Sha'ir
A ''sha'ir'' was a pre-Islamic Arab poet believed to have magical powers. History The origin of the term ''sha'ir'' is unknown. The ancient Arab culture viewed the ''sha'ir'' as a type of wizard, able to commune with supernatural forces, or ''djinni'', for both knowledge and power. Members of the tribe treated ''sha'ir'' as oracles and wisemen. The poems and songs of the ''sha'ir'' inspired tribe members during war, and were considered powerful weapons. ''Sha'ir'' also served as advisors to rulers. Many thought sha'ir could supernaturally communicate with the djinn and the results were beautiful poetry inspired by the mystical being. Modern adaptation In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, a type of kit, or variation on a character class, called the ''sha'ir'' was created for the ''Al-Qadim'' campaign setting. In the game, however, ''sha'ir'' have actual magical powers, and can communicate with genies. In addition to being advisors, ''sha'ir'' can also b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia ( ar, شبه الجزيرة العربية قبل الإسلام) refers to the Arabian Peninsula before the History of Islam, emergence of Islam in 610 CE. Some of the settled communities developed into distinctive civilizations. Information about these communities is limited and has been pieced together from archaeological evidence, accounts written outside of Arabia, and Arab oral traditions which were later recorded by List of Muslim historians, Islamic historians. Among the most prominent civilizations were the Thamud civilization, which arose around 3000 BCE and lasted to around 300 CE, and the earliest Semitic civilization in the eastern part was Dilmun, which arose around the end of the fourth millennium and lasted to around 600 CE. Additionally, from the second half of the second millennium BCE,Kenneth A. Kitchen The World of "Ancient Arabia" Series. Documentation for Ancient Arabia. Part I. Chronological Framework and Historical Sources p.110 Southern ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Helen Rex Keller
Helen Rex Keller (August 13, 1876–January 21, 1967) was an American librarian and author of reference books. Her works included a two volume dictionary of dates.(November 20, 1934)Kirkus Reviews (Dictionary of Dates) ''Kirkus Reviews'' Keller edited and wrote the preface for the ''Library of the World's Best Literature'', a 30-volume reference work with synopses of works of literature. It was a continuation and expanded version of the Warner Library first published in 1897 with various editions up to 1917 edited by Charles Dudley Warner. She also authored a ''Dictionary of Dates'' divided into two volumes for the "old world" and "new world",(December 9, 1934)Dictionary of Dates (review) ''The New York Times'' and also authored the ''Readers's Digest of Books'' which provides summaries of about 1,500 books.Khan, Masood AliThe Principles and Practice of Library Science pp. 348–49 (1996) Keller taught classes in library economy at Columbia University and was the librarian for it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact or interaction with a supernatural agency. Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appears to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine. Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and reli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Advisors
An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categorically from that of a task-specific consultant. An adviser is typically part of the leadership, whereas consultants fulfill functional roles. The spellings ''adviser'' and ''advisor'' have both been in use since the 16th century. ''Adviser'' has always been the more usual spelling, though ''advisor'' has gained frequency in recent years and is a common alternative, especially in North America. Etymology The use of ''adviser'' is of English origin, with "er" as a noun ending, and ''advisor'' of Latin origin. The words are etymological twin cognates and are considered interchangeable. Word usage Usage of the two words is normally a matter of choice, but they should not be used together in the same document. The Associated Press prefers (AP ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spiritual Mediums
Spiritual is the adjective for Spirit (vital essence), spirit. Spiritual may also refer to: Religion *Spirituality, a concern with matters of the spirit **Spiritual attack, an attack by Satan and his demons on a Christian **Spiritual body, a Christian term for resurrection **Spiritual but not religious, a religious categorization **Spiritual bypass, a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks" **Spiritual communion, a Christian practice of desiring union with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist **Spiritual crisis, a form of identity crisis where an individual experiences drastic changes to their meaning system typically because of a spontaneous spiritual experience **Spiritual death, absence of spirituality **Spiritual development, the development of the personality towards a religious or spiritual desired better personality **Spiritual direction, the practice of being ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Occult Writers
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism and their varied spells. It can also refer to supernatural ideas like extra-sensory perception and parapsychology. The term ''occult sciences'' was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term ''occultism'' emerged in 19th-century France, amongst figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin. It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. Throughout the 20th century, the term was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors, but by the 21st century was commonly employed – including by academic scholars of esotericism – to refer to a range of es ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mystic Poets
A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts * Mystic, California, a place in Nevada County * Mystic, Colorado, a ghost town * Mystic, Connecticut, a village in New London County * Mystic, Iowa, a city in Appanoose County * Mystic, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Mystic, Michigan, a ghost town * Mystic, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Mystic Island, New Jersey, a census-designated place * Mystic River, a river in eastern Massachusetts * Mystic River (Connecticut), a river in southeastern Connecticut * Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut * Old Mystic, Connecticut, an unincorporated community in New London County Other places * Mystic, a settlement in the municipality of Saint-Ignace-de-Stanbridge, Quebec, Canada Entertain ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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TSR, Inc
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been unable to find a publisher for ''D&D'', a new type of game he and Dave Arneson were co-developing, so founded the new company with Kaye to self-publish their products. Needing financing to bring their new game to market, Gygax and Kaye brought in Brian Blume in December as an equal partner. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' is generally considered the first tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), and established the genre. When Kaye died suddenly in 1975, the Tactical Studies Rules partnership restructured into TSR Hobbies, Inc. and accepted investment from Blume's father Melvin. With the popular ''D&D'' as its main product, TSR Hobbies became a major force in the games industry by the late 1970s. Melvin Blume eventually transferred his shares to his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arabian Adventures
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. At , the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the Arabian Peninsula includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen, as well as the southern portions of Iraq and Jordan. The largest of these is Saudi Arabia. In the classical era, the southern portions of modern-day Syria, Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula were also considered parts of Arabia (see Arabia Petraea). The Arabian Peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56 and 23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west and southwest, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast, the Levant and Mesopotamia to the north and the Arabian S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Genie
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mythology and theology. Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds, can be either believers (''Muslim'') or unbelievers (''kafir''); depending on whether they accept God's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and was able to adapt spirits from other religions during its expansion. Jinn are not a strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. To assert a strict monotheism and the Islamic concept of ''Tauhid'', Islam denies all affinities between the jinn and God, thus placing the jinn parallel to humans, also subject to God's judgment and afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practise of worshipping the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Magician (fantasy)
A magician, also known as an enchanter/enchantress, mage, magic-user, archmage, sorcerer/sorceress, spell-caster, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from supernatural, occult, or arcane sources. Magicians are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games, and enjoy a rich history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore. Character archetypes In medieval chivalric romance, the wizard often appears as a wise old man and acts as a mentor, with Merlin from the ''King Arthur'' stories being a prime example. Wizards such as Gandalf in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and Albus Dumbledore from ''Harry Potter'' are also featured as mentors, and Merlin remains prominent as both an educative force and mentor in modern works of Arthuriana. Other magicians, such as Saruman from ''The Lord of the Rings'' or Lord Voldemort from ''Harry Potter'', can appear as hostile villains. Villainous sorcerers were so crucial ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |