Footnote 3:

Pecti-Wita:

Also known as simply Wita and/or Pictish Witchcraft, this is the supposed pre-Christian religion of the Picts. I say supposed, because the current practices of what is called Pecti-Wita can only be traced back to two modern-day individuals who supposedly know its true ancient past: Aidan Breac and Raymond Buckland.

Two websites make these claims about its beliefs and practices: “Pecti-Wita is concerned with all aspects of prosperity, growth, abundance, creativity, and healing, and honors the Celtic Deities. The main tools in Pecti-Wita are the Staff and the Athame or Dirk. Pecti-Witans use a “Keek-Stane” which is, in effect, a scrying stone or the equivalent of a crystal ball.” And “Scottish Solitary tradition passed on by Aidan Breac, who personally teaches students in his home at Castle Carnacae, in Scotland. The tradition is attuned to the solar and lunar changes, with a balance between the God and Goddess. Meditation and divination play a large part in the tradition and it also teaches several variations on solitary working of magick.”

Quote taken from:

http://solitarywitch.yuku.com/forums/96#.Th9jNmXh6So

http://echosfate.tripod.com/4.html

Footnote 4:

The Biblical Gift of Discerning of Spirits:

Discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to perceive the source of a spiritual manifestation and determine whether it is of God (Acts 10:30-35), of the devil (Acts 16:16-18), of man (Acts 8:18-23), or of the world. It is not mind reading, psychic phenomena, or the ability to criticize and find fault.

Discerning of spirits must be done by the power of the Holy Spirit; He bears witness with our spirit when something is or is not of God. The gift of discerning of spirits is the supernatural power to detect the realm of the spirits and their activities. It implies the power of spiritual insight - the supernatural revelation of plans and purposes of the enemy and his forces. It is a gift which protects and guards your Christian life.

How to Test a Spirit

You can discern or test whether or not a spirit is of God by the following three ways:

Observing what a person does. In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus explains that false prophets are known by their fruit - by his conduct and actions.

Observing whether or not a person exalts Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as Lord and Savior (I Corinthians 12:3).

By listening to what a person says (I John 4:1-3). Does his confession line up with the truth of God’s Word?

Taken directly from:

http://www.christcenteredmall.com/teachings/gifts/discernment.htm

Footnote 6:

The Book of Kells:

The Book of Kells is a stunningly beautiful manuscript containing the Four Gospels. It is Ireland’s most precious medieval artifact, and is generally considered the finest surviving illuminated manuscript to have been produced in medieval Europe.

Some believe that the book was created as a tribute to a monk by the name of Columba. It was he who began the monastery at Iona which, in turn, led to much of the Pexa (Picti) nation coming into the fold of Christianity.

The manuscript was never finished. There are at least five competing theories about the manuscript’s place of origin and time of completion. First, the book, or perhaps just the text, may have been created at Iona, then brought to Kells, where the illuminations were perhaps added, and never finished. Second, the book may have been produced entirely at Iona. Third, the manuscript may have been produced entirely in the scriptorium at Kells. Fourth, it may have been produced in the north of England, perhaps at Lindisfarne, then brought to Iona and from there to Kells. Finally, it may have been the product of an unknown monastery in Pictish Scotland, though there is no actual evidence for this theory, especially considering the absence of any surviving manuscript from Pictland. Although the question of the exact location of the book’s production will probably never be answered conclusively, the first theory, that it was begun at Iona and continued at Kells, is currently widely accepted. Regardless of which theory is true, it is certain that the Book of Kells was produced by Columban monks closely associated with the community at Iona.

The majority of text taken directly from:

http://historymedren.about.com/od/bookofkell1/p/book_of_kells.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_kells

Footnote 7:

The Battle of Tarbat:

First, let me, the novel’s author, make clear that there is no evidence that anything about the Battle of Tarbat was related to an attempt by Clan Mackay’s to reclaim anything associated with their Picti heritage. The Mackays are believed, though, to descend from the ancient Picti people.

In 1486 the Battle of Tarbat took place. The Clan Mackay and Clan Ross had long been at feud, again and again the Rosses had suffered molestation of their lands by their enemies and when at last, driven to desperation and thoroughly infuriated, they gathered their forces and marched against the Mackays, they were in the mood to teach them a severe lesson. The Mackays, with Angus Mackay of Strathnaver at their head, were defeated by the Rosses and sought shelter in the church of Tarbat where many were slain. The church was set on fire and Angus Mackay and many of his clansmen were burnt to ashes. This was followed by the Battle of Auldicharish: To take revenge on Clan Ross, Chief Ian Mackay, helped by a force from Clan Sutherland, marched south invading the territory of Clan Ross and began laying waste to it. Chief Alistair Ross gathered his force of 2000 men and engaged in a long and desperate battle with the invading forces. In the end the battle went against the Rosses with the Mackays and Sutherlands gaining the upper hand. The Ross chief was killed along with many of his clan. In 1493 - The Mackays invade the Rosses again, and take much spoil.

The majority of this text taken directly from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Mackay

Footnote 8:

Pictish Witchcraft Ceremonies:

The ceremonies depicted here are supposedly true to original Pictish faith and are taken from the book Scottish Witchcraft & Magick, The Craft of the Picts, by Raymond Buckland, Llewellyn Publications, 2005. However, archeological and anthropological evidence would argue that no history of true Pictish belief systems has been discovered, which, in turn, would indicate that these ceremonies were created very recently. Some researchers into witchcraft indicate that these practices are actually less than 200 years old and probably less than 100 years old.

Regardless of the age of these ceremonies and occult practices, they are still a practiced form of witchcraft called Pecti-Wita. Disclaimer: From this point in the book forward, the author will be taking artistic liberties as he introduces practices that true Witans would not ascribe to.

Witchcraft is witchcraft. Even though Pecti-Wita and Wicca and other forms of witchcraft would emphatically declare their practices to be safe, positive, and for the betterment of oneself, they are declared by God to be detestable. All forms of witchcraft are a trap created by the Enemy to deceive people into believing that they have some sort of control, be it over nature, elements, and/or spirits.

The Enemy has set up an illusion of power to draw people in, and this same Enemy will seemingly play by its own rules when it comes to the safety practices taught in the varied forms of the occult. An example of this would be Tara’s “circle of protection” in Part Two of Deliver Us from Darkness. In reality there is nothing about the circle she places herself within that prevents an evil spirit from attacking. However, the illusion of protection is maintained by the Enemy so as to keep people believing they are safe and, in turn, keep their eyes and minds trained away from God and his saving grace through Jesus.

Footnote 13:

Awareness in Warfare Situations:

Lest we forget, we’ve got a cunning Enemy. And since we cannot see them with natural eyes, we need to be cognizant of the fact that demons will take advantage of any observed weaknesses that we may display. One weakness that we have in the United States and most of the Western Hemisphere is “If we feel it, it must be natural.”

Remember, the Enemy’s function in the life of any Christian is to make him/her ineffective. If the Enemy can latch its claws, talons, hands upon a Christian and simulate some natural-feeling anomalies in the body, he will. Once we’re convinced that something is physically wrong with us, what will we do? We’ll turn attention away from our missions from God and start to self-focus.

Now, let me qualify all of this. Just because you get sick or have a headache in the midst of a spiritual struggle does not necessarily mean that a demon is involved. But this is where awareness is essential. One thing that will never hurt is to pray. One thing that can hurt is to assume that it’s just another physical ailment.

Pray and use your Christ-given authority over it, then if it persists, take precautions that may involve seeing a physician.

Another element that our Enemy enjoys using is distractions, e.g., a child who had been enjoying his day, all of a sudden starts throwing a tantrum. Or you get the thought that you could turn on the TV for just a little while, resulting in spending the day doing nothing but placating a desire for entertainment. (Nothing wrong with entertainment if it’s not interfering with your purpose.)

It will never hurt to pray and verbally use your authority in Christ to protect your children, your spouse, and your environment. Use spoken authority to keep the hands of the Enemy from being effective in pulling you away from what God is calling you to do.

Footnote 14:

Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom:

Here we have yet another gift from God the Holy Spirit. This is a gift or a happenstance that can occur out of the blue. Suddenly you have insight into another human being or a situation. But with knowledge comes responsibility. God may speak into your spirit that a certain individual is going through a certain circumstance. Don’t think that God gave you that tidbit of knowledge so that you can sit on it. God is not a gossip! If He speaks a word of knowledge to you, pray about what you’ve learned. Ask the Lord if He wants you to approach the individual that He spoke about. Maybe He wants that person to know that He cares, and speaking to that person about something you should have no knowledge about may be the key that opens the door. It may be that a person is going through a difficult time and has no way of knowing if he’ll make it through. God may want you to just let that person know that God sent you to speak comfort to him; that he’s not forgotten.

Words of wisdom work as a gift in a similar fashion, but this involves wisdom from God that is imparted to another individual (or even to one’s self). God gives wisdom to those who ask, according to the book of James. Sometimes, though, God uses another individual to speak wisdom into a person’s life. Why? God knows the impact it will have when a willing vessel (you or I) explains what God has given him to share.

The point is that God can use these gifts however He wishes, but you’ve got to be willing to ask for, and operate in, these gifts.

Footnote 15:

Checks in the spirit:

Checks within the human spirit are a sort of interruption in our comfort when we’re about to do something that the Holy Spirit wants to keep us from doing. In my own experience I feel it as a sort of grab in my chest. It is sudden and very recognizable. It’s enough to get me to stop what I’m doing (or about to do) and reflect or even pray. It’s comforting to me to know that I’m being watched out for by God, even when I don’t know the reason for his sudden “No” or “Don’t.”

A check in one’s spirit is something that many don’t want to receive. In our lives we tend to think that we’ve already got too many restrictions, and the last thing that we want or need is God officially and directly saying no to us about something.

However, if we are willing to accept two things, we’ll be just fine with these checks: The first is to draw near enough to God that you could feel the checks when they are given by the Spirit. If you are willing to have an intense relationship with God in which He keeps proving Himself and His love to you, you’ll yearn daily to experience His presence. Second, understand that God is all about your protection, not about chains. He’s not looking to bind you up so that you can’t enjoy the life He has given you. However—and this is vitally important—He does expect you to understand that He is the God and you are the creation. We are not here for ourselves, we are here for Him. And part of being here for Him is letting Him love us with His guidance and protection while we pursue the purposes for which we were created.