Tag: Ursa Major
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The Mithraic Tauroctony
Mithraism was a Roman mystery religion, dating to the first few centuries CE. The central image of Mithraism was the so-called ‘tauroctony’ (bull-slaying) scene in which the god Mithras stabs a bull in the shoulder. The tauroctony scene was often depicted at the centre of a zodiacal wheel, and it’s long been thought that the…
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Ritual Heavenly Ascents
Some priests, initiates and believers in the ancient world had visions and practiced ritual ascents to their gods. These ritual ascents were made by pagans, Christians and Jews alike. By the Roman era, they usually involved complex rituals and magical glyphs and passwords that had to be presented to the archons (a Greek word for…
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The Celestial Pole and World Axis
As viewed from the earth, all the stars in the night sky appear to revolve around one pivotal point, the celestial pole. This is the extension of the earth’s North Pole into space. It’s at the centre of the whole celestial dance, and is thus the logical seat for the conductor. Due to precession (that’s…
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The Sacred Numbers Seven and Twelve
The numbers seven and twelve played a central part in ancient religion, particularly those from the first millennium BCE. In Greek mythology, Pan had seven reeds in his pipe, Zeus had seven consorts, and there were originally seven Titans. In Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), the Babylonian goddess Ishtar removed seven items of clothing in her descent…
World Axis 