A carved Surya from Magadha, likely about 21-22 centuries old. Now, I felt this deserved a brief commentary due to the two decidedly female figures either side of Lord Surya in the Solar Chariot. Per the Suprabedhagama and Amsumadbhedagama (manuals of Hindu iconographic depiction, inter alia) - we may find Surya flanked by Prathyusha & … Continue reading The Maricis Of Lord Surya – A Solar Warrior Women Typology ?
Dionysus
Ravens For Rudra ?
It is interesting how things work out. We have known for some time now that Lord Shiva and Odin are the same deific - expressed prominently to two broad Indo-European mytho-religious sphere : the 'Vedic' and 'Eddic', we might say. We have spent much time over the past few years tracing out the various coterminities … Continue reading Ravens For Rudra ?
The Sieger Of Forts And The Slayer Of Dragons – Several Athena Hailings & Durga Comparatively Considered
Two of the most prominent Goddess facings for the Indo-European world would have to be Durga and Pallas Athena. I have written extensively elsewhere as to various vital coterminities between Their respective theologies - however something occurred to me recently that has as-yet lain unaddressed. A similarity of these theonyms - 'Durga', and 'Pallas'. For … Continue reading The Sieger Of Forts And The Slayer Of Dragons – Several Athena Hailings & Durga Comparatively Considered
Grandfather In The Sky – An Account Of Nuristani Imro Appearing To His Shamans, Situated In Indo-European Context
It is Wednesday - Woden's Day - and therefore, something a little different. This is another excerpt from Richard Strand's interview with the Nuristani Vasi headman, Zaman Xan, in 1973. See if you notice anything … familiar sounding from a comparative Indo-European perspective: Speaking of his tribe's shamans, and their manner for encountering Imra / … Continue reading Grandfather In The Sky – An Account Of Nuristani Imro Appearing To His Shamans, Situated In Indo-European Context
On The Archaic Notion Of The Indo-European Demigod
Recently, in the course of a discussion elsewhere, an occasional correspondant - 'Indian History' on twitter - made mention of a most intriguing Sanskrit term he'd observed in a Hymnal of the RigVeda. We were discussing 'Demigods', and whether these were a more exclusively Greek / Classical phenomenon or something of a broader Indo-European provenance. … Continue reading On The Archaic Notion Of The Indo-European Demigod
On The Spurious De-Indo-European-ization Of The Gods On Wikipedia And Elsewhere
This is what we're up against. And yes, yes I know - the hazards of reading Wikipedia … but that's just it, isn't it. So many people do. The stuff they see on that website is their first (and quite frequently, last and only) meaningful introduction to a topic, its nuances and its intricacies. As … Continue reading On The Spurious De-Indo-European-ization Of The Gods On Wikipedia And Elsewhere
Artemis Orthia – The Inescapable Indo-European Goddess Of Cosmic Law ‘Midst The Mediterranean : Part Two – Tracking the Skeins of Fate Via The Golden Bowstring
A particularly intriguing resonance is pointed via Artemis' Χρυσηλακατος ('Khryselakatos' - 'of the Golden Distaff'), for whilst we are not accustomed in the mythology to perceiving Artemis as engaged in such a 'housewife' and literally 'economic' role … this is not exactly what is meant via the term in specific application to Her. The notion of … Continue reading Artemis Orthia – The Inescapable Indo-European Goddess Of Cosmic Law ‘Midst The Mediterranean : Part Two – Tracking the Skeins of Fate Via The Golden Bowstring
On The Scythian Comparative Evidence For The Identification Of Soma – An Extract From ‘The Transcendent Indo-European Typology Of The God Of Masks’
This is an extract from my (second) substantive article on the Indo-European 'Interpretatio' of Dionysus which we ran last year - this portion focusing upon the empowering elixir known variously as Soma , Kvasir , the Mead of Poetry - and how it is evident that the Indo-European traditions around this diverged, with an emphasis … Continue reading On The Scythian Comparative Evidence For The Identification Of Soma – An Extract From ‘The Transcendent Indo-European Typology Of The God Of Masks’
A Brief Comparanda On Ymir And Purusha – A Demon Dismembered versus the Sky Father As Cosmos Himself
As we have frequently noted, there are some stubborn-to-shift shibboleths within our field that, despite all available evidence to the contrary, persist well beyond reason. One of these concerns the ongoing conflationism between Purusha of the Vedic cosmology & cosmogony - and the Ymir of the Germanic accounting. Now on the surface of things, there … Continue reading A Brief Comparanda On Ymir And Purusha – A Demon Dismembered versus the Sky Father As Cosmos Himself
The ShivLing – A Guide To The Cosmos [ Glorious Modern Hindu Art (of) Post For MahaShivRatri ]
Another favourite Shaivite work of (A)Art-i for #MahaShivRatri - this depicts a ShivLing , which we might succinctly describe as a Shaivite Altar, although which has as its essence both the Axis Mundi of the universe entire and the Sthambha - the Sacrificial Post - of the Vedic religion. It is closely correlate with the … Continue reading The ShivLing – A Guide To The Cosmos [ Glorious Modern Hindu Art (of) Post For MahaShivRatri ]
arya-akasha 