. The fact is that communion is a blood ritual of a type Dracula or Count Dracul of Rosicrucian order that de Vere belongs to, practice.}, and utterance of spells and charms which caused death. Power over elements was also claimed...

A manuscript preserved in Monastery of St. Gall and dating from eighth or ninth century, has preserved magical formulae for preservation of butter and healing of certain diseases in name of Irish god Diancecht. These and others bear a close resemblance to Babylonian and Etruscan spells, and this goes to strengthen hypothesis often put forward with more or less ability that Druidism had an eastern origin."

Your mother wears army boots! This is such great academic insight! Did it cross this feeble-minded nitwit’s brain that reverse is true? The Etruscans weren't even in existence when Fell showed Druids in New England with Maltese style of buildings that pre-date Babylon. It obviously is not written by a Druid and there are those like D. J. Conway who we saw in 'CtIC' who would cast a spell on craziness of such an author. This image of Druidism is unfortunately norm just as Hermetic Gnostics and other heretics have been savaged by purely selfish power-trippers seeking to destroy mankind’s souls and make everyone equally in their power hungry grasp. I left out story he told of a Druid who lost a battle over elements with St. Columba who learned a lot in Iona about spiritual side of reality. I did so because I don't really want to prove that Christianity is a black magic driven cult and that they are projecting their own weaknesses onto others. That is a matter for other books to deal with. My comment about de Vere may not make sense to any who haven't read 'CtIC'. He wrote foreword to Genesis of Grail Kings by Gardner and his own book was quoted in it as well. The Sarkeny Rend Rosicrucians of Masonic 'octopus' was a large part of Templarist regime that funded and maintained Columbus discovery of America for so long.

"..Druids often accompanied an army to assist by their magical art in confounding enemy.

There is little doubt that conception of a Druidic priesthood has descended down to our time in a more or less debased condition in British Celtic areas. Thus existence of guardians and keepers of wells, said to possess magical properties, and fact that certain familiar magical spells and formulae are handed down from one generation to another is a proof of survival of Druidic tradition, however feeble. Females are generally conservators of these mysteries, but that there were Druid priestesses is fairly certain..."

The Ostrogoth leader Totila was such a barbarian in sixth century that he freed slaves. Didn't he know that slaves are a symbol of status and cultural refinement? ‘Ostro’ means ‘light’ as in ‘white light’ and spiritual adepthoods of Druidic ‘kapnobatai’ who taught Orpheus and Pythagoras. Did Druids have concubines in their celibate priesthood? Who was screwing children in monasteries of Roman Domain? It is impossible to capture 'the deceit of psychopomps and priests who hide in temples. The Druids still conduct their ceremonies in open, and perhaps starting point of all mans' problems can be traced to building of Temples and resultant buying of favorable divinations in Mediterranean. Here are a few words from a woman who has a different perspective if for no other reason than that fact.

"In most popular myth, Ariadne's story has been rewritten, her voice almost obliterated. Yet she was legitimate head of church and state regarded as cradle of European civilization. Ancient Crete in its prime ruled Mediterranean, thriving on export of its crafts and exploitation of relatively uncivilized tribes in Aegean area. Among those 'barbarians' were ancestors of Plato and Aristotle {A major 'woman-hater' and part of reason why Aquinas and Catholic Church worked his 'science' into their dogma.}... Some time between 1800 and 1400 B.C., last matriarchies in western world were crushed...

She devours Manuscripts as if after a long famine. And yet she continues in ceremony as if untouched by thought. A battle rages between her and Minos for control of worship. He has inserted a prayer and expanded it, and he is having scribes record on tablets story of his receiving laws from Zeus on mountaintop {Moses is not first to come up with this idea and neither was Minos.}. It is remarkably like a Babylonian tale I once heard. Only there king’s name was Hammurabi.” (3)

Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) was a great MAN who had vision and wisdom to pronounce and codify that a girl is legal property of her father until sold by him to her husband. In Athens women were brought up to be ignorant so that men could feel important and manlier as they abused and lorded it over 'the weaker sex' during time of Socrates. He felt differently and it probably contributed to his being forced to drink hemlock. He said: "If difference consists only in women bearing and men begetting children, this does not amount to a proof that a woman differs from a man in respect of sort of education she should receive."

I daresay that Grandma didn’t care about floppy scarves. She had more important things on her mind. And so should we.

We have families that need our guidance and love. We have communities that need our leadership and sensitivity. We have a world that can benefit immensely from gifts that we, as businesswomen, can bring to it. And we have businesses that need … yes, a woman’s touch.

My other grandma raised her family by herself, too – 5 children and a disabled husband. She was a nurse, bless her heart. It is for her, and legions like her that modern women’s lib movement is meant to help most of all.

It is due to armies of women in mid-20th century who fought for equal pay, better working conditions, child care, health insurance, Medicaid programs and work sharing that our part of world has become such a better place.

We certainly haven’t won all of our battles. There is still a long way to go. But, my goodness, can you imagine what our world would be like if we had been like men? If we had simply put on suits and said, “Yes, sir.”

No, we opted to be different. We opted to represent under-represented, poor, neglected. And more power to us for having tried. I will opt for way of turtle, slow and steady, so that as we win our wars, everyone will benefit.

There was a History channel program recently that showed Nazis proclaiming that US women could never help in war effort because we couldn’t do anything more severe than dust a table. They didn’t know Rosie Riveter, or you or me.

I celebrate our difference.

I will fight tooth and nail so that women and minorities don’t have to be equal to men.

Will you join me? It’s time.