Beautiful rendition of the Kouretes (Curetes) carrying out Their Dance about the newborn youthful Zeus (the infant at the base - there's a tripartite Thunderbolt behind Him also). Their Dance with its noise was undertaken to shield Zeus from Kronos - It was a … Safety Dance Now, I didn't just post this in order … Continue reading The Kouretes And The Rudras
Roar
For Pratyangira – Roaring Goddess of the Counter-Fire
A murti of the fearsome Goddess[-form], Pratyangira - a theonymic we would be tempted to translate as "Return Fire!" She is regarded as Goddess of the Atharva Veda via Atharvana Bhadrakali - and also linked to Kali through the Narasimhika ('Heroic Lioness' / 'Lion-(Wo)Man') encountered in the Sri Kalika Sahasranama stotram of MahaKalaBhairava : and … Continue reading For Pratyangira – Roaring Goddess of the Counter-Fire
Dyaus Draconis – The Dread Dragon Forms of the Indo-European Sky Father [ Part One – Of Grave Wolves And Flashing Eyes : The Odinic Ophidian Observed ]
Recently, we had marked MahaShivRatri - the Great Night of Shiva. And therefore, as has become our custom, we present a devotional tribute (A)Arti-cle. An effort that is, at once, intended to explore a facet of Him (as the Hindu Shiva) - and yet also cast a broader illumination upon that same dimension in relation … Continue reading Dyaus Draconis – The Dread Dragon Forms of the Indo-European Sky Father [ Part One – Of Grave Wolves And Flashing Eyes : The Odinic Ophidian Observed ]
Adorned By The Mantle Of Fire And The Masque Of Death
A fitting image, we had felt, to resonate with a figure encountered at various points in our work over this past year, and that we might perhaps think of as something of a 'Para-Kali' or even 'Proto-Kali' (and, of course, Chandika / Chamunda, and Durga, are also heavily in-mind here for reasons that ought prove … Continue reading Adorned By The Mantle Of Fire And The Masque Of Death
Chamunda – Brief Conceptual Resonancies For The Storm Facing Of Wrathful Sky Divinity
It is Friday - Devi's Day - And so therefore, as has become our custom, we present a brief commentary to go with a beautiful work of (A)Arti-fice ... In this case, a fine sandstone sculpture, about a thousand years old. Something which manages to convey a sense of Her 'Forcefulness', Her 'Essence' ... even … Continue reading Chamunda – Brief Conceptual Resonancies For The Storm Facing Of Wrathful Sky Divinity
‘Send the Wolves’ – Demons And Demon-Worshippers Driven Out From The Vedic Sacred Space By The Howling Hounds Of Heaven : An Exaltation !
Ever since I first read of it, this Vedic myth (and ritual operation) has resonated most potently within my mind. It deals with an 'exorcism' of sorts. One wherein a coterie of 'priests of demons' being fought by Indra are hurled into the howling demesne that is as the 'Gates of the Underworld' - the … Continue reading ‘Send the Wolves’ – Demons And Demon-Worshippers Driven Out From The Vedic Sacred Space By The Howling Hounds Of Heaven : An Exaltation !
Sālāvṛka – The Wolves of the Temple, the Enclosure And Ancestral Warding – ‘Cruel Sanction’ Meted Out Via The Howling Hounds Of Heaven [ Excerpt IV From ‘ On The Wolves Of Rudra – The Terrific, Well-Storied Wolves And Wolf Forms Of The Indo-European Sky Father ]
Over the past several weeks, we have been running a series of excerpts from our ' On The Wolves Of Rudra – The Terrific, Well-Storied Wolves And Wolf Forms Of The Indo-European Sky Father '. The first and second of these sought to briefly examine Apollo Lykeios and the Wolf That Stalks The Stars . … Continue reading Sālāvṛka – The Wolves of the Temple, the Enclosure And Ancestral Warding – ‘Cruel Sanction’ Meted Out Via The Howling Hounds Of Heaven [ Excerpt IV From ‘ On The Wolves Of Rudra – The Terrific, Well-Storied Wolves And Wolf Forms Of The Indo-European Sky Father ]
On The Army of Kali
Finger-Snapping Intensifies Kali - and Dakinis , striding forth from the Smashana (Cremation Ground). We would, perhaps, suggest that this is a 'Smashana *krewh₂-' As in a 'Crew' … but using that particular Proto-Indo-European term which stands for 'Cold Blood' (in contrast to *h₁ésh₂r̥ - 'hot-blood', 'alive-blood'). This informs Sanskrit 'Kravya' (क्रव्य - 'raw flesh', … Continue reading On The Army of Kali
The Crows Of Kali
For Kali Jayanti - a Crow. Now, of course, I am indulging myself here by presenting a Crow as Devotee to Her … yet there is actually a comparatively little-known suite of resonant conceptry for the Corvid in relation to Kali. She is, after all, Kakamukhi - The Crow-Faced One. This is as we should … Continue reading The Crows Of Kali
On The Etymology Of Bacchus – The Roarer
[illustration appears to be by a Jim Tierney] When it comes to Dionysus, there are various elements which are … challenging to make sense of. This is as it should be. One of these concerns the likely etymology - and therefore meaning - of one of His most prominent theonymics: Bacchus (or Bakkhos, Βάκχος, etc.). Usually … Continue reading On The Etymology Of Bacchus – The Roarer
arya-akasha 