Psychedelics have been used for thousands of years by indigenous cultures but new research suggests that the ancient Greeks, Romans and even some early Christians may have used psychedelic substances in their religious practices. KCRWs Jonathan Bastian is joined by Brian Muraresku, author of The Immortality Key; The Secret History of the Religion with No Name

The following interview excerpts have been abbreviated and edited for clarity.

KCRW: In your book you talk about the site of Elusias in Greece. Why is this place so important in understanding the role of psychedelics in antiquity?

Brian Muraresku: Eleusis was like the fight club of the ancient world. The first rule of Eleusis was that you don't talk about Eleusis. These mysteries of Eleusis, survived from about 1500 BC to fourth century AD. Many of the best and brightest Greeks and Romans like Plato, Sophocles, Cicero and Marcus Aurelius all made this mysterious pilgrimage 13 miles northwest from Athens to Eleusis. Today its this small town, Elefcina but historically it was the spiritual capital of the ancient world. Initiates would arrive, drink a potion, have this vision of a goddess and all claim to have immortality. From what little testimony survived, through veiled secrecy there is belief that the mysterious concoction, possibly spiked with psychedelics, is what granted those believers immortal life, according to a trio of renegades in 1978.

Do you have an idea from your research of what was in that potion?

Muraresku: R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist who actually discovered LSD, and Carl Ruck, relied on partial historical data, whose trail I followed in the book. Harvard and Yale educated at the time, Ruck was the chair of the classics department at Boston University, and though 85 years old hes still teaching there now. They claimed that the Hymn to Demeter, written in the seventh century but only discovered in 1977 is one of these clues teasing out the specifics. But in this 496 line Greek poem, there is an interesting list of ingredients for a Kykeon, which is Greek for potion. Inside that Kykeon, the poem says that there was barley, water and mint. Albert Hoffman looked at that barley and said, that must have been a code word. It wasn't really barley but what grows on the barley. Ergot is a natural fungus that affects cereal grains and it's exactly what Albert Hoffman himself was able to synthesize LSD in 1938.

There's some really provocative and controversial writing in your book about how this began to perhaps work its way into early Christianity.

Muraresku: It goes right into the heart of Christianity, and I call it paleo Christianity, those first three centuries, after Jesus. Remember Christianity is illegal, it's not decriminalized until Constantine in the fourth century AD. So what is going on in that time period? I've been saying that I think it's impossible to understand Christianity, without understanding the Greek world into which it was born.

The New Testament is written in Greek, not Hebrew. Paul is writing letters to Greek speakers, like the Corinthians. Corinth is today, only one hour west of Eleusis, this famous spiritual capital. The odds of the Corinthians not knowing about Eleusis is very small. Some may even have relatives who themselves were initiated into the practice. So I look at the New Testament and at the Gospel of John and rely on very mainstream biblical scholarship to figure out what was going on.

There are so many parallels that I track through the Gospels, like the famous water to wine miracle. Greek scholars refer to that as the signature miracle of Dionysus. We have many stories from antiquity about water, miraculously turning into wine. John is writing to Greek speakers who would have understood that the wine of Jesus was meant to be something extraordinary - I mean this is nothing less than an immortality potion.

Your research took you to the Vatican. You met with Christian scholars to work on your research. How were you received, did they tell you you were way off base?

Muraresku: Quite the opposite. The Vatican could not have been more welcoming or more accommodating. I talked to several different officials at the Secret Archives. I talked with the librarians at the Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I looked into Inquisition documents. I went into the catacombs and I talked to many, many priests in the Vatican.

There's a priest who accompanies me on this journey and I talked to lots of Greek Orthodox priests. I'm not claiming that Christianity is a psychedelic religion, I want to be very careful about that. I'm not claiming anything about the Last Supper - thats unknowable but what I'm looking for, is how some of the early Christian communities would have interpreted that story.

Brian Muraresku. Photo by Moshe Zusmancre

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Did ancient Greeks and early Christians discover the meaning of life through the use of psychedelic substances? - KCRW

A few years ago, it was the music stars: Bowie, Prince, Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen, George Martin, Scotty Moore, Merle Haggard, Paul Kantner and Leon Russell. They all died within a matter of months.

Sure, there were others, as there always are, every year, but that particular year really stood out; those were the ones that hit home for me, and so many other baby boomers. Occurring as they did in such a short period of time, it was as if it signaled the beginning of the end of an era when music could save your soul. Or maybe it was just a farewell to the exhilaration of youth and a reminder of our mortality.

Some will say the death knell sounded long before that when huge production dance numbers overtook the concert stage, and computers replaced guitars as the most popular instrument, and melody was crushed by rhythm, and everything emanating from Music Row sounded the same.

I once had the honor of interviewing the man they called 'The Genius,' Ray Charles, and he said that true genius to him was characterized by uniqueness of style artists you could recognize and identify within the first few notes. As examples, he listed Willie Nelson and Duke Ellington.

These days, I can hardly tell the difference between anything I hear on pop or so-called country music radio.

Be that as it may, where 2016 was the year of the rockers, or (taking into account Merle) the music stars, this year is the year of the baseball Hall of Famers. Many of the biggest baseball stars of my youth, starting with Al Kaline, have died these past few months.

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Ron Colone: The immortality of rockers and baseball players of yesterday - Lompoc Record

As usual, Halloween and the election are in conjunction. Demons are on the loose. So is candy, even if it is only supplied at home.

Halloween is our most popular holiday, which is not surprising, because horror is among our most popular cultural preoccupations. In the hierarchy of ghouls, vampires are by far the sexiest. Vampires enjoy eternal life, but their lifestyle is sustained by the blood of othersa small price to pay for immortality.

Many movie vampires have to put up with cramped coffins in dusty cellars away from daylight. Those depictions pay homage to earlier conceptions of the archetype. Modern vampires have risen above such limitations. After all, those earlier writers were looking backward to medieval European folklore, rather than embracing all the richness of modern life. A contemporary vampire would not be caught dead in a dusty cellar, or whats eternity for?

Your vampire of today knows that the life-force is not blood but money. So, what would you do if you were immortal and needed to batten on others to maintain your standard of living? Would you not do everything in your power to sink your teeth into cash? Would you not sell your soul to those in power, those who have the ability to get you the sweetheart deals, the tax cuts, the write-offs, the insider tips, the appointments, the sinecures, the elective offices? Would you not suck up to them? Of course you would, especially if all you have to do is siphon off some of the lifeblood from the less fortunate. Its not your fault they stick their necks out.

Who are they, anyway? Well, they are uszombies lurching from paycheck to paycheck, always wanting more but never getting enough, dead to any understanding of how the system really works, ready to believe the vampires who blame others while they put the bite on our livelihood and convince us that our health insurance is not as good as what theyll give us, because ours came from a Black man. They promise we dont need protections for our air, our water, our land. They seduce us into believing that were the greatest, even though nations of the world, including our former allies, have written us off as a second-rate power bamboozled by the Russians and superseded by the Chinese. They siphon off the money that should have gone to education, healthcare, infrastructure and fighting the pandemic.They have hoovered our lifeblood, but we love them. We admire their cool, their lifestyle. We identify with them. They give us power by association, and they encourage us to emulate them by holding down those who have less power than we do. We are always on the hunt for people to put down, to make us feel better and feel more like those we admire.

The vampires take from us and promise us a share of the good life. We zombies fight among ourselves, some believing the vampires and some not. But neither vampires nor zombies are secure in their predations unless the government is theirs. The vampires can buy the senators, the representatives, the judges and justices, but until they can succeed in doing away with the requirement, they need the zombies to vote. Thats their weakest link. Zombies must agree to keep them in power. That is the only hope of those who would throw off the domination of bloodsuckers who enslave us in a rigged system that allows them to sustain themselves on our backs.

Happy Halloween, zombie: Vote to get your life back!

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Vote, Zombies, and Get the Vampires' Teeth Out of Our Necks | Flagpole - Flagpole Magazine

The definition of dog heaven is straightforward enough: bottomless biscuits, walks on demand, squirrels you can actually catch.

Whether it exists is a thornier question. But according to a new study, owners of all kinds of domestic animals have become more likely to believe in a pet afterlife and have used gravestones and memorials to express their faith that they will one day be reunited.

A new analysis published in the journal Antiquity, examining the history of pet cemeteries in Newcastle and London over 100 years from 1881, found an increase in the proportion of graves that reference the animals immortal souls.

Few 19th-century gravestones reference an afterlife, although some may hope to see their loved ones again, said Dr Eric Tourigny, author of the study, who looked at more than 1,000 animal headstones. By the mid-20th century, a greater proportion of animal gravestones suggest owners were awaiting a reunion in the afterlife.

Images of gravestones included in the paper show simple 19th-century references to Topsey, loving friend, Our dear wee Butcha, and Darling Fluff. In the few cases where an afterlife is referenced, owners are careful not to challenge contemporary Christian orthodoxy and only suggest a hope of reunion.

But by the 1950s, the owner of Denny, a brave little cat, adds firmly: God bless until we meet again. In the same era, religious references become more common with symbols like crosses and epitaphs invoking Gods care and protection.

Tourigny, a lecturer in historical archaeology at Newcastle University, found other evidence that pet owners were increasingly likely to view animals as part of the family. He wrote that an increasing number of gravestones used family names after the second world war though some early adopters of surnames put them in parentheses or quotation marks, as if to acknowledge they are not full members of the family.

He also found that owners would increasingly often refer to themselves by familial pronouns like Mummy, Dad, or Auntie.

Tourigny said that while it was difficult to quantify precisely, most of the stones are likely for dogs but the proportion of cats and other animals grew as the 20th century went on.

Gravestones in the four pet cemeteries examined cover burials from the 1880s to the 1980s. Since then, cremation has become more common for those who wish to mark their pets death.

Tourigny who has only ever owned two goldfish himself, but has recently adopted two cats, which arrive next week told the Guardian that one of the most notable recent trends was that jurisdictions around Britain were allowing humans and animals to be co-buried for the first time.

Other modern pet memorial services include paw prints cast in clay, framed collars, and even the chance to turn their ashes into diamonds. But many owners still opt for the simpler approach of burying them in the back garden or what is euphemistically termed communal pet cremation.

While religious views around the world vary, Christianity has traditionally held that animals have no hope of an afterlife. But Pope John Paul II said in 1990 that animals do have souls and are as near to God as men are.

Some pet lovers viewed remarks by Pope Francis in 2014 as offering further hope of furry eternity. He said that what lies ahead is not an annihilation of the universe and all that surrounds us. Rather, it brings everything to its fullness of being, truth and beauty.

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Do all dogs go to heaven? Pet owners increasingly think so, says study - The Guardian

With Disney invading Netflixs streaming turf, turnabout is fair play, as Over the Moon overtly tries to emulate Disney animation without occupying its orbit. Although the movie is visually impressive, the Chinese-American co-production suffers from a too-thin story, built upon a heavy-handed message soaked in that oldest of Disney tropes: a dead mom.

Veteran Disney animator Glen Keane directed the film, which comes from Chinas Pearl Studios, whose recent roster includes the uninspired Abominable. The story (written by the late Audrey Wells, who died in 2018, and to whom the movie is dedicated) derived from the Chinese myth of the moon goddess, who achieved immortality but lost her love, pining for him in the night sky.

Fei Fei (voiced by Cathy Ang) also experiences loss when her mom becomes sick, after an introductory section in which the mother shares the tale and traditions of Change, the aforementioned goddess. The girl is unprepared, however, when her dad (John Cho) meets a new woman, as Fei Fei hopes that a trip to the moon will remind him of the past and spare her from the prospect of a not-at-all-wicked stepmother.

The film then embarks on a colorful flight of fancy, one with so many touchstones of past Disney movies its tough to count them all. Theres the boy stowaway a la Up, the cheerful fast-talking fantastic sidekick echoing Frozen (manically voiced by Ken Jeong), the colorful spectacle of Wreck-It Ralph, and a whole lot of soaring but generally unmemorable songs.

The last items on that roster sound fine, thanks in part to having Hamiltons Phillipa Soo as Change, who demands that Fei Fei present her an unspecified gift in order to earn the proof that she seeks. That portion of the film conspicuously drags, laboring to get from Fei Fei saying I just want things back the way they were to, rather sweetly, accepting the way they are.

Keane directed the Oscar-winning Kobe Bryant short Dear Basketball, and clearly learned the tricks of the trade during his time at Disney, with the movie appearing pretty desperate to conjure that sort of magic.

Alas, thats not enough to reach the heady space that separates the best of the Disney/Pixar movies from something like Over the Moon, a bright, shiny object that never quite escapes the bonds of Earth.

Over the Moon premieres Oct. 23 on Netflix.

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'Over the Moon' doesn't succeed in lifting Netflix into Disney's orbit - KTVZ

Netflix's Over The Moon has a happy ending on the surface, but when one peers deeper, a major character is left heartbroken and feeling incomplete.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Over The Moon, now streaming on Netflix.

Over The Moon focuses on Fei Fei, a heartbroken young girl who can't cope with the loss of her mother. She also can't accept herfathergetting engaged to a new woman,Mrs. Zhong. Fei Fei decides to prove toher dad that a couple should be eternally bound to each other,so she goes to the moon to find the goddess Chang'e, who's hopefully been reunited with her soulmate, Houyi.

In Fei Fei's mind, this will confirm that no one can replace someone's true love; therefore, no one can replace her mom. While Fei Fei's experience shows her what love isactually about,and she learns to accept her stepmother and stepbrother, the endingis not as happy as it seems.

RELATED: Netflix StreamFest Makes Service Free for 48 Hours

This is due to what happens to Chang'e, who goes through her own journey on the dark side of the moon. Long ago, shetook immortality pills, which sent her to the moon and separated her from Houyi.Chang'e hoped she'd bereunited with Houyi's soulwhen he died, believing hisspiritwould meet her on the moon.This wasn't the case, so she has the Jade Rabbit, a wizard,make her potions to bring him there. It's also prophesiedthat Fei Fei will bring a gift toChang'ethat will help reunite her with Houyi.

The potion's catalyst is the Jade Rabbit and Fei Fei's pet bunny, Bungee, fallingin love. Furthemore, the amulet Fei Fei's mother gave her is the final piece needed for the ritual. Chang'e has grown tired of waiting on her lover's soul, so when the Jade Rabbit finally cracks the potion, she's all too excited. However, the story gets dark from here because Houyi arrivesonly for a few seconds,telling Chang'ethat sheneedsto move on.

As he disappears, it's heartbreaking, with Chang'e going into a depression and blacking out her kingdom. She would recover when she realizes Fei Feiis suffering from abandonment issues too. While she reignites Lunaria and sends Fei Fei home with her lesson learned, Chang'e still has a feeling of emptiness and despairshe must learn to cope with.

RELATED: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts Bosses Talk Potential Movie Spinoffs, Sequels

Shedoesn't get closure,spends barely any time with Houyi anddoesn't get to apologize for taking the pills in the first place. Chang'edoes the right thing for Fei Fei, but she's resigned to living life alone on the moon, knowing she's actually the onewho abandoned her soulmate.

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Over the Moon's Ending Isn't as Happy as It Seems | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 28 Youre an athlete and have been on top of your game for a while nowthe accolades, the fame, the monetary gain all coming through. This may at times lure you, the athlete, into a mindset of invincibility and immortality.

Theres nothing wrong in believing in ones strengths and abilities, theres absolutely nothing wrong in being ambitious. These after all are just some of the things that make sport worth following.

However, as an athlete, you must be aware that your shelf life is limited. Your career may be cut abruptly cut short through injury, illness or loss of passion.

Are you ready to face life away from the arena? Away from the accompanying fame and fortune? Away from the structure of training programs that have dictated your schedules in the past?

Truth is, nobody is absolutely ready for life after sport, but just as we prepare for competition on a day to day basis, it is also important for athletes to face up to the fact that they can only be active for so long and start preparing for life after sports.

Sadly, this may not always happen as many an athlete will wait until its too late before they start preparing for life after sports. This is one of the key contributing factors to the confusion and frustration that we witness among retired athletes as they are totally unprepared for the transition.

Olympic champions Ian Thorpe, Kelly Holmes and Wilfred Bungei are just a few of the high profile athletes who have made their struggles public after retiring from competitive sport.

The preparation for life after sports should ideally start the moment an athlete takes up a sport, but you and I both know that this never happens since most athletes are obsessed by success and will be relentless in its pursuit.

The next best thing for them to do is start preparing as soon as they reach an age when they realize that the game wont last the rest of their life.

Even though planning early for your retirement from sports may seem like youre giving up on it early, it doesnt mean that at all. Just like you put in the hard yards during training sessions, this is no different.

Proper planning will always prevent poor performance and in life after sports, improper planning can cost you a lot of money and time. The end game might come by choice or it might not, but by you planning ahead of time you can be able to avoid a lot of the mistakes that many other athletes make once they retire.

You owe it to yourself to not let sport use you for your abilities, and get everything you can out of it when it is all said and done. It is sad that quite a number of athletes have failed in life after sports simply because they dont do these three small things below.

Discover Just One Other Thing Youre Passionate About

Trying to figure out what you want to do after your playing career can be a lot to handle when you have a ton of other responsibilities. Instead, think about just one thing that youre passionate about and start working on that while you have free time. Whether its cooking, music, poetry or broadcasting. Doreen Nabwire, the first Kenyan woman to play professionally in Europe transitioned into football development, boxer Benson Gicharu has embraced his retirement by engaging in painting, ex-Sofapaka forward Ronald Okoth is giving back to society through his Roads to Goals organization, former Gor Mahia striker Bramwell Mwololo, who also played rugby for Barclays Bank RFC and Kenya is now a talk show host on one of Kenyas mainstream FM stations, swimming sensation Jason Dunford ventured into broadcast journalism and music while Kenya Sevens legend Lavin Asego has taken up golf and also runs a highly popular sports podcast.

Start focusing on one field or industry that you possibly want to get into, research it and figure out ways you can make money doing it. This way once you are actually done with your sports career, whenever that might be, you have something that youre passionate about to not only keep you engaged but possibly get into as a career as well.

Network

Lets face it, life is more of who you know, not what you know. Regardless of where you played or what sport you played, you have someone who is a fan of yours. Take the time to build and nurture these relationships, you never know what doors they may open.

Talk To Someone Who Has Been There Before

One of the great things about being an athlete is that you always have people around you or close by who have been in your exact shoes before and are willing to impart some knowledge on you. Whether they made it to the top or not, you can always learn from their experiences and the things that they did wrong. Dont be afraid to talk to people and ask questions if youre unsure. Most people love to feel like they are valued or can help others in some type of way. Whether they are a coach or former player, you can learn something from anyones experiences or story.

These things may seem simple and that is why you might put them off for later, but it is important to have the awareness and discipline to recognize when you have the opportunity to set yourself up for success in your future. Youll thank yourself later.

There is life after sport.

Read more:
Michael Kwambo: There is life after sportyou just need to prepare for it - Capital FM Kenya

As powerful as Thanos is with the Infinity Gauntlet, other MCU villains naturally outclass him with mystical abilities and extradimensional abilities.

Thanos is thequintessential villain of theMarvel Cinematic Universe, but there are more powerful MCU antagonists than the Mad Titan. As the MCU's scope grew throughout the years, the power level of both heroes and villains increased accordingly. Tony Stark'sopponents went from a businessman in an iron suit to a fire-breathinggenius anda near-omnipotent AI. The MCU's expansion intoouter space and different dimensionsonlyreinforced this difference.

Ever sinceThorandThe Avengersevidencedthe reach ofthe Asgardians' magic abilities, it has been evident that power is not only a question of raw strength. Magic, size, immortality, and even personality need to be taken into account in order to understand how powerful a character really is.For instance,Thor could have wielded the Infinity Gauntlet inAvengers: Endgame, but Smart Hulk was more mentally stableat the time. Thenature of a character's abilities also explainswhy Captain Marvel could punch any other hero into oblivion but Scarlet Witch could twist her spine with a flick of her wrist.

Related:MCU Theory: Kang The Conqueror Is Coming To Phase 5 (Because Of Thanos)

As omnipotent as Thanos is with the Infinity Stones, many other MCU villainsarenaturally more powerful. His formerservantRonan the Accuser was able to wield the Power Stone with minimal resistance, and only stayed under Thanos' command due to hishiddenmotivations. Similarly, Ego the Living Planet could have easily wiped out the Earth as easily as hedid with otherplanets, but hisdesire to take over the entire universe led him topursue Star-Lord and lose against the Guardians of the Galaxy before he could achieve it. That leaves Hela, Surtur, and Dormammu, threemysticalbeings with extremely long lifespans and a near-unlimited amount of power and it's only the latter that can claim to be the most powerful.

Eons ago, Odin defeated Surtur by himself, but with Odin past his prime - and even worse, gone- Thor demonstrated that both Surtur and Hela are strong enough that even he, the second strongest Avenger, couldn't defeat either of them inThor: Ragnarok. Only they could defeat one another. However, Surtur can only be so powerful when merged with the Eternal Flame while wearing his crown. Thor: Ragnarokalso proved howHela can be defeated by way of humongous Fire Demon. So, the one MCU villain to go untouchedby almost any weapon is Dormammu.

Dormammu is virtually unbeatable in the MCU because he's not really part of it. By nature alone, Dormammu spans his own entirerealityas a trans-dimensional entity. He warpsits very fabric tocreate his face anduse his powers, he can bestow occult abilitieson beingsfrom different universes, and he's described by The Ancient One as beingolder than time itself. The only obstacle that stops him from annihilating the MCU before anybody has a chance to blink is that he can't simply go ahead and enter it. That's why herecruited Kaecilius beforeDoctor Strangethwarted his plans thanks to sheer persistence. Sure,Dormammu suffered the least violent defeat in the entire franchise due to this tiny hindrance, but then again, it would have been impossible for Thanos to erase half of all life if he didn't get a bejeweled glove.

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Who The MCU's Most Powerful Villain Is (Besides Thanos) - Screen Rant

A wise man once said: If one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi. If you want to fully understand the epic and intricateStar Warssaga, you must embrace a larger view of the Force and you can start by embracing DKs new sacred text,The Star Wars Book: Expand Your Knowledge of a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Written byStar Warsexperts Pablo Hidalgo, Cole Horton, and Dan Zehr, this insightful examination of the ever-expandingStar Warsfranchise covers 11 live-action movies, four TV shows comprising 15 seasons (and counting), video games, comics, novels, theme park experiences, and more.

Stuffed with illuminating infographics and authoritative essays,The Star Wars Bookreveals the mysteries of theStar Warsgalaxy not just the characters, history, and technology ofStar Wars, but how it all connects together, from 4-LOM and A-Wings to Ziro the Hutt and Zuckuss. While not technically an encyclopedia or visual dictionary, the book is divided into key subject areas for easy reading the galaxy, science and technology, the Force, the Skywalkers, galactic governments, their dissidents, and galactic denizens.

Whether you are a devotedStar Warsfan or a casual reader curious to learn more,The Star Wars Bookis an invaluable roadmap to that galaxy far,far away. Below is a sampling of some of the tomes most interesting tidbits, including new information on the events of The Rise of Skywalker andThe Mandalorian.

In Revenge of the Sith,Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, AKA Darth Sidious, tells us about The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise, a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chloriansto create life. The Star Wars Book provides a few more details about the Siths quest for immortality:

Sidious master, Darth Plagueis, thought the pathway to immortality lay in the sciences. He could coax midi-chlorians the microscopic symbionts present in all body cells that channel the Force to create new life. His experiments were incomplete but encouraging.

Like his former master, Sidious covets vergences in the Force, for such concentrations of power are needed to break the rules that govern life and death.This, of course, explains Sidious fascination with young Anakin Skywalker, as well as the Force nexus on Lothal the gateway beneath the ancient Jedi temple tothe World Between Worlds, as seen in Star Wars Rebels:

Obsessed with immortality, Palpatine withdraws from public view so he can probe the secrets of the dark side. In the Unknown Regions, he readies the ancient Sith throne of Exegol to be his permanent seat of power. His cultist underlings experiment with cloning technology to extend his life.

The Rise of Skywalker wasnt the first time Emperor Palpatine was resurrected. In the 1991 Dark Horse comic book series Dark Empire set six years afterReturn of the Jedi, Palpatine returns from the netherworld of the Force and possesses the body of Jeng Droga, one of the Emperors Hands, a group of elite assassins not unlike the Knights of Ren or Snokes Praetorian Guard in the Sequel Trilogy.Sate Pestage, one of the Emperors advisors, exorcizes Palpatines spirit and channels it into a clone created by Palpatine before his death.

As for how Palpatine returned in canon forEpisode IX, The Star Wars Book lays it all out:

When Sidious is defeated at the Battle of Endor, he transfers his consciousness through the Force to a waiting cloned body. The process is imperfect, resulting in his mind being trapped in a rotting corpse. Over the ensuing decades, Sidious continues his obsessive explorations into rejuvenation. Clone offshoots from this process include his son, who flees Exegol in an attempt to live a life apart from darkness. Another genetic construct becomes Snoke, an underling whom Sidious installs as Supreme Leader of the First Order.

If youve read my Emperor Reborn series or perused the Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary, you already know that Snoke, while not a member of the Sith, wore a gold ring inscribed with glyphs from the Four Sages of Dwartii, encrusted with obsidian from the Sith cave beneath Fortress Vader on Mustafar. Uncoincidentally, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine kept bronzium statues of the Four Sages in his office and chambers on Coruscant.

After The Rise of Skywalker, many fans had questions about who or what Snoke was. The Star Wars Book has the answer:

Its possible Snoke himself may not know his true nature. Snoke is a strandcast an artificial genetic construct concocted by the resurrected Darth Sidious to be his proxy in power. Snoke has free will, but his actions and goals are still orchestrated by Sidious.

Through Snoke, Sidious manipulates Anakin Skywalkers grandson, Ben Solo, and lures him to the dark side. Sidious also senses the Force awakening within Rey, the offspring of his cloned son, and is determined to capture her.

The book also details some rarer force abilities. A small number of Force users, including Rey and Cal Kestis (from the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order), have the unique ability of psychometry, which allows them to learn about people or events by touching an object associated with them. This explains Reys Force visions when she touches items like Anakin Skywalkers lightsaber ortheBlade of Ochi of Bestoon.

As for Reys bond with Ben Solo, heres the official info:

Ben Solo and Rey are dyads in the Force. This rare connection has not been seen for generations and means that the pair have a Force bond, allowing them to see and feel what the other is experiencing and even pass objects to one another over great distances through the Force. Those in a dyad possess another unusual ability. They can use the Force to heal a wounded person or creature, but this act also requires that the healer transfer some of their Force energy, which can temporarily weaken them. After their battle with Darth Sidious, Ben Solo sacrifices his life and all of his Force energy to bring Rey back from the dead.

What happened to Ben Solo and Leia Organa at the end of The Rise of Skywalker? The book provides some additional details about their final moments.

Amid the wreckage of the second Death Star on Kef Bir, Kylo Ren feels the Force presence of his mother, who reminds him of the goodness still within him. Sensing his distraction, Rey strikes a killing blow with her lightsaber. Immediately horrified by her actions and the idea that she may be falling to the dark side, Rey uses the Force to restore him. Meanwhile, on Ajan Kloss, the effort of reaching out to her son is too much for Leias mortal body.She dies but doesnt pass into the Force yet:

In a pivotal turn of events, Kylo faces the memory of his deceased father. Moved by the love of his parents and Reys compassion, he hurls his unstable, red lightsaber into the ocean, renouncing darkness and becoming Ben Solo once more. His final act is to head to Exegol to help Rey face the Emperor. Together, the two defeat the Sith Lord. The effort drains Rey. Without hesitation, Ben transfers his life force to her, resurrecting her and sacrificing himself: redeemed at last.

By transferring all of his Force energy to resurrect Rey, Ben Solo is able to do what his grandfather Anakin Skywalker never could: save the ones he loves from dying. Now one with the force, Leia ferries Ben into the cosmic Force together, finding peace.

For those who have issues or questions about Reys arc in the Sequel Trilogy, The Star Wars Book does a good job of explaining everything and connecting the thematic dots. For one, we get a full understanding of Reys experience in the mirror cave onAhch-To in Rian Johnsons The Last Jedi:

Below the surface, she asks the Force to show her who her parents are. In answer, the cave reveals not a mother or a father but Reys mirrored image, endlessly reflected. The cave plays upon her darkest fears, that she has always been, and always will be, alone. But it also helps her begin to see that maybe the only person she needs is herself. She is not defined by her parents, but by the choices she makes.

And so, determined to forge her own identity, Rey goes to Exegol and battles Palpatine, nearly dying in the process:

Having accepted all that she is, the voices of many legendary Jedi unite with her, inspiring her to rise and destroy Palpatine with the help of Ben Solo, now returned to the light. On Tatooine, Rey buries Luke and Leias lightsabers and takes on the moniker Skywalker. Her choice, and not her lineage, defines who she is, bringing her peace and purpose.

There are some fun tidbits about supporting characters to the saga as well, specifically this interesting backstory for Lando Calrissian that was cut fromThe Rise of Skywalker but still exists as part of the official novelization:

After his days in the Rebellion, Calrissian settles down and starts a family. However, his young daughter is kidnapped. Her disappearance is a mystery, yet it becomes clear later that his only child was targeted by the First Order, as the group had abducted the kids of other former Alliance leaders. Lando joins Luke Skywalkers mission to track down the rumors of Sith agents, and when the trail runs cold on Pasaana, Lando decides to remain on the planet, living a quiet, restful existence as a hermit.

With the battle against the Final Order won, Lando offers to join the former stormtrooper Jannah in her search for her family, hoping that together they can find their long-lost relatives, even if the odds are against them:

He empathizes with her as his own child had been kidnapped years before. Jannah, an improbable ally to the Resistance, has found an unlikely ally of her own.

In the Mandalorians entry, we learn that before he was rescued by members of Death Watch, Din Djarin called Aq Vetina his home:

Although now known as the Mandalorian, he was once the boy named Din Djarin. When his home, Aq Vetina, is assulated by merciless battle droids forces, Dins parents hide him in a cellar, hoping to keep him safe. He survives, thanks to the intervention of Mandalorian forces. Armored warriors carrying the mark of Death Watch take the abandoned child to be raised as a Mandalorian foundling. Din receives an orthodox Mandalorian upbringing so he believes he cannot ever take his helmet off in the company of another living being, lest he lose claim to his Mandalorian heritage.

Is Aq Vetina the name of a settlement, or is it a planet? Perhaps well visit the Mandalorians former home in an upcoming episode of the Disney+ live-action series.

As for Din Djarins sidekick, the Child, there isnt much new information to report:

Very little is known about the Child, the Mandalorians target-turned-ward. He is found sleeping in a hovering pram in a safehouse on Arvala-7, guarded by Nikto henchmen. Where he came from is unknown. According to a fragmented chain code, the Child is 50 standard years old, but has the look and behavior of a toddler. His species is unknown, but is a match for that of Yoda, the late Jedi master.

While there have been several members of the species to make appearances in the non-canonExpanded Universe (rebranded as Star Wars Legends), there are only three in the officialStar Wars canon: Yoda, Yaddle, and the Child. Someday, maybe someday soon, well discover more about the species and where they come from but until then, much to learn we still have.

While there are countless Star Wars reference books out there, The Star Wars Bookfeels like something new and different. It isnt a visual dictionary, nor is it an art book. Its more like a hardbound copy of Wookieepedia that exhaustively details the major players and events of the saga and binds the universe together. That was a book joke and a Star Wars joke. Youre welcome.

The Star Wars Bookfills in the gaps for those who dont have the time, money, or obsessive-compulsive need to consume everything that comes out of Lucasfilm and its subsidiaries, while also encouraging those who are curious to seek out stories and experiences they may have missed along the way. It treats the films, series,comics, novels, and video games as equally important parts of the Star Wars canon and is a must-have for fans of saga.

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The Star Wars Bookisavailable now.

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Palpatine, Kylo Ren, Baby Yoda and More: 10 Things You Need to Know From 'The Star Wars Book' - /FILM

From zom-coms to classic ghost romance, these are the best inhuman love stories in film history.

Whetheryou love it or hate it, theres no question that the Twilightseries has become one of the most popular media franchises out there. The story that it tells is a fairly established one about the love that emerges between a young human woman and a vampire.

RELATED: Twilight Saga: Every Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

Somehow, it managed to hit all of the right beats, so its no surprise that it continues to be enormously popular. Fortunately for big fans of the film, there are quite a few other supernatural romance movies out there to satisfythe craving for watching love stories between humans and other beings.

For many years, Anne Rice was the undisputed master of the Gothic romance, and her novels about vampires were bestsellers throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. This enormously successful adaptation of her first novel, starring Hollywood heartthrobs Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, brought out the simmering romantic feelings between Louis and Lestat, two vampires who are bound together by the curse of immortality. Theres an undeniable chemistry between the lead actors, both of whom turn in some of the finest performances of their careers.

The romantic story between a mortal and an immortal is one that can be done either well or poorly, and Tuck Everlasting is in the former category. Focusing on the love that springs up between a young woman and a boy who has drunk from the Fountain of Youth, its a sweet and rather simple story, but one told in such a way that it manages to cast a spell on the audience. Its ending, in particular, is the very definition of bittersweet.

The story of Beauty and the Beast is one of the most enduring in popular culture, and it has seen numerous versions come to the screen. One of the most recent is this film, which puts a new spin on the old story. The film undeniably has its charms, and its rather refreshing to see the ways in which the film updates the story so that it feels timely and relevant for a new generation of viewers who want to watch the timeless romance.

If theres any figure thats proven as popular in the imagination as the vampire, it would have to be a zombie, and the 2000s and 2010s saw a flurry of various zombie films. Warm Bodiesdoes something new, however, injecting a bit of romantic comedy into the zombie film genre.

RELATED: The 5 Best Dracula Adaptations (& 5 That Don't Hold Up)

Its also a bit of a spin on the timeless tale of Romeo and Juliet, and the film ends up being surprisingly sweet and touching for a film about the undead.

There have, of course, been numerous retellings of the classic vampire novel by the writer Bram Stoker. Few, however, have managed to be quite as gorgeous, sumptuous, and just downright good as this adaptation. With Gary Oldman in the title role, the film manages to create a Dracula that is more than just a horror villain but is, instead, a compelling sort of tragic hero, doomed to eternal life because of the death of his beloved wife and his own curse.

Though many of the most famous entries in the supernatural romance canon have been made in Europe and the United States, in recent years South Korea has also emerged as a powerhouse of cinema. Films like this one are a reminder of why. Focusing on a priest who becomes a vampire after falling in love with his wifes best friend, its a beautiful and haunting film that manages to bring both the horror and the romantic elements of its plot into focus.

If anyone has ever wondered what would happen if the personification of death somehow managed to fall in love with a human being, then they need look no further than Meet Joe Black- a remake of a much earlier film.Though it was rather divisive at the time of its release (at least as far as critics were concerned), theres no denying that theres a powerful romance at its heart, and the fact that it stars Brad Pitt, a truly fine actor even in less than stellar films, manages to make this an appealing watch.

This remains one of the best romantic films to come out of the latter half of the 1990s. Starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan, it focuses on the romance that blooms between an angel and a human woman after he gives up his immortality to be with her.

RELATED: Nicolas Cage's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Though Cage has become somewhat infamous for his willingness to star in some truly terrible films--thus rendering him something of a camp figure--movies like this one show that he really does have what it takes to be a romantic leading man.

Kathryn Bigelow is a director that has, time and again, shown that she has the power to show new sides of old genres. In this case, she turned her attention to the vampire film, telling a story about a young man who gets turned into a vampire and ends up falling in love with the young woman who did it to him. The film is a remarkably gritty one, looking at the darker side of the vampire romance, but theres no question that the love between the young man and the vampire woman is the beating heart of the film.

No list of supernatural romance films would be complete without mentioning Ghost, the classic film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. Though it might seem a bit cliched from the perspective of modern viewers, its story about a man who visits his beloved in the form of a ghost is one of those that was destined to wring tears from the audience at the time of its release. It manages to hold up surprisingly well, due in no small part to the tremendous strength of the performances.

NEXT: 10 Supernatural Teen Drama Films To Watch If You Liked Twilight, Ranked (According To IMDb)

Next Ratched: 5 Differences From The Original Movie (& 5 Similarities)

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10 Supernatural Romance Movies To Watch If You Love The Twilight Franchise - Screen Rant