obtained physical readings for their daughter on a variety of childhood ailments, including an unusual amount of hair that grew across the back of the child’s neck and shoulders. As she grew to adulthood, [1521] maintained an interest in spirituality and would study both Catholicism and Judaism (her husband’s religion).
At one point, [1521] became a very successful newspaper reporter. One of the last reports on file states that she and her husband had two sons and that she had just been accepted to law school.
Apsafar
Luke 2:7Case 1196
Although not named in the Bible, Edgar Cayce stated that the owner of the inn to whom Joseph and the expectant mother had come for shelter was named Apsafar. (He was also given the name Abel-Tean, which may be accounted for by the fact that during this time rich with Roman, Hebrew, and Arabic customs many individuals possessed more than one name.) Rather than being cruel and turning the couple aside because there were no more rooms, as is related in the Bible, Cayce stated that Apsafar was actually an Essene who had been advised by the Essene leaders that Joseph and Mary would arrive. In order to protect the couple (and keep them from “the rabble” who had already taken up residence in the inn), Apsafar directed them to the very place of safety that had already been prepared for them.
In 1936, a fifty-eight-year-old railway commercial agent contacted Edgar Cayce about a health condition. In all, he would receive more than a dozen physical readings about his stiff joints, his problems with eliminations, and the pains in his abdomen. The condition would later be diagnosed as cholecystitis. When he obtained a life reading, he was told that he possessed high mental abilities and was swayed by both duty and sentiment. An emotionally passionate individual, he could be quick to anger but was just as quick to forgive. His life reading provided a number of past-life experiences.
During the time of the American Revolution, [1196] had served as a quartermaster for stores and supplies. Extremely helpful to his fellow soldiers, at the time he had also shown kindness and fellowship to any enemy that had been captured and held. He was encouraged to continue this manner of dealing with people which was best phrased as, “As ye do it unto these, the least of thy brethren, ye do it unto me.” Previously, in France, he had assisted individuals in his capacity as one who planned routes, roads, and excursions into surrounding territories, often bringing “greater convenience” to isolated places. In an earlier life, he had been a leader of caravans involved with exchanging goods between Egyptian and Persian lands. In another incarnation in Egypt, he had also served in the capacity of counselor.
His previous lives had caused him to love travel, to desire to open up lines of communications among peoples, and to provide individuals with greater conveniences and material things in their home. He was told that he had been the innkeeper to whom Joseph and Mary had come when she was about to give birth:
Much of that as has been recorded as we find is not so well, nor in keeping with that the entity did then—as Apsafar; who was of the Essenes, though of a Jewish descent, though a combination of the Jewish and the Grecian.
For the entity then made a study of those peoples, knew of those things that had been foretold by the teachers of the Essenes, and made all preparations as near in keeping with what had been foretold as possible.
1196-2
During that same incarnation, Apsafar had often served as a counselor to those who sought advice regarding how to best deal with the various groups and political influences of the time. In that experience, his present wife had also been his daughter and she had been among the first to see the baby Jesus. Finally, [1196] was told that his talents in the present lay in communications or commerce and trade. He could excel in the line of imports and have a tremendous influence in the lives of many people.
After the reading, Mr. [1196] reported, “It is very, very interesting. Strange to say, often I have thought that I had at some time, at some place, known my present wife.” Both he and his wife were thrilled with the information.
Follow-up reports indicate that in 1948 he visited A.R.E. and in 1952 wrote to inquire about information in the readings for a sinus problem he was experiencing. The last file notation is from 1959 when he submitted a change of address. No additional information is on file.
Ashtueil
Matthew 2Case 256
According to the New Testament, Wise Men journeyed from the East following a star which they believed heralded the birth of the Christ child. King Herod had heard of them and summoned them to his court, requesting that once the child was discovered they tell him where the infant might be found. The Wise Men continued their journey to Bethlehem, found the babe, and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Afterward, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod; therefore, they traveled back to their country by another route. Although they were not specifically named in the Bible, Edgar Cayce gave two individuals life readings and stated that each had been one of the Wise Men: Ashtueil and Achlar. (See also “Achlar.”)
An accounting teacher was told that he had exceptional abilities that could be applied in the present. He could use his talent with mathematics to excel in boat building, architecture, or aeronautics. Innately, he also possessed an aptitude for numerology, astrology, and astronomy that could be used to assist others. His past incarnations included an English monk during the Crusades. From that lifetime he had also possessed a talent with numbers and stars. In ancient Egypt he had been a mathematical genius who had studied the skies and was told, because of that incarnation, he was one of the few individuals alive who could understand Einstein’s theory of relativity. He was also informed that he had been the Wise Man who had offered the gift of frankincense to the baby Jesus:
In the one before this we find the entity was among those who were of the Wise Men coming into Jerusalem and to Bethlehem when the Master came into the earth. The entity then in the name Ashtueil, coming in from the mountains of what is now known as Arabia and India. The entity gained through this period in pointing out that through the various forces as were added in the experiences of man with that creation of forces necessary to keep the balance in the universal forces, the earth must bring forth that that would make man’s balance of force with the Creative Energy as one, and the Son of Man appeared. The entity brought the frankincense and gave same to the Master at that period.
256-1
His talents lay in numbers, astrology, and in facilitating the mental abilities of others. Mr. [256] was encouraged to become the astrologer for Cayce’s Association, providing progressive charts for the Association’s membership. Over the years, he obtained a number of readings and became active in the Search for God® study group program. He requested readings for members of his family and married in 1937 at the age of thirty-nine. Unfortunately, three years later, Mr. [256], who had apparently been working on his car, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. His sister remained convinced that the death was not completely accidental and that someone had killed him. She wrote Mr. Cayce in 1941 to tell him that her dead brother had communicated with her, stating that he was doing fine and wished her to express his love and blessings to those he had known in life.
Barak
Judges 4, 5; Hebrews 11:32-34Case 1710
Barak was a warrior who became the most important ally to Deborah, a prophetess and judge for Israel, in the struggle against the Canaanites. Barak was summoned by Deborah to bring ten thousand men to Mount Tabor in order to fight against the Canaanites. He agreed under the condition that she come with him. Deborah accompanied him and Barak’s forces proved superior.
A
