Ghosts of Capitol Hill, Washington DC, USA

Ghosts Wander the Hill : Roll Call Around the Hill

Very interesting article. I especially like DC--the Demon Cat...

Beware of the Demon CatOne of the most frightening and infamous apparitions on Capitol Hill is the “demon cat,” affectionately referred to as “DC,” probably by those who have not encountered what is reported to be a terrifying tiger-sized black cat. Mostly seen by lone security guards on patrol in the Capitol building late at night, the demon cat tends to appear before national tragedies. It allegedly appeared before the assassinations of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

Livengood, chief guide and public programs manager for the Capitol Historical Society, has heard a lot about the demon cat in his time at the Capitol. He has worked in Congress since 1965 and says he has seen and heard various spirits throughout the building.

Even so, he’s quick to debunk the legend of the frightening feline. According to Livengood, in the early 19th century, there were still cats roaming around the Capitol, brought in to take care of a rat infestation problem. After the rats were removed, a few cats seemed to have stayed behind. Also at this time, the Capitol Police force was notorious for hiring underqualified friends of Congressmen as favors.

Livengood says that after a “liquid lunch,” one of these inept security guards ended up horizontal on the ground when he thought he was still standing. One of the lingering cats licked his face, and convinced that he was still standing, he crafted a story of a giant cat who terrorized and attacked him after dark. Livengood credits the long life span of the story to the fact that “eventually the other guards found out that they could get a day off if they saw the demon cat.”

Donnald Anderson, former Clerk of the House and chief historian of the Capitol Historical Society, says the reported footprints of the demon cat are indeed feline footprints but were left there when a stray walked across the wet cement on the floor of the Rotunda.

The “demon cat in the Dome, that’s been around for a long time, and I haven’t had an encounter with it personally,” Anderson says. “Out of all the ghosts said to inhabit the Capitol, I suspect that would be one of the most frightening.”

Many people claim to have seen the cat. There is a common story of one security guard who, while doing his rounds, walked alone in a hallway and came upon a small house cat. All of a sudden, it started to grow and growl at the guard. The guard stood frozen in shock and fear, and just as the cat ran toward him and pounced, it disappeared.

Lunar Cycles

The Lunar Cycles should be noted.  I think so, anyway.  I used to fear the full moon.  Everything seemed to get so crazy whenever the moon was full.  I began to inform myself regarding the moon and I discovered that the moon is wonderful and a full moon is not to be feared.  In fact, it's likely that my fear of the full moon is what attracted negative energy.  These days, whenever I see the moon, I say hello to her!

Archangel Haniel's oracle card (from Doreen Virtue's Archangel Oracle Cards) tells me:  "The full moon is a perfect time to release anything your're done with, the new moon is the time to focus on manifesting desires and intentions, and the evening before the full moon is an optimal time for healing, and for recharging healing instruments such as crystals and oils.  Spend time looking at the moon, and notice how you feel in relationship to its cycles.  As you discover the moon's connection with your vitality and moods, you'll be more in touch with its Divine magic."  The moonstone is associated with Haniel so the oracle cards book says to wear or hold a moonstone in order to feel close to Archangel Haniel.

Here are the 2012 and 2013 Lunar Phases.  This is a great website that contains lots of great information, in addition to the lunar phases.  It'll come in handy for tracking the dates of the full moon, new moon, and evening before full moon, so that I can follow Archangel Haniel's advice, above!!!

Gainesville, Florida

Bolen Bluff Trail -- Paynes Prairie

Wild horses might be seen on the Bolen Bluff Trail! This article, Hiking in Payne's Prairie Preserve State Park - Durham nature travel Examiner.com, states that:

For a short day hike you can take the Bolen Bluff Trail which is 2.8 miles long which crosses through sandhill habitat. On this trail you may see gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) looking out from their burrows right off the trail. Look in the crook of tree branches for brightly colored eastern corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) resting. Some of the more common animals you may see are the northern green anole (Anolis c. carolinensis), eastern ribbon snake (Thamnophis s. sauritus), and the southeastern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus). If you are a budding entomologist these trails are great to find spiders such as the black and yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia). A rare treat to come upon while hiking are wild horses (Equus caballus) or bison (Bison bison). If you hear leaves crunching, walk quietly in case it is one of these animals. The horses may let you walk right up to them, but remember that despite how tame they seem, they are still wild animals and might get defensive if they are spooked or feel threatened."  Photo of Wild Horses by Kathleen Larsen

Saints, Deities, Angels

Saint Anthony of Padua and Eleggua

Encuentro - En Cuba - San Antonio-Elegguá

This article proved interesting to me. I love San Antonio de Padua, and I'd only recently learned that in Santeria San Antonio is linked with Eleggua. Through this article I learned that in addition to San Antonio, Eleggua is also linked with El Nino de Atocha & Anima Sola (got to research this last one).

Representation of the Portuguese
Carmelite nun Antonia d'Astonaco
receiving a private revelation of
St Michael the Archangel

The Chaplet of Saint Michael
The Chaplet of Saint Michael (Archangel Michael) is very popular.  I first learned to pray this chaplet on the catholic television network EWTN.  It is a beautiful form of prayer and also serves to teach us about the numerous choirs of Angels.

This link will take you to a webpage that tells you how to pray the Chaplet of St. Michael.

Chaplet Prayer

The information I've included here concerning chaplet prayer is from Wikipedia

Birds

The Sandhill Cranes (grus canadensis) have been migrating back to north Florida and I hear small flocks at night.  My neighborhood must be on a flight path because every year many of them fly directly over us as they head south to (I assume) the prairie.  They are beautiful and their call is one-of-a-kind.

Website: The Truth about Witchcraft

An interesting site. Lots of info... don't know anything about it's accuracy, but I did find it interesting: The Truth about Witchcraft.

Cemeteries

Victorian Cemeteries
I love funerary art, and I have found some beautiful photos at Victorian Cemeteries Photos.  Below I've inserted text from their site that will tell you a little bit about them.  If you like this sort of thing, visit this site and check out the photos.  Well worth it!

About Victorian Cemeteries Welcome to the Victorian Cemeteries Group.  This group is dedicated to beautiful cemetery photography. Bring us your best cemetery photographs and don't forget to comment at least ONE of the other photographs you find here. Remember that this is all about art so please, don’t just post something you snapped around the corner. Post your best and most beautiful work! Thank you and welcome again.