The Spring Equinox approaches (at least, at time of writing; some weeks have passed since then) - and with it, the onset of the War Season of the archaic Indo-Europeans. Whether the Quinquatrus and Tubilustrium of the Romans, situated within their Month of Mars (mensis Martius - whence our modern name for it: 'March'); the … Continue reading On The Equinox War-Rites Of The Indo-Europeans – As Illuminating The Roman Quinquatria [Part One – The Goddess-Oriented War Rites Introduced]
Shailaputri
Operation VaishvaDevi – A Show of Force
Navratri, the famed Nine Nights of the Goddess, is soon to begin. We propose to have a broad Indo-European 'Show of Force' (Shakti) for the occasion. What do we mean by this? Navratri is, of course, a Hindu observance. Yet the Goddess is broader than 'just' the Hindusphere. She has also been worshipped amidst all … Continue reading Operation VaishvaDevi – A Show of Force
Skanda Mars
[Author's Note: As we had said - it'll be awhile before I'm fully operational again. So, in the mean-time, here's a half-completed draft looking at the prominent figure of Lord Skanda. We had sought to set out the various refractions as to the origin-mythology around this most eminent of 'Charger-Skewerer' figures of the Sky Father's … Continue reading Skanda Mars
The Vitality of the Universe Entire – On MahaGauri, SiddhiDhatri, and Demeter
The Eighth Night of #NavRatri is dedicated to MahaGauri - The Great Beauty, The 'Great White One' ; The Ninth Night of NavRatri, to Siddhidhatri - the Bestower of Boons, The Giver of Empowerment. Both because I am rather late in my finishing of this piece - but also due to a certain underlying thematic unity ... … Continue reading The Vitality of the Universe Entire – On MahaGauri, SiddhiDhatri, and Demeter
The Names Of The NavaDurgas In Accessible Translation For NavRatri
With NavRatri beginning tonight - here's an enumeration of the Nine NavaDurgas (One for each Night) … along with an attempt to make the theonyms more understandable via colour-coding. The colour of the part of the word in Sanskrit corresponds to the English word it's translated as. So, for instance, 'Shailaputri' has 'Shaila' (Mountain) in … Continue reading The Names Of The NavaDurgas In Accessible Translation For NavRatri
Shailaputri – First of the NavaDurga
The first night of NavRatri is dedicated to Ma as Shailaputri – the Daughter of the Mountain. As noted in the introductory piece, the Mountain in question refers to King Himavat – the Lord of the Himalayas, and the father of Parvati [‘[Daughter] Of the Mountain’] in this particular cycle of Her incarnation. However, I … Continue reading Shailaputri – First of the NavaDurga
Navratri – The Nine Nights of Goddess Durga
Tonight marks the start of NavRatri – the Nine Nights of Goddess Durga. In North Indian tradition, we mark each one of the Nine as being dedicated to a particular NavaDurga Aspect of MataDI; whereas in South India, it is more common to regard it as three sets of three days apiece – one for … Continue reading Navratri – The Nine Nights of Goddess Durga
Hades as Gaurivara, Persephone as Gauri
SHIVA-AS-YAMA, SHIVA-AS-KAAL, bearing a most Gauri bride indeed. Monday Devotional (A)Art(I) Posting! Now, technically speaking, this is actually a depiction of Hades & Persephone by Ulpiano Checa, circa 1888 [the painting, I mean, not when They were depicted]. However, not only do we have reasonable strength of analysis to make a strong linkage between Hades … Continue reading Hades as Gaurivara, Persephone as Gauri
MahaGauri – The Eighth Night of NavRatri – Eighth of the NavaDurgas
The Eight Night of #NavRatri is dedicated to Ma as MahaGauri - The Great White One. Now, as readers of yesterday's piece - on KaalRatri - will be patently aware, this stands in seemingly stark contrast to the previous Night's Aspect of MataJI, Who is the great(est) Black one. And yet, as it happens, a … Continue reading MahaGauri – The Eighth Night of NavRatri – Eighth of the NavaDurgas