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

The Duality Of Light And Dark – A Modern Representation Of Indo-European Divinity

Alright, I can finally post this ! HC got back to me mid-week with the 'other half' of his conceptual piece. What he's chosen to illustrate here are two 'sides' or 'facings' to Indo-European Divinity - and I say Indo-European, because he's done a fantastic job of drawing together iconographic elements from multiple Indo-European cultures … Continue reading The Duality Of Light And Dark – A Modern Representation Of Indo-European Divinity

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

Weshparkar – Vayu-The-High-Working But Also Shiva – On Funerary Stonework Of Sogdian Wirkak And Wiyusi – Arte-Facts #12

I've had this image on my mind for some days now. Both for what it represents - yet also for what it doesn't. What's been projected upon it, in other words.  Now, as for the former - it's a representation of the Sogdian deific, Vesparkar (also anglicized as Weshparkar, Veshparkar, Wysprkr etc.), from a fine relief … Continue reading Weshparkar – Vayu-The-High-Working But Also Shiva – On Funerary Stonework Of Sogdian Wirkak And Wiyusi – Arte-Facts #12

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

On Valaskjalf, Hlidskjalf, Paramevyoman: The Golden Throne And The Indo-European Solar Realm Of The Glorious/Ancestral Dead – The Indo-European Cosmology – A Brief Guided Tour: Part Dieux

As we have often maintained, the 'Vedic' and 'Eddic' Indo-European mythologic canons fit together exceptionally well. This does not simply mean that they are closely concordant - but also that where there are 'gaps' in our understanding in the one, we often find some element in the other which corresponds to the area that is … Continue reading On Valaskjalf, Hlidskjalf, Paramevyoman: The Golden Throne And The Indo-European Solar Realm Of The Glorious/Ancestral Dead – The Indo-European Cosmology – A Brief Guided Tour: Part Dieux

The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm

One of the more seizing figures to have captured the imagination - both ancient and modern - is the Griffin (occasionally, and to my mind superiorly, spelled 'Gryphon'). Almost everybody knows it - a creature that is simultaneously leonine and aquiline. Part Lion, part Eagle. And usually pictured by us in its heraldic form, something … Continue reading The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm