What is

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Astral Travel, Out of Body Experience?

What is an Aura?

What is Ball Lightning, St. Elmo's Fire, or Sorcerer's Flight?

What is a Banshee?

What is Baphomet?

What is a Doppelganger?

What are Elementals?

What is Enochian Magick?

What is The Holy Guardian Angel?

What is Magick?

Who is Ochosi?

Who Was Robert Johnson?

What is a Shaman?

What is Sympathetic Magick?

What is Zoroastrianism?

Astral Travel or Out of Body Experience -is the experience, whether spontaneous or induced, of traveling through the astral realm in which the energy of living beings leaves the physical body. It is also referred to as an Out-of-Body Experience; which occurs when the astral body leaves the physical body while the individual is at rest, asleep, near death, or temporarily dead.

Practitioners of astral projection report that their consciousness or soul has transferred into an astral body (or "double"), which moves free of the physical body in a parallel world known as the astral plane.
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Aura -are energy fields emanating from the surface of a person or object. This emanation is seen as a radiating outline or cascading of color. Auras can be viewed by the naked eye.

Saints, Angels and Holy people are depicted with auras around them. Training may improve one's ability to see auras. Layers of aura are separate and distinct yet connected to all the remaining layers. Auras are recorded in Kirlian photography.
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Ball Lightning (sometimes referred to as; St. Elmo's Fire or Sorcerer's Flight) -a strikingly, eerie form of glowing energy that generally appears in stormy weather around trees, church spires, sailing masts, and airplane wings. A haunting characteristic of the phenomenon is that it often travels horizontally and seemingly with intent.

The scientific theory is that; it is a plasma (i.e. a hot, ionized gas) that forms around the tips of raised, pointed conductors during thunderstorms. Physicists know it as a corona discharge or point discharge. The few people that have witnessed Ball Lightning have given various descriptions. It has been seen with different physical characteristics depending on the conditions of the viewing. It could be blue to bluish-white, silent to emitting a hissing sound, and ghostly to solid.

Personal accounts of Ball Lightning have been recorded throughout history. Some prominent people, including Julius Caesar, Christopher Columbus and Charles Darwin, have had personal experiences with the phenomenon. There have been several accounts of Ball Lightning by airline pilots.

On a personal note, I have seen Ball Lightning in the Mexican desert where Yaki Indians refer to the phenomenon as Sorcerer's Flight. I was warned that it is not a good idea to try and follow it.
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A Banshee -Omen spirits of Scotland and Ireland - from the Old Irish, "ben side" (literally 'fairy woman'), a weeping harbinger of death. Hearing the Banshee's wail came to predict a death in the family and seeing the Banshee portends one's own death.

Traditionally, the Banshee cries for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs. These families had a fairy woman associated with them, who would make an appearance after a death in the family to sing this lament. When a family member had died far away, the sound of the Banshee would be the first intimation of the death.

Although not always seen, her mourning call is heard, usually at night. In 1437, King James I of Scotland was approached by a Banshee who foretold his murder. There are records of several human Banshees attending the great houses of Ireland and the courts of local Irish kings. In some parts of Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe (keening woman) whose wail can be so piercing that it shatters glass. In Kerry, the keen is experienced as a "low, pleasant singing"; in Tyrone as "the sound of two boards being struck together"; and on Rathlin Island as "a thin, screeching sound somewhere between the wail of a woman and the moan of an owl".

The Banshee may also appear in a variety of other forms, such as that of a hooded crow, stoat, hare and weasel - animals associated in Ireland with witchcraft...

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Baphomet -It was Eliphas Levi who, in the mid-1800s, first drew and published the now-familiar image of Baphomet as a seated, hermaphroditic, winged, horned, goat-headed and goat-hoofed man with women's breasts, a flame on his forehead and a caduceus at his groin. Lévi considered the Baphomet to be a depiction of the absolute in symbolic form.

The name, "Baphomet" is derived from an enigmatic figure first described at the trials of the Templars. Idries Shah has proposed that the name is a corruption of a name of Mohammed.

The Baphomet has been associated with several Occult orders, including; Knights Templar, Freemasonry, Church of Satan, etc. The purpose of which is varied, save that Baphomet is a central symbol of Spiritual and, or Magickal Transcendence, subsequently, an image of Ritual, Ceremony and Reverence.

Baphomet is arguably the single most provocative of all Occult Symbolism -in that it flies in the face of convention while celebrating all that is real and imagined, and visible and invisible.

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Doppelganger -would be your ghostly double, vague and transparent.

The term Doppelganger is adapted from German doppel, meaning "double", and g�nger, translated as "goer". It also refers to your double, most commonly in reference to as your evil twin, or to bilocation; the appearance of an individual in two places simultaneously.

Alternatively, the word is used to describe a phenomenon where you catch your own image out of the corner of your eye. It is said that seeing one's own Doppelganger is an omen of death. A Doppelganger seen by friends or relatives of a person may bring bad luck, or indicate an approaching health problem.

Your Doppelganger will cast no shadow, and have no reflection in a mirror or in water. It will provide you with advice, but this advice can be malicious. It can also plant ideas in your mind or appear before your friends and relatives, causing confusion
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Elementals -are spirits of the four elements. As defined by Paracelsus in the 16th century, they are: Earth - Gnomes, Air - Sylphs, Fire - Salamanders, Water - Undines.

Elementals govern all nature, and may be summoned to assist in Magick. Elementals work through the subjective nature of men and women, and can influence the human mind. They can be mischievous, bad tempered demons if allowed to get out of control. It's important therefore to understand who they are and what they represent.

Earth - Gnomes: Not naturally inclined to aid humankind, but if a person wins their confidence and trust they will prove to be valuable allies. They have the capability to bring about gloom, melancholy, and despair. Conversely, Gnomes can also bestow confidence, steadfastness, and endurance.

Gnomes are ruled by a king whose name is Gob. His followers came to be called Goblins as tales of them were told and retold over the centuries. They usually appear as dwarf-like creatures.

Gnomes are the most substantial of the elementals. They dwell in holes, mines, and caverns. They are the most like us in personality, with all its good and bad points, but they are especially prey to all the weaknesses in human nature. They are called upon for help with money matters, stability, and growth.

Air - Sylphs: They are the spirits of the wind and are associated with the activity of the mind. They can influence and inspire; often they are said to gather around the artist in order to impart inner visions of spiritual beauty. They usually appear to humans in the classic fairy image.

Sylphs are active, quick of movement and speech. They are clever and intelligent, but can be subtle in their persuasiveness. By nature, Sylphs are aloof and detached. They're called for help in creation or resolution of issues involving the intelligence and the mind, or products of intellect.

Fire - Salamanders: Were the first elementals to befriend humans, teaching our ancestors how to make campfires. Salamanders are ruled by king called Djin.

Salamanders move about most freely at night, appearing as balls of light drifting across various bodies of water. Sailors often saw them investigating the sails of their ships - from this came the term "St. Elmo's fire", describing the mysterious forks of flame that often appeared on old sailing vessels.

Salamanders have a profound effect on human nature since they are linked to the activity of our bodies through which we maintain a body temperature. They tend to influence general temperament, such as when someone is hot-blooded. Salamanders often appear to humans in the shape of small, lizard-like flames.

They are unstable, especially with respect to emotions. Fire is traditionally associated with Will, so one can expect Salamanders to be forceful and highly opinionated. They are called upon to help in matters involving the discipline and exercise of the Will and Power, war, and courage. However, due to their unstable natures, calling upon Salamanders carries its own risks as fire-based anomalies may be experienced in the general area in which they're called.

Water - Undines: Their traditional abodes were among marsh reeds and vegetation growing alongside rivers and lakes.

Undines are ruled by Necksa. They are friendly toward humans and their presence has a strong influence on our emotional well-being. The moodiness of an individual can be traced to their elemental nature. Just as water can be beautiful in a fall or river, it can also be unattractive in a stagnant pool.

The activity of Undines is responsible for the vitality within all liquids - therefore they play a vital role in plant, animal, and human life. Undines appear to human most often in full human shape, as beautiful maidens.

Undines are seen as sensual and graceful in their movements, with very strong emotions. Undines are the most human and seductive of the four elemental types. They tend to be sympathetic and loving, and are most helpful in matters dealing with emotional issues, such as love and friendship, desire and lust.
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Enochian Magick -it is a detailed system of ceremonial Magick developed by Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly.

The books of Enochian Magick are often referred to as, Banned Books, Black Books or Forbidden Knowledge, because Enochian Magick is a portal to the realm of both Guardian and Fallen Angels.

Beginning in 1582 Dee and Kelly began a series of spirit communications and astral skrying, with Kelly acting as the medium and Dee recording everything that Kelly described. These were the secrets that were lost (Apocrypha) with the patriarch of the Bible known as Enoch -a number of Dee's notes are now at the British Museum in London.

Rediscovery of Enochian Magick by the Samuel Liddell and MacGregor Mathers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn sparked remarkable publicity for the system in modern Occultism. Aleister Crowley, who worked with, and wrote about Enochian Magick extensively, has contributed greatly to its widespread use today.

Compared to other theories of Magick, Enochian Magic is strikingly more intricate, and most schools of thought agree that Enochian Magick is a particularly powerful form of Magick, and should be used wisely.
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The Holy Guardian Angel -in Ritual Magick, The Holy Guardian Angel or HGA represents one's higher genius; divine self, the Spark of God, which is the essence of every man and woman. The phrase comes from the fourteenth century grimoire; The Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage, and is employed in Thelema, where it is considered the central and essential work of all operations.

"It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and essential work of the Magickian is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step..." --Aleister Crowley

Even though the HGA is, in a sense, the "higher self", it is often experienced as a separate being, independent from the adept. In Thelema, the single most important goal is to consciously connect with one's Holy Guardian Angel, by doing so, the Magickian becomes fully aware of his own True Will.

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Magick -is the term made popular by Aleister Crowley to differentiate the true science of the Magi from that of prestidigitation. Magick is a specific act designed to cause change -manifestation.

"It is -possible to cause in any object any change of which that object is capable by nature." according to Aleister Crowley who got the inspiration for the spelling from its usage by the famous English Magickian, Dr. John Dee. His definition treats Magick in the context of the paranormal and of religion.

The practice of Magick is found in ancient Judaic, early Christian texts, Gnostic traditions, Pagan Traditions, Egyptian Religions and all variations of Ifa. Magick is often a component of secret societies, including Masonic, Hermetic, and Rosicrucian Orders. Members of The Church -including Popes, penned several treatise of Magick, and several world leaders have and continue to employ the services of Magickians.
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Ochosi -is one of the major Orishas of the Santeria/Lukumi religion, and is symbolized by a Bow and Arrow. He is portrayed as a feral hunter; he is an uncompromising warrior.

Ochosi is the Orisha of justice, ruling over the justice system. He is the patron of those in trouble with the law, prisoners and the accused. He has power over jails.

Ochosi's Bow and Arrow are always pulled tight for quickness and accuracy to strike. He helps the practitioner to avoid traps and walk through dangerous situations unharmed.

Ochosi is also embraced as the Sorcerer Orisha of the Left-Hand Path; living in the forest, and Lord of the Hunt and of good or bad medicine - an accurate killer, shape-shifter and tracker, living in the cauldron, in the form of a metal Bow and Arrow.

He helps the faithful to find and follow the shortest path to their highest destiny. He is the Master of astral travel and dream-control.

Offer him your total, and continuous alertness. He drinks (as an offering) Anisette and Sweet Wine. The practitioner often wraps Red and Green yarn on the bow as well.

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Robert Johnson (1911-1938) had been playing down in Yazoo City and over at Beulah trying to get back up to Helena, ride left him out on a road next to the levee, walking up the highway, guitar in his hand propped up on his shoulder. October cool night, full moon filling up the dark sky, Robert Johnson thinking about Son House preaching to him, "Put that guitar down, boy, you drivin' people nuts." Robert Johnson needing as always a woman and some whiskey. Big trees all around, dark and lonesome road, a crazed, poisoned dog howling and moaning in a ditch alongside the road sending electrified chills up and down Robert Johnson's spine, coming up on a crossroads just south of Rosedale. Robert Johnson, feeling bad and lonesome, knows people up the highway in Gunnison. Can get a drink of whiskey and more up there. Man sitting off to the side of the road on a log at the crossroads says, "You're late, Robert Johnson." Robert Johnson drops to his knees and says, "Maybe not."

The man stands up, tall, barrel-chested, and black as the forever-closed eyes of Robert Johnson's stillborn baby, and walks out to the middle of the crossroads where Robert Johnson kneels. He says, "Stand up, Robert Johnson. You want to throw that guitar over there in that ditch with that hairless dog and go on back up to Robinsonville and play the harp with Willie Brown and Son, because you just another guitar player like all the rest, or you want to play that guitar like nobody ever played it before? Make a sound nobody ever heard before? You want to be the King of the Delta Blues and have all the whiskey and women you want?"

"That's a lot of whiskey and women, Devil-Man."

"I know you, Robert Johnson," says the man.

Robert Johnson, feels the moonlight bearing down on his head and the back of his neck as the moon seems to be growing bigger and bigger and brighter and brighter. He feels it like the heat of the noonday sun bearing down, and the howling and moaning of the dog in the ditch penetrates his soul, coming up through his feet and the tips of his fingers through his legs and arms, settling in that big empty place beneath his breastbone causing him to shake and shudder like a man with the palsy. Robert Johnson says, "That dog gone mad."

The man laughs. "That hound belong to me. He ain't mad, he's got the Blues. I got his soul in my hand."

The dog lets out a low, long soulful moan, a howling like never heard before, rhythmic, syncopated grunts, yelps, and barks, seizing Robert Johnson like a Grand Mal, and causing the strings on his guitar to vibrate, hum, and sing with a sound dark and blue, beautiful, soulful chords and notes possessing Robert Johnson, taking him over, spinning him around, losing him inside of his own self, wasting him, lifting him up into the sky. Robert Johnson looks over in the ditch and sees the eyes of the dog reflecting the bright moonlight or, more likely so it seems to Robert Johnson, glowing on their own, a deep violet penetrating glow, and Robert Johnson knows and feels that he is staring into the eyes of a Hellhound as his body shudders from head to toe.

The man says, "The dog ain't for sale, Robert Johnson, but the sound can be yours. That's the sound of the Delta Blues."

"I got to have that sound, Devil-Man. That sound is mine. Where do I sign?"

The man says, "You ain't got a pencil, Robert Johnson. Your word is good enough. All you got to do is keep walking north. But you better be prepared. There are consequences."

"Prepared for what, Devil-man?"

"You know where you are, Robert Johnson? You are standing in the middle of the crossroads. At midnight, that full moon is right over your head. You take one more step, you'll be in Rosedale. You take this road to the east, you'll get back over to Highway 61 in Cleveland, or you can turn around and go back down to Beulah or just go to the west and sit up on the levee and look at the River. But if you take one more step in the direction you're headed, you going to be in Rosedale at midnight under this full October moon, and you are going to have the Blues like never known to this world. My left hand will be forever wrapped around your soul, and your music will possess all who hear it. That's what's going to happen. That's what you better be prepared for. Your soul will belong to me. This is not just any crossroads. I put this "X" here for a reason, and I been waiting on you."

Robert Johnson rolls his head around, his eyes upwards in their sockets to stare at the blinding light of the moon which has now completely filled tie pitch-black Delta night, piercing his right eye like a bolt of lightning as the midnight hour hits. He looks the big man squarely in the eyes and says, "Step back, Devil-Man, I'm going to Rosedale. I am the Blues."

The man moves to one side and says, "Go on, Robert Johnson. You the King of the Delta Blues. Go on home to Rosedale. And when you get on up in town, you get you a plate of hot tamales because you going to be needing something on your stomach where you're headed."

Postscript: From the Crossroads Blues Society, Rosedale, Mississippi.

People say that the crossroads where Robert Johnson made the pact with the devil is in Clarksdale where Highway 49 intersects with Highway 61. But, as can be seen from the events described above, that's not the case. The crossroads, the one and only crossroads, where the Delta Blues emerged as a manifest entity in the person and music of Robert Johnson is at the south end of Rosedale where Highway 8 intersects with Highway 1. This will be disputed, as some people will dispute that Robert Johnson ever even made a deal with the devil. But the preacher man, Son House, knew. Even though he wasn't a preacher. And, if Son House were alive today, he would set the story right. -by Henry Goodman

Today the crossroads of Robert Johnson's deal are visited regularly by those wishing to make a pact with the devil -especially musicians...

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Shaman -the term comes from the Tungas language of Siberia referring to their tribal healers and spiritual leaders. Shaman is now used worldwide to broadly refer to, medicine men and women, witchdoctors, mystics, priests, magicians, sorcerers, and so on, in any part of the world.

A shaman is a person who, generally in an altered state of consciousness, acts as an intermediary between the mundane and invisible worlds to foresee and control the future, heal, and generate miracles.

A Shaman's altered state of consciousness is achieved through drumming, dancing, ingesting hallucinogens, self-mutilation, deprivation and virtually any means by which he or she achieves a trance state that allows them to transcend beyond existence as commonly known.
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Sympathetic Magick -is based upon two principles: first, "like produces like" and that possessions having been in contact with each other continue to react upon one another even after they have been severed. This is the reason; that when performing a spell the practitioner may have in her or his possession something personal of the intended, such as a lock of hair, nail clippings, a piece of clothing, or a photograph. Examples include the possession of an Icon, Crucifix, Sacred Book, Soil, Herb or remains of the intended.

An item transfers the effect of the Magickian's actions on the person who once was in contact with it. This thing possesses an occult empathy that exists between the object and person. This empathy or sympathy is an impulse being transmitted from one thing to the other by means of ether, not unlike that which is hypothesized by modern science for a similar purpose, namely, to explain how things can physically affect each other through space.

One example of Sympathetic Magick is the Witch's Ladder. 40 knots are tied tightly in a cord with a concentration of fierce hatred against the victim. Then the cord is hidden so the intended person could not find it -because the only way to break the spell is to untie the knots -the knots strangled the life out of the person until he untied them all.

One frequently hears the phrase burned in effigy, which means to let it be known publicly that a person is hated and his enemies want to destroy him. The history of this spectacle reaches back for thousands of years. Occurrences of it were found in ancient India, Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome. The idea of burning in effigy is pure Sympathetic Magick: just as the image suffers, so does the man.

Poppet (or Doll) Magick is another use of Sympathetic Magick. It is the reverse of burning in effigy. Instead of desiring to kill or injure the person whom the poppet represents the practitioner wishes to help him. The theory is whatever degree of healing the practitioner performs on the poppet; the same degree of healing is believed to occur in the person that the poppet represents. So it can be seen that those who subscribe to and practice puppet healing do believe that Sympathetic Magick can produce positive affects.
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Theosophy -is a school of thought founded by Madame Helene Petrovna Blavatsky founded in 1875.

Theosophy means "divine wisdom." The goals of Theosophy are to (1) form a universal brother-hood; (2) do comparative study of world religions, science, and philosophy; and, (3) investigate the psychic and spiritual powers latent in man. Theosophy Lodges are to be found throughout world and welcome your interest.
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The Vampire -has walked among us since time immemorial. The vampire is the undead, the resurrected, the lover of life without life, the drinker of blood without living blood, and the seducer that breeds by taking life from its victim.

The matter of resurrection makes for disturbing company -The Prince of Peace is resurrected as The Christ, the irony is not lost that the Prince of Darkness is too in the embodiment of the vampire.

Incubus, Succubus, Lilith and Dracula are a few names for the vampire. For every attempt to explain the vampire in mundane terms, there are thousands of examples of that defy earthly explanation. The vampire serves to further beg the question, "What his death?"
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Werewolves -are creatures that turn from humans into wolves - by hereditary, purposefully using Magick or by being cursed. The herb, Wolfs Bane or shooting the Werewolf with blessed silver bullets are deterrents for these creatures.

European cultures have hard-set stories of Werewolves, including Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, England, Ireland, Germany, Denmark/Sweden, France, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Argentina and Italy. France in particular was infested with werewolves during the 16th century.

The Werewolf feeds upon the living or dead. Werewolfism is also known as Lycanthrope by the medical community.
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WitchCraft -is a practice that incorporates the use of Magick, environment, and specific cultural convention, effecting change both by mundane and divine means. WitchCraft is primal, intuitive, and intellectual -forerunner of priest, psychologist, and doctor.

Accounts of WitchCraft are found around the world, and in all records of humankind. WitchCraft has played an important role in the day-to-day life of ancient, and contemporary people.

Witchcraft has been shrouded by sensationalism -the fodder for those who would spread fear for the sake of their own enrichment. This includes pop-media. Truth be known, WitchCraft transcends every culture, with the primary purpose of the Witch to act in concert with the culture and the environment the Witch lives in.

The comparison of WitchCraft to various socio-religious conventions to explain it; is to invent confusion where there should be none. The disproportionate amount of resources paid to undermine WitchCraft is an example of "Thou dost protest too much" -if WitchCraft is not effective, then its denouncers would dismiss and ignore it. WitchCraft is potent and very real.
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Zombie -is a human who seemingly dies at the hand of a "Bokor" (a practitioner of Voodoo who performs Black Magick, for financial gain) then comes back to life after three days and serves a master as a mindless, but strong slave.

The celebrated, Dr. Wade Davis, an ethno-botanist, presented a pharmacological case for zombies in the contemporary classic, The Serpent and the Rainbow. Dr. Davis traveled to Haiti and reported that a living person could be Zombified by the ingestion of two unique powders: Coup de Poudre ('Powder Strike') induced a 'death-like' state, the key ingredient of which was tetrodotoxin, which is found in puffer-fish. The second powder of is a concoction of hallucinogens that holds the person in a helpless state. Dr. Davis made famous the story of Clairvius Narcisse, who was reported to have succumbed to this Zombification.

The practice of Zombification is practiced primarily in Haiti and the United States.

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Zoroastrianism -Believed to have originated in Afghanistan between 1800 to 800 BC, Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the recorded world-religions still in existence. It has had substantial influence on mankind, directly and indirectly. It is considered the first monotheistic religion.

Their theology has had a great impact on Judaism, Christianity and other later religions, in the beliefs surrounding God and Satan, the soul, heaven and hell, savior, resurrection, and final judgment.

Zoroastrianism all but disappeared in Persia after the Muslim invasion of 637 C.E. Only about 20,000 still survive in remote villages in Iran, but over the centuries many have sought religious freedom in India. Zoroastrianism is currently growing in numbers.
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