Bill Darlison: Roads for Travelling Souls

Cancer, by Dan Hodgkin Cancer is the sign of the summer solstice, when the sun begins to reverse its direction. The symbol of Cancer is the crab, a curious, scuttling creature which has its skeleton on the outside and which carries its house on its back. Cancer symbolises the urge to protect and to nourish and is associated with the family, the nation, traditions, memory - ‘the flag, mom, and apple pie’. Its virtue is loyalty, its vice clannishness, its motto, ‘Blood is thicker than water’. Along with its ‘ruler’ the moon, it is said to govern the stomach. The name of one of its stars, Ma’alaph means ‘numbered thousands’. Its decans are Ursa Major and Ursa Minor – The Great Bear and the Little Bear – and Argo, ‘the ship that conquered the waters’. Notice the strange ‘crab like’ journey Jesus makes in 7:31. (See map) Mark 6:30-44 T he apostles came back to Jesus and told him everything they’d done and taught. There was so much to-ing and fr...

    Story: The Magic Pebble   Once upon a time, while aimlessly browsing through some library books, a man discovered a folded piece of parchment, which had been slipped between the pages of an ancient volume. The writing was minuscule, and the ink had faded, but, with the aid of a magnifying glass, he was just able to make out these words:   On the shores of the Black Sea, there is a pebble which will turn everything it touches into gold. This magic pebble looks like every other pebble, but there is a difference: while the other pebbles feel cold, the magic pebble feels hot.   The man was overjoyed at his good fortune. ‘Just imagine,’ he thought, ‘a pebble which will turn everything it touches into gold! I must have it! I shall be richer than anyone else alive!’ He immediately resigned from his job, sold everything he owned, borrowed some money from his relatives and friends, and set off to the Black Sea to find the magic pebble, and...