TRI-LOKA : The Three Worlds Of Indo-European Cosmology – Part Four: Amidst The Glorious & Ancestral Dead

Now as something of a 'check and confirm' upon all of this (Parts III, II, & I), it should prove useful to return towards the Nordic cosmological schema. Wherein, as applies the destination(s) of the Glorious and Ancestral Dead - we once again observe what should decidedly seem to be 'Uppland' situations: Valhalla should certainly … Continue reading TRI-LOKA : The Three Worlds Of Indo-European Cosmology – Part Four: Amidst The Glorious & Ancestral Dead

Psychopompi Germanica – And Why It’s Not Odin

In recent days I have run into a rather recurrent skein of assertions about Odin purportedly being a "Psychopomp". Now as for why this has kept coming up - the context has been fairly much what you'd expect. Namely, people looking to affirm an accuracy for that well-known 'Interpretatio' from Tacitus, whereby Odin is inferred … Continue reading Psychopompi Germanica – And Why It’s Not Odin

TRI-LOKA : The Three Worlds Of Indo-European Cosmology – Part Three: The Dead Among The Stars

Now speaking of the Night's Sky - this brings us to what's probably the most 'divergent' area for our trifold TriPlanar schema. And I mean that in two senses - first, in terms of just how 'different' one of the Hellenic (and later Classical) conceptions for this Layer is as compared to 'Everybody Else' on … Continue reading TRI-LOKA : The Three Worlds Of Indo-European Cosmology – Part Three: The Dead Among The Stars

Diwija Dualis [Part Two: Disappear, Into Darkness]

At the close to our previous installment, our attention had turned briefly towards a particular prominent Hellenic iteration as to the 'myth-in-motion' for the Dual-Goddess(es) - namely, Her flight whilst in Form(s) Dark, Wrathful/Avenging, and Equine from Her Husband, the Sky Father as Stallion ; and with the "Daughter" deific often attested with relation to … Continue reading Diwija Dualis [Part Two: Disappear, Into Darkness]

Further Points Upon The ‘Refraction’ Of The Sky Father – With Particular Emphasis Upon Zeus, Hades, Poseidon

I should clarify that I'm not posting this with an intent of having a go at the gentleman who'd raised the counterclaim (hence, in part, why I've anonymized his comment in the cap below) - but rather, because various of the elements in my reply might be of a broader interest (the situation as to … Continue reading Further Points Upon The ‘Refraction’ Of The Sky Father – With Particular Emphasis Upon Zeus, Hades, Poseidon

The Divine Roadway of the Underworld – Oaths, Liminality & Law [The Indo-European Propitiation Of Persephone-Kali – Part  Four] 

In the preceding part, we had explored a most remarkable situation - attested and occurrent amidst both Hellenic and Hindu spheres - for the Goddess in relation to a certain Water of the Underworld; this (Blue-Black) pathway opening up at the behest (and, indeed, Spear) of Her Husband, the Sky Father (Hades & Shiva, respectively). … Continue reading The Divine Roadway of the Underworld – Oaths, Liminality & Law [The Indo-European Propitiation Of Persephone-Kali – Part  Four] 

The Indo-European Propitiation Of Persephone-Kali [Part One: The Return]

Ours is a glorious path. One which has set forth for the pious engagement with the ancient, the archaic, the ancestral … yet which has also undertaken to exist not merely within museums, but out amidst the modern world. Which does not, of course, mean that it ought be confused for something fundamentally "modern". And … Continue reading The Indo-European Propitiation Of Persephone-Kali [Part One: The Return]

On The Three Rune Rows Of The Elder Futhark In Potential Vedic Light

A curious thought I have had this evening concerning the Three Ættir ['Clans', Sets / Rows] of the Elder Futhark. These are customarily divided based upon the first Rune in each - *Fehu , *Hagalaz, and *Tiwaz ; with these being further associated , as applies the first, with Freyr , and with some efforts … Continue reading On The Three Rune Rows Of The Elder Futhark In Potential Vedic Light

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

‘For Want Of A Horse’ – On The Proper Perspective Upon Ritual Offerings And Why The ‘Asva’ Of ‘Asvamedha’ Is Held To Be Necessary As Same

Over the weekend, we had received a question from a reader as to the reasoning underpinning the Asvamedha - the Horse Sacrifice. Specifically, why would one offer a horse given the high value of such a creature in the late Bronze Age / early Iron Age milieu.  Now, several people proffered suggestions as to the answer here, … Continue reading ‘For Want Of A Horse’ – On The Proper Perspective Upon Ritual Offerings And Why The ‘Asva’ Of ‘Asvamedha’ Is Held To Be Necessary As Same