Chariot Dictionary

Thor (Scandinavian) Thorr (Icelandic) [from thonor thunder; cf Swedish tordon, German donner]

Best known as the Norse god of thunder and lightning, champion of the gods and subduer of giants in the ongoing battle between these opposites: gods meaning energy and giants typifying inertia. Like the Latin Jupiter, Thor controls the weather and represents the planet Jupiter. The hair of his beautiful wife Sif represents the golden harvest, whether of grain or of experience -- the mead or nectar of the gods.

The sagas depict Thor as blunt, hot-tempered, without fraud or guile, of few words and ready blows. His chariot, drawn by the two goats Toothcrusher and Toothgnasher, has an iron whiffletree, and sparks fly from its wheels and from the goats' hooves. Thor's fiery eyes color the scarlet clouds, his beard is red, on his brow he wears a crown of stars, and under his feet rests the earth whose defender he is. His chariot cannot cross the rainbow bridge, Bifrost, for its lightnings would set the bridge on fire, so the god daily fords the river beneath it when he attends the Thing (parliament) of the gods.

The symbology connected with this deity is multiform and complex, as he functions on many levels. Thor's various names indicate his many aspects as electromagnetic force which he represents in all its spectrum. His "shelf" (plane) is Thrudvang, his mansion Bilskirnir (flash, from bil momentary + skirnir shining). He is comparable to the Greek Eros, the Vedic Kama, the primal motive power which gave rise to the creative divinities from whom emanated the cosmos. In this capacity he is named Trudgalmer (sound of Thor, Icelandic Thrudgelmir), the sustaining power that maintains the cosmos as a viable functioning entity throughout its existence. Trudgalmer has two sons in space: Mode (force) and Magne (strength), the forces of repulsion and attraction recognized in radiation and gravitation or as centrifugal and centripetal force. As the life force in all living beings Thor is called Vior; as electricity on earth his name is Lorride. The terrestrial Lorride has two adopted children, Tjalfe (speed) and Roskva (work).

Thor is sometimes known as Akuthor [from the verbal root aka ride in a vehicle, travel], sometimes as Vingthor (winged Thor) or Vingner (the winged one). His day is Thursday (Thor's day, Anglo-Saxon Thunresdaeg). His hammer mjolnir (miller) is the sacred instrument with which life forms are created and annihilated. It symbolizes the power that brings beings to birth and is the slayer of giants, whereby their lives are ended, for giants represents the lifeterms of living beings.

(See also: Thor , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Apollo:

Both a Greek god and a Roman god. Apollo was the God of the sun. Each day he rode his chariot led by fiery horses across the sky to give light to the world. He was the most beautiful god. Apollo is also the God of healing. of prophecy, of musical and artistic inspiration, and of archers. The Goddess Diana was his twin sister.

(See also: Apollo , Body Mind and Soul)

Chariot Dream Symbols:

(Source: Myths - Dreams - Symbols)

Related pages: Dream Symbols, Dream Interpretation, Dream Symbol Chariot, Dream Dictionary Chariot, Meaning of dreams about Chariot, Dream Interpretation Chariot, Dream Analysis Chariot, Dreaming of Chariot

Chariot, External forces, Vehicles, Wagon, Carriage

Mercavah or Mercabah (Hebrew, Jewish). A chariot: the Kabalists say that the Supreme after he had established the Ten Sephiroth used them as a chariot or throne of glory on which to descend upon the souls of men.

(See also: Mercavah, Mercabah , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Chariot: One of the trumps of the Major Arcana of the tarot. Numbered VII. In the system of Eliphas Levi, it corresponds to the Hebrew letter Zayin. In the system of the Golden Dawn, The Chariot corresponds to the Hebrew letter Cheth and the astrological sign of Cancer.

(See also: Chariot , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

Iaho. Though this name is more fully treated under the word"Yaho" and "Iao", a few words of explanation will not be found amiss. Diodorus mentions that the God of Moses was Iao; but as the latter name denotes a "mystery god", it cannot therefore be confused with Iaho or Yaho (q.v.). The Samaritans pronounced it Iabe, Yahva, and the Jews Yaho, and then Jehovah, by change of Masoretic vowels, an elastic scheme by which any change may be indulged in. But "Jehovah" is a later invention and invocation, as originally the name was Jah, or Iacchos (Bacchus). Aristotle shows the ancient Arabs representing Iach (Iacchos) by a horse, i.e., the horse of the Sun (Dionysus), which followed the chariot on which Ahura Mazda, the god of the Heavens, daily rode.

(See also: Iaho , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Hanuman:

Hanuman (Anjaneya): Monkey warrior who became Rama's devoted friend and servant. (RRV2-4a), also called "Sun of the Wind-God Vayu" (RRV-5a) [BG 1:20: Then the son of Pandu, who's flag was marked with Hanuman and who was looking from his chariot upon the sons of Dhritarastra in preparing to take up his bow and shoot his arrows, O King, at that time spoke the following words to Hrisikesa [Krishna as the Lord of the senses].]

(See also: Hanuman , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Amber Pale yellow, brown, or reddish fossilized resin, capable of a negative electric charge by friction. In Greek mythology amber was formed from the tears of Meleager's sisters, or alternately of Phaeton's sisters dropped into the Eridan after he was killed trying to drive the chariot of the sun.

While the Eridan is usually identified with the Po River in Italy, Blavatsky holds that it was a northern sea (SD 2:770n). In Scandinavian myths it was attributed to the tears of Freya. In China amber was said to be the soul of the tiger transformed into a mineral after its death. It has been used widely for medicinal, religious, and decorative purposes ().

(See also: Amber , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Cherub, Cherubim kerub, kerubim (Hebrew) A celestial, sacred, occult being in Hebrew mythology; in the Old Testament various descriptions are given of the Cherubim, the prevailing one being that of winged entities with four faces, those respectively of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. In Genesis, they are the guardians of Paradise; in Exodus (25:18-22) their images are to be placed in the mercy-seat and also in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:23-35), but their most frequent association is with the throne or chariot of Yahweh (Jehovah).

 In Ezekiel and the Qabbalah the Cherubim are represented as the four holy living creatures. "These four animals are, in reality, the symbols of the four elements, and of the four lower principles in man. Nevertheless, they correspond physically and materially to the four constellations that form, so to speak, the suite or cortege of the Solar God, and occupy during the winter solstice the four cardinal points of the zodiacal circle" (SD 1:363).

In the ancient Syrian system of enumerating the hierarchies, the Cherubim were equivalent to the sphere of the Stars. In the Jewish Qabbalah a close association is made with them and the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, YHVH; and further with the world of `Asiyyah. In the system of hierarchies propounded by Dionysius the pseudo-Areopagite, the Cherubim rank second in the first trinity: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones. But the Cherubim have a still more mystical connection: "the four celestial beings are . . . the protectors of mankind and also the Agents of Karma on Earth" (SD 1:126).

In the Hebrew Qabbalah the Kerubim are the class of angels or quasi-spiritual beings corresponding with the lower Shechinah or Malchuth, the lowest or tenth of the Sephiroth. Again, "the word cherub also meant serpent, in one sense, though its direct meaning is different; because the Cherubim and the Persian winged (gryphes)

'griffins' -- the guardians of the golden mountain -- are the same, and their compound name shows their character, as it is formed of (kr) circle, and 'aub,' or ob -- serpent -- therefore, a 'serpent in a circle' " (SD 1:364). The color blue is associated with the Cherubim, as the color red is with the Seraphim.

(See also: Cherub, Cherubim, kerub, kerubim , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Phoenix

(Egyptian-House of Enoch) Egyptian mythological bird of gorgeous plumage, sacred to the sun, reborn from the ashes of the funeral pyre which it made for itself when each life span of 500 or 600 years was over.

"At the top of a palm tree a bird's nest catches fire. It has been ignited by a spark struck from the hooves of celestial steeds drawing the chariot of Ra, the Egyptian sun god. Amid the flames a beautiful Arabian bird extends its golden neck and purple wings, but instead of flying off, it dances. Eventually, it is consumed by the fire and reduced to ashes. but this is not the end. Indeed, it is only the beginning - for 500 years later a new bird is reborn from the ashes. It seals the remains of the nest in myrrh, wraps it in aromatic leaves, and molds it into the shape of an egg. This it carries as a sacred offering to the temple of the sun at Heliopolis, then flies away to paradise. Five hundred years later it returns to earth, where it begins again the cycle of selfimmolation and resurrection - a process that continues forever. "

The phoenix, originating in the mythology of ancient Egypt, has become a universal symbol of rebirth and the most famous of all fabulous birds. Clad in feathers of red and gold, the color of the rising sun, it had a melodious voice that became mournful with approuching death. Other creatures were then so overcome by its beauty and sadness that they themselves fell dead.

According to legend, only one phoenix could live at a time. The Greek poet Hesiod, writing in the 8th century BC, said that the phoenix lived nine times the lifespan of the long-living raven. Other estimates went up to 97,200 years. When the bird felt death approaching, it built itself a pyre of wild cinnamon and died in the flames. But from the ashes there then arose a new phoenix, which tenderly encased its parent's remains in an egg of myrrh and flew with them to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where it laid them on the Altar of the Sun. These ashes were said to have the power of bringing a dead man back to life.

The profligate Roman Emperor Elagabalus (AD 205-22) decided to eat phoenix meat in order to achieve immortality. He dined off a bird of paradise, sent in place of a phoenix, but the substitute did not work. He was then murdered shortly afterward.

Scholars now think that the germ of the legend came from the Orient and was adopted by the sun-worshipping priests of Heliopolis as an allegory of the sun's daily setting and rebirth.

Like all great myths, it stirs deep chords in man. In Christian art the resurrected phoenix became a popular symbol of Christ risen from the grave. Strangely, its name may come from a misunderstanding by Herodotus, the Greek historian of the 5th century BC. In his account of the bird he may have mistakenly given it the name "phoenix" because of the palm tree (Greek: phoinix) on which it was customarily pictured sitting in those days. In their attempts to identify the gorgeously plumed phoenix of Egyptian myth with a real bird, scientists tended to discount New Guinea's birds of paradise otherwise likely candidates because of the island's great distance from Egypt. In 1957, however, Australian zoologists discovered that New Guinea tribes had exported bird of paradise plumed skins for centuries and that among those visiting the island, as long ago as 1000 BC, had been traders from Phoenicia in the Middle East.

Another significant discovery was that the tribespeople used to preserve the skins for export by sealing them in myrrh, molding them into an egg shape, and wrapping this in burned banana skins - a procedure that tallies almost exactly with the mythical bird's reputed treatment of its destroyed nest. Perhaps most significant of all is the fact that the brilliantly colored males of Count Raggi's bird of paradise are adorned with cascades of scarlet feathers that, during their courtship dance, they repeatedly raise aloft, while quivering intensely - a spectacle reminiscent of the phoenix dancing in its burning nest. On reaching the Middle East, descriptions of this spectacle, combined with the egg-like parcels of skins, may well have been sufficient to inspire the myth of the phoenix.

(See also: Phoenix , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

A Dictionary of Spiritual Terms. From Acupuncture to Zoroaster.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

CHARIOT, THE

The seventh Arcanum, lettered Cheth. The path connecting Binah and Geburah, hence, according to Nevill Drury, the warrior-like aspect of the Emperor, who, in contrast, is thought of more as a father-God. Here his role would seem to be that of the Destroyer. Since most authorities assign Cancer to this Enigma rather than Aries (which would be more fitting for The Emperor), such a role seems questionable. Others see the Charioteer as simply the passenger of the Merkabah. The chariot in its historical sense is the vehicle of triumph.

The sleeping (referring to the unconscious mind), black and white (positive & negative) sphinxes represent the two-headed earth god, Aker. His two heads are now sphinxes, now lions (the latter are reminiscent of the hieroglyphic "lions of yesterday and tomorrow", facing opposite directions on the horizon). Bicephalous Aker guards the eastern and western doorways to the Underworld. He is the outer "limits" of earth (that is, limitations of matter).

For Crowley the Charioteer is the balancer and controller of opposing forces - the opposite of opposing forces going awry, as in The Tower.

(See also: CHARIOT , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Chariot

• To dream of riding in a chariot, foretells that favorable opportunities will present themselves resulting in your good if rightly used by you.
• To fall or see others fall from one, denotes displacement from high positions.

Source: 10 000 Dream Interpretations, by Gustavus Hindman Miller

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Chariot , Dreams - Meaning of Dream about Chariot , Dream Interpretation Chariot )

Chariot Vehicle (cf Sanskrit vahana, Hebrew merkhabah). The Zohar states that 'eyn soph uses the One, the manifested Heavenly Man, as its chariot; but, as 'eyn soph is the Boundless, it cannot come into individual relation with any thing; it is the depth or bythos of 'eyn soph whose ray uses the Heavenly Man as a chariot.

It is the unmanifested Logos or Brahman which uses the manifested Logos or Brahma as its vehicle. Chariot is also used to refer to the visible planets as vehicles of the planetary deities, as for instance in the chariot of Apollo or Phoebus and in the nine chariots of the stars around Dhruva the pole star. In similar fashion, the human body is often called the chariot of the inner charioteer, the real person or true ego.

(See also: Chariot, Vehicle , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Gullinbursti (Icelandic) (from gullin golden + bursti bristles, mane)

In Norse mythology, a golden boar which draws the chariot of Frey, god of the terrestrial world. He received it as a gift from the two dwarfs Brock (mineral kingdom) and Sindri (vegetable kingdom), sons of Ivalde, the moon.

(See also: Guides , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Dream Dictionary Index with links to 10.000 dream interpretations from many different sources.

Please note that all words in grey are hyperlinked to an archive with articles related to that word, including dream interpretations.

For more dream interpretation, see: Meaning of Dreams or Dream Dictionary

For articles about dreams, see: Dreams

Read more here: » Dream Interpretation Index: Dream Interpretation Index including links to 10.000 dream interpretations

Persian Heritage In Hindu Traditions

Many would be surprised to learn that no ancient Hindu temple was dedicated to Rama - neither in Ayodhya nor anywhere else.

There had been many old temples and shrines devoted to Vishnu and Shiva and a few to Brahma, Ganesh, Kartikeya, Hanuman, Kubera, Nagas, Kali and Durga as well as a huge number honouring numerous local tribal deities. Only 180 years ago Raja Ram Mohan Roy coined the word 'Hindu' to describe the huge variety of faiths and sects with similar but not identical philosophies, myths and rituals.

Read more here: » Islam and Hinduism: Persian Heritage In Hindu Traditions

In the Jagannath Puri festival the king works as a sweeper, cleaning the pathway ahead of the chariot, denoting that no labour is insignificant if done for a higher cause. People from all communities get together to draw the chariots with great enthusiasm, upholding the spirit of celebration and exalting the concept of dignity of labour.

(See also: Puri festival , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Puri festival: Lord of the Universe - Puri Jagannath - about Puri festival  

The Hymns of Dirghatamas in the Rig Veda

Some scholars have claimed that the Babylonians invented the zodiac of 360 degrees around 700 BCE, perhaps even earlier. Many claim that India received the knowledge of the zodiac from Babylonia or even later from Greece. However, as old as the Rig Veda, the oldest Vedic text, there are clear references to a chakra or wheel of 360 spokes placed in the sky. The number 360 and its related numbers like 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 108, 432 and 720 occur commonly in Vedic symbolism. It is in the hymns of the great Rishi Dirghatamas (RV I.140 - 164) that we have the clearest such references.

Read more here: » Vedic Origins of the Zodiac: The Hymns of Dirghatamas in the Rig Veda

The mission of The Golden Age Foundation is to bring humanity into a golden era. The work is to bring about a fundamental change in the nature of each and every one of us where our consciousness undergoes a transformation.

Read more here: » Enlightenment: Services of The Golden Age Foundation