Roderick Kidston's Magic of the Stars Oracle Cards use a selection of influential fixed stars as vehicles for contemplation on issues in life. You might find them useful by adding new perspectives to your thoughts and helping resolve questions.

A common core idea across all forms of buddhism is conditioned or dependent arising (paṭiccasamuppāda in Pali / pratītyasamutpāda in Sanskrit). Here is a brief explanation of why it is so important and how it underlies buddhism's understanding of the world.

Have you ever wondered how to get the the right measurements to hang a picture, or a group of pictures? All the measurements you need are here in a picture hanging calculator - a simple spreadsheet!

This Shelta Vocabulary is extracted and hyper-adapted from "The Secret Languages of Ireland", R. A. Stewart Macalister, Cambridge University Press 1937, Ch. VI. pp. 174-224. It was developed by John Bear and was first available on the web in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Art is in the eye of the beholder. Art can be seen in many ways: it can mean different things to different people. This essay explores how a non-Buddhist work of art might be interpreted through Buddhist eyes.

John Bear was working on some wonderful translations of old Welsh books. Unfortunately some were only partially completed. But they are all worth reading.

What types of meditation are there? Here is a very brief introductory overview in a Buddhist context. There are many aspects to explore. This is just a starting point.

How old are you? Most people think they know, but really you are older than the rocks you walk upon. That's science.

Sometimes the wonder of life is inexpressible. Unfortunately, if we try, we often only have words. Here are some of those words - setting axioms for thought.

2,500 years ago Buddha made some remarkable intuitive understandings about life. He identified three poisons of human character: greed, hatred and delusion. These poisons are visible today, including in our leaders. Ideas from 2,500 years ago are still relevant. Can an updated view of the Dhamma / Dharma inform how we should live today?

Photography captures how photons of differing energies and wavelengths are reflected or absorbed by ordinary matter. Do we really "see" what is in the picture? Photos are guaranteed all impermanent and "not-selfie"! Some suffering may be involved.

Everyone loves a good recipe. Here are some I like. No meat here! Fancy a Pizza?

There are many influences on people. Some believe that there is something special about when we are born that can be explained by the stars.Roderick was one such person. He left us with many unique insights from his own work and experiences.

Life is short, yet some people leave their mark. Here is one person who has contributed to our understanding of nature; and whose work did change the world. A master of organo-metallic chemistry and originator of the polyketide hypothesis.

Many languages may divide the world, but people are all fundamentally the same. A great translation powerfully illustrates our humanity. Here are some translations from Welsh to English and a hyper-adapted Shelta dictionary. A legacy from a talented linguist.

Creativity is part of being human. Everyone should seek to find their own practice - feel the flow in whatever make sense, be it in art, craft, writing, construction or play - anything!

that's it.

… but what exactly is star dust? We may never know…