Further Points Upon The ‘Refraction’ Of The Sky Father – With Particular Emphasis Upon Zeus, Hades, Poseidon

I should clarify that I'm not posting this with an intent of having a go at the gentleman who'd raised the counterclaim (hence, in part, why I've anonymized his comment in the cap below) - but rather, because various of the elements in my reply might be of a broader interest (the situation as to … Continue reading Further Points Upon The ‘Refraction’ Of The Sky Father – With Particular Emphasis Upon Zeus, Hades, Poseidon

The Indo-European Propitiation Of Persephone-Kali [Part One: The Return]

Ours is a glorious path. One which has set forth for the pious engagement with the ancient, the archaic, the ancestral … yet which has also undertaken to exist not merely within museums, but out amidst the modern world. Which does not, of course, mean that it ought be confused for something fundamentally "modern". And … Continue reading The Indo-European Propitiation Of Persephone-Kali [Part One: The Return]

‘For Want Of A Horse’ – On The Proper Perspective Upon Ritual Offerings And Why The ‘Asva’ Of ‘Asvamedha’ Is Held To Be Necessary As Same

Over the weekend, we had received a question from a reader as to the reasoning underpinning the Asvamedha - the Horse Sacrifice. Specifically, why would one offer a horse given the high value of such a creature in the late Bronze Age / early Iron Age milieu.  Now, several people proffered suggestions as to the answer here, … Continue reading ‘For Want Of A Horse’ – On The Proper Perspective Upon Ritual Offerings And Why The ‘Asva’ Of ‘Asvamedha’ Is Held To Be Necessary As Same

On Indo-European Solar Warfare – The Sura Army of the Sun

Earlier this week we marked the Solstice - Summer, if you're here in the Southern Hemisphere, Winter if you're in the Northern.  It therefore seemed an apt occasion to post this exquisite art - illustrating the Army of the Sun God setting a host of demons to flight.  Now, the nature of this conflict is … Continue reading On Indo-European Solar Warfare – The Sura Army of the Sun

On Indo-European Solar Warfare – An Over-View

This week just gone marked Diwali (Deepavali) - the rather aptly translated 'Festival of Lights'. Which, as seemingly every once-over-lightly-for-a-Western-audience writeup seeks to swiftly remind us, exalts the 'Victory of Light over Darkness". It's a simple enough concept - and has near-infinite potential saliency (c.f., for instance the Solar Eclipse occurring in Svati immediately the … Continue reading On Indo-European Solar Warfare – An Over-View

A People Of Ash And Fury – On The Divinely Arboreal Genesis Of The Indo-Europeans

In recent days, our attention had been drawn to a most remarkable occurrence within the Þorleifs þáttr jarlaskálds wherein, as our learned associate, Gottfried Yann Karlssohn (who had drawn our attention to it in the first place) had phrased it - we find "a Norse king using incantations to animate a trémaðr (treeman), giving him a … Continue reading A People Of Ash And Fury – On The Divinely Arboreal Genesis Of The Indo-Europeans

Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres

Something a perspicacious associate [O.R.] observed is that even though each Indo-European mythic sphere may have its Sky Father deific in prominent pride of place … it is only amidst the Hellenic and Roman perspectives that we actually find 'Dyaus Pitar' (or, if we are being properly PIE : *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) theonymics in prominent usage and … Continue reading Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres

Eight Forms And Energies Of Shiva As Sky Father

It is Wednesday - Woden's Day. And so therefore, as has become our tradition, we present an illumination of Eight Forms or Facings of the God, as attested in archaic Vedic scripture.  Now I have chosen this particular set of eight, because they represent a most useful conceptual framework with which to link various Aspects and … Continue reading Eight Forms And Energies Of Shiva As Sky Father