Very, very cool ! On the left, is Maheshvari (Devi) - on the right, Agni. Now, it might at first seem a little curious - we are used to thinking of Agni as a 'two-faced' figure in the iconography. Yet in a way … These depictions are, quite literally, two sides of the same artwork. … Continue reading The Divine Empress And The Fire God – Beautiful Newari Art And The Durga Suktam
Shatapatha Brahmana
Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration [Extract 3]: Part Three: Cosmology, At The Crossroads
[Depicted is the fine marble Hekate from the Greek isle of Aegina, in overtly 'Triple-Facing' Goddess form. Note that the Initiatory Torches are, here, utilized to create an illusion of 'depth' - and, to my mind at least, almost seem to connote different 'pathways' off through trees.] The first point to be made concerns Ambika. … Continue reading Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration [Extract 3]: Part Three: Cosmology, At The Crossroads
Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration [Extract 2]: Part Two – The Dread Deifics Of The Catuspatha
Part Two: The Dread Deifics Of The Catuspatha [Art by Rupam Raaj R.; and we are having Rudra in amidst a Smashana because we are unable to find good art of Him at the Crossroads directly. Yet for reasons we shall get into in due course - well, the two spaces are somewhat coterminous] Now, … Continue reading Of Goddesses, Gods, and Ghosts at the Crossroads – A Comparative Indo-European Exploration [Extract 2]: Part Two – The Dread Deifics Of The Catuspatha
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
Artemis Agrotera And Devi – Queen Of The Wilds, Ruler Of Animals, And Huntress Supreme
I find this very adorable. Devi as - as we would say in the Western IE sphere (well, in Ancient Greek, at any rate) - a 'Potnia Theron'. Now this term is generally applied to Artemis. And we have explored in great depth elsewhere how Artemis concords with our Devi. It therefore seems adamantly excellent … Continue reading Artemis Agrotera And Devi – Queen Of The Wilds, Ruler Of Animals, And Huntress Supreme
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
On Prayer – An Indo-European Commentary Upon Purported Germanic ‘God-Bothering’ With Same
Recently, our attention was drawn to a post from a "Reconstructionist Germanic Heathenry" page which made some claims about prayer that we feel deserve a bit of a closer look. The post itself had been taking aim at "Christian Baggage" in Germanic revivalist adherents - and had singled out … well, we'll quote for you: … Continue reading On Prayer – An Indo-European Commentary Upon Purported Germanic ‘God-Bothering’ With Same
Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres
Something a perspicacious associate [O.R.] observed is that even though each Indo-European mythic sphere may have its Sky Father deific in prominent pride of place … it is only amidst the Hellenic and Roman perspectives that we actually find 'Dyaus Pitar' (or, if we are being properly PIE : *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) theonymics in prominent usage and … Continue reading Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres
In Search Of Scythian Ares – Part Two : The Swords Of The Sky Father
As we'd noted towards the outset of Part One, the Scythian religion is endlessly, fascinatingly frustrating. We know so little - and yet we can seemingly 'piece together' a few elements from the scant textual (and usually virtually third hand) viewpoints of their faith that have come down to us from Antiquity. One figure in … Continue reading In Search Of Scythian Ares – Part Two : The Swords Of The Sky Father
The Sovereign-Sires Of The Sky – Lord Shiva And Devi As The Ultimate Rulers Of The Grahas
We had earlier had our attention drawn to this verse (and its backdrop) by several associates. It is a work of one of the great Tamil Shaivite saints, Sambandar (also anglicized, as here, as Campantar) - and, as one can immediately see, it is a verse for the simultaneous praising of Lord Shiva, as well … Continue reading The Sovereign-Sires Of The Sky – Lord Shiva And Devi As The Ultimate Rulers Of The Grahas
arya-akasha 