Yet if I am right … where is the Underworld association for Remus? Answer? Right there in the Romans' own knowledge of their ancestral religion. Lemuria, to be precise. The occurrence each year wherein the Lemures - the Shades of the Dead - come back to the mortal city. Ovid identifies "Lemuria" as having etymological … Continue reading Sons of the Sun Part IV: Romulus And Remus Reconstructed: The Remurian Empire of the Underworld – Rome’s Dark Reflection [Section 2]
Ancestors
The Indo-European Man – Sons of the Sun [Part II]: Yama And Manu – Firstborn of the Indo-Aryans
So, with that in mind - let us take a brief look at probably the oldest Indo-European origin myth that has come down to us: the Vedic understanding, which is to my mind also the 'cleanest' and easiest to directly understand. Both due to its age, and the strong presence of pretty much all the … Continue reading The Indo-European Man – Sons of the Sun [Part II]: Yama And Manu – Firstborn of the Indo-Aryans
“An Image, Frozen In Time” – What Pazyryk Scythian Tombs Can Tell Us About Our Indo-European Ancestors
This is quite simply one of the most chad-looking images I have seen; a representation of one of the Scythian nobles buried at Pazyryk in the Siberian East, about two and a half thousand years ago. Now, the Pazyryk find itself is quite fascinating - in no small part because the freezing of the site … Continue reading “An Image, Frozen In Time” – What Pazyryk Scythian Tombs Can Tell Us About Our Indo-European Ancestors
AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part Three: The River Of Stars
To Return to the Skies Above Us, then, there are two important points to be raised ... points upon a single shaft, much like Hades' Bident. The first of these is the nature of the Path to which Yama is said to have held the noble, sacred, and solemn duty of being the first being … Continue reading AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part Three: The River Of Stars
AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part Two: Paramevyoman to Patalaloka – ‘Outer Heaven’ to ‘Under World’
Often, when we are thinking about the afterlife, and the Realm of the Dead, our thoughts quite understandably go downhill. That's what a "Katabasis" means, after all - "Going Under". Because we are anticipating that we are heading for some form of "Underworld". Which is not entirely inaccurate, and nor should it be dismissed as … Continue reading AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part Two: Paramevyoman to Patalaloka – ‘Outer Heaven’ to ‘Under World’
AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part One: Death Is Just The Beginning
The nature of many an Indo-European sacred text about the Afterlife, the Underworld (and, indeed, just about everything else - but those subjects especially), is that it is a combination of "Preview" and "Guidebook". It's possible to do a full-on travelogue which goes into often quite (gruesomely) graphic detail, of course; but for various reasons - … Continue reading AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part One: Death Is Just The Beginning
AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part Prelude: The Path Of The Dead Is Open
RV X 14 - Yama [Griffith Translation]1 HONOUR the King with thine oblations, Yama, Vivasvān's Son, who gathers men together,Who travelled to the lofty heights above us, who searches out and shows the path to many.2 Yama first found for us a place to dwell in: this pasture never can be taken from Us.Men born … Continue reading AN INDO-EUROPEAN GUIDE-BOOK OF THE DEAD – Part Prelude: The Path Of The Dead Is Open
The Departure And Arrival Of No Moon – Sarva Pitru Amavasya And Devi Mahalaya
Tonight marks the last night of Pitru Paksha - the Fortnight of the Ancestors; and is also the MahaLaya event which precedes and forms a bridge with the NavRatri (Nine Nights) of Goddess Durga yet to come. The purposes of this occasion, then, whether regarded as Sarva Pitru Amavasya, or as the 'prelude' to NavRatri, … Continue reading The Departure And Arrival Of No Moon – Sarva Pitru Amavasya And Devi Mahalaya
A Lesser Son Of Greater ForeFathers – A Thought On The Last Night Of Pitru Paksha
"To be Indo-European, I think, means to be acutely conscious that one is the lesser son of Greater (Fore)Fathers." Tonight marks the end of Pitru Paksha - the Fortnight of the Ancestors; and that maxim, which I've been turning over in my head ever since it first ... turned up therein, seemed an appropriate thought … Continue reading A Lesser Son Of Greater ForeFathers – A Thought On The Last Night Of Pitru Paksha
Immortalizing, Through Pitru Paksha
"'Some people say you achieve immortality through your children,' said the minstrel. ‘Yeah?’ said Cohen. ‘Name one of your great-granddads, then.'" - Terry Pratchett Sunday marked the start of Pitru Paksha - the Fortnight of the Ancestors, wherein the borders between worlds are regarded as being thinner and more insubstantial than usual; and the Pitrs … Continue reading Immortalizing, Through Pitru Paksha