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Old 05-22-2020, 09:40 AM   #2279
William
 
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Default Re: Real-Life Weirdness

A fisherman in Coventry (the real-life place in England, not the GURPS worldline, although having them found on the supposedly un-magical Coventry would quite possibly freak Homeline out just a bit!) has, while dredging a river as part of a magnet fishing hobby, found a collection of religious relics: 60 leaden cubes engraved on all sides in Sanskrit with a magic square (an array of numbers), along with a silver coin.

The magic square is apparently a yantra requesting protection from a deity generally regarded as malefic, Rahu, the head (which has been separated from its body) of a power over "thieves, magicians, snakes, poison, jails and isolated places," says the article.

Obviously something simply being an exotic religious practice hardly qualifies it as "weird," but as an exemplary instance of the very mystical astrological side, complete with a deliberate protective practice (I'm not sure whether it's apotropaic, intended to avert Rahu's attention, or more actively request his intervention) and a handy material instantiation, sure does give a lot of hooks for a character whos esotericism runs in that direction.
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