We had encountered this twitter thought from an occasional correspondent of Anglo-Saxon extraction, and had a few thoughts in its relation, that I shall transcribe here: "Interesting question. I would perhaps take a look at how this is thought about in the Maori world here in NZ - because yeah, similar concerns around 'these are … Continue reading On The Display Of The Ancestral Dead In Contemporary Museums – A Few Thoughts
Ancestors
Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration [Extract 2]: Part Two – The Dread Deifics Of The Catuspatha
Part Two: The Dread Deifics Of The Catuspatha [Art by Rupam Raaj R.; and we are having Rudra in amidst a Smashana because we are unable to find good art of Him at the Crossroads directly. Yet for reasons we shall get into in due course - well, the two spaces are somewhat coterminous] Now, … Continue reading Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration [Extract 2]: Part Two – The Dread Deifics Of The Catuspatha
Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration
It fascinates me how our various Indo-European religions 'interlock'. Both in terms of the way that the same (or highly similar) elements co-occur in recognizable format across various of these, even separated by millennia or many thousands of kilometers; yet also in the way that a fulsome understanding of one can help to 'unlock' the … Continue reading Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration
On The Army of Kali
Finger-Snapping Intensifies Kali - and Dakinis , striding forth from the Smashana (Cremation Ground). We would, perhaps, suggest that this is a 'Smashana *krewh₂-' As in a 'Crew' … but using that particular Proto-Indo-European term which stands for 'Cold Blood' (in contrast to *h₁ésh₂r̥ - 'hot-blood', 'alive-blood'). This informs Sanskrit 'Kravya' (क्रव्य - 'raw flesh', … Continue reading On The Army of Kali
On Why Gods Are Gods – A Response To A Question
Earlier this evening, I was asked to contribute my thoughts on a frequently occurrent question - "What makes a God a God?" Now in this day and age of ever-shifting meanings and the relativism that enables the worship of literal out-and-out demons or flawed mortal would-be 'messiahs' in personality-cults across the land, it is a … Continue reading On Why Gods Are Gods – A Response To A Question
Somavati Amavasya – Worship of Shiva and the Ancestors on the Monday of the Dark Moon
Today is Monday - Lord Shiva's Day; however it is also Amavasya - a day with special significance and potential for observances for the Dead (as we have covered in some of our previous pieces looking at the Libations to the Ancestors). What Amavasya means is the 'Dark' point of the Moon's 28-day cycle - … Continue reading Somavati Amavasya – Worship of Shiva and the Ancestors on the Monday of the Dark Moon
Excerpt From A Letter Unsent – On The Manifestation Of The Animal Forms Of Fylgja And Vahana
[Author's Note: The following is an extract from a rather personal letter I'd written some years ago. It attempts to establish a unified metaphysics for the presentations of the animal forms of the Fylgia of humans, the Vahanas of the Gods, etc. Its 'core idea' is that the essence-tial spark of the nature at the … Continue reading Excerpt From A Letter Unsent – On The Manifestation Of The Animal Forms Of Fylgja And Vahana
The Indo-European Queen of the Dead – A Bridging-Place Between Pitru Paksha And NavRatri
Pitru Paksha - the Fortnight of the Ancestors - is nearly at a close ; and immediately after it comes NavRatri - the Nine Nights of the Mother Goddess. The former, is when the veils between the worlds are thinner, and one's ancestors (Pitrs - etymologically cognate with 'Fathers') are able to come and visit, to receive … Continue reading The Indo-European Queen of the Dead – A Bridging-Place Between Pitru Paksha And NavRatri
The Indo-European Death And Resurrection Show – A Remarkable Persistence Even At The Periphery Of Modern (Myth)Understanding
The recent Pew Research Forum analysis of religion in India makes for interesting reading. One point which has attracted some surprise is the finding that apparently 'only' 40% of Hindus really believe in Reincarnation (as compared, as a point of interest, to 27% of Indian Muslims, 29% of Indian Christians, 18% of Indian Sikhs, 18% … Continue reading The Indo-European Death And Resurrection Show – A Remarkable Persistence Even At The Periphery Of Modern (Myth)Understanding
An Indo-European Guide-Book of the Dead – As Massively Summarized For An Eleven Year Old, Apparently
Over the weekend, I somehow wound up called upon to explain how Indo-European eschatology and metempsychosis works … to an associate's 11 year old niece. Who wanted a reasonably comprehensive explication. I still massively simplified things, of course, because there was also an implicit time-limit … but as it may be of more general usage/interest … Continue reading An Indo-European Guide-Book of the Dead – As Massively Summarized For An Eleven Year Old, Apparently
arya-akasha 