Category Archives: Uncategorized

In the seasonal Avestan calendar, May 25 marks the festival of haûrvatát. The Avestan term haûrvatát comes from the root haûrva and refers to “integral health, haleness or great health in all parts.” Haûrvatát is “wholeness of mind/body, good health … Continue reading →

Öhrmazd is the middle Iranian for the Avestan “Ahûrá Mazdá,” or the Old Avestan “Mazdá Ahûrá.” The very name Öhrmazd incorporates godhood and that he is an ahûrá or god being/power. Ahûrá is related to the Old Norse term for … Continue reading →

The word for “prize” in the poetic gathas is mîždá, it signifies “reward, recompense or prize for a brilliant adventure.” Avestan mîždá is a term common to Indo-Iranian, Greek, Germanic and Slavic. Mîždá is related to Greek misthós (μισθός), Vedic mīḍha, Old … Continue reading →

April 22nd is the great festival of ašá/arthá in the Avestan calendar. In the Zoroastrian religious calculation whenever the name of the god being that presides over the month and the day coincide, there is cause for great joy, festivity … Continue reading →

Persian xratu is the word for “superior wisdom.” The ancient Indo- Iranian xratu or more accurately the Avetsan ḵratü “unrivaled wisdom, superior powers of mind/spirit to recall and summon into being” is in the poetic gathas and the Avestan lore, … Continue reading →

The Four Ages of the world narrated in the Avestan Südgar/Südkar commentary of the poetic gathas reminds one of very similar accounts in both Greek and Vedic mythologies. Südgar is the first of the ancient Avestan commentaries on the poetic … Continue reading →

Fravashis are the archetypal ideals in the Zoroastrian theology. They are perfect spiritual exemplars exerting their influence from beyond the visible. Fravashis are archetypal models that govern the behavior of all living organisms as well as inorganic matter. They could … Continue reading →

Xenophon, in his Cyropaedia, portrays Cyrus as an ideal ruler (Avery, pp. 529-31; Hirsch, pp. 84-86). Also, Plato considers him a great conqueror and a wise statesman (Laws 3.694A-D.) Cyrus like his ancestors and kin, was by all Greek accounts a … Continue reading →

The word paradise comes from the Old Iranian pairi-daæz “an idyllic enclosure.” The modern Persian páliz “lush secret garden” comes from the same root. In Old Persian Inscriptions, Darius the Great, describes his lush garden palace complex at Susa as … Continue reading →

The 13th day after the vernal equinox is the day of Tištar, the DOG-STAR OF THE THREE-STARS or Sirius, Old Norse Hunda-stjarna. The day dedicated to Tištar or the most brilliant three stars visible in the firmament is a most … Continue reading →