5 Most Mysterious Books Ever Written

Books exist to tell stories, and that’s what most books do. They make us laugh, cry, and scream in frustration. But some books are just plain confusing. They’re not trying to tell stories, but instead are trying to send some kind of message about the unexplained, extraterrestrial, or even divine. Books are also a form of documenting history, so could the writers of these books really have witnessed such strange sights? Here are the 5 most mysterious books ever written.

Book of Soyga 

In the 16th century, a mysterious book about magic called the Book of Soyga was found by John Dee, an Elizabethan mathematician, and occultist. After the book was found, it was lost again for hundreds of years. Finally, a scholar found the book when he was browsing through the British Library, and inside the book were different magic spells, ways to summon demons, etc. 

The 197 page Book of Soyga had over 40,000 letters that were arranged in code-form, and no one knew how to read or understand it besides the parts of the book that were written in Latin. These randomly distributed letters were incomprehensible, so imagine how frustrated John Dee felt when he obtained the book. It was like he had all the answers, but didn’t know what any of it meant. A spirit-medium named Edward Kelly actually offered John Dee the chance to talk to Archangel Uriel about the book and its contents. Apparently, Uriel said that the pages of the book were shown to Adam by the “good angels of God” in the garden of Eden and that the only person who knew the books’ secret was Archangel Michael. 

In other words, since the Garden of Eden is where the creation of the world began, the Book of Soyga is pretty much a representation of the universe. Don’t be so quick to solve the mysteries of the book though, because the book is rumored to be cursed. If you decode the language of the book and obtain the book’s knowledge, you will die within two and a half years. Is knowing the secret to the universe worth dying for?

Illuminated Manuscript

Another mysterious book is known as the Smithfield Decretals or the Decretals of Gregory IX. Gregory IX was a pope in the 13th century who was in charge of writing the laws for the church and its members.  Decretals were common back in the day, but the strange thing about these decretals is the drawings that appear in some of them. The style of the Decretals was one that had letters, calligraphy, and illustrations. This was called Illuminated Manuscript and was a very long, annoying process. But that’s not the strange part because the illuminated manuscript was quite common. The weird thing is that the illustrations aren’t like the ones people normally see in religious texts. 

Within the pages of text, you can see illustrations of gigantic snails attacking with their antennae, huge homicidal rabbits, dogs riding rabbits, rabbits riding humans in snail shells, bears attacking unicorns, strange creatures, and get this: there’s even a medieval Yoda. Yes, there is an illustration of a creature that looks JUST like Yoda. Could this be another case of time travel? Or did the creator of Star Wars happen to see the Smithfield Decretals? I mean, they look the same.  The only thing we know is that these illustrations make no sense whatsoever. Could there have been a time when giant animals dominated 

Rohonc Codex

Next, we have the Rohonc Codex, which was first discovered in Hungary in the 1800s and was thought to have originated from medieval times. Sadly, even to this day, no one can decipher or understand the script at all. The mysterious text has been in discussion for more than 200 years and has led many scholars to study the text even though their efforts have been put to waste. The text is still undecipherable to this day, and no one knows where it came from or who wrote it. 

The codex is one of the most mysterious books of all time, consisting of 448 pages of strange text and watermarked pages that look like an anchor within a circle. The watermarks date back to 1529-1540 AD, but the book is written much earlier than the watermark. The illustrations in the codex include things like military battles, landscapes, and even religions like Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. This could mean that whoever wrote the codex was a supporter of all three religions, or wanted the three religions to coexist in peace. Many theories have been created by people who studied the codex. 

One theory is that the text is a variation of Brahmi script, from India, and that it should be read left to right, top to bottom. This is known as the Brahmi-Hindi hypothesis. Another theory is that the text is Intended to be read right to the left, bottom to top and that it is written in the Vulgar Latin dialect of Dacia. This is called the Daco-Romanian hypothesis. Even though many theories have been many, none of them have been fully agreed upon, and the codex remains a mystery to humankind.

Nostradamus

Fortune telling is real and it exists in a certain book that seemed to have prophesied many events that happened hundreds of years later. The book is called ‘The Prophecies’ and the writer of the book was a French physician and astrologer named Michel de Notre Dame, also known as Nostradamus. 

Nostradamus just may be one of the greatest prophets in history because he was able to predict some of the biggest events that have occurred in the world. In his book ‘The Prophecies’ written 400 years ago, he had more than a thousand four-line verses that seemed to predict the future. How was he able to have such accurate visions? Apparently, he gained visions by staring into a bowl of water. Some of the prophecies made in the book are so accurate that they’re scary. 

Nostradamus was able to predict events like the rise of Adolf Hitler, the great fire of London, the atomic bomb drops in Japan, September 11, and the French Revolution. All of them have been completely accurate, which makes us wonder: what about the his predictions about 2016 or the near future? His book predicts that very soon there will be a World War III, the largest earthquake to ever hit the US, and the downfall of the global economy. People have been linking natural and manmade disasters to Nostradamus’s book for centuries, and so far most of his predictions have been accurate. 

Some people, however, believe that his prophets have just coincidentally matched up to events that have happened in our world and think his predictions are false. Whether he was really an amazing prophet is up for discussion, but what is undeniable is the fact that I myself would do anything to be able to see the future.

Voynich Manuscript

Finally, we have one of the most mysterious manuscripts of all time, the Voynich Manuscript. This manuscript was said to have dated back to the early 15th century (1404-1438) in northern Italy. It was first discovered in 1909 by a polish book dealer named Wilfrid Voynich, which is who the book is named after. Voynich bought the book in 1912 and was fascinated by the content. 

The book contains 240 pages of text and illustrations with some pages missing.  The book seems to be a herbal manuscript that resembles the ones released in the 1500s, but when you look closely, you will see that the plants drawn are completely unknown to mankind. The language of the text is also unknown, which makes the book an absolute phenomenon. 

Cryptographers have tried and failed to decipher the script, but they claim that the book is trying to tell readers a message. Some people claim that the book is actually a puzzle while others just claim that the book is an unbreakable mystery. For the curious minds out of there who want to try cracking the code, the entire manuscript can be found online. 

Could this be a person’s documentary of his travels on a different planet where he was introduced to a whole new species of plants? We’ll never know.

10 Legendary and Mysterious Libraries of the Ancient World

It is often said that knowledge is wealth and in the ancient world it is something that is well guarded more than gold or jewels. The colossal libraries ancient civilizations like the Greeks and the Egyptians built are testaments to the fact that all the riches of the world will always pale in comparison with knowledge and learning.

These days, when information comes to us lightning-quick at the touch of a button, we tend to underestimate and undervalue the privilege we have of unfettered access to almost anything that we want to know and learn. It is a little bit tragic that the sense of appreciation that we have for information and learning is eclipsed by our continuously shortening attention spans because of all the media we consume on a daily basis.

In today’s list, we take a step back thousands of years to days when information and knowledge are stored and jealously guarded in giant libraries that are often the first monuments to be destroyed and sacked in times of war or invasion. Libraries that have shaped the world we now know of and the civilizations that have walked the earth, each contributing to humanity’s progress.

So here are 10 legendary and mysterious libraries of the ancient world!

Number Ten: The House of Wisdom

Called by historians as the Cradle of Civilization, ancient Mesopotamia – now modern day Iraq – was once one of the world’s centers for learning. Alongside Greece, Egypt, and Rome, Mesopotamia had one of the largest institutions of learning built in the 9 AD at the heart of the city of Baghdad.

Known as The House of Wisdom, it was built during the reign of the Abbasids. The House of Wisdom’s “collections” revolved around literature from Persia, Greece, and India. Also, among the library’s collection are manuscripts on mathematics, philosophy, science, medicine, and astronomy.

The books alone were enough to serve as lures to scholars from neighboring regions in the Middle East and among them are the mathematician and one of the fathers of Algebra, al-Khawarizmi; and the philosopher al-Kindi.

The House of Wisdom was the epicentre of Islamic intellectualism and academia for hundreds of years until it was sacked by the Mongols in 1258, tossing many of its extremely valuable manuscripts and books into the Tigris. Legend even has it that the famed river turned black due to ink dissolving into its waters.

Number Nine: The Twin Libraries at Trajan’s Forum

The ancient Romans are no strangers to accumulating codices and scrolls filled with anything from mathematics to philosophy. Knowledge and information are cornerstones of their empire that lasted centuries.

A Roman emperor’s love of monuments has helped erect one – or two – of the ancient world’s largest libraries.

Around 112 AD Emperor Trajan completed the construction of a wide, multi-use complex at the heart of Rome. Within the bounds of this Forum are plazas, markets, and temples. However, its crown jewel is one of the Roman Empire’s famous libraries.

Split in two, the twin structures housed numerous works and texts in Latin and Greek – separately housed – and were built on opposite sides of Trajan’s column, a massive monument to celebrate the emperor’s military victories.  Containing a collection of about 20,000 scrolls in rooms made of elegantly crafted marble and granite, historians are still debating when the twin libraries ceased to exist. With only texts referencing them until the fifth century AD, experts can only assume that it stood for at least three centuries.

Number Eight: Villa of the Papyri

One of the last ancient libraries to have survived well into the modern day, the Villa of the Papyri has withstood catastrophes including the devastating eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Located in Herculaneum, Italy, the ruins of the Villa was buried deep in the ashes of Vesuvius that miraculously kept at least 1,785 of its scrolls preserved when the library was unearthed by archaeologists in 1752.

Technically the Villa was a house and not a library by any definition. Supposedly owned by Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, the massive home – aside from its impressive private library of texts on philosophy – boasted a collection of bronze sculptures and the most stylish and impressive architecture of that century.

Number Seven: The Library of Pergamum

Constructed by the Attalid Dynasty in the third century BC in what is now the country of Turkey, the Library of Pergamum was home to an impressive collection of 200,000 scrolls on varying subjects.

Located within a temple complex devoted to the Greek goddess Athena, the Library was considered to have become the “competition” of the Library of Alexandria according to the ancient chronicler, Pliny the Elder.

Apparently, both libraries sought to amass large collections of texts as well as establish rival schools of thought.

The rivalry between the two libraries allegedly reached fever pitch that Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt halted the exportation of papyrus to Pergamum hoping that it would cripple the library. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan and only turned the city of Pergamum as one of the leading producers of parchment paper.

Number Six: Nalanda University

Moving further south of Asia, the Nalanda University in Bahir, India, is considered to be oldest university in the entire world as the first European university only popped up in 1088, a whole six centuries later.

What is even more exceptional about Nalanda is that the university provided education to thousands of students all across Asia.

Its nine-storey library was nicknamed “Dharmaganja” or Treasury of Truth and “Dharma Gunj” or Mountain of Truth because it was highly praised for the largest collection of Buddhist texts among other writings and literature. Helping spread philosophy and the Buddhist faith, Nalanda has nurtured thousands of followers until it was destroyed by Turk invaders in 1193. Due to the university’s immense size, legend tells that it took the Turks months before they could completely reduce its foundations to rubble.

Number Five: The Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima

Before it was destroyed around 638 AD by invading Arabs, the Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima or simply the Library of Caesarea, had the largest collection of ecclesiastical and theological texts of the Ancient Christian and Jewish world.

As the center of Christian education and scholarship, the library was also home to a large collection of literature from Greece and other neighboring regions. Mostly the texts are primarily historical and philosophical but nonetheless valuable as the place was frequently visited by important historical personalities such as Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazareth.

The church father Origen was mainly responsible for the library’s inventory of 30,000 manuscripts but during the purge initiated by Emperor Diocletian, the library and many of its contents were destroyed. Afterwards, it was rebuilt by the bishops of Caesarea only to be completely torn down, brick by brick, by Arab invaders.

Unfortunately, not a single manuscript from the library’s collection survived.

Number Four: The Library of Aristotle

Built in the first century BC, the library of Aristotle was part of a larger structure called the Lyceum where he was sought by many of his students and spent time learning from one of history’s most influential philosophers.

300 years after Aristotle’s death, a geographer named Strabo chronicled one of the most detailed accounts of the philosopher’s magnificent collection in his Geographia XIII, 1, 54-55, saying that Aristotle was “the first man, so far as I know, to have collected books and to have taught the kings in Egypt hwo to arrage a library.”

Upon Aristotle’s death, the Lyceum was bequeathed to Theoprastus. Even before his death, Aristotle heard of the jealousy of the Attalid empire of his library and desired to covet it for the Library of Pergamum. When Aristotle died and the Lyceum passed on to a new owner, it was then decided that the library’s entire collection be hidden and kept safe underground.

Unfortunately, despite this noble effort, many of the books were damaged by moisture and the remainder of the collection were sold to a man named Apellicon of Teos.

Number Three: The Imperial Library of Constantinople

Most of the history of the Imperial Library of Constantinople is shrouded in mystery. Many would point out that it was built out of necessity to preserve texts that were already in danger because of deterioration.

It was in 357 AD when Byzantine Emperor Constantius II decided to build the imperial library where many of the deteriorating Judeo-Christian scriptures could be copied onto vellum, a material that lasts longer than papyrus. Although Constantius II was only mostly interested in religious texts, the Imperial Library still managed to salvage many other books and scrolls that housed the knowledge of the Greeks and Romans.

In fact, many of the surviving texts from the ancient Grecian world that survives today were copies from the original manuscripts of the Imperial Library of Constantinople.

Number Two: The Library of Alexandria

Built by Ptolemy I in 295 BC, the Great Library of Alexandria holds a prestigious title in history as a “Universal” library where scholars from all over the world would visit, share ideas, and study from over thousands of texts that it offers.

It was, in fact, the intellectual crown jewel of the ancient world. Texts and scriptures on subjects like history, law, science, and mathematics can be browsed among its collection of 500,000 scrolls.

Many visiting scholars that decided to remain and live in the library complex received stipends from the Egyptian government just for conducting their studies and copying texts. Among its visitors were Euclid and Archimedes.

Its demise is still a question that seeks answers. Supposedly, the library burned down in 48 BC when Julius Caesar set fire to Alexandria’s harbor when he was at war with Ptolemy XIII. However, many historians believe that a blaze could not have easily destroyed the library and it may have still survived for a few more centuries. Some scholars, on the other hand, argue that the library met its end during the reign of Roman emperor Aurelian in 270 AD while other experts place its obliteration somewhere around the Fourth Century AD.

Whatever the case and however it fell, the Library of Alexandria remains to be one of history’s greatest achievements both architecturally and academically.

Number One: The Library of Ashurbanipal

Known as the world’s oldest library, it was built and founded for the “royal contemplation” of the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal in the 7th Century. Basically, it was one massive private study.

Constructed in Nineveh in modern-day Iraq, the library had a collection of around 30,000 stone tablets written in cuneiform. What’s even more impressive is that the tablets were organized according to subject matter. Most of them being archival documents of the royal court, the collection also included a number of literary works including the 4000-year old Epic of Gilgamesh.

Ashurbanipal was a known book-lover and obtained many of them through looting from conquered territories including Babylonia.

Today, most of the surviving tablets are housed and cared for in the British Museum in London.

While the Library of Ashurbanipal may not be as glamorous as the Library of Alexandria, it is most interesting to note that his collection helped pave the way to the history of the written word through cuneiform.

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Sources:

http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-impressive-ancient-libraries
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/05/30/11-most-impressive-libraries-from-the-ancient-world/
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/10-magnificent-ancient-libraries-filled-with-knowledge/
http://listverse.com/2016/12/09/10-mysterious-libraries/

Towns And Villages You Didn't Know Were Cursed

Haunted or cursed places where strange supernatural phenomena take place are typically the foundation of a vast assortment of novels and movies in the horror genre that exists today. From novels like Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot” to the film classics like Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead,” the plots of scary fictional tales with this kind of common theme are sometimes even set in towns and villages that actually exist in the real world. These existing locations are believed by many to be haunted by ghosts or cursed by powerful and malevolent unearthly beings. Because there are many chilling accounts of allegedly real hauntings and tragic events involving these old towns and villages, it is not surprising that they are used in fiction to maximize a story’s potential to horrify and terrorize its audience.

1. The Al Jazirah Al Hamra

Once a prosperous fishing village located on the northeastern edge of the United Arab Emirates, Al Jazirah Al Hamra used to be filled with antiquated houses that date back to the ancient times and was once an active coastal area where various trade transactions took place. For some reason, around 1968, the residents of the village collectively abandoned their homes. Today, while many of these previous inhabitants still have ownership over some of the land in the village, very few of their descendants continue to live there.

It was around the 1960s when rumors of Al Jazirah Al Hamra being haunted started to gain ground among UAE citizens. Many believe that the village is home to several “djinns” or genies – supernatural creatures in Arabian and Islamic mythologies. These djinns, in particular, are malevolent beings that feed on human flesh. Because of the dark tale surrounding the village, it is a popular tourist spot for those who enjoy ghost hunting and thrill-seeking. While some residents in the area discourage the nocturnal visits of strangers, many locals have also reported sightings of these djinns and have shared their stories with others.

2. The Cinco Saltos

Located in the rural region of Rio Negro, the City of Cinco Saltos is also notoriously known as the “City of Witches” due to reports of the rampant presence of black magicians, necromancers, and witches in the area. One infamous story about this old city involves its large cemetery where a body of a 12-year-old girl was supposedly found while workers renovated the area. Despite the fact that the girl was dead for around 70 years, the girl’s body is well-preserved due to mummification. Some even say that her body was tied to her coffin, leading superstitious residents of the city to suggest that the girl was used as a sacrifice in an occult ritual conducted by one of the hidden covens in the city. There are also reports of seeing a ghost of young girl roaming around the cemetery.

Another terrifying tale said to have taken place in Cinco Saltos involves the Pellegrini Lake where many child sacrifices were purportedly performed by the resident witches. This is supported by reports from visitors of hearing eerie shrieks of young kids when they pass through the lake’s crossing at night. Some people tried to locate the source of these unnerving screams but they always ended up unsuccessful.

3. The Dargavs

This village is more popularly known as the “City of the Dead” and is regarded as among the most enigmatic locations in Russia. Hidden somewhere in the Caucasus Mountains in North Ossetia of southern Russia. Looking at the site from a distance, it may seem like a regular hill village with crude houses, but in reality, Dargavs is no ordinary village. It is actually an ancient necropolis built around the Middle Ages. People of the Ossetian or Alanian tribe erected these house-looking crypts to bury their family members in, and today, there are currently around 100 stone crypts in the area and some of them contain scattered bones.

Today, many of the residents residing on the mountains steer clear of the necropolis due to a local legend warning that those who would visit the tombs in Dargavs end up receiving a curse that supposedly drives them to an early grave. It also doesn’t help that the area is covered with fog most of the time, adding a spookier feel to the grave site.

4. The Canewdon

Located in East Anglia, Canewdon is often referred to as the “witch country” of England as there are a lot of unverified superstitious tales surrounding the village, particularly about witchcraft. There was once a prophecy made by a famous “cunning man” from the 19th century named James Murrell about Canewdon, saying that the area would be doomed to be infested with witches forever. This makes sense in a way since the village has been the subject of witch lore since the 16th century. There is also a legend which states that each instance that a stone drops from the tower of St. Nicholas Church, a witch will perish only to have another take her place. Another legend claims that should a person run counterclockwise around the church or one of the tombs found in its courtyard during Halloween, ghosts, witches or even the Devil would appear.

More than the legends, what’s really tragic about the village of Canewdon was the fact that it was the site of many witch trials and executions that resulted in the suffering and demise of many people during the 16th and 17th centuries. Among the more notable magicians who came from Canewdon include George Pickingill, a black magician heralded as one of the world’s primary authority on witchcraft and Satanism during the early 20th century.

5. The Yarumal

The municipality of Yarumal in the Antioquia Department of Colombia has the unfortunate reputation of having an alarmingly large portion of its population suffer from the neurological curse of dementia. Out of 5,000 of its villagers, it has been determined that half of them will develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, with some of them getting afflicted with the neurological disease even before they hit 40 years of age.

As for the reason why so many of the residents in Yarumal are fated to suffer the affliction of dementia early in their lives, scientists have determined that a genetic mutation causing the disease can be traced back to a Spanish conquistador who arrived in the region sometime in the 17th century. The mutation is referred to as E280A and can be found on the 14th chromosome of a gene. While suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease is not fate that should be wished on anyone, there is a silver lining to the fact that many of the residents in Yarumal have this particular genetic mutation. Researchers believe that the people of Yarumal are the key to finding a permanent and effective cure to dementia, which is why the mountain village today is also serving as a large laboratory where the conditions of the villagers are thoroughly studied.

6. The Bhangarh

Regarded as the most haunted site in India, the ruins of the city of Bhangarh in the Rajasthan, India was once a stronghold of the Mughal Empire during the 16th century until the empire weakened by the early 19th century. However, it was the famine of 1783 that drastically diminished the human population in city and since then, Bhangarh has remained largely uninhabited.

The fort of Bhangarh is full of temples and palaces but despite its breathtaking sites, the city today is nothing more than an abandoned “ghost” town. In fact, even now, entry to the city between sunset and sunrise is prohibited and outsiders are warned against entering the city by the Archaeology Survey of India. There is even a legend circulating in the region that anyone who dared to visit the ghost city at night is fated to remain trapped inside the city’s ruins for eternity. Nevertheless, thousands of people have visited Bhangarh at night every year, either because they don’t believe in the curse or they want to see for themselves if it’s real.

As for why the city is cursed, one story tells of a holy man called Baba Balnath who gave his permission for the people to construct the town so long as the buildings they erected did not cast a shadow over his residence. If they did, he would punish the people by destroying the city. A descendant prince, however, violated this rule leading Balnath to curse the entire town.

Another tale speaks of a wizard called Singhiya who fell in love with the princess of Bhangarh named Ratnavati. To make the princess love him, Singhiya cast a spell on a fragrance purchased by one of the princess’s attendants. However, the princess saw through the plan and caused the magician’s death. Before he took his last breath, Singhiya cursed Bhangarh, prophesizing that people would soon abandon the city completely.

There is no way to tell if all these old towns and villages from different parts of the world are actually cursed. What we can say is that the spooky tales and legendary curses connected with these old sites are what makes these places all the more interesting for many of us. This is why many of us go out of our way to see them for ourselves – because they infuse a little fear, strangeness, and mystery into our normal lives.

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 Sources: 

http://listverse.com/2016/04/29/10-cursed-villages-and-towns/
https://moviepilot.com/posts/3895720
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazirah_Al_Hamra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_Saltos
http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/city-dead-mysterious-village-dargavs-russia-003436/page/0/1
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=nDdcVt9-jnMC&pg=PA50&dq=canewdon+witches&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=canewdon%20witches&f=false
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28514-conquistador-brought-early-onset-alzheimers-to-colombian-town/
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/ghost-city-bhangarh-and-curse-holy-man-002380?nopaging=1

Modern Armies that Tried to Win Wars with Magic

They say that to win a war, you must be willing to do whatever it takes. The use of threatening words and brute force are all necessary for winning battles, but you’re going to need to take the extra mile if you want an assured victory. If you take a good look at our history of modern warfare, you’ll see just how much science has had a hand in the victory of one military force and the defeat of another. From coming up with the most effective means for gathering intelligence in times of conflict and fragile peace to developing weapons of mass destruction that put an end to a devastating global war and thwarted a powerful and influential empire, it cannot be denied just how many military groups have benefited from the bright minds of scientific experts.

But even in our supposedly technologically-advanced and scientifically-enlightened world, you might be surprised to know just how far our modern armies have gone all in the name of victory. Some have approached magicians and illusionists for tips and tricks in the art of deception while others have attempted to expand the abilities of the human mind beyond the boundaries of conventional science. There are also those that dared to construct weapons of mass destruction that you probably only heard of in literary materials of the science fiction genre. Others, however, have sought out the rumored ancient items mentioned in myths and legends that promised unlimited powers to those who manage to find them and possess them.

And so, let us enumerate five (5) cases of when modern armies and governments have tried to resort to magic or the supernatural to win real wars and achieve supremacy over their enemies.

#1 – The United States Government and the CIA Manual of Trickery & Deception

You’ve watched the movies and the TV shows - from the Bourne Identity films to 24 to Alias and more – and you’ve probably wondered if any of what they have shown in these entertainment pieces are anything like how actual spies and CIA field agents operate in the real world. As it turns out, some of what many actors have done in these spy films are not so far from what real intelligence agents have done in reality. In fact, there’s even an official manual for it.

Back in 2010, the Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception was declassified and released for the perusal of the general public. The manual was written during the Cold War by an American magician named John Mulholland. The book was essentially used in training intelligence agents of the CIA on how to use misdirection and deception in completing their assigned missions. The manual also teaches these CIA operatives on the best ways to conceal weapons, how to use sleight of hand to discreetly pass information, take items or put drugs in people’s drinks, and how to assassinate their targets using only a poisoned pen.

#2 — The Allied Forces and the Disappearance of the Suez Canal

Perhaps the most popular real case of an army using a magician to win a war is that of British stage magician Jasper Maskelyne and his alleged large-scale concealment of the Suez Canal during the Second World War.

In 1949, Maskelyne published a ghostwritten memoir titled “Magic – Top Secret,” in which he detailed his exploits in aiding the Allies during World War Two. The British magician was allegedly a part of a special unit focused on the war effort along the Suez Canal. Using his extensive experience and knowledge in the art of illusion, he devised a large-scale illusion system to conceal the Suez Canal and to misdirect the German flying bombers in the sky. To do so, he built an equipment referred to as “dazzle lights,” which was made of a revolving cone of mirrors. It produced a spinning light that was around nine miles wide, and it dazzled and disoriented German pilots, which consequently, made them drop their bombs off-target.

#3 — The British Government and the Use of Astrology

World War II was not an easy time from either side of the war effort, and every military strategy was explored, even the most absurd ones. It would have been easy for the British government to defeat the Nazis had they known everything that was running in Adolf Hitler’s unpredictable mind. And so, they tried to do so by hiring an astrologer to write horoscopes for Hitler and several other Nazi leaders.

In 2008, declassified documents released to Britain’s National Archives catalogs revealed that the British forces assigned an astrologer named Louis de Wohl to create fake astrological reports about the Nazi leaders and distributed them throughout Nazi Germany to demoralize the public. However, Wohl took a step further by offering his services to predict Hitler’s advisers' advice. And so, Wohl typed out a report titled “A Survey of 1943,” which was a seven-page guesswork of when Hitler’s major attacks will take place, and the possible fortunes of important figures from both sides of the war.

Wohl was also sent off by Winston Churchill to convince the United States to join the war, but following the events of Pearl Harbor, his convincing powers and astrological abilities were no longer required. And as disclosed in the declassified documents of the MI5, the British government came to regret their decision to involve Wohl in their military efforts, as many of them eventually led to the conclusion that he was nothing more than a charlatan that liked to boast of his secret role in the war.   

#4 – The Soviets and Their Extensive Study on Psychokinesis

During the Cold War, the Americans and the Soviets tried to outdo the other in many things, the most popular of which is probably the space race that resulted in the first of many successful missions that landed mankind on the moon. For both sides, it became necessary to explore every avenue to win the Cold War, including the paranormal. And so, both the Americans and the Russians raced against each other to be the first one to figure out how to harness the unknown by expanding the human mind and exploring individuals’ potential abilities in telepathy and psychokinesis.

So far, there has been no widely-accepted evidence that confirms the possibility that humans can be trained to read other people’s minds or move objects without lifting a finger. But between the United States and the Soviets, it seems the latter’s research about the paranormal was more on point than those done by the Americans. Amid the Cold War, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – also known as DARPA – wanted to evaluate and compare the milestones achieved by the United States and the Soviets in researching about the paranormal. And so, they granted RAND Corporation the authority to conduct a study about it, the results of which was published in the early 1970s. The organization reached the conclusion that the Soviets’ research on the supernatural was more specifically geared towards biology and physics in comparison to what the United States came up with, which was largely based on psychological theories.

The Soviets did not only consider using telepathy as a means of communicating with submarines without the aid of electronic equipment, but they also explored the possibility of training their cosmonauts to tap on their precognitive powers to foresee potential accidents in space. They were also interested in using mental imagery or psychokinesis to move objects, which would be helpful in disrupting the guiding system of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Given the specificity in how the Soviets handled their paranormal research, they were the ones more likely to harness what the paranormal world had to offer if it really existed.

#5 — The Nazi and The Search for the Holy Grail and the Spear of Destiny

You’ve probably watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in which the Nazis were on the hunt for the mythical and magical Holy Grail. And while we can’t say for certain if they did encounter an immortal knight or solicited the expertise of an archaeologist with a dashing appearance equal to that of Harrison Ford, the Nazis did look for the Holy Grail in real life, along with other religious ancient artifacts like the Spear of Destiny.

According to the book “The Desecrated Abbey” written by Montserrat Rico Góngora, Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Nazi SS, embarked on a top-secret mission during the Second World War to acquire the Holy Grail at an abbey in Spain. The book claims that the Reichsführer-SS believed that Jesus Christ was not the King of the Jews, and was in fact of Aryan blood. And so, Himmler allegedly thought that if the Nazis gained possession of the Aryan Holy Grail, the ancient artifact would grant him supernatural powers and help the Germans win the global war. Unfortunately for the Nazi leader, no such magical cup was found, and if he did find one, it was never disclosed to the public.

There are also stories and historical records claiming that Hitler himself acquired the Spear of Destiny – the lance that pierced the body of Jesus to confirm his death – back in 1938 following his annexation of Austria. According to legend, whoever gains possession of the Spear also gains the power to decide the fate of the world. However, once he ceases to be its owner, he meets his death and is refused entry to the gates of Heaven. While what he found may very well be a very expensive knock-off of the Holy Lance, Hitler brought this Spear to Nuremberg for safekeeping.

In 1945, U.S. soldiers under the leadership of General Patton got a hold of the spear Hitler thought was the real Spear of Destiny. Interestingly, Hitler died soon after he lost ownership of the lance, having committed suicide in his bunker. It seems to confirm the legend that losing possession of the spear results to the owner’s death, but we won’t be able to test this theory again unless we’re hoping to encounter another tyrannical global leader, so perhaps it is better that the spear Hitler discovered is being safely kept inside the Weltliches Schatzkammer Museum in Vienna instead.

People at war live in violent and uncertain times, which is why it is not that surprising that even in the modern world, opposing sides of a conflict are desperate to find ways to turn the tides of these bloody battles in their favor. To some of us, the idea of using magic, exploring psychic defense or searching for lost ancient artifacts all for the sake of winning a war seems an absurd waste of time. However, to the leaders of these modern armies, it is a factor that they could not discount so easily.

After all, they could not risk not giving magic and the supernatural the time of day when their enemies were spending resources to possibly utilize them as weapons. What if their enemies succeeded? How could they outsmart an enemy that has mastered the art of deception and misdirection? How could they fight against thousands of troops that can easily kill their opponents and predict the future using only their minds? How could they win against a colossal army in possession of a powerful ancient artifact that pretty much made them invincible?  

As commanders that lead thousands, if not millions, of soldiers, these military and intelligence leaders chose to exhaust all possibilities to end the conflict in their favor, even if it meant resorting to magic or the supernatural. Perhaps, from their perspective, they would rather have their pursuit for such things end up as a fruitless endeavor rather than neglect that option and allow their enemies to use it against them later on.

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SOURCES:

http://listverse.com/2013/03/05/10-attempts-to-use-magic-and-the-supernatural-to-win-wars/

http://www.cracked.com/article_24722_6-modern-armies-who-tried-to-win-wars-using-magic-sci-fi.html

https://www.thrillist.com/vice/10-secret-lessons-from-the-cia-manual-of-trickery-and-deception

https://archive.org/stream/cia-manual-trickery-deception-2009/cia-manual-trickery-deception-2009_djvu.txt

https://www.magictricks.com/war-magician.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23456119/#.WWjSIIiGPb1

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/revealed-how-mi5-recruited-an-astrologer-in-plot-to-outwit-hitler-790876.html

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/us-and-soviet-spooks-studied-parano-2008-10-29/

https://www.wired.com/2007/12/rand-russians-t/

http://io9.gizmodo.com/5889471/what-is-the-spear-of-destiny-and-where-can-you-get-it

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/04/relic_hunter_a_missing_christian_relic_the_fall_of_nazi_germany_and_a_mystery_that_flummoxed_historians_for_centuries/

Perfectly Preserved Body Found of 1,000-year-old Buddhist Master Ci Xian

Something mysterious has been discovered at the Dinghui Temple in Wu'an in the Hubei province of China. A golden mummy, the preserved remains of Master Ci Xian that is over 1,000 years old, underwent a CT scan on July 8, 2017, that was witnessed by monks, media and prayers . To everyone's surprise, researchers found that he still had a complete brain and that his bones were also really healthy.

According to Dr. Wu Yongqing who conducted the scan:

"We can see his bones are as healthy as a normal person's...The upper jaw, the upper teeth, the ribs, the spine and all the joints are all complete...It's incredible to see this."

According to historical records, Master Ci Xian was a well-respected monk from India who had translated 10 major sutras into Chinese and traveled from India to the Kingdom of Khitan (which is in modern day northeastern China) in an effort to promote Buddhism. Some of his translations were carved into stone tablets that can still be seen today. After his death, Master Ci Xian’s disciples preserved his body well. But over the years, the body was somehow lost, never to be found until it was rediscovered in a cave in the 1970s. 

Master Ci Xian’s remains were worshiped at the Dinghui Temple since 2011, and in 2016 the temple covered his body in gold paint as a sign of respect. According to Master Du at the Ding Hui temple, elderly monks can feel when they are about to pass away and will instruct their disciples to either cremate or preserve their remains. If preserved, his remains would be placed in a massive ceramic jar filled with natural preservatives. If the spiritual level of the monk is high enough, or there is a lot of cultivated energy within the monk’s body, then it would be soaked in the liquid for about 3 years. After that, the body will be removed from the liquid and covered in rice paste.

This may seem really strange to a lot of people but it is believed that all monks are cultivators with the goal of reaching enlightenment. And as they are cultivating, they are generating energy within their bodies. As the energy grows, it will start to change the cultivator’s body from a fundamental level. Often times, when a monk cultivates to a high level, pearl-like substances are left behind his ashes when he is cremated. The pearls are called sarira and are considered sacred and precious. Throughout human history and its billions of cremations, it was only high level cultivators who were able to leave sariras behind.

The Most Deadly Cursed Diamond In The World

Diamonds are precious gemstones which, from ancient to modern times, have typically been used for adornment because of its gemological and shining characteristic of dispersing white light and bursting it into different spectral and sparkling colors. It cannot be denied that people are primarily fascinated by these precious stones for their crystalline beauty and elegance as well as the widespread knowledge that they could last “forever.” But, of course, not all diamonds and other gemstones are famous simply for their physical attributes, but for the notorious reputation, they gained over several generations for purportedly being cursed. 
 
Many of the oldest gemstones that survive today bring with them tales of mystery, intrigue as well as a series of misfortunes that have been passed down from one owner to the next. With so many people going to great lengths to possess them, and with so many deaths believed to have been caused by these precious diamonds, a lot of individuals today are left wondering if the pricelessness of these gemstones is worth the curse that comes with owning one.
 
One of the most famously known diamonds believed to possess a deadly curse is the Koh-i-Noor.

The Koh-i-Noor, which is Persian for “Mountain of Light,” is currently ranked as the 90th largest diamond in the world, and is arguably the most infamous one. It is a large, dazzling, oval-cut and colorless diamond, which currently weighs at 105.6 karats or 21.12 grams. Its earliest officially recorded weight was 186 karats or 77.2 grams, though it is believed by some to have weighed as much as 793 karats before its first cutting. 
 
As for when it was first found and where it originally came from, no one knows for certain. But what is common knowledge is the fact that it is an unspeaking witness to centuries of violent and bloody wars and conquests, having been passed on from one ruler or conqueror to another, sometimes by inheritance but mostly by force. The story and lives of those who once held ownership of this gemstone went down in history as rulers whose legacies were plagued with ill fortune, and whose kingdoms and empires eventually met their downfall. 
 
Even now, ownership of this precious diamond is still being fought about by various nations, which is probably why some people have thought of the Koh-i-Noor as the deadliest cursed diamond on the planet. 

Source: bbc

Mysterious Origins

There are conflicting views regarding the possible origins of the Koh-i-Noor. Some say that the legendary diamond’s existence dates back to more than 5,000 years ago, and was found in the river bed of the Lower Godavari River, which is part of the second longest river in India. Others say that the legendary diamond came from Surya, the sun god, and was given to the world as a unique gift. There also those who claim that the diamond was originally the property of the Hindu god Krishna, while others believe that the Koh-i-Noor is the prized jewel called Shyamantaka mentioned in the written texts of Indian mythology. Another story suggests that the diamond was worn by Raja Karna as a talisman when he fought in the Mahabharata war. 

 

The Journey of the Koh-i-Noor From India to England

While it may be impossible now to find out where exactly the Koh-i-Noor was found, it is widely believed that the prized gemstone came from the Kollur Mines in the Guntur District, which was located in what is known today as the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. 
 
They say that the diamond was the eye of the Devi, or the goddess, in a Hindu temple during the reign of the Kakatiya dynasty sometime in the 13th century. However, during the early 14th century, the Turkic Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate marched to southern India. The army of Alauddin Khalji – the dynasty’s second ruler – raided the kingdoms of the area for their wealth, and it is believed that among the riches and prized possessions taken by the Khilji’s army is the Koh-i-Noor diamond. 
 
The stone supposedly remained in the custody of the Khilji dynasty for several years until it was later passed on to subsequent dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate. However, most historians agree that the first reliable recording of the Koh-i-Noor was in the Baburnama or the Memoirs of Babur, an autobiographical work written by the founder of the Mughal Empire, Babur. The jewel was obtained by the conqueror and at the time, he referred to it as the “Diamond of Babur.” He also mentioned in his memoirs that it had belonged to an unnamed Raja of Malwa in India. It has also been said that the emperor treasured the diamond so much that he compared its worth to “the value of one day’s food for all the people in the world” who lived at the time. 
 
The Mughal Empire ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent for around two centuries, and it is believed that the Koh-i-Noor was passed from one emperor of the Mughal Empire to the next until the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, had the jewel placed onto his ornamental Peacock Throne. Unfortunately, Jahan’s sons got caught up in a power struggle that led to his imprisonment, and the ailing emperor eventually passed away in captivity. When his son Aurangzeb came into power, ownership of the Peacock Throne and the diamond passed onto him before it eventually came into the possession of Aurangzeb’s grandson, Sultan Mahamad. 

 In 1739, Delhi was invaded by the ruling Shah of Persia, Nader Shah, who went down in history as the “scourge” of the Ottoman Empire. With the invasion of Nader Shah’s army came the exhaustive looting and acquisition of the riches and valuable possessions of the Mughal nobility. Along with other jewels and treasures, the Peacock Throne which contained the diamond was transported to Persia. As the story goes, when the Shah finally got his hands on the famous stone, he allegedly exclaimed “Koh-i-Noor!” which is how the jewel got its name. 
 
The Koh-i-Noor did not last for very long in Nader Shah’s possession as he was assassinated in 1747. With the fall of his empire, the diamond fell into the hands of his general, Ahmad Shah Abdali, who eventually rose to power as the Emir of Afghanistan. When he and his son died during their respective reigns, Ahmad Shah Abdali’s descendants were caught in a civil war. Amid the chaos, Shah Shuja Durrani, a descendant of Ahmad Shah who briefly assumed power as king, escaped from the wrath of his feuding brothers and brought the Koh-i-Noor with him in India. 

Shah Shuja Durrani sought asylum in Lahore, which was granted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler and founder of the Sikh Empire. However, his safety came at a very high price, as the Sikh emperor required that the Koh-i-Noor be given to him in exchange for his hospitality. And so, Shah Shuja Durrani surrendered ownership of the diamond, and the Sikh emperor took possession of the stone in 1813. 
 
The new owner of the Koh-i-Noor purportedly loved the diamond so much that he wore it on all kinds of public occasions. Perhaps to make sure that the jewel will be taken care of by capable hands, the Sikh emperor willed that the Koh-i-Noor be given to a Hindu temple. However, when he died and after the assassinations of the next Maharajas, his youngest son, Duleep Singh, ascended the throne at the tender age of five in 1843. And when the British Empire won the Second Anglo-Sikh War in April 1849, the ten-year-old Duleep was made to sign the Last Treaty of Lahore. Having done so, he resigned his claim to the sovereignty of Punjab and officially ceded ownership of the Koh-i-Noor to Queen Victoria along with his other assets to the East India Company.
 

When the Koh-i-Noor came into the possession of the British royal family, Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, commissioned the re-cutting of the diamond to its current size and appearance, and it was worn by the queen as a personal brooch. After Queen Victoria’s death, it became a part of the crown jewels of the British royal family. It was mounted onto the crown of Queen Consort Alexandra before it was transferred to Queen Consort Mary’s crown in 1911, and was finally placed on the crown of The Queen Mother Elizabeth in 1937.
 
Today, the crown is publicly displayed along with other Crown Jewels of the royal family at the Tower of London.

The Curse of the Koh-i-Noor

Considering that the ownership of the Koh-i-Noor transferred from one person to another for so many times to the point that it became difficult to pinpoint who had it when we can’t help but ask: Is the curse of the Koh-i-Noor real?
 
There’s an old saying about the Koh-i-Noor, and it states: “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or woman, can wear it with impunity.”
 
If we take a look at the events that transpired around the time the Koh-i-Noor was in possession of an emperor or a ruler, it will not be difficult to see the pattern of violence, gore, and tragedies that are very apparent in the diamond’s history. The stories of the people who gained ownership of the jewel and their descendants who ended up inheriting the stone usually ended in torture, murder, mutilation, treachery and the collapse of their dynasties. 

While the British royal family may never admit that they believe in the curse of the Koh-i-Noor, its history cannot be dismissed so easily, and it seems the threat of receiving the curse is frightening enough for the long-reigning monarch to handle it with caution. After the reign of Queen Victoria, the use of the Koh-i-Noor diamond has so far only been granted to the wives of the male heirs to the British throne. Even Queen Elizabeth II has steered clear of wearing the diamond with a crown or as an accessory, even though the Koh-i-Noor’s curse supposedly only applied to male rulers.

Of course, this does not confirm that the diamond is cursed and deadly, but it does leave us wondering if the jewel is indeed the source of the problem of its owners, or its role in the violent history of many fallen empires is not any more special than any other spoil of war. Did the owners of the Koh-i-Noor and the empires and kingdoms they ruled experienced horrible misfortunes and terrible fates because the diamond in their possession was cursed? Or, did people come to believe that the Koh-i-Noor was cursed simply because its previous owners incidentally experienced misfortunes along with the collapse of their empires?
 
We may never know for sure if the Koh-i-Noor is indeed cursed, or its supposed menacing power to destroy the lives of its owners and their descendants is nothing more than a long-standing myth. And perhaps answering this mystery should be the least of our concern at the moment as there are more pressing issues about this diamond that remains unresolved today, particularly the disputes over its ownership. 
 
Although under the possession of the British royal family, other countries such as India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan have called for the United Kingdom’s relinquishment of the diamond’s ownership and the return of the Koh-i-Noor to the care of their respective nations. And although the jewel’s presence in London is largely contested, it looks like the British royal family will not be ceding possession of this diamond anytime soon. 

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Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koh-i-Noor
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-4608828/The-world-s-deadliest-diamond.html
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/tft/deadly-diamond/
http://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/kohinoor-diamond-stolen-and-cursed/172354
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/the-kohinoor-following-the-bloodiest-diamond-across-history/story-KwrpNJ70xTqlkjGQ2b1LOK.html
http://www.academia.edu/6804928/The_Lust_and_Curse_of_the_Koh-i-Noor_Diamond_of_India
https://www.worthy.com/famous-diamonds/the-koh-i-noor-diamond
http://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/mountain-light-history-and-lore-koh-i-noor-diamond-005172?nopaging=1

The Secret of Real Life Magic Mirrors of The Far East

There are those among us that seek to find proof that our ancient ancestors possessed advanced knowledge and technology that equal – if not surpass – the things we know and are able to do in modern times. And among the strangest objects in the world that seem to serve as evidence of advanced ancient knowledge are the so-called “magic mirrors” of the Far East.

What Are Ancient Magic Mirrors?

The Chinese and Japanese of ancient times were owners and makers of precious and rare mirrors that are made of solid bronze but at the same time can seemingly and magically let light shine through them. To the Chinese, they referred to these previous artifacts as “mirrors which are permeable to light.” In the Western world, however, they came to simply be known as “magic mirrors.” And since their introduction in the West, these rare “magical” mirrors have baffled scientists for many years.

The front of a magic mirror was made of cast bronze and is generally circular in shape, with size of about 15 to 20 centimeters in diameter. The polished surface of the bronze, or the mirror’s front side, functioned normally as a mirror since it can produce a faithful reflection of the objects in front of them.  

The back of the mirror, on the other hand, was decorated with various characters and patterns. On the reverse surface, there is usually a modeled drawing or carvings that can be landscape featuring trees, water, birds or animals, or they can contain inscriptions and perhaps even a figure of Buddha.

In many conditions of lighting, when a magic mirror is held in the hand, it appears to be perfectly normal mirrors. However, the “magic” happens when the mirror is held in bright sunshine. When an especially bright beam of light is reflected off a magic mirror and onto a clear surface, its reflecting surface can be seen through. Hence, it becomes possible to inspect the written character or patterns on the back of the mirror from the reflection cast on to a dark wall. It is as if the solid bronze had become transparent, making this luminous effect one of the most unexpected and the most captivating mankind has ever seen.

Origins of Ancient Magic Mirrors

There are many historical variations with regard to the origin of these Far Eastern magic mirrors. However, it is generally agreed on that these ancient artifacts appeared for the first time in China around the 2nd century BC and that they were produced in large quantities during the entire period of the Han dynasty (206 BC – 24 AD).  

Discovery of the Ancient Magic Mirrors by the West

The first magical mirror appeared in Europe when the Director of the Paris Observatory brought with him one in the 19th century upon his return from China. It presented an irresistible mystery to the French Academy of Sciences, and despite their efforts to register its behavior, they could never fully understand why it could do what it can do. In total, there are four magical mirrors that were reported to have been brought from China to Europe at the time.

Then in 1878, two engineering professors presented the Royal Society of London with a variety of magic mirrors they had brought from Japan. The English referred to them as “diaphanous mirrors” and for the first time, they managed to make technical observations about their construction. However, nobody at the time could determine what produced the ghostly and beautiful projection of light from the mirror, giving the impression that the solid mirror is transparent in some way when it should not be the case.

For many centuries, the supposed mystery behind these ancient mirrors left scientists and collectors perplexed, and labeled the abilities of these mirrors as “impossible optical illusions” and therefore, “magical.”

The Secret Behind the Ancient Magic Mirrors

Western scientists began their examination of the magic mirrors from the Far East in 1832, but their efforts did not produce their desired results right away. Even in the East, it seemed the knowledge of how to intentionally recreate these magic mirrors were elusive, even though its possibility was not completely out of reach.

About 1,200 years ago, the secret to constructing magic mirrors was recorded in an ancient Chinese text titled the “Record of Ancient Mirrors.” The book supposedly contains the secrets of these enigmatic objects and their constructions. It described the method of crafting solid bronze mirrors with decorations, written characters or patterns on the reverse side in such a way that they could cast a reflection of these images or inscriptions on a nearby surface when light hits the front and polished side of the mirror in a seeming transparent effect. Unfortunately, the book has been lost for over a thousand years.

Magic mirrors were also described in the “Dream Pool Essays” by Shen Kuo in the 11th century, who owned three of these mirrors as a family heirloom. Astonished as how solid metal could be transparent, Shen guessed that some sort of quenching technique was used to produce tiny wrinkles on the surface of the mirror that are too small to be observed by the naked eye.

It was in 1932 when it was finally discovered why the reflections of the magic mirror showed the designs on the back. According to British physicist, chemist and mathematician Sir William Henry Bragg, although the surface of the mirror is polished and seems to look like they’re completely flat, the front is actually curved into a convex form by scraping and scratching before the surface is polished. It is then coated with a mercury amalgam. This complex process creates stresses and buckling, resulting in bulges on the surface of the mirror which is too minute for the naked eye to perceive. These bulges are the ones that match the design carved on the back of the mirror.

And so, when the mirror reflected bright light or sunbeam against a dark wall, the effect reproduces the patterns in a magnified manner as if they were passing through solid bronze by way of these light beams.

It is important to note, however, that while this method explains the creation of a Chinese or Han magic mirror, it is not the same method that is applied in making a Japanese magic mirror, as the optical properties of the images produced by the two types of mirror were not made by the same process. Moreover, unlike the rare Chinese models, there are many Japanese magic mirrors around the world, probably because in ancient Japan, mirrors were considered precious items that were carefully taken care of.

Today, it is rumored that Yamamoto Akihisa is the last manufacturer of magic mirrors in Japan. When the Kyoto Journal interviewed him, the artisan explained part of his technique in making these mirrors, which he revealed that he had learned from his father, who also learned it from his father, and so on, over several generations.

Even now, our generation is just starting to learn about these magic mirrors, and there are a lot of things that we do not know about these ancient artifacts. Perhaps we may never really know the true meaning behind these “magical” mirrors because ancient records describing these mysterious objects are gone forever. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that these ancient magic mirrors in China and Japan are already a part of the magical history of mankind for being undoubtedly one of the strangest objects in the world.

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Sources:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1352868-ancient-wonders-real-life-magic-mirrors-of-the-far-east/
http://www.ancientpages.com/2011/04/21/mystery-of-ancient-magical-mirrors-some-of-the-strangest-objects-in-the-world/
http://www.faena.com/aleph/articles/the-history-of-the-magic-mirrors-of-china-and-japan/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_magic_mirror
http://www.eastm.org/index.php/journal/article/viewFile/497/428
http://www.kyotojournal.org/renewal/the-magic-mirror-maker/

The Mysterious Sealed Temple Door No One Can Open

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is one of India's most popular and most sacred temples. Located in Thiruvanathapuram in Kerala, India, it is one of the most visited temples in the country. However, inside its heavily-guarded gates is a locked room with supposedly hidden treasures and for sure a deadly legend. And in order to understand the mystery behind the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, one must learn about its history.  

History:

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is one of 108 temples of Vaishnavism, or the worship of Vishnu. The Temple has been mentioned as early as the 6th Century in ancient Tamil literature, with renovations occurring in the 16th Century.

Sri Padmanabha, the central Vishnu icon, reclines on the serpent Anantha or Adi Sesha. This pose is highly unlike the portraits of Vishnu in other temples, where the deity is depicted standing. The Adi Sesha in The Padmanabhaswamy Temple has five hoods facing inwards, which symbolizes contemplation.

The Temple's name is taken from the word "Padmanabha," which means, "One emerging from the lotus." This is illustrated well on the Sri Padmanabha icon, which has the deity Brahma emerging from Vishnu's navel on a lotus.

The entire icon is carved out on a massive stone measuring 20 feet high and 2.5 feet thick. Onlookers cannot see the icon from only one of the open doors of the Temple. In fact, one has to look through three doors from the outside in order to see the icon in its fully glory.

The shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the royal family of Travancore. The trust itself was established as early as 1729. The temple and its assets ebelonged to Lord Padmanabhaswamy and the Travancore Royal Family.

However, recent events took the trust away from the family. This decision from the Indian Supreme Court not only uncovered the treasure inside the Temple, but revealed one of its most sacred mysteries.  

Hidden Treasure:

In 2011, Sunder Rajan has filed a case to the Supreme Court appealing that the Travancore Royal Family has mismanaged the assets in The Padmanabhaswamy Temple. As a result of the proceedings, the Supreme Court appointed a seven-member committee to explore the Temple and document its many belongings.

What they discovered were six enormous secret vaults that appear to house many of the Temple's treasures. The doors were made of iron, and lack locks, hatches, or any form of openings. This is what made the chambers very mysterious, even to the eyes of the public.

Upon opening, the Temple appears to have at least 22 billion dollars' worth of golden idols, elephants, necklaces, and coins. They also discovered an assortment of jewels, ceremonial cosutmes, and solid gold coconut shells studded with jewels.

The most impressive of the gems were large diamonds, some of which were even a hundred and ten carats. Some archaeologists and gemologists estimated that a small gold idol of Vishnu from the Temple could very well easily cost 30 million dollars.

Visitors today would see metal detectors, security cameras, and more than 200 guards protecting the Temple and its treasures. However, it seems they are tasked to guard something else - something that even the government may not want to be unveiled.  

Chamber B: The sixth door:

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple has six enormous secret vaults that contained its many treasures. These were named Chambers A through F. The seven-member committee was able to open five of these vaults, with exceptional difficulty.

They have been able to open and reopen chambers C through F through the years. It was said the committee was able to visit these chambers for at least eight times. Chamber A took a bit of time to open. The impressive architecture of the Temple was evident in the door’s construction. It took more than a day to open Chamber A with existing human technology.

Regardless of these efforts, all but one of the six vaults were accessed - the mysterious Chamber B.

In fact, Chamber B is not part of the documented Temple Treasury. No one knows what lies beyond its gates. It is said that the chamber is holy in nature, as it houses an idol of Sri Padmanabha and many valuables of mystic origins. It is said that the chamber may very well have walls of solid gold. It may even contain the largest undiscovered treasure in world history.

Unfortunately, the only thing people have seen is its gates, guarded by two enormous embossed cobras. In fact, aside from these, the steel door of Chamber B does not have and bolts, latches, or other means of entry.

Much to the fascination of the committee members, Chamber B has in fact three doors. The first one has metal grills on it. It is the one visible to the naked eye, and is accessible like the other chambers. However, they discovered a second wooden door behind it. Upon unlocking this door came yet another door, a menacing door made of iron that was slammed shut. There appears to be no way of getting through it.

It is said that any human attempts are made with technology to open the door will unleash an unspeakable calamity in the city. Some even say opening the door against its will can release unspeakable horrors throughout India, and perhaps the rest of the world.

Urban Legends:

The urban legend surrounding the Padmanabhaswamy Temple begins with the seven-member committee. It is said that some of the members have fallen ill while trying to open Chamber B. Another member has apparently lost his mother while investigating the Temple's hidden treasure.

Sunder Rajan, the one who filed the case to re-assess the Temple's treasures in the first place, also died a few years later.

There is very little evidence to suggest a relationship between these events to Chamber B. However, this is eerily similar to other events concerning ancient artifacts. The infamous Hope Diamond was said to cause great calamity to the person who currently owns the stunning piece of jewelry. Unfortunately, it seems an even bigger mystery surrounds Chamber B.

Legends say that Marthanda Varma of the Travancore Royal Family arranged for the creation of the six chambers. Of the six vaults, Chamber B was affixed with a special spell by hundreds of Sidda Purushas and tantriks, or religious officials, from different regions.

The legends add that only a high level Sadhus or priest familiar with chanting what is known as the Garuda Mantra can open the Chamber. If this is to believed, them some Yogic power is protecting whatever is inside of Chamber B.

Some say Chamber B is directly linked to the ocean floor. Anyone who attempts to open the door by force will be met by a torrent of ocean water. Its force is said to be capable of flooding the entire city of Kerala.

Others also say that Chamber B may have some hidden trick. It is quite possible that there is a hidden tunnel beneath the chamber. This will allow its architects to lock the chamber from the inside. At the same time, this method will not allow anyone to access the chamber from the outside. If this is true, then people who knew of the secret tunnel may have been plundering the chamber without anyone noticing.

Regardless, the High Court of India has issued a warning against opening the doors of the chamber. This is possibly due to the repercussions of trying to go against the will of the Naga Bandham guarding Chamber B.

However, just what is the Naga Bandham, and how is this related to the supposed treasure in the temple?

Naga Bandham:

The Naga Bandham is said to the power that is protecting Chamber B. Tourists or foreigners who have heard of this phrase will be looking at a more intricate aspect of Hinduism.

The Naga Bandham is also called a snake-binding spell. A successful spell will have various serpentine deities guard the treasure of a particular place. This is also the reason why there are various snake idols worshipped in temples around the country. In fact, the deity Vishnu is also often depicted riding a snake. There are also special parts of the temple dedicated for these snake deities.

However, the prevalence of snake deities and figures is not exclusive to Indian culture. Ancient cultures such as the Greeks and the Egyptians also feature serpentine and reptilian creatures. In Greek culture, a "dragon" is some form of superior snake. Even Egyptians have deities such as the protector goddess Wadjet who has the head of a snake, and the chaos god Apep who appears as a snake.

The Naga Bandham is Chamber B is said to be unlocked by special sound waves. Some say the lock inside the door can be accessed through sound. Given the right frequency, the sound waves will be amplified and "connect" through the links inside the door. Continuous exposure to the sound will have the links interact and eventually open Chamber B.

If another person tries to open the door with a different spell, or the same spell with the wrong intonation, the sound waves are directed somewhere else. Perhaps this can cause a trap to be opened or, in the case of Chamber B, the aforementioned calamity.

No one knows what lies inside The Padmanabhaswamy Temple and its secret Chamber B. No one has chanted the Garuda Mantra correctly up to this day, and the order of the Supreme Court against opening Chamber B still stands.

Are the legends surrounding Chamber B true? Will there be an unspeakable calamity once its doors are opened by force? Or will there be someone who can chant the spell correctly and give access to its rumored treasure?

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Sources:

http://www.sreepadmanabhaswamytemple.org/history.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmanabhaswamy_Temple
https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2015/11/13/a-one-trillion-dollar-hidden-treasure-chamber-is-discovered-at-indias-sree-padmanabhaswam-temple/&refURL=&referrer=
http://www.theeventchronicle.com/study/mysterious-sealed-door-ancient-padmanabhaswamy-temple/
http://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/the-mysterious-last-door-at-padmanabhaswamy-temple
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-real-mystery-behind-Padmanabhaswamy-Temples-seventh-vault