Monthly Archives: March 2015

Indo European eschatology is hard to come by. The only exceptions are ancient Zoroastrian Iran and Icelandic sagas. The apocalyptic accounts of “Frašökart” and Ragnarök survive only in transmuted battle sagas elsewhere in the Indo European literature and poetry. In … Continue reading →

The twelfth month of the Zoroastrian calendar called esfend in Persian is a particularly auspicious month in the religious Zoroastrian calendar. Persian esfend comes from the Avestan speñtá, “auspicious, splendid, holy, bright.” Avestan speñtá is related to Lithuanian šventas, Proto-Baltic-Slavic swęntŭs, … Continue reading →

Nauv-rooz is a Persian word and means “new light, new day.” The term Nauv-rooz refers to the first new light of dawn/day after the vernal equinox. Vernal equinox is mentioned numerous times in the Avesta. The word for vernal equinox … Continue reading →

The eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian solar new year is marked by special customs and rituals, most notably jumping over fire. Bundles are arranged in one, three, five, or seven bundles (always an odd number) spaced a … Continue reading →

Dawn imagery is one the most important aspects of the Old Avestan and gathic poetry. The most important Zoroastrian act of worship called Yasná “intense longing, fervent desire” can only be performed at the early dawn hours. Yasná concludes shortly … Continue reading →