Spirit of Element, Water

[undergroundpanther]

Guys I might as well be out with it. The spirit of water has just "left the building".What we got for water now is the coarser "material water". Water with it's elemental spirit gone out of it. Material water can still quench the thirst of the material body, but for spiritual thirst slaking and teaching for water, it's all tapped out.

I knew the spiritual strength behind the element of water has been leaving for awhile. Years ago I'd invoke elements I'd hear a great rushing sound when the water came and I saw a big blue shimmering water triangle that nearly filled the room with the spiritual power of water .For the past year invoking the spirit of element water I'd get a small blue triangle. I invoked the elementals today and when I got to the West, all I got was a faint dark blue glow. No triangle form at all. This means water has broken free of the form prison the archon has forced it to be,The spirit of water is at it's true, free home.

All the other elements came, and displayed the form but water was a formless small dark blue glow, because it was absent from form.

Ever wonder why people are saying Water will become the next scarce commodity, water wars and all? Because on some level people know water's spirit was leaving.
Water's spirit is now free of the bondage to the archons of this world. Water's spirit has been trapped long ago to serve the Archon rulers of this realm and balance it for the archons so the archons could exist by parasitically feeding the consciousness energies off the spirits here it traps.. Water is no longer subjected to the bad principle's demands. Water will not be in balance,like it has been,before. We will see more severe storms,weird weather, droughts, tsunamis all sorts of out of kilter stuff will occur.How soon? I don't know how soon it will come to affect us, but it is already affecting many parts of this world...It's all happening because without water, by water I mean specifically the divine spiritual essence that makes water "alive" there is no spirit in water to make the gross material water balance. Knowing the spirits behind all the elemental forces here are all also seeking escape,as well as any spirit with gnosis is awaiting separation from this archon infested place will it's only a matter of time.
With waters's freedom for bodies this means a lack of balance is being caused by waters absence. As more of the elementals go home it will instigate further loss of elemental balance in the fake reality (this world)that is overlapping the real reality
(true spiritual home)..On the surface this looks tragic to us ,but in the real reality, it is a good thing. It means spirit is escaping from this material bondage and the conflict between these two realities in a spiritual way is advancing. And the war between two conflicting essences is really finally beginning to end..

If you invoke the spirit of the elements you might see water is just not showing up now.

And I am happy water has gone to her home, I hope I go home soon too...Lookout for omens about water or other elements going haywire. Look for changes in the way the elements behave on this world,in all their forms.. You will notice something is off.. So strange days ahead guys.

Sa SekemSophia Sahu

[Why Syzygy]

1. Thank you for this Omen.

But water cannot withdraw her spirit. She is H2O. Hydorgen and oxygen.

Maybe what you are seeing is how vast quantities of Water are being funnelled into the holes they drill for oil. I don't know it's composition. Wonder what it is.

Our planet has a built in supply of water. Otherwise it wouldn't be a planet with inhabitants.

I wonder though. Do you put water in the east? That's the sunrise, but also the sunset.
As sol moves over our planet, he leaves and comes again. The day of the Sun is upon us.

You can do this. Bless the water. Even if it is small, give it your blessing and the blessing of sol.

I see water showing up. And the reason is because sol shows up. And he gives us our blessings. And all the things we need.

His mother is the Earth. She gives birth all the time. They are trustworthy.

The sun spots might mean that sol is not very happy right now. And can we blame him?
If it takes a movement of Father Sol to change our world, are we up for that?

[lildreamer316]

2. You made me think of a song; there.

"Father Sun" by Wynnona Judd.
Sure; it's got strong Christian overtones; but I keep coming back to the fact that she said SUN instead of Son. Homage to the ancients a tad; even if she didn't mean to.

"Father Sun"

Strange imaginations, children hide your secrets well
Is it not temptation makes you kiss and makes you tell?
There's a traveller on the airwaves and he's pleading for my heart
Light up all the candles, I'm still in the dark

Hurry operator, get redemption on the line
Pull back the curtains, I think I recognize those eyes
If love is so criminal, then my penance due
'Cause I'm still holdin' on to letters written straight to you



Oh, won't you save me, father sun, father sun?
I need to tell you father sun, father sun
And now you know that you're the only one
Oh, please forgive me father sun, father sun

I said I needed you in the back of my mind
Laid the beads up on the table, right besides the wine
It seems that we say forever, but forever's just a word
"And I we'll be coming back for you," is all I heard



Please don't forget me, father sun, father sun

I think I hear him whispering
"Put your hand in mine and you won't feel a thing!"



Oh, won't you save me father sun, father sun?
I need to tell you that my life is on the run
And now you know that you're the only one
Oh, won't you save me father sun, father sun?
Oh, won't you save me father sun, father sun?

Oh, won't you save me, save me, save me, save me, save me, father sun?

[Why Syzygy]

3. LD

that is perfect. I'm going to have to Morpheus that because sounds way cool.
I just take for advantage, which maybe is my mistake..
That when people talk about the "Son" . we are really talking about the "Sun".. the SOL. ergo. Solstice. When he gets to wake up. And come back to Mother.

I'm just this pagan chick.

This is the Season when Father Sol wakes up and comes back to Bless our Mother Earth.
And so it ever is.

They have a child. Born in the spring. That's kinda whacky because it's only four months away.
But we get to live again. And celebrate new beginnings.

This is the death. But the new birth is just two weeks away.

Any other pagans in the house?

Get me a link for that song, if you can.

[lildreamer316]

4. Sure thing--

gimme a minuite.
I may need your email if you don't mind-PM it to me when you have a minuite.

An interesting note: My son was born on the Solstice in 2003. The 22nd; my water broke at exactly 2AM; which from my understanding was the exact time of the solstice.

He was born at 7PM that day.

[Matariki]

5. not my experience when evoking water.

which i do frequently. Is it possible you are experiencing a block with emotional/water issues?

or are you being poetic?

[Celebration]

6. Charging water

I put orgone back into water all the time. It's very cool. You can actually do this with intent alone, or intent with a pendulum is even easier. I use a computer program, but that is not necessary. Just make sure to put the water in glass, not plastic. You could then put your hands on it, or use a pendulum on top of it, and firmly tell the spirit of whatever you want to go back into the water. It will do it!!

You could print out one of those Emoto pictures of cyrstallization of water you can find on the internet, and sit a glass on top of it, and leave it overnight!!

Even better, take a layer of cotton on the bottom, then a layer of steel wool, then a layer of cotton, then a layer of steel wool, THEN the Emoto love picture, then a glass of water. Leave it overnight. The water will be charged.

If you get yes no answers with muscle response testing or a pendulum, compare it with water out of the tap, and you will be amazed at the difference.

You could take this water and pour it into a stream, or something, with the intent that it charge all the water that it touches.

[Pathwalker]

7. What would charging water do for plants?

Specifically, would it help a sick plant?
Threads like this are why I so love this group - I now have something new to learn about. Do you have any links to help explain "charging" water, so I don't have to bother asking the stupid questions.

As a Cancerian, I have always felt the spirit within water, and it's ability to soothe and heal. Otherwise, I am sorry to say, I don't know much else about this subject, but I would very much like to learn more. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Celebration]

8. I really don't know

I'm not much of a plant person.....but people use all sorts of orgone ideas for plants (the book The Secret Life of Plants is GREAT but I don't think in print anymore) so it might help.

I drink it!! I'm not sure exactly what it does for me but it really muscle tests strong so I just go with it.

I don't have a particular website about charging water--lots of info everywhere. But most of it is selling stuff. You'll find all sorts of things like "magnetized water" etc.

One device I have been tempted to buy is some magnets to attach to bottles of water--you twist it and it creates a magnetic vortex, charging the water by hand.

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/vortex_magnetizer.htm

Again, though, not totally necessary to have this and not necessary to buy special water. The above website is very commercial but rather interesting. Under the sacred geometry section there are some patterns that can be used to charge water. You can actually make your own homeopathic remedy this way. Think about it--all Emoto does is put the name of something on a vial of water, and oh, what a difference!! Intent, intent, intent, that is all you need.

[Why Syzygy]

9. I have been using the paper under my pillow

I'll tell you what it is... Tuberculim. My great grand mother died from TB when my grandmom was 3. You know these things are generational? My dad always tested positive for TB, but the chest x-ray showed it was not resident. But I wonder. The emotional part of TB means one is never satisfied. There is always another 'out there' that is sure to change everything. My dad fits that exactly. He could show up in one place and his first question is when are we going to leave. He put my sister in tears over it. Cannot sit still. Unfortunately, I share those traits. I have thirty internet windows open. I skip from one thing to the next, never really becoming grounded. An astrolloger might say I have an abundance of fire in my chart. But it is painful. So, I'm sleeping with Tuberculim. There are some disagreements among homeopathists whether or not the 'aggravation' is 'real'. It is. My ex's carpel tunnel was cured, but he suffered the worst night ever before it was achieved. I don't know why this is. Homeopathics work very deeply. They can change a personality. In fact, I think that's the only way they can work. We have to be healed from the inside out.

What is orgone's theory on this? Does that energy go so deep as to move things that you never thought could be moved? It isn't something to be taken lightly. I took a deep acting remedy 2.5 years ago, and it is still moving. My classical homeopathist at first did not want me to take it. I had to. I was at the end of my rope and it was the only remedy that fit. It is still moving. But I know that's for the 'cure'. Whatever has to be cleansed will be. I can try to fight it and think there's a solution here or there . in reality, it is all a healing. It is just disruptive. If one needs a total re-arrangement, then things are going to be tossed about before they settle down.

[Celebration]

14. miasms

Yes they are real!! One of the most soothing NAET treatments are for the miasmic filters. I wish I knew more about homeopathy. Just like with acupuncture, I can only muscle test it. LOL. In any case, you might try this if you are trying to clear a tubercular miasm and see if it doesn't work a little quicker--

Write on a piece of paper....tubercular miasm.......write a few things about it that are the reasons why you think you need to be treated for that--however the paper should not be greater than three by four inches or so. Be sure to use intent in writing it all down.

You could make one of those spice bottles I keep talking about-- GLASS bottle with alternating layers of steel wool (start with that at the bottom and end with REAL cotton balls (on the top).

Here is what you would do. Put one hand flat on the sheet of paper, and hold the spice bottle on top of your head, all while having someone else do light karate chops (sideways) starting at the neck and going down the the waste on the spine. The person should do it four times. The first time breathe breathe in and hold it. The next time breathe out and hold it. The next time pant. The next time breathe slowly and deeply. All the while think about the miasm and what you have written.

That *should* get rid of the miasm. It would be nice to muscle test it before and after, but I bet you will feel different. Ideally this should be sometime at the end of the day so that you can kind of rest afterwards.

Try it!! That is a sort of modified (by me) NAET way of getting rid of a miasm. NAET doesn't do the spice jar or the writing of stuff, generally.

[Why Syzygy]

15. exactly . miasm .

since your posts, I have steel wool on my shopping list. Nothing in the house like that. I always use real cotton. Synthetic is not good.

I don't know who this someone else might be to show up and help me with healing. Someone will show up. I do know at least one local healer who would do it.

I think I'm going to have to get in touch with the pendulum person I encountered at LOA.

Here is something else. I live on a large block. The apartment complex at the northwest side has had 'problems'. Most recently people yelling at children. Also the street that runs parallel carries a vast number of emergency vehicles. Sirens and horns. This is not a 'bad' part of town. Just central. But I really wish they would stop screaming. I work from home, so none of this escapes me.

Practical note: all the spice I've bought recently have been plastic bottles. But I have a nice jar that someone gave me. Had a candle in it. It was a gift of love. So would that work?

This miasm is holding me back. I can see it. Wonderful, magickal things have been happening for quite a while. But I need to be healthy to deal with Life. So weary of being ill.

Thank you for all your inspiring messages.

[Celebration]

18. A few thoughts

You can try the same thing with anything that bothers you (like noise). It may work to varying degrees. You can practice using a pendulum or your body as a pendulum and you will catch on to the yes/no thing I think.

But as you know one thing is connected to another to another to another, etc. As an example I was getting sick every friggin' time I got out in a significant amount of wind. This is bad. My husband has a fast fishing boat!! In the middle of summer I would have to huddle up under a raincoat, and put my head down just to go out in the boat. He thought I was nuts or passive aggressive or something. I just didn't want to end up sick in bed the next day.

I tried getting rid of my reaction to wind using one of those hand held fans. It didn't work. I tried it again and again and again. I could tell it didn't work because of muscle response testing. Guess what? I don't really even actually "believe" in entities, but once I got rid of some that I muscle tested that I had, my reaction to wind went away. Isn't that strange? Really really strange? So, this isn't as straightforward as I would like it to be.

You can get just about anybody to beat on your back. Or, get someone to take a picture of your back and do make believe karate chops down the picture with your finger. That should work just as well. Of course you can't hold the spice bottle and do that at the same time, while still having your hand on the paper. Haha. Just do them one after the other. Any really clean bottle will do as long as it isn't too wide.

[Why Syzygy]

19. It is a wide jar.

that's what I like about it. Pleasing shape.

What entities? It not strange. Nothing is.

I would feel safer to get a local healer to participate.

I just don't know what entities you mention. I guess, if sat out in the wind today, which is blowing from the South and really believed.

ooohh the entities. The ones who show up and instill fear and discomfort?
What is up with that. I am resolving old issues but there are new ones who . bring it on.

[Celebration]

24. jars

If you have a wide one, just create an orgone accumulator and set it beside the piece of paper you are working with. It will magnify intent. A spice bottle is about the size that is appropriate for the top of the head, but it certainly isn't necessary, only a good add on.

If you know someone who can help you with this experiment, so much the better.

I think my wind/entity thing may have been individual to me, and not necessarily able to be generalized, but I don't really know. I don't really even know exactly what entities are, or why I had them, or how they are related to wind in me. All I know is all that is gone now.

Well I think almost everything is strange, and you think nothing is. Maybe we are both right.

[Why Syzygy]

26. Yeah.

that's why I think my jar will work. :D .. You are great. Thank you.

[Why Syzygy]

10. what kind of plant is it

and why is it sick?

Not all plants need more water. I killed a whole bunch of them before I bought a very simple book to tell me what they need and don't need. Some of them will not live for me. Most of the time, I have a green thumb. Since I learned about them. I could grow the most beautiful aloe vera in Nevada, without even trying. At my former residence, rm's dad brought over a bunch of little aloe plants, which I put in larger pots, and they thrived. I tried to take a snippet with me, but it didn't want to. I tried bamboo. I finally had to give it a deserving burial because it was not happy.

Plants do best like the rest of us. When they are in conditions to be healthy, they are.
Know your plant.

But charging water certainly would not hurt.

What plant and why is it sick? Had a roommate long ago. She asked why is that plant dying? The reason was because it set on the tv, which got too hot for it. Moved the plant and it did well.
They have their needs.

This is making me think of the 'rain forests' . 'artificial' . in for example the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. It smells so good there. The orchaids grow on the trees. Their environment has been provided, so they thrive. They can't help it.

[DemExpat]

16. Yes, NB, I also find these threads so fascinating.....

and I, too, as Piscean Sun with Cancer Rising, feel a special relationship to the element of water and its spirit, although in the past few years my intellectual studies have been my priority and esoteric/spiritual studies have taken the back seat.

I also use Homeopathy for myself and my pets with sometimes astounding results, and see this mystery of imprinted water as a part of this puzzle of spirit (and healing) as well.

So many "unbelievable" aspects of the big picture that get touched on here in this group which keeps me looking here on a regular basis.

:hi:

DemEx

[Why Syzygy]

21. Hi De

miss you around here. Your homeopathy experience is expansive.

Did you get things worked out at home?

[mondo obscurius]

11. Everything is true from a point of view

Hi undergroundpanther! :hi:

I'm new to posting on DU but I've read your posts here for a while and think you always have such interesting things to say. The way I look at it is that each of us has a window to Reality and through our different gifts we each see different parts of the Reality. Sometimes it seems like we see contradictions and so somebody must be wrong. I don't think so though. I think it's because what's really going on is so much more than what our human senses are capable of glimpsing. Somehow what we each see really does fit into what's going on. It's all of a part.

I like this forum because when people talk about what they know, it expands understanding for everybody else.

Out here in obscurius territory, my partner and I perform the LBRP at least twice a day, and invoke the element(s) whenever there seems to be an imbalance. It's like fine tuning the emanations flowing into our micro-worlds to keep the balance going.

For our part here, we haven't seen what you have, but that's probably because we've been activating the elements in a more intimate realm than you seem to be doing. I love that vivid description of the water quarter. "big blue shimmering water triangle that nearly filled the room". Wow!

When I call the element of water to banish or invoke, I often see a brilliant shimmering ocean of blue and white extending all the way out to the far reaches of the stars. When I pause and look into it, always I see the most amazing joyful dolphins and whales swimming, dancing, leaping and splashing in the brilliant water light. The universe is a big place and the waterelement is so much more than H2O. I know you know it. But I always remember, in a way it's the sum total of all the energy, forces and qualities of the universe that have the watery attributes.

But also can imagine very well what you must be seeing. Maybe what has to happen now is that humans have to grow up and be responsible. To learn to infuse our planet with the blessed intelligence that the automatic elementals have always contributed before throughout earth time.

My partner and I use quartz crystal to align and harmonize the water we drink. I take a crystal, cleanse/neutralize it, then we charge it with a talismanic ritual in different ways depending on what we need or want - healing, vitality, wakefulness, joy, whatever. Then we put it in our water dispenser. It seems to "wake up" the water abit and give it back some of the life that seems to be ebbing from our water sources these days.

Anyway, that's my piece of it.

blessings of heaven and earth on ya,
mo

(Oops! Hope this wasn't too long!)

[Why Syzygy]

12. I feel humble

:hi: so glad you are here. You infused the subject with a much clearer message. Thank you.

[mondo obscurius]

13. hello there votesomemore

:pals:

[DemExpat]

17. Hi, Mondo obscurius!

Welcome.

I so agree totally with your first paragragh here:

The way I look at it is that each of us has a window to Reality and through our different gifts we each see different parts of the Reality. Sometimes it seems like we see contradictions and so somebody must be wrong. I don't think so though. I think it's because what's really going on is so much more than what our human senses are capable of glimpsing. Somehow what we each see really does fit into what's going on. It's all of a part.

More ratio-guided people think that those of us here are such gullible, undiscerning, even uneducated individuals, but I know better......I remain wide open to any knowledge and experience that is manifested as a potential piece of the puzzel - while scanning this earth and my life for the pieces to fit in a "WHOLE" has been my basic drive in my life.

Welcome and :hug:

DemEx

[mondo obscurius]

20. Hi DemEx

thanks for the welcome. :-)

Yeah. It's too bad about that. People tend to make all kinds of ridiculous judgements when they forget to take the time to care and (try) to listen to one another.

"I know better......I remain wide open to any knowledge and experience that is manifested as a potential piece of the puzzel - while scanning this earth and my life for the pieces to fit in a "WHOLE" has been my basic drive in my life."

Beautiful.

No doubt you have a rich heart-life, if maybe a bit difficult at times, eh?
:hug:
mo

[I Have A Dream]

22. Happy to have you with us, mondo!

:hi:

[mondo obscurius]

23. blessings on ya

:hi:

[Celebration]

25. very cool the way you charge water

One by one, we may all be able to change the world with this. Quartz crystals are really good for use in pendulums, for use in magnifying intent--basically they accumulate orgone and discharge it.

I am glad that we are discussing this topic. I actually have a large glass water dispenser with dolphins etched on it. So I put water in it and charge it, and use it for drinking water. It is just that sometimes I forget. I need to stop forgetting.

Yes, the spirit can go out of water, but it can easily be put back in.

[undergroundpanther]

27. Thanks to the Obscure!

Back at Cha :hi:

I'm new to posting on DU but I've read your posts here for a while and think you always have such interesting things to say. The way I look at it is that each of us has a window to Reality and through our different gifts we each see different parts of the Reality.

That is true for the most part. But there is some consensus type realities, (like if you are driving,don't pass on a double yellow line on a road or whap!)And there is a "ground of being", sorta the base "pattern " or the screen upon which what we see is moving on.

Sometimes it seems like we see contradictions and so somebody must be wrong. I don't think so though. I think it's because what's really going on is so much more than what our human senses are capable of glimpsing. Somehow what we each see really does fit into what's going on. It's all of a part.

Yep. That is why I see what I see and I stick to it and don't let others tell me what I should or should not see.

Out here in obscurius territory, my partner and I perform the LBRP at least twice a day, and invoke the element(s) whenever there seems to be an imbalance. It's like fine tuning the emanations flowing into our micro-worlds to keep the balance going.

I do the LBRP once a day,but not'religiously' A few years back I did it more often but now I feel I don't need to as much. I do the "feline Resh."tho.
http://www.watson.org/~hkeith/rituals.html

For our part here, we haven't seen what you have, but that's probably because we've been activating the elements in a more intimate realm than you seem to be doing.

I go as intimate as I need to go at the time.Sometimes I see water animals undines and all, swimming around. Other times I hear waves and feel something like ocean spray on my skin.(I get very hot doing ritual because of the energy) Other times a shimmery blue triangle that makes the whole room glow blue,
BUt this was the first time I got the faint dull blue glow. It kinda blew my mind a bit, but I knew it was coming, I spoke to water and I had dreams about water..And I was warned of this by the Water Panthers, of all places last year in the shower that day he warned me about the tsunami in december too..I just didn't think he would be so urgent, Now I know why. Michipeshu came and told me. I have been hearing the words Exarp Balto, or Water/Justice. Justice? Why is Water calling for Justice against whom or what? There are forces that manipulate us that try to control through us that alot of people would rather pretend isn't there. They avoid looking at this by playing a cosmic self blame game or inflating themselves up as if they were gods who forgot they were god.
It is a kind of projection and guilt thing, and as far as I can tell we as humans are not in as much control as we like to think we are. So for like 6 weeks prior to this last invoking I'd hear Exarp Balto, just out of the blue.Believe me when I invoke I get answers. Sometimes I get letters appearing on my retinas in hebrew ,enochian greek, hieroglyphs or symbols so I have a few good translation and numeric printouts I made and other correspondences and symbology books.Don't know what I'd do without the handy dandy 777.I always carry a pad and pen on me to write it down if I see these kinds off things lighting up on my eyes.It can happen at any time and it is freaky how it spells words and it has clear numeric values.

I love that vivid description of the water quarter. "big blue shimmering water triangle that nearly filled the room". Wow!
When I pause and look into it, always I see the most amazing joyful dolphins and whales swimming, dancing, leaping and splashing in the brilliant water light.

That "water light" is what the spirit of water IS. Not the H20 of material water. Material water corresponds to the way our body houses our spirit(s)


The universe is a big place and the water element is so much more than H2O. I know you know it.

You bet!

Maybe what has to happen now is that humans have to grow up and be responsible. To learn to infuse our planet with the blessed intelligence that the automatic elementals have always contributed before throughout earth time.

We humans tend to blame ourselves for shit we can't control too much.We make ourselves responsible when there is no way we can know what responsibility may entail. We are grandiose and self persecutory sometimes.We like to think all will is free will and love will prevail. Sometimes things are happening that are NOT of our doing,or in our control or have anything to do with us. Humans tend to shrink or over-expand their egos as if that explains things. Sometimes it isn't about us. There is a war of essences, a war of heavens. Spirit of Water separating from H20 is something in a far greater plan, from realms far more powerful than ourselves.



My partner and I use quartz crystal to align and harmonize the water we drink. I take a crystal, cleanse/neutralize it, then we charge it with a talismanic ritual in different ways depending on what we need or want - healing, vitality, wakefulness, joy, whatever. Then we put it in our water dispenser. It seems to "wake up" the water a bit and give it back some of the life that seems to be ebbing from our water sources these days.

I just Reiki it or Shen it or give it a good Zap, put in a bit of juice and it's ready to go.I have a vogel crystal (some guy at a gem show I never met just walked up to me and gave it to me,and told me to keep it. I never got his name, I had this happen several times in my life each time it was different strangers. First gift from a stranger was a real tiger tooth capped in steel and on a steel chain, got that when I was 6 on a trip to Virginia, some guy came up to me at a gas station , he put it in my hand told me to keep it,I got a gold coin impression depicting Diana Luciferi on her winged panther that was actually real gold, and a hawk feather, and a few raw copper scales of missipeshu from lake Erie, among other things) I use the vogel to harmonize local ponds, rivers and the water mains I pass by while I go walking around outside, or to help with distance healing when I see an accident.Otherwise I carry it in my pouch.
Sa Sekhem Sophia Sahu to you !!

[Pathwalker]

28. I just found this - it MUST be related somehow.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2941849&mesg_id=2941849


For 20 million years, the white-fin dolphin, or baiji, swam China's longest river, the Yangtze. But a few years of breakneck development, overfishing and a massive increase in shipping have reduced sightings of this shy, graceful creature to zero.

A recent expedition failed to spot a single Lipotes vexillifer, and now conservationists fear the almost-blind, long-beaked animal is gone for good, the first big aquatic mammal to become extinct due to human activity.

"We have to accept the fact that the baiji is extinct. It is a tragedy, a loss not only for China, but for the entire world," said the joint leader of the expedition, August Pfluger, an economist who runs the Swiss-based baiji.org, an environmental group dedicated to saving the dolphins.

Scientists say the search for the dolphin will continue, even though the 30-strong team which has plied the length of the Yangtze for the past six weeks failed to sight the cetacean.

The Goddess of the river is gone. How tragic.