Herakles against the Hydra, Indra against Vritra - these are surely some of the best-known mythic combats in each of the Greek/Classical and Vedic/Hindu legendariums. Similarities immediately begin to suggest themselves - clearly, each is a fight of the Thunderer/Striker against a Demon-Dragon that is to be found 'midst waters. However, there is another, less … Continue reading Hail Hydra-Slayer: On The Mythic Combat Of Herakles And Athena – Indra And Vak Saraswati, Against The Demon-Dragon Of The Water
Indra
Soma Kvasir – The Eddic-Vedic Myth Of The Meath of Poetry
Every so often, we happen across some element that is clearly the same thing across two (or more) Indo-European cultures; and which, regardless of the otherwise impressive span of distance between them (whether distance of time, or mere geography), even a lay-person can immediately grasp that we are talking about the same concept. Unfortunately, this … Continue reading Soma Kvasir – The Eddic-Vedic Myth Of The Meath of Poetry
DE-MIST-IFYING PARJANYA – DISTANCING PERKWUNOS
Ours is a complex field. And as with any sphere wherein depth, detail, and nuance swirls like mist - there are certain comfortable, complacent conceptions of things which stubbornly stick around long after they ought otherwise to have been dispensed with. The reasons for this are various - and include that certain of these 'seem' … Continue reading DE-MIST-IFYING PARJANYA – DISTANCING PERKWUNOS
ON TECHNO-THEOLOGY PART ONE
Something I have been working a bit upon over the last few months, are questions of how technological advancement are to be squared with Indo-European mytho-religion. Or, as Tristan occasionally semi-derisively terms it - my "Techno-Theology". It may seem a bit of a peculiar thing to get hung up about. After all, technological advancement has … Continue reading ON TECHNO-THEOLOGY PART ONE
MahaShivRatri And The Mytholinguistics Of War [Part 3] – The Mind, The Mania, The Manyu
[Author's Note: It is said that some efforts take on a 'mind of their own'. While this was initially intended as the third part to our MythoLinguistics of War series, with a focus more narrowly upon the strong saliency of Indo-European concepts of "Mind" and 'Spirit' with those of Warfare - as the writing progressed, … Continue reading MahaShivRatri And The Mytholinguistics Of War [Part 3] – The Mind, The Mania, The Manyu
Saraswati Puja – The Power Of The Smiter Of Foes
Yesterday (by now) marked Saraswati Puja ; and as has become my custom, I present some brief thoughts and enlightenment via way of tribute. Seems the appropriate thing to do, given the nature of the Devi in question, and customary associations of Same. And speaking of just those customary associations - it seems to me … Continue reading Saraswati Puja – The Power Of The Smiter Of Foes
Aesir-Vanir, Asura-Deva, but also A’Sura, Daeva
There's a few comparative mythographic ideas out there that are simple, intuitive, comfortable, persistent ... and downright wrong. One of these is the thorny thicket of presumptions which have grown up around three not-unrelated sets of terminology from the Vedic, Eddic, and Zoroastrian corpuses. The core of which is basically that as there was an Aesir-Vanir … Continue reading Aesir-Vanir, Asura-Deva, but also A’Sura, Daeva
ON THE MYTHOLINGUISTICS OF WAR [Part 2] – In The Divine War, The Squirrel Is (Also) The Role Of Man
[Author's Note: this piece picks up directly where Part One left off - hence the rather abrupt opening, which continues on from the last paragraph of the previous part] Now as for why *that* matters ... it is not simply an idle cosmological truth, nor a secondary commentary upon the character of Dyaus Pitar And His … Continue reading ON THE MYTHOLINGUISTICS OF WAR [Part 2] – In The Divine War, The Squirrel Is (Also) The Role Of Man
A Cut Off Horse-Head Delivers The Message
(Y)Our Ancestors, Ladies & Gentlemen!* "Most tellingly, perhaps, at the site of Potapovka (N. Krasnoyarsk Dst., near Kuybyshev on the N. Volga steppe), a unique burial has been found.6 It contains a human skeleton whose head has been replaced by a horse head; a human head lies near his feet, along with a bone pipe, … Continue reading A Cut Off Horse-Head Delivers The Message
“Einu nafni hétumk aldregi / síz ek með folkum fór” – “By one name I have never been known / since I went among the people”
Earlier this week, one of our associates - who's a good guy, although we don't always agree - put up a thought about comparative Indo-European theology. It included the following: "All IE religions have a sky father, Earth mother and twin Gods. But, that doesn't mean those Gods aren't sovereign entities, uniquely different from … Continue reading “Einu nafni hétumk aldregi / síz ek með folkum fór” – “By one name I have never been known / since I went among the people”
arya-akasha 