Happy vernal equinox to my several readers!
It’s the Thelemic New Year (Anno IVxvii) and, on a related note, the 93rd anniversary of the publication of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
It’s also US National Ag(riculture) Day and World Storytelling Day (this year’s theme: neighbors).
The ancient Romans honored Minerva by watching dudes fight to the death, which, according to Ovid (also ostensibly born today, along with Ibsen, Lois Lowry and Spike Lee) continued for the next three days.
Both Varro and Festus state that the Quinquatrus was celebrated for only one day, but Ovid[2] says that it was celebrated for five days, and was for this reason called by this name: that on the first day no blood was shed, but that on the last four there were contests of gladiators. It would appear however that the first day was only the festival properly so called, and that the last four were merely an addition made perhaps in the time of Caesar to gratify the people, who became so passionately fond of gladiatorial combats. The ancient Calendars also assign only one day to the festival.
Naturally, the Anglo-American Illuminati chose this day six years ago (555 days after 9/11) to launch their “Shock and Awe” strike on Baghdad and ritually slaughter a bunch more people, though the first, less spectacular strike was actually carried out on the 19th to synch with the first day of Quinquatria.
A bunch of other ridiculously lousy stuff happened on this day:
The Dutch East India Company (the first multinational) was established, Nadir Shah sacked Delhi, the “Great Fire” of Boston destroyed 349 buildings, Napoleon entered Paris with 240,000 troops and kicked off his “Hundred Days” rule, an earthquake leveled Mendoza, Argentina, the FDA approved AZT, Aum Shinrikyo punctured bags of liquid sarin with pointy umbrellas on the Tokyo Metro, Cyclone Larry decimated Australia’s banana crop, and so forth.
Anyhow, it’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, and as fine a day as any to tell or listen to a story.
Have fun and cuídate!