VICTOR MANUEL GUZMAN VILLENA
M:.M:.
"Darius, king of kings, ruler of the country where they speak all languages, the son of Hystaspes, Achaemenid, built this house."
This is the inscription that is still read in the door leading to the ruins of Persepolis, the palace of the Sassanid, the most venerable ruin has bequeathed to us. Indeed, Persia, is the Iranian people, which flourished Ciros and Cambyses, they leave traces of its greatness, superior to Egypt and the whole series of civilizations that had its birth and its sphere in the East. Persia, then, is the true teacher and guide of humanity in the field of traditions and religious conceptions.
The oldest fraternity is the Magicians. The name was given to the priests, who were not just a sect or religion, but also a kind of governmental entity, ref
erring to the sovereignty of science, giving place for the educated man between the real aristocracy. Its reign, according to some authors it is previous to the Middle Assyrian dynasties. Aristotle affirms that it was previous to the foundation of the empire of Egypt.
His founder, Zoroaster, was a great philosopher, whose doctrines demonstrate that he was an Iranian religious reformer, who lived about the year 2000 or 2200 before Jesus Christ, son of a priestly family who was exercising at the same time the functions of the judicature. His homeland was Bactriana, and there it was where he declared himself an enemy of the false gods and resolved to reform the Iranian religion. Of this one he preserved the geniuses or good spirits and tried to espiritualize and transform all the ancient gods in bad spirits. His teachings are the result of a deep study and meditation.
According to Zoroaster, everything that is offered to the observation of man must refer to two original forces as not produced are opposed to everything else produced, but that from the standpoint of activity, are diametrically opposed to one the other, they are to be or not to be,the beginning and end. Being is the life (ahu), reality, truth (asha) and the good, the death is not the falsehood (drukhs) and evil.The beginning of the good is Ormuz, while the principle of evil is Ahriman. These being are the most important personnels of the Zoroastrianism, religion that also has names of Magianism and Parseeism.
For the Zoroastro followers, the creation of the world should have begun by means of the emanation: the first emanation of the Eternal thing was the light, from which there went out the king of the light. Ormuz is a sacred and celestial being, the knowledge and the intelligence personified. Ormuz, the first-born of the time without limits, started by raising to his image and resemblance six geniuses or spirits called amshaspands, which surround his throne and are his messengers for the interior spirits and the men, being, models and copies of purity and perfection.
The second series of the creations of Ormuz was that of twenty-two izads, spirits that look over the innocence, the happiness and conservation of the world are models of virtue and the interpreters of the prayers of the men. The third host of pure spirits is more numerous and formed by the farohars, the thoughts of Ormuz, or the ideas conceived by him before proceeding to the creation of the things. No, only the farohars of the holy men and of the innocent infantes are in front of Ormuz, but this one they have also his farohar, or the personification of his knowledge and his ideas, his reason and his verb.
The triple creation of the good spirits was a necessary consequence of the simultaneous development of the beginning of the evil. The second son of the Eternal one, Ahrimán, came like Ormuz to the primitive light and it was pure like him, but for his ambition and pride he conceived the passion of envy and, to punish him, the Supreme Being condemned him to live for twelve thousand years in the region of the darkness, before a battle between the good and evil; but Ahrimán created in turn lots of bad spirits, which fill the ground of misery, discomfort and sin. The bad spirits are the impurity, the violence, greed and cruelty; the demons of the cold, of the famine, of the poverty, of the sterility and ignorance and the most lazy of the whole Petash, the demon of calumny.
Ormuz after a reign of three thousand years, created the material or physical world in six periods of time, giving six existence first to the earthly light, to the water, to the ground, to the plants, to the animals and to the man. Ahrimán was present at the creation of the earth and the water, because the darkness had these elements invaded; he took also active part in the creation and subsequent corruption and destruction of the man, whom Ormuz was creating for a simple act of will and for his word. Also, of the seed of this being, Ormuz extracted also the existence the first human couple, Meshia and Meshiana, but Ahrimán seduced the woman and later the male, taking them to the evil, making them ate of certain fruits, with which not only perverted the nature of the man, but also that of the animals like the insects, the snake, the wolves, etc. which were innocuous and became harmful, spreading the corruption for the whole surface of the earth. In punishment of his iniquity, Ahrimán and his perverses spirits were conquered and thrown out from all parts of the earth, but the just, good and prudent men do not have to be afraid because, as says Zoroaster, that was the work of the evil, and the good man always obeys the just judge, who cultivates assiduously the hearth and
makes it produce good harvests and fruit-bearing trees in abundance.
After twelve thousand years, when the ground turns out to be already free of the evil spirits, then will go out three prophets who will be next to the men helping them with theirs power and science, returning the earth to its primitive beauty, judging the good and evil and giving each one what deserves: the good spirits will demolish to the region of the eternal good and unchangeable, while Ahrimán with all his demons and the men who have followed him will be thrown to a sea of melted metal and in the rottenness state and the law of Ormuz will reign everywhere.
erring to the sovereignty of science, giving place for the educated man between the real aristocracy. Its reign, according to some authors it is previous to the Middle Assyrian dynasties. Aristotle affirms that it was previous to the foundation of the empire of Egypt.His founder, Zoroaster, was a great philosopher, whose doctrines demonstrate that he was an Iranian religious reformer, who lived about the year 2000 or 2200 before Jesus Christ, son of a priestly family who was exercising at the same time the functions of the judicature. His homeland was Bactriana, and there it was where he declared himself an enemy of the false gods and resolved to reform the Iranian religion. Of this one he preserved the geniuses or good spirits and tried to espiritualize and transform all the ancient gods in bad spirits. His teachings are the result of a deep study and meditation.
According to Zoroaster, everything that is offered to the observation of man must refer to two original forces as not produced are opposed to everything else produced, but that from the standpoint of activity, are diametrically opposed to one the other, they are to be or not to be,the beginning and end. Being is the life (ahu), reality, truth (asha) and the good, the death is not the falsehood (drukhs) and evil.The beginning of the good is Ormuz, while the principle of evil is Ahriman. These being are the most important personnels of the Zoroastrianism, religion that also has names of Magianism and Parseeism.
For the Zoroastro followers, the creation of the world should have begun by means of the emanation: the first emanation of the Eternal thing was the light, from which there went out the king of the light. Ormuz is a sacred and celestial being, the knowledge and the intelligence personified. Ormuz, the first-born of the time without limits, started by raising to his image and resemblance six geniuses or spirits called amshaspands, which surround his throne and are his messengers for the interior spirits and the men, being, models and copies of purity and perfection.
The second series of the creations of Ormuz was that of twenty-two izads, spirits that look over the innocence, the happiness and conservation of the world are models of virtue and the interpreters of the prayers of the men. The third host of pure spirits is more numerous and formed by the farohars, the thoughts of Ormuz, or the ideas conceived by him before proceeding to the creation of the things. No, only the farohars of the holy men and of the innocent infantes are in front of Ormuz, but this one they have also his farohar, or the personification of his knowledge and his ideas, his reason and his verb.
The triple creation of the good spirits was a necessary consequence of the simultaneous development of the beginning of the evil. The second son of the Eternal one, Ahrimán, came like Ormuz to the primitive light and it was pure like him, but for his ambition and pride he conceived the passion of envy and, to punish him, the Supreme Being condemned him to live for twelve thousand years in the region of the darkness, before a battle between the good and evil; but Ahrimán created in turn lots of bad spirits, which fill the ground of misery, discomfort and sin. The bad spirits are the impurity, the violence, greed and cruelty; the demons of the cold, of the famine, of the poverty, of the sterility and ignorance and the most lazy of the whole Petash, the demon of calumny.
Ormuz after a reign of three thousand years, created the material or physical world in six periods of time, giving six existence first to the earthly light, to the water, to the ground, to the plants, to the animals and to the man. Ahrimán was present at the creation of the earth and the water, because the darkness had these elements invaded; he took also active part in the creation and subsequent corruption and destruction of the man, whom Ormuz was creating for a simple act of will and for his word. Also, of the seed of this being, Ormuz extracted also the existence the first human couple, Meshia and Meshiana, but Ahrimán seduced the woman and later the male, taking them to the evil, making them ate of certain fruits, with which not only perverted the nature of the man, but also that of the animals like the insects, the snake, the wolves, etc. which were innocuous and became harmful, spreading the corruption for the whole surface of the earth. In punishment of his iniquity, Ahrimán and his perverses spirits were conquered and thrown out from all parts of the earth, but the just, good and prudent men do not have to be afraid because, as says Zoroaster, that was the work of the evil, and the good man always obeys the just judge, who cultivates assiduously the hearth and
makes it produce good harvests and fruit-bearing trees in abundance.After twelve thousand years, when the ground turns out to be already free of the evil spirits, then will go out three prophets who will be next to the men helping them with theirs power and science, returning the earth to its primitive beauty, judging the good and evil and giving each one what deserves: the good spirits will demolish to the region of the eternal good and unchangeable, while Ahrimán with all his demons and the men who have followed him will be thrown to a sea of melted metal and in the rottenness state and the law of Ormuz will reign everywhere.
Zoroaster taught that light was the first emanation of the Eternal life, so in the writings of Parsis, light, the eternal flame is a symbol of divinity or uncreated life, hence that the Parsis magicians were called fire-worshipers. This science of fire, which was the great arcane of the Magicians, refered in almost all the Assyrians's symbols, everywhere is the magician that hurts the lion and plays with snakes: the lion is the celestial fire, snakes are electric and magnetic currents of the earth. Patricius, as published philosophique magie collected from the books of the Platonists and others, the oracles of Zoroaster, which are the characteristic formula of the dogma of the fire. In all of them is possible seen the great spiritual force that is attributed to heat or light and identified with the force of human will.
The fire had its foundation magical initiation. The adept, having put his will in communication with that element, known to direct and manage, with the same skill the soldier with his weapon.
That force is represented by the blue lion. This is what the great Assyrian figures representing with lions tamed under the arm, such is the astral light, represented by giant sphinxes with lion body and head of the magician: the strength of spirit, suggestion, the rule of the will of others . So that we can observe a close relationship between the religion of Zoroaster and Magianism.
The fire had its foundation magical initiation. The adept, having put his will in communication with that element, known to direct and manage, with the same skill the soldier with his weapon.
That force is represented by the blue lion. This is what the great Assyrian figures representing with lions tamed under the arm, such is the astral light, represented by giant sphinxes with lion body and head of the magician: the strength of spirit, suggestion, the rule of the will of others . So that we can observe a close relationship between the religion of Zoroaster and Magianism.
Ceremonies
The Magicians were a caste. Were in charge of worship, of sacrifice and conservation of the sacred books.
The main
acts of Mazdean worship were threefold: the preservation of the sacred fire, the prayers and invocations, the purification and penance. The sacred fire was kept at shrines, where the sacred element burned on a huge stone or copper urn, serving to feed the flames, the most precious woods. It was a crime to raise the voice, and in religious ceremonies were scattered soft perfumes. There were many invocations prescribed by the Mazdean ritual, the priests chanted them with sacred hymns at certain times of the day, dedicating them to various celestial spirits. During the recitation, the priest was lifting his left hand high beam, closely pressed, made of branches of palm, tamarind or pomegranate, these branches had to be cut and tied by a pristine Mazdean: out of the moment of the rite, the beam was rested on a firedog where the branches were ended in a shape of a crescent moon.
The sacrifices consisted of bloody immolation, hecatombs in which succumbed at one time one hundred horses, a thousand oxen or ten thousand head of cattle, but the Mazdean law foebade consumed any victim, based on the principle that only belonged to the gods the head of the immolated animals, and even only his right eye and his and tongue.
The offerings consisted of bread, meat, grains, fruits, flowers, perfumes and garments for the priests, one of the most typical offerings were branches of a tree called hôma, plant of knotty stem and yellow flower that grows in the mountains of Iran; their juice was extracted in the manner prescribed for the ceremonies by the law, was the most agreeable gift you could devote to the celestial spirits,to renew their strength and provide greater happiness.
The liturgical books for the implementation of their ceremonies were the Vespers, the Jeshts and Yacna. Of these, the most interesting was the third one, principal part of the Avesta, and was using for the most important ceremonies, and divided into three sections: the first included ritual of sacrifice Mazdean, the second ibcluded the Gathas old songs are the best exposition of the Zoroastrian ideas and a momuments of higth philosophy for that epoch. The third included dispersed fragments, which not very clear objective.
Initiation
The candidate, before the initiation ib the fraternity, was subjected to numerous purifications by fire, water and honey, the number of probations was really long and ended with a fast of 50 days.
These tests were suffered by the candidate in underground caves in which he was condemned to perpetual silence and complete solitude. The one that was corresponding to the r
equirements fixed by the brotherhood had an option to the highest honors.
Passed the probationary period, the candidate was taken inside in the cave of the initiated, where he was armed with a harness or shield for their guidance, which was a representation of Simorgh, monstrous and important actor of the manipulations of Persian mythology, prividad with talismans to meet all the horrific encounters with monsters and evil spirits who they wanted to put in their path. Taked in Interior department was purified with fire and water and passed through seven degrees of initiation.
The Magicians were a caste. Were in charge of worship, of sacrifice and conservation of the sacred books.
The main
acts of Mazdean worship were threefold: the preservation of the sacred fire, the prayers and invocations, the purification and penance. The sacred fire was kept at shrines, where the sacred element burned on a huge stone or copper urn, serving to feed the flames, the most precious woods. It was a crime to raise the voice, and in religious ceremonies were scattered soft perfumes. There were many invocations prescribed by the Mazdean ritual, the priests chanted them with sacred hymns at certain times of the day, dedicating them to various celestial spirits. During the recitation, the priest was lifting his left hand high beam, closely pressed, made of branches of palm, tamarind or pomegranate, these branches had to be cut and tied by a pristine Mazdean: out of the moment of the rite, the beam was rested on a firedog where the branches were ended in a shape of a crescent moon.The sacrifices consisted of bloody immolation, hecatombs in which succumbed at one time one hundred horses, a thousand oxen or ten thousand head of cattle, but the Mazdean law foebade consumed any victim, based on the principle that only belonged to the gods the head of the immolated animals, and even only his right eye and his and tongue.
The offerings consisted of bread, meat, grains, fruits, flowers, perfumes and garments for the priests, one of the most typical offerings were branches of a tree called hôma, plant of knotty stem and yellow flower that grows in the mountains of Iran; their juice was extracted in the manner prescribed for the ceremonies by the law, was the most agreeable gift you could devote to the celestial spirits,to renew their strength and provide greater happiness.
The liturgical books for the implementation of their ceremonies were the Vespers, the Jeshts and Yacna. Of these, the most interesting was the third one, principal part of the Avesta, and was using for the most important ceremonies, and divided into three sections: the first included ritual of sacrifice Mazdean, the second ibcluded the Gathas old songs are the best exposition of the Zoroastrian ideas and a momuments of higth philosophy for that epoch. The third included dispersed fragments, which not very clear objective.
Initiation
The candidate, before the initiation ib the fraternity, was subjected to numerous purifications by fire, water and honey, the number of probations was really long and ended with a fast of 50 days.
These tests were suffered by the candidate in underground caves in which he was condemned to perpetual silence and complete solitude. The one that was corresponding to the r
equirements fixed by the brotherhood had an option to the highest honors.Passed the probationary period, the candidate was taken inside in the cave of the initiated, where he was armed with a harness or shield for their guidance, which was a representation of Simorgh, monstrous and important actor of the manipulations of Persian mythology, prividad with talismans to meet all the horrific encounters with monsters and evil spirits who they wanted to put in their path. Taked in Interior department was purified with fire and water and passed through seven degrees of initiation.
The first thing offered to his eyes was a deep and frightening vaulted cavern at the foot of which stood a huge cliff where he was to fall with a small false step, sinking into the "abyss of dreadful poverty." Then, moving through labyrinths of the dark cave, he perceived the sacred fire, whose flames were fanned intervals dim lighting his way, at the same time heard the distant cry of hungry beasts, the lion's roar, the howl of the wolf, fierce and terrible barking mastiff. His companion, keeping a deep silence, pushed him towards the place whence came the sounds and when he was not aware the door openedof to the hountt and he was in the middle of the animal, almost dark, with only the dim lamplight . Was immediately attacked by the initiates who dressed as lions, tigers, wolves and other monstrous animals, were poured over him, scarcely escaping their clutches unharmed. Went from there to another dark cavern, where terrible noise of the thunder hurts his ears and and the continuous lightning hurting his vision, with the sinister glare he was distinguishing the visajes of the avenging spirits that were celebrating with macabre satisfaction at the arrival of the initiated to their inhospitable caverns.
To relieve in some way the fatigue of the profane, someone led him to another place, where his ear was recreated by melodious strains of music and his smell with the aroma of the mos exquisite perfumes. To understand, shortly after, their willingness to practice the other ceremonies, his guide made a signal and they appeared three priests, one of whom threw to his chest a live snake, symbol of regeneration, and opening a door came through a real wave of sounds and guttural cries like lamentations and howls that stunned the spirit of the neophyte and plunged him into a new state of indescribable terror. Returning his gaze to the site where the screams originated came to his sighth a harrowing scene of the torture suffered by the damned in the underworld. Then he was pulled through labyrinths and ramifications of seven spacious vaults linked with winding galleries, each one with a stone gate where could be seeng a scene of dangerous adventures, until he was initiated at sacellum ( chapel) or Santa Santorum, that it was illuminated magnificently and whose walls and roofs were dismissing the reflexes of the most pure gold and the richest precious stones.
There was the Archmage or Supreme Master of the Fraternity, sitting on the east side, on a golden throne, crowned his head with rich crown of myrtle branches entwined, wearing a bright blue robe, surrounded by an assembly of ministers and stewards of the sacred mysteries. They received the neophyte with great warm welcome, and after they take oaths to keep secret the rites of Zoroaster, was entrusted with the sacred words. The first and most important was the Tetractys or the name of God. The Pythagorean Tetractys Teatragramaton was similar to the Jewish God or the name of five letters. The number four was taken by the most perfect, because in the four properties of nature includes everything else, plus the first four numbers added together form the decade (1 2 3 4 = 10), after which all is simple repetition.
Today in Iran there are only remnants of this ancient order Mazdean.
To relieve in some way the fatigue of the profane, someone led him to another place, where his ear was recreated by melodious strains of music and his smell with the aroma of the mos exquisite perfumes. To understand, shortly after, their willingness to practice the other ceremonies, his guide made a signal and they appeared three priests, one of whom threw to his chest a live snake, symbol of regeneration, and opening a door came through a real wave of sounds and guttural cries like lamentations and howls that stunned the spirit of the neophyte and plunged him into a new state of indescribable terror. Returning his gaze to the site where the screams originated came to his sighth a harrowing scene of the torture suffered by the damned in the underworld. Then he was pulled through labyrinths and ramifications of seven spacious vaults linked with winding galleries, each one with a stone gate where could be seeng a scene of dangerous adventures, until he was initiated at sacellum ( chapel) or Santa Santorum, that it was illuminated magnificently and whose walls and roofs were dismissing the reflexes of the most pure gold and the richest precious stones.
There was the Archmage or Supreme Master of the Fraternity, sitting on the east side, on a golden throne, crowned his head with rich crown of myrtle branches entwined, wearing a bright blue robe, surrounded by an assembly of ministers and stewards of the sacred mysteries. They received the neophyte with great warm welcome, and after they take oaths to keep secret the rites of Zoroaster, was entrusted with the sacred words. The first and most important was the Tetractys or the name of God. The Pythagorean Tetractys Teatragramaton was similar to the Jewish God or the name of five letters. The number four was taken by the most perfect, because in the four properties of nature includes everything else, plus the first four numbers added together form the decade (1 2 3 4 = 10), after which all is simple repetition.
Today in Iran there are only remnants of this ancient order Mazdean.
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