The Spirit Level

The Spirit Level Podcast Season 2 Episode #3

October 17, 2021 Season 2 Episode 3
The Spirit Level
The Spirit Level Podcast Season 2 Episode #3
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Join Mel & MR M for another episode. This week, with the effects of the New moon still with us, Mel advises to start manifesting your energies for the upcoming Full moon on 20th October, and advises on setting your goals for the next 12 months.

Coming up in the show this week -:
(02:28) SODALITE
is the featured crystal in CRYSTAL CORNER.
(05:20) Listener questions this week come from Gail in Wrexham, Marilyn in Southampton and Donna in Cambridgeshire who are asking about Astral Planes, the effects of the Lunar Cycle & Sleep Paralysis.
OUR THANKS TO GAIL, MARILYN & DONNA FOR GETTING IN TOUCH.
(12:54) In MR M’s MENAGERIE, THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT is being discussed.
(24:57) In HOUSEHOLD HOCUS POCUS, it’s back into the kitchen, with STAR ANISE on the menu.
(27:04) And in TIME FOR TAROT, THE 5’s are our featured cards.

Coming up in next weeks show -:
ANGEL AURA QUARTZ is the featured crystal in CRYSTAL CORNER.
There will be some more of your listener questions.
In MR M’s MENAGERIE, THE LAST SUPPER painting is being discussed.
In HOUSEHOLD HOCUS POCUS, the much-maligned WALNUT is on the menu.
And in TIME FOR TAROT, THE 4’s are our featured cards. 

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https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-spirit-level/id1548942940, and don't forget to visit the website, https://www.thespiritlevel.co.uk/for details of how to book a reading with Mel, wherever you are in the world, enrol on one of the courses on offer,  browse the online shop, for crystals, specialist crystal packs, power bracelet and scented candles, or just to get in touch, which you can do via a number of ways, including via the link below, which is free to use, no download required, and you may well feature on the show if you do
https://www.speakpipe.com/thespiritlevel
Thanks for listening and LOVE & LIGHT TO YOU ALL.

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00:00 Mel – INTRO 

Hello everyone, join me a small medium at large as we explore the world of Spirit, energy, tarot, mediumship, psychic abilities, Angels, oracles, paranormal activity and basically anything downright spooky. If any, some or all of those things interest you, then you've come to the right place my friends, I'm Melanie Mahmood and welcome to the Spirit Level podcast.  

00:30 Mel – WELCOME 

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to a soggy spirit level – well I think we’ve had the last of the sunshine now and it’s time to hunker down to the dark, damp and grey British wintertime.  

This is the time of year MR M and I want to go into hibernation but it’s also the time - I think to get planning! And with the effects of the New Moon still with us until the end of the week, with lucky Jupiter and Saturn finally going direct - it’s the perfect time to start manifesting your energies not just for the Full moon due on the 20th of Oct but for the next 12 months.  

I’m already on it and I’m not going to spill the beans just yet as I’m still in the early stages but if I can pull this one off – it’ll be huge, I’m thinking big folks!! Watch or rather listen to this space and I’ll keep you posted.  

If you have plans or need a bit of guidance in finding your route or path through this tricky phase of the year – why not drop us a line and I’ll pull you a 3- card reading on the show and see what obstacles may be preventing your progress or changes to the energy you could make to assist. Or just drop us a line anyway – we love hearing from you!  

On with the show and on this week’s episode. 

Coming up in the show this week -: 

SODALITE is the featured crystal in CRYSTAL CORNER.
There will be some more of your listener questions.
In MR M’s MENAGERIE, THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT is being discussed.
In HOUSEHOLD HOCUS POCUS, it’s back into the kitchen, with STAR ANISE on the menu.
And in TIME FOR TAROT, THE 5’s are our featured cards. 

So, here we go. 

02:28 Mel - CRYSTAL CORNER 

I love the colour blue because it's the colour of spirit and spirituality and I'm generally drawn to anything blue in colour. 

So, glass, shiny things, pottery, all of it. So, I love, love, love, love the crystal this week, which is SODALITE

It's a speckled denimy blue jeans colour and SODALITE is the gemstone or crystal of truth and spiritual connection. SODALITE opens the pathways of that connection to the universe and the divine and connects together the physical with the higher consciousness. 

Physically, it stimulates the penal and the pituitary glands, which is generally where perception sits in the body, and so is directly connected to psychic abilities and spiritual connection. It's also linked directly with the third eye chakra and the throat charka, so it's a brilliant stone for psychic awareness and spirit communication. 

It encourages you to be true to yourself and others. It's brilliant for group work and it pulls the focus towards mutual goals and puts new ideas into practical action. It's good for emotional balance and SODALITE can prevent anything that's over emotional. So, any kind of defensive or over emotional response, so that's why it's brilliant for panic attacks and anxiety. 

It's great for the environmental electromagnetic pollution as well, so if you've got a building or sick building syndrome where you work, or if you work in an office type environment, you definitely need some SODALITE around your desk. 

It's got a really friendly, sociable vibe to its energy and I feel that it is all about friendship, companionship, getting on with others and it's got a warm, jovial feel. 

As well as that kind of action, it supports the general nervous system and it's in turn it supports the immune system, so it's great for anything linked with the throat or the vocal cords because it's linked to the throat chakra. So, if you are public speaking or you're performing or in any way on stage where people need to hear you communicate, this is the stone for you.  

So, that's SODALITE. I've got some beautiful SODALITE power crystal bracelets which are brilliant to wear every day and I've also got some SODALITE tumble stones for those times where you just need it in your pocket. So have a look at CRYSTAL CORNER, the store if you want to have a look. 

05:20 LISTENER QUESTIONS 

Mel - And now it's time for listeners questions. What we got this week, Mr M? 

Mr M - Thank you Mel and hello again everyone. 3 listener questions this week, Mel. The first is from Gail in Wrexham who asks -: What is the astral plane? 

Mel - Oh, goodness, right.  How do you? How do you describe it? I think most people understand that there are various dimensions and there's a big, massive debate on exactly how many dimensions there are. You even just have to look at basic physics to know that there's more than at least 10. 

But then his argument with the physicists and the scientists as to exactly how many dimensions there are. I mean, I think the last count that I was up to was about 17 and 19, something like that, but the astral plane is basically, I think, any dimension that is beyond the physical, so anything that's taken away from the 3D from the physical body and that is out there and in the spiritual realm, where the energies are more apparent and we're not tied down to the laws of physics and the laws of everything else there that ,that the Earth plane gives us, then I would consider that to be the astral plane, but I may be wrong. But yeah, that's how I would describe it. 

Mr M - Thanks Mel, yeah tricky one that I know I've done some reading on it and it’s not plain sailing. 

Mel - It's not straightforward as to explaining what exactly what it is coz it's not definitive. 

Mr M - No, but I think you did well with that. 

Mel - OK. Yeah, thank you, darling. 

Mr M - Our second question this week comes from Marilyn in Southampton, who asks -: Does the lunar cycle really affect a person's behaviour? 

Mel - Oh my goodness, does it!!!  If you know anybody who's worked alongside or works in the emergency services, they will tell you that absolutely come the Full moon or the New Moon, the Dark Moon has a similar effect. Not quite as much as the Full Moon, but you'll know you'll just know because people go wandering off. 

There are more missing people. There's a lot more mental health issues, and it is actually where the term lunatic comes from. I mean, we don't use that term anymore, but lunatic, Lunar is where it comes from, like wired to the moon and its even part of our vernacular. 

So, we are, is it 75% water darling? Something like that. It might even be a bit more, but if you consider that the moon is heavily involved and controls the tides of our great Gaia, of our wonderful, beautiful planet, then it only makes sense that she also controls the tides of water that are within us. 

So yeah, absolutely. The lunar cycles have a massive effect, not just on us, but can have an effect on animals and plants. So, if you're into your gardening, if you follow the lunar cycles, there is a, there's a whole realm of cycle and cyclical gardening tips that go back thousands and thousands of years and they've been proven that certain cycles work better for growth and certain crops so have a look into it. It's a massive arena of subject and topic so, but you know that darling. You've, you've experienced that yourself with our old job. 

Mr M - I certainly have. I tried to knock sick every time the new moon came about, the gaffer always went, no. There we go, our final question this week comes from Donna in Cambridgeshire, who sent her question in via the SpeakPipe link. So, thank you for using that. Donna and her question is this. I have suffered from sleep paralysis for a number of years and I get the sensation of a spirit in the room with me. Have you ever experienced this, and do you have any suggestions as to how to combat it? 

Mel - Right, so sleep paralysis there's a spiritual aspect to this and also like a physical, so the medical opinion about sleep paralysis is that basically you wake up before your body does, and so we have a function in our brain that when you go to sleep it stops you from acting out basically what you're dreaming because it would be dangerous. It's part of our survival mechanisms that go back to year dot. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't work very well on Mr M if he's been watching football and I can assure you I will get kicked to bits, so it doesn't really work on him very well. Not if he's been watching Sheffield Wednesday, no, but the spiritual aspect is that yes, there is the connection where your spirit leaves your body and goes adventuring on the astral plane while your physical body is still here on the, on the Earth plane and the suggestion is that if anything disturbs that and your body, your spirits not had time to return to your body, then you can have this effect of sleep paralysis where you are conscious, you are wide awake but your body is not reacting or acting in the way that it should.  

It's not dangerous, I don't think it's dangerous Donna, and if you're sensing a presence with you, I don't think it's actually related necessarily to the sleep paralysis side. I just think that presence is there and that could be a guide, or it could be a relative or an ancestor. I'm definitely getting the sense when I got your SpeakPipe message that the energy was male, but there's also a female that's linked to you that's also very much, she's not in the foreground as the male is, but there is a female that's there and looking and protecting you. 

So, I would be asking those people particularly the male spirit, if he could protect you and help you and come forward when that feeling that shock and that little bit of frightened nervous about not being in control. 

So, ask for help. Ask for guidance, ask for protection, it will be granted to you, and you'll find that you ask for help with it specifically then it will lessen the events or the times that this is happening, but I'd be interested to know if you're having lucid dreams as well, while on the occasions that you do experience the sleep paralysis, coz they often come hand in hand. 

So, I’d be interested to know that and thank you very much for your question and your message. You have a lovely voice as well, Donna. It's a little private joke between you and me. So, is that it, have we got another one? 

Mr M - No, that's it Mel, thank you, a good and thorough explanation and I hope that that's helped you Donna. So, thank you Mel and a big thank you to Gail, Marilyn and Donna for getting in touch with us.  If you would like to send Mel a question or have your question feature as a 3-card tarot reading or want to get in touch with us for any other matter, whether it be suggestions for show content, guests or just to get in touch, then here is how to do so. 

Mel - Thank you to everyone who submitted a question. There are a number of ways you can get in touch with us. You can get in touch with us via email and the address is thespiritlevel22@gmail.com.  

On Facebook, on the group's search for The Spirit Level.  

On Twitter, search for thespiritlevel.co.uk. We have a Twitter handle which is @thespiritlevelU, which is a capital U.  

On Instagram, search for me, Melanie Mahmood or thespiritlevel.co.uk  

Or you can click on the Speak pipe link in the episode notes and send us a voicemail free of charge.  

In addition, there are a number of resources for you to download and access on our website totally free of charge, at www.thespiritlevel.co.uk we look forward to hearing from you.  

 

12:54 MR M’s MENAGERIE 

Welcome to Mr M’s Menagerie. 

Hello everyone and thank you for joining me this week. Today, I am going to discuss a document that from its first appearance in the 1600’s to the present day, has baffled academics, scientists and others who have tried to decipher and make sense of it. I am referring to THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT

THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT is a parchment codex measuring 225 x 160 mm. It is about 5 cm thick. It has a parchment cover without any indication of its origin, so no year, authour or title is present. The text block of the manuscript consists of 102 folios which are organized in 18 gatherings or quires (originally probably 20 of which 2 are completely missing). These quires are numbered 1 – 20, with quires 16 & 18 missing. 

The manuscript is written in a very elegant, and as yet unidentified script, with the writing going from left to right. Nearly all of the pages in the manuscript contain illustrations. 

So, what are the origins of the manuscript? Well, no-one knows, but in 1639 the Prague citizen Georgius Jarschius wrote a letter to the Jesuit priest, Athanasius Kircher in Rome. In this letter Jarschius explained that he was in possession of a mysterious book, written in a language he could not identify, which contained amongst other things, a number of illustrations of plants, stars and chemical secrets. The manuscript was sent to Kircher, who despite his best efforts could not decipher the text. Not a lot more is known about attempts to decipher the manuscript from that time, and it remained largely unreported until it appears to have resurfaced in 1912, when a bookseller Wilfrid Voynich, brought it to the public's attention, stating that he had come across the manuscript in a chest from an unnamed castle in southern Europe. It is from him that the manuscript gets its name, and from that time, it has passed through a number of hands, until finally in 1969, the manuscript was donated to the Beinecke Rare Book Library of Yale University, where it remains to this day. 

So, what is contained in the manuscript. Well, it appears that illustrations of a similar type are grouped together. These illustrations at first glance appear to be of a scientific or medical nature. Looking at the illustrations, it appears that there are distinct sections, which if they were to be given a title, could be grouped as follows -: 

A Herbal Section – which has drawings of herbs, some of which look realistic, although a number of others do not. 

An Astronomical Section – which has illustrations of the sun, moon, starts and zodiac symbols. 

A Cosmological Section – which has a number of circular drawings. 

A Biological Section – which has a number of anatomical drawings, which show small human female figures, who seem to be connected to a number of tubes containing an unidentified liquid. 

A Pharmaceutical Section – which shows a number of different containers next to depictions of herbs and roots. 

An Unknown Section – which contains over 300 short paragraphs with no illustrations but having a star in the margin. 

So, let's take a quick look at each section, and we will start with the Herbal Section. The Herbal Section covers roughly half of the manuscript. Each page contains, one sometimes 2 drawings showing illustrations of plants. None of these plants have as yet been identified, and each illustration has with it a paragraph, beautifully written, with great care taken not to overlap onto the plant illustration. The manuscript unlike other documents from the time possesses unique drawings, that no-one since has tried to copy, and there do not appear to have been any illustrations of a similar nature and depiction in this format prior to its publication. 

The Astronomical Section of the manuscript features a number of pages that have a moon or sun face depicted in the centre. The Pleiades star cluster is clearly depicted amongst the pages. The zodiac pages contain concentric circles with usually 30 small, mostly feminine figures holding stars, and an emblem of a zodiac sign in the centre.  

These figures are very similar to the ones seen in the Biological Section. Strangely, the zodiac does not start with Aries, but with the star sign Pisces. 2-star signs are missing, those of Capricorn & Aquarius, however as mentioned in the introduction, there are clearly missing pages to the manuscript, rather than this being an oversight or omission by the authour. The zodiac signs seem to be illustrated based on the degrees of the zodiac, 30 per sign and are recognizable with todays accepted depiction of the zodiac signs. 

The Cosmological Section of the manuscript feature geometric designs, which are difficult to accurately classify. All are essentially circular in shape and seem to relate to cosmological drawings found in other documents of the time, which relate to the months of the year, the winds or indeed the signs of the zodiac. One striking feature in this section is a drawing which shows 9 connecting circles with 4 smaller items on each corner. There are many details contained within and around the drawing, which include drawings of buildings, reminiscent of castles. The central circle contains an image of 6 tower like structures, supporting a plane filled with stars. Like the rest of the manuscript, speculation rages as to what this depiction represents, with the most common theory being that it depicts some sort of map. 

The Biological Section is from my research on THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT probably the most intriguing. This section contains a number of drawings, depicting what appears to be female figures. These figures are seen populating an assortment and arrangement of pipes and vessels, with what appears to be clouds or baths surrounding them. Many of the drawings seem to indicate that there is a chemical or natural process taking place, but again, there is no definitive explanation, however there is some similarity to depictions in earlier documents from the 13th century in relation to medicinal baths. Why only the female figures are depicted is again subject to speculation. 

The Pharmaceutical Section of the manuscript contains a number of drawings of different types of containers. The containers are drawn on the left-hand side of the page, with the right-hand side of the page consisting of drawings of herbs and roots. Some of the containers appear empty, but some have a coloured liquid inside. Some of the containers have a look of an early type of microscope, but like the rest of the manuscript, what they are is again subject to speculation. 

Finally, we come to the Unknown Section. This section contains a number of pages containing text only, written in the same style as the rest of the manuscript. There are a number of stars depicted in the margin. Some of the stars are red in colour, others have a faded red and yellow centre. Some of the stars have tails, and there is one star for each of the 300 paragraphs. 

All the sections are sequentially set out, with a high degree of uniformity throughout each section. Carbon dating of the pages does indeed have the pages dated between 1404 to 1438, this with a 95% of probability. The ink has been tested, and does stem from the period, so why was the manuscript written and for what purpose? 

Well, as you can imagine, over the years may theories have been put forward. The ultimate question to answer is of course what does the manuscript say? In deciphering this, the other relevant questions as to the authour, the purpose and where it fitted in at the time of its creation should in theory fall into place. 

Acclaimed linguists, cryptologists and amateur investigators have all attempted to translate the manuscript. There has been some recent suggestion that the writing is of Hebrew origin, but as far as I can tell, no real progress has been made in this respect.  In reality, we don't yet know whether THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT represents a meaningful text. What we do know for certain, however, is that sometime in the past, somebody or some group of people sat down and generated the text of THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT using some method. 

The manuscript appears to be written in the same hand, suggesting one-person being responsible, certainly for the text. The drawings have a similarity, and again due to the style of the drawings, it has been suggested that they are the work of one person. 

As to the origin of the manuscript, well speculation is rife, but there is an accepted theory that links some of the drawings to earlier manuscripts found in the northern region of Italy. It appears to have been compiled by someone who had an education, and not just in reading and writing, but of the sciences. It could of course just be an elaborate hoax, compiled by someone in the 1400’s, but why take so much time and effort to do so, particularly writing in a script and or language that could not be understood. This seems to defeat the object somewhat. 

Personally, and from the research I have undertaken I am leading towards this as a theory, postulated by Dutch scientist Rene Zandbergen in 2019, who stated that in his opinion, the manuscript could be a linked common philosophy. He explains this quite simply as follows -: 

The Zodiac inserts have 360 labelled figures, one for each degree of the circle. The unknown section has 324 separate paragraphs, but there are some pages missing. The Pharmaceutical Section has 240 labelled drawings, but again there could be more as there are pages missing. Zandbergen concludes that is it possible that THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT is a document that links each degree of the zodiac, to a specific herb, a specific part of the body, a specific astral entity, and is an overall document for health and wellbeing for every day of the year, a sort of daily body and spiritual guide, and I quite like that as an idea. 

Well, that brings me to the end of this episode, and I hope you have enjoyed hearing about THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT. Please have a look online, where the pages of the manuscript can be found. They really are a sight to behold.  

Next time on MR M’s Menagerie, I will be taking a look at the weird and wonderful theories surrounding that great work of art by Leonardo Da Vinci, THE LAST SUPPER. So, until then, thank you for joining me, and it’s now back to Mel for the rest of the show. 

24:57 Mel - HOUSEHOLD HOCUS POCUS 

Welcome to this week's HOUSEHOLD HOCUS POCUS. We're back in the kitchen this week, folks and this week we're looking at STAR ANISE. Now, Mr. M and I have a story about STAR ANISE

And did you know there are two kinds? And one of the kinds is quite nasty. It's quite poisonous if eaten, and I fell foul of this very early on in Mr. M and mine’s courtship. I accidentally ate some and a night of romance became quite a vomitus night. But Mr M looked after me and well, I knew from then he was a keeper, so please be careful with this spice and don't ingest it.  

So, back to STAR ANISE. It's an ancient herb and because of its natural star shape obviously has lots of magical uses. So, for good luck, place a full unbroken STAR ANISE In each corner of the rooms of your house, so one in each corner, in every room. It can also be used as incense to purify and protect your home. I haven't tried this myself, so I can't vouch for the smell, but try it and let me know. 

To increase your psychic abilities, carry one in a pouch or an amulet and this will also provide psychic protection and keep negativity at bay. Pop a couple in your bath to do the same and to also cleanse your aura. Especially good for you healers and lightworkers out there who may be picking up other people's energy when you're doing your work, so it's great for spell work and to add a little oomph, especially New Moon manifestation work. 

So that's STAR ANISE folks. And it's powerful stuff. And trust me, it put me to bed within 20 minutes, so be careful. 

27:04 Mel - TIME FOR TAROT 

Welcome to this weeks' TIME FOR TAROT. We're looking at the 5’s this week, and as ever, we'll start with the suit of wands. 

Now, the FIVE OF WANDS is all about disagreements. There is strife and competition, tension and conflict around a particular area. If the FIVE OF WANDS turns up, it can also indicate that somebody is a really hard worker and needs to have a bit more fun in their life. So, it's all work and no play at the moment, but again, use your intuition and the cards that surround it to kind of gauge which level the interpretation is at that point. 

In reverse, it means that somebody is avoiding conflict and they've got an increased focus on their goals. 

Onto the FIVE OF CUPS. This is all about loss and regret. It means disappointment, despair and it can mean bereavement as well. But it's also a point where somebody is emotionally not ready to move on yet, so it's no point in pushing it. They're not ready yet. 

In reverse, it does mean moving on, forgiveness and acceptance of a situation.  

FIVE OF SWORDS. Again, this is a conflict intention card. It's also about loss, but it's, it's having won some battles as well, but there's more to face. I call this the sneaky card as well, somebody being sneaky, you don't know the whole situation at the moment. You will find out. But somebody is not telling the whole story, so that's why I call it the sneaky card. So, it's a kind of warning card is the FIVE OF SWORDS, just to be a bit careful about what you're saying in front of people. Somebody is not telling you the whole truth. 

In reverse, it means that somebody is open to change, but there's past resentment. 

Finally, we have the FIVE OF PENTACLES. Now, the FIVE OF PENTACLES, I call this the feeling out in the cold card, because that's how it feels, not just emotionally or financially, we're just feeling out in the cold at the moment. So, it's isolation, it's feeling poor, so emotionally poor or cash poor, and there is insecurity about money or finances. There's a loss and it's coming back. 

In reverse, it's a recovery from that financial loss, and that spiritual poverty, so things are changing and looking up if the FIVE OF PENTACLES comes out in reverse. 

So, that's the 5’s this week. Join me next week for the 4’s. 

29:56 Mel – CLOSING 

Well, that’s it for this week folks. 

Coming up in next week's show -: 

ANGEL AURA QUARTZ is the featured crystal in CRYSTAL CORNER.
There will be some more of your listener questions.
In MR M’s MENAGERIE, THE LAST SUPPER painting is being discussed.
In HOUSEHOLD HOCUS POCUS, the much-maligned WALNUT is on the menu.
And in TIME FOR TAROT, THE 4’s are our featured cards. 

A big thank you to BUZZSPROUT for hosting us, and for the technical help and advice from the folks at AUDACITY & AUPHONIC. 

A big thank you to my beloved husband and producer, Mr M for his help and support.  

A massive thank you to you, our listeners, wherever you maybe for your continued support and your lovely messages. Please subscribe and review our podcast. Your feedback will help us improve the show.   

Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox or via your usual podcast provider.   

Please visit the website www.thespiritlevel.co.uk where you can book a personal reading with me, wherever you are in the world, enrol on one of the courses, browse the online store, for the crystals that we talk about, crystal packs, power bracelets, aromatherapy and scented candles, or just to get in touch, we always love to hear from you and don't forget you can also send us a voicemail by clicking on the Speak Pipe link in the episode notes or via the podcast page on the website. It’s free of charge and no download required.    

So, until next time folks look after each other and love and light to you all. 

 

INTRODUCTION
MEL'S WELCOME
CRYSTAL CORNER (SODALITE)
LISTENER QUESTIONS
MR M'S MENAGERIE (THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT)
HOUSEHOLD HOCUS POCUS (STAR ANISE)
TIME FOR TAROT (THE 5's)
MEL'S CLOSING & THANKS