Swear By The Sea, Swear By The Stars, Swear By The Sky – On The Mytholinguistics Of Varuna Neptune Ouranos

Within the realms of Indo-European mytho-theology, there are some areas wherein the paths of connectivity grow dark, occluded, hidden amidst the mists of time and conceptual space. This does not mean that they are not there - only that we aren't sure what the precise course of their path may be. And in the absence … Continue reading Swear By The Sea, Swear By The Stars, Swear By The Sky – On The Mytholinguistics Of Varuna Neptune Ouranos

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 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

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

RigVeda X 127 – Ratri (Night)

[There are many mentions for Ratri Devi in the verses of the RigVeda; but this Hymn, addressed to Ratri Herself, is unquestionably the grandest. Following on from this morning's article the coterminities of 'rulership' and 'night/darkness' in both PIE and subsequent mytholinguistics, it seemed only appropriate to present this Hymnal. This time, in three translations … Continue reading RigVeda X 127 – Ratri (Night)

NataRaja In The RigVeda – The Dance Of The Universe At CERN

The Shiva Nataraja Murti at CERN in Switzerland. I've written about the general characteristics and iconography of the Nataraja Aspect before, but I had this particular statue in mind in light of a RigVedic verse we were working with over the weekend. Now, the Nataraja at CERN is done in a style which has been … Continue reading NataRaja In The RigVeda – The Dance Of The Universe At CERN

The Tenth Day – The Death of the Demon – Dussehra / VijayaDashami

The Day after NavRatri [the 'Nine Nights' of Goddess Durga] is known as Vijaya Dashami / Dussehra - Victory on the Tenth,the Destruction of Evil. In many places, the Day is held to commemorate the Victory of Lord Rama over the demon-emperor Ravana. In others, it celebrates the Victory of Durga over Mahishasura. Others still, … Continue reading The Tenth Day – The Death of the Demon – Dussehra / VijayaDashami

SiddhiDhatri – The Final Night – Ninth of the NavaDurgas

The Ninth and Last of the Nine Nights of #NavRatri is dedicated to Ma as SiddhiDhatri - often rendered in translation as the 'Bestower of Boons', or words to that effect. And yet, while this is indeed a reasonable direct translation of SiddhiDhatri ('Siddhi' having amongst its meanings a 'Boon', often in the sense of … Continue reading SiddhiDhatri – The Final Night – Ninth of the NavaDurgas