It is WEDNESDAY - Woden's Day - And Therefore, as has become our custom … we present an (A)Arti-cle. In this case, it is an excerpt from our previous 'On Odin As Agni', and looks at the correlation of Flames and Swords found with both deific expressions. Enjoy! (Also, N.B.: various of the conceptry involved … Continue reading On The Flaming Swords Of Odin & Agni & Rudra – An Excerpt
Shiva
Islamic Influence On A Kalasha Rite
As we have previously asserted, the emphasis upon the Kalasha as some sort of 'More Pure' and 'Pre-Vedic' Hinduism is mistaken. There is no doubt that they - as with any other surviving Indo-European faith - do preserve very ancient and archaic elements indeed; however, the belief that this places them as an unadulterated "pre-Vedic" … Continue reading Islamic Influence On A Kalasha Rite
Grandfather In The Sky – An Account Of Nuristani Imro Appearing To His Shamans, Situated In Indo-European Context
It is Wednesday - Woden's Day - and therefore, something a little different. This is another excerpt from Richard Strand's interview with the Nuristani Vasi headman, Zaman Xan, in 1973. See if you notice anything … familiar sounding from a comparative Indo-European perspective: Speaking of his tribe's shamans, and their manner for encountering Imra / … Continue reading Grandfather In The Sky – An Account Of Nuristani Imro Appearing To His Shamans, Situated In Indo-European Context
A Curious Shiva-featured Buddhist Shrine Guardian
Monday is Lord Shiva's Day … and therefore … Well, there's something curious going on here. This fine carving is from the Lingquan temple complex in Anyang, China. It would be easy to declare it to be a rather Sinicized depiction of Lord Shiva, found in a Buddhist context. There are most certainly an array … Continue reading A Curious Shiva-featured Buddhist Shrine Guardian
The Sogdian Shiva Weshparkar of Panjikent – Arte-Facts #13
It is Wednesday - which, in the Northern European end of things, is Woden's Day. Therefore, as has become our custom … fine Shaivite devotional (A)Art-i posting. Now this beautiful depiction has been upon my mind for some weeks now - because if you were asked to draw a fearsomely formidable Lord of the Wind … Continue reading The Sogdian Shiva Weshparkar of Panjikent – Arte-Facts #13
On The Tocharian-Sourced Indo-European Toponymy For The Qilian Shan – And Associated Mytho-Linguistic Elements Running Right The Way Up To Kailash
For the past few days, I have been looking once more at Indo-Europeans in Central Asia - and even proximate to China. It is quite remarkable what there is out there, even if much of it has been forgotten or elsewise obscurated via the ravages of time. Now, these days the Qilian Shan refer to … Continue reading On The Tocharian-Sourced Indo-European Toponymy For The Qilian Shan – And Associated Mytho-Linguistic Elements Running Right The Way Up To Kailash
On Wolves Against Zoroastrian Identification
Something else that has been playing upon my mind as applies that fine Sogdian funerary sculpture's purported Zoroastrian provenancy … is the name of the Sogdian whose tomb it was. In his own language, it is Wirkak - that is to say, 'Wolf', from the same root a Sanskrit 'Vrka', etc. Now, why that is interesting … Continue reading On Wolves Against Zoroastrian Identification
Weshparkar – Vayu-The-High-Working But Also Shiva – On Funerary Stonework Of Sogdian Wirkak And Wiyusi – Arte-Facts #12
I've had this image on my mind for some days now. Both for what it represents - yet also for what it doesn't. What's been projected upon it, in other words. Now, as for the former - it's a representation of the Sogdian deific, Vesparkar (also anglicized as Weshparkar, Veshparkar, Wysprkr etc.), from a fine relief … Continue reading Weshparkar – Vayu-The-High-Working But Also Shiva – On Funerary Stonework Of Sogdian Wirkak And Wiyusi – Arte-Facts #12
Ganesha – The Lord On The Gun
It is Tuesday - the Day of Mars (and, for that matter, Mangala). Therefore … an Indian Jawan ['soldier' or 'paramilitary'] with a certain devotional image tied to the foregrip of his rifle. Now, I have occasionally made semi-joking reference to the notion of "Gun-Esha". Of course, this is not the proper understandings for Lord … Continue reading Ganesha – The Lord On The Gun
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 !
arya-akasha 