Non Semper Ea Sunt Quae Videntur*

There would be dreamers of dreams
and seers of visions
and hearers of voices;
readers of the entrails of beasts and interpreters of the flight of birds. There would be burning bushes and stone tablets on mountain-tops,
and inspired words
dictated to aged disciples
on lonely islands.
There would arise
special castes of
men and women,
learned in these
sacred matters;
and these priestly castes
would naturally
emphasize the
importance of their calling, would hold themselves aloof
from the common herd,
endowed with special powers and entitled to special privileges.
They would interpret the oracles in ways favorable to themselves and their order. They would proclaim themselves friends and confidants of the god, walking with him in the night-time, receiving his messengers and angels, acting as his deputies in forgiving offenses, in dealing punishments and in receiving gifts. They would become makers of laws and moral codes.
They would wear special costumes to distinguish them. They would go through elaborate ceremonies to impress their followers, employing all sensuous effects: architecture and sculpture and painting, music and poetry and dancing, candles and incense and bells and gongs.
--Upton Sinclair

deer near Cheyava Falls (top)
barrel cactus (middle)
lower Cottonwood Canyon (below)
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abyssinian nightjar
antillean nighthawk
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*Things are not always what they seem.
--Phaedrus