Now speaking of the Night's Sky - this brings us to what's probably the most 'divergent' area for our trifold TriPlanar schema. And I mean that in two senses - first, in terms of just how 'different' one of the Hellenic (and later Classical) conceptions for this Layer is as compared to 'Everybody Else' on … Continue reading TRI-LOKA : The Three Worlds Of Indo-European Cosmology – Part Three: The Dead Among The Stars
Michael Witzel
On Bowing To Gods – AND Drinking With Them !
I've had this image - and its underlying sentiment - on my mind for a few days now. It's something that often comes up in Western (neo-)pagan circles, and represents multiple layers of fundamental misapprehension about Indo-European religion. Indeed, it is very much a modern take - reflective of modern prejudices, (mis-)perceptions, and hangups - masquerading … Continue reading On Bowing To Gods – AND Drinking With Them !
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
Goddess Worship At Devi Kothi – An Expansion From William Simpson’s Painting And Journalistic Portrayal
Something I often find remarkable when looking at images and textual accounts of religious elements across the Indo-European sphere is just how … familiar they are when we actually gaze into them closely. This does not mean that they are all identically the same, of course - far from it! But it does tend to … Continue reading Goddess Worship At Devi Kothi – An Expansion From William Simpson’s Painting And Journalistic Portrayal
Against The Notion Of Gautama Buddha As A “Scythian Sage”
I recently happened across somebody sharing an excerpt from an article which claimed the Gautama Buddha to be a "Scythian Sage".There's something of a cottage industry in propounding that Buddha was Scythian - and while I don't disagree that Buddhism wound up having a lot to do with the Scythians … there's something else going … Continue reading Against The Notion Of Gautama Buddha As A “Scythian Sage”
Fundaments Of Indo-European Ritual
The following is a basic run-through of the fundaments of an Indo-European act of piety. Ostensibly, it is explication of how Vedic ritual processes work - but as Witzel (excellently) points out, it is also very much how our current-day Hindu ritual understandings work as well. I say that it presents an "Indo-European act of … Continue reading Fundaments Of Indo-European Ritual
Witzel On The Essential Coterminities Of Vedic And Later Hindu Religion
Something I have often shouted in the course of my work is the fact that Hinduism - the 'modern' Hinduism - is not some sort of 'new religion' built up atop the ruins of the old Vedic religion. People seem to think that the two things are fundamentally different, almost irreconcilable - and that even … Continue reading Witzel On The Essential Coterminities Of Vedic And Later Hindu Religion
arya-akasha 