Showing 131 articles
Ferocious Deities of Japan
Author: Nataliya PetlevychMay 12, 2021
Among the benevolent and peace- and goodness-emanating deities of Japanese Buddhism, one might be surprised to encounter the ferocious and mighty Myōō, the Wisdom Kings. Their appearance is mesmerising: faces filled with astonishing power and determination, clearly visible fangs and bulging eyes, impressive postures of true warriors equipped with different weapons to combat evil. The [...]
Mithras and the Mithraic Mysteries
Author: Agostino DominiciJanuary 23, 2021
The Mithraic Mysteries have their roots in the remote Vedic culture of India. Already in the Rig Veda, we find the god Mitra as regent and protector of a perfect cosmic order. Subsequently, in the Indo-European tradition of Iran, we find Mithra identified as the tutelary god of the pact (or oath), slowly assuming a [...]
Plant Lore – A Brief Insight Into the Mythology and Symbology of Plants
Author: Gareth KinsellaNovember 19, 2020
“And just as speech is invention about objects and ideas, so myth is invention about truth.” – Humphrey Carpenter You may not know it, but as a child, plant allegories may have left a bigger impact on you than first imagined. Vivid and captivating fables, like conceptual seeds that were sown in your mind through [...]
Myths of Africa: Deepening our Understanding of Life and Death
Author: Siobhan FarrarOctober 1, 2020
Africa is a vast continent with many different peoples and a diverse diaspora whose cultural and spiritual heritage has often been misunderstood and misrepresented through colonial and Western perspectives. The ability to move past assumptions and conditioning always presents a challenge, which requires that we aim to see the essence of human life and experience. [...]
The Magical Function of Rituals and Ceremonies
Author: Julian ScottOctober 1, 2020
From an esoteric point of view, a ritual is dependent on the existence of the invisible dimension. This invisible dimension consists of a spiritual-mental aspect, which is the domain of the archetypes or ‘living idea-beings’ spoken of by the Platonists; and an ‘astral’ aspect, which is an intermediate world between spirit and matter, just as [...]
Tutankhamun in London
Author: Florimond KrinsApril 17, 2020
Probably the most famous of ancient Egypt’s pharaohs today, Tutankhamun was a small and short-lived king, who reigned for only ten years and died at the age of 18, in marked contrast to the later Ramses the Great, who reigned for 66 years and died in his nineties. Tutankhamun (1342 1325 BC) was one [...]
The Spring Equinox
Author: Nataliya PetlevychApril 17, 2020
We all are cheered by days full of the renewing energy of spring – a beautiful time when nature awakens, the days become longer and everything living rejoices. There is a special time in the year when the Sun is exactly above the equator, hence the Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the [...]
Women in Myths
Author: Margarita DominguezJanuary 22, 2020
In myths we can find the archetypes that can guide our life and help us discover our soul. In the case of goddesses, these can reveal to women the primordial forces of the spiritual world and help us to understand the inner being that characterizes our female complexity. Jorge Angel Livraga, founder of New Acropolis, [...]
When Does a Renaissance Start? The meaning of the Annunciation
Author: Nataliya PetlevychJanuary 22, 2020
History is rich with inspiring examples of the human spirit flourishing. One of the strongest among them is the Renaissance. It generated a change in the perception of the world and provided a new understanding of the human being, reviving the idea of interconnection between the Macrocosm (the Universe/divine) and the Microcosm (the human being). [...]
A Deeper Understanding of Myth: The Contribution of Mircea Eliade
Author: Nataliya PetlevychJanuary 15, 2020
Nowadays myth is sometimes perceived as something opposed to reality – a fictional tale without connection to real life. Such an understanding has existed for quite a while, having its roots in the ancient world. It was especially prominent in the 19th century, when myth was considered as a primitive outdated counterpart to science or [...]
The Symbolism of Sumo
Author: Tom MoranNovember 30, 2019
Sumo is a form of wrestling that expresses the Japanese Shinto religion. It has at its heart principles of dignity and courtesy, and as well as being Japan’s national sport it is also a religious ritual. The Sumo wrestlers, called Rikishi, may look big and cumbersome but winning fights involves a combination of strength, agility, [...]
The Sun in Celtic Mythology
Author: Pinar AkhanNovember 30, 2019
“There is an earthly sun, which is the cause of all heat, and all who are able to see may see the sun, and those who are blind and cannot see him may feel his heat. There is an eternal sun, which is the source of all wisdom, and those whose spiritual senses have awakened [...]