CIRCLE OF BEING - in Druidic philosophy both the macrocosm and microcosm are divided into three circles of being. The inner circle is abred, the middle is gweynfd and the outer most on is ceugant. The inner most circle is often represented by the magick circle where in all magick and ritual is performed. (CMM)

(See also: CIRCLE OF BEING , Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

MAGICK CIRCLE - a circular boundary drawn invisionary blue flame or white light that protects you from outside forces while conducting rituals. Never step outside the circle while performing the ritual unless precautions have been taken like a door being cut. Nobody should step in during a ritual, unless they are following a pathway made for them. Door is cut by athame or wand. Circle should never be left hanging after ritual. Must be closed as it was opened ceremoniously. It is considered the doorway between worlds and allows us to move between the two. Some circles can be permanently or physically or temporarily with herbs, sand, salt, chalk or nine foot cord. Circle is cat with blue or white light. Before area is used; clean the area, cleansing, consecrating and make sure necessary supplies are there. (TRASB)

(See also: MAGICK CIRCLE , Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

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

It starts with a vague feeling of something not quite being 'right'. Sounds are harsher on the ears, you find yourself avoiding your once-beloved candle shop because the scents are so over powering. The mall, once a wonderful Temple of Temptations, has become the ninth circle of hell, as have many other public venues. Noise and crowds now drive you away, rather than excite and attract you. Your 'been-there, done-that' passport is completely filled, and nothing really thrills you any more. It's mindless kiddie stuff now.

(See also: Indigo Children, What is Indigo Children, Parenting Indigo Children, Adult Indigo, Indigo Children Channeling)

Read more here: » Indigo Children: The Unveiling: Adult Transition from Indigo to Octarine/Crystal  

The pursuit of prosperity is a constant driving force and desire for most of us and most requests for spell-work that come my way involve love or prosperity.

To begin, let me state outright that you can not simply burn a candle and sit back like a couch potato and expect a windfall. You must be taking some action outside "the circle" to draw good fortune to you. While karma does play a role in this as in all matters, you can facilitate the attraction of abundance. Here are some of my favorite ways to draw prosperity into your life.

Read more here: » Prosperity: Spells, rituals and other techniques to attract prosperity

MAGICK CIRCLE: A sphere constructed of personal power in which rituals are usually performed. Within it the witch is protected from outside forces. The sphere extends both above and below the surface of the ground.

(See also: MAGICK CIRCLE , Paganism, Pagan, Pagan Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle 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)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Egg One of the most comprehensive symbols, equally suggestive in a spiritual, physiological, and cosmological sense. Among other things, it stands for primordial chaos, the universal matrix, the great Deep, the Virgin Mother, and also for the kosmos or world egg produced from it. As chaos or space, it is the virgin egg, unproduced; this is fructified by the spiritual ray, and from it then issues the Third Logos.

"The Virgin-egg being in one sense abstract Egg-ness, or the power of becoming developed through fecundation, is eternal and for ever the same. And just as the fecundation of an egg takes place before it is dropped; so the non-eternal periodical germ which becomes later in symbolism the mundane egg, contains in itself, when it emerges from the said symbol, 'the promise and potency' of all the Universe . . . The simile of an egg also expresses the fact . . . that the primordial form of everything manifested, from atom to globe, from man to angel, is spheroidal, the sphere having been with all nations the emblem of eternity and infinity" (SD 1:64-5).

As the symbol of generation, birth, and rebirth, it is "the most familiar form of that in which is deposited and developed the germ of every living being" (IU 1:157), used not only on account of the mystery of apparent self-generation, but from its spheroidal shape, the sphere and circle both being symbols of encompassing space.

The egg symbol appears in many cultures. In the Laws of Manu, for instance, it is stated that the Self-existent Lord, becoming manifest, created water alone; in that he cast seed which became a golden egg (hiranyagarbha); having dwelt in that egg for a divine year, Brahma splits it, forming heaven and earth. Brahma thus both fructifies the egg and is produced from it. Again, the female evolver or emanator is first a germ, a drop of heavenly dew, a pearl, and then an egg; the egg gives birth to the four elements with the fifth (akasa); it splits, the shell being heaven, the meat earth, and the white the waters of both space and earth. Vishnu, too, emerges from the egg. In Egypt, Osiris is born from an egg, like Brahma; the egg was sacred to Isis and therefore the priests never ate eggs.

The egg is used in Easter celebrations as the symbol of the renewal of life. The Easter egg derives from the pagan custom of exchanging eggs at the birth-time of the year. Originally it had a deep esoteric hint completely lost sight of today where the custom is still held in the Occident, although commonly candies in the shape of eggs are exchanged. Giving a fellow disciple an egg in the old Mystery schools suggested the rebirth of nature, so apparent in the springtime, or again the initiation ceremonies that prevailed at the spring equinox, thereby expressing the hope that he too might at some time be "reborn," able to free his spiritual nature from the enveloping shell as a chick frees itself from the egg.

Sometimes the word is used for the circle or zero, for the egg combines the senses of fertility and sphericity in one symbol. The egg with its central germ is the circle with the point. In company with the stroke for the masculine power in nature -- sometimes represented as a vertical line -- it makes the number 10, or the figure of relatively perfected or complete emanation. The egg was the symbol of life in immortality and eternity, and also the glyph of the generative matrix. The anatomy of a hen's egg shows a wonderful analogy with the stages in comic evolution and the human principles.

See also BRAHMANDA; WORLD EGG

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Anubis (Greek) Anpu (Egyptian) The Egyptian jackal-headed deity, lord of the Silent Land of the West (the underworld). To him with Thoth was entrusted the psychopompic leading of the dead. In the judgment after death, Anubis tests the balance in the scene of the weighing of the heart. His offices were likewise those of the embalmer, mystically speaking.

Originally the god of the underworld, he was later replaced by Osiris. In Heliopolis during the later dynasties he was identified with Horus, for he was often regarded as the son of Osiris and Isis -- more often of Osiris and Nephthys (Neith). Plutarch writes: "By Anubis they understand the horizontal circle, which divides the invisible part of the world, which they call Nephthys, from the visible, to which they give the name of Isis; and as this circle equally touches upon the confines of both light and darkness, it may be looked upon as common to them both . . . Others again are of opinion that by Anubis is meant Time . . . " (On Isis and Osiris, sec 44).

The mysteries of Osiris and Isis were revived in Rome, and Apuleius (2nd century) in The Golden Ass tells of the Procession of Isis, in which the dual aspect of Anubis was portrayed: "that messenger between heaven and hell displaying alternately a face black as night, and golden as the day; in his left the caduceus, in his right waving aloft the green palm branch" (Gods of the Egyptians, Budge 2:264-5). In most of his attributes, Anubis is a lunar power, Plutarch connecting him with the Grecian Hecate, one of the names for the moon; and this is further emphasized by his being a guide of the dead. Also identified with Hermes as psychopomp.

See also Hermanubis

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Ank, Ankh (Egyptian) The symbol of life in ancient Egypt, represented as the tau-cross surmounted by a circle, and often called crux ansata (cross with a handle). Usually placed in the hand of every representation of god or goddess; likewise in the hand of the initiant, and again on the mummy. Also the present astronomical planetary sign for Venus; and the ansated cross reversed is the sign of the earth.

One meaning of the ankh is "esoterically, that mankind and all animal life had stepped out of the divine spiritual circle and fallen into physical male and female generation. This sign, from the end of the Third Race, has the same phallic significance as the 'tree of life' in Eden" (SD 2:30-1).

(See also: Ank, Ankh , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Sphere Conventionally, the geometrical representative of the manifested one All, combining unity, comprehensiveness, simplicity, and symmetry; whereas the ever-unknown frontierless womb of boundless space is conventionally represented by the zero. All the sections of a sphere are circles; its surface is an infinite plane, having neither boundaries nor parts and therefore measurable perhaps solely by the rules of geometry. A balance of centrifugal and centripetal forces produces the sphere, as in a soap bubble. Its center and its surface represent opposite poles, between which radiate expansive and contractive energies. The earth is virtually a sphere. The heavens, the limits of our vision, form the surface of an ideal sphere, whose center is everywhere, and whose periphery is nowhere.

Also used in the sense of a region. Its meaning has analogies with the ideas connected with the circle.

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Zervan Akarana (Avestan) [from zervan time (cf Pahlavi zervam, zarvan, zurvan) + arana, akrana boundary]

Also Zeruana Akerne. Boundless spirit (BCW 4:328); in Zoroastrian literature there are two different kinds of time -- boundless time, pre-existing and ever-existing -- and finite time, which lasts for 12,000 symbolic years, the period during which the two forces of Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman are engaged in their never-ending struggle. According to the Avesta, Zervan Akarana has always existed; its glory is too exalted, its light too resplendent, for human intellect to grasp and comprehend. Its first emanation is eternal light, which becomes Ahura Mazda, the Logos; from whom emanate the six Amesha Spentas, and everything that has being, existence, and form. Another translation is "duration in a circle," the circle being the symbol for the endless, the beginningless, the unknown -- hence boundless time. Zervan Akarana is thus the Mazdean equivalent of Parabrahman or 'eyn soph.

The cycle marking the time period of the world (a fixed period, in contradistinction to boundless time) was called in the Avesta, Zervan daregho-hvadata (the sovereign time of the long period), measured as twelve periods of a thousand years, but what is generally understood in the 'Avesta' system as a thousand years, means, in the esoteric doctrine, a cycle of a duration known but to the initiates and which has an allegorical sense" (IU 2:221n).

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Meditation is a good stress-reliever. It calms the senses, making the mind inactive and the body, passive. Meditation usually involves concentrating on an object - a flower, a burning candle, a circle, a sound or word, or even one’s own rhythm of breath. Over time, random thoughts peter off. Meditation could also be objectless - just sitting, doing nothing.

Most forms of meditation involve turning your attention inward, away from your usual preoccupations and activities. In the process, you make a simple but significant shift from thinking and doing, to just being. With repeated practice the mind begins to settle down and your breathing slows, and you get into a relaxed, peaceful, harmonious state.

(See also: Meditation , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Meditation: Do-it-Yourself Tips For Meditation  

Deus Emnim et Circulus Est (Latin) "For God is indeed a circle"; a Hermetic axiom ascribed to Pherecydes, a Greek philosopher of the 6th century B.C., said to be the teacher of Pythagoras. The circle is a symbol of the Boundless and also of repetitive cycles; and circular motions and attitudes were prescribed in rituals by Pythagoras, Numa, and many others as being symbolic of divine and celestial concerns.

(See also: Deus Emnim et Circulus Est , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Srichakra sricakra (Sanskrit) [from sri light, radiance + chakra wheel, mystical center or plexus]

A magical diagram or circle, exoterically supposed to represent the circle of the earth. When applied to man, an astrological division of the body representing the uterine or pubic region. Subba Row writes: "The Sreechakram referred to in 'Isis Unveiled' is not the real esoteric Sreechakram of the ancient adepts of Aryavarta"; to which Blavatsky adds: "Very true. But who would be allowed to give out the 'real esoteric one'?" (5 Years of Theosophy 156-7)

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

Mandala

A Sanskrit word that means "circle" or "centre" - a traditional design often utilising the circle as symbol of the cosmos and the square: often seen as a symbol of the man-made world. Mandalas generally exhibit a centre, a radial symmetry, and cardinal points.

(See also: Mandala , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

aura: The luminous colorful field of subtle energy radiating within and around the human body, extending out from three to seven feet. The colors of the aura change constantly according to the ebb and flow of one's state of consciousness, thoughts, moods and emotions. Higher, benevolent feelings create bright pastels; base, negative feelings are darker in color. Thus, auras can be seen and "read" by clairvoyants.

The general nature of auras varies according to individual unfoldment. Great mystics have very bright auras, while instinctive persons are shrouded in dull shades. The aura consists of two aspects, the outer aura and the inner aura. The outer aura extends beyond the physical body and changes continuously, reflecting the individual's moment-to-moment panorama of thought and emotion. The inner aura is much more constant, as it reflects deep-seated subconscious patterns, desires, repressions and tendencies held in the sub-subconscious mind. Those colors which are regularly and habitually reflected in the outer aura are eventually recorded more permanently in the inner aura. The colors of the inner aura permeate out through the outer aura and either shade with sadness or brighten with happiness the normal experiences of daily life.

The inner aura hovers deep within the astral body in the chest and torso and looks much like certain "modern-art" paintings, with heavy strokes of solid colors here and there. In Sanskrit, the aura is called prabhamandala, "luminous circle," or diptachakra, "wheel of light."

See: mind (five states of mind), papa, punya.

(See also: Aura , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary

 Laya Yoga - The Essence Of All Religion

Yoga is the essence of every religion and is that what all religions have in common. If a man really wants to go deeply into the mystical and spiritual essence of their religion, then he or she comes to practise yoga. We say that yoga is not a religion in a sense of an individual creed or a sect separating from others, we also say that yoga is the substance and profundity of every religion and its inner cult. That is why one can be a member of every religious society and practise yoga. Two rules, or if one prefers, two commandments present in all scriptures such as Veda, Koran or the Bible are as if two angelic, divine wings of the Laya Yoga training. " Be holy because I am Holy" and " Be so perfect as your Heavenly Father is" these are the signs of an authentic, spiritual path of universal life.

Read more here: » Laya Yoga: The Essence Of All Religion - Laya Yoga

Visual perception is one of the senses, consisting of the ability to detect light and interpret (see) it as the perception known as sight or naked eye vision. Vision has a specific sensory system, the visual system. There is disagreement as to whether or not this constitutes one, two or even three distinct senses. Some people make a distinction between "black and white" vision and the perception of colour, and others point out that vision using rod cells uses different physical detectors on the retina from ...

Including:

• Visual perception - The visual system
• Visual perception - Sources of information
• Visual perception - Individual and group differences in visual perception
• Visual perception - Theoretical perspectives in the study of visual perception
• Visual perception - Unconscious inference
• Visual perception - Gestalt
• Visual perception - Ecological psychology
• Visual perception - Types of visual perception
• Visual perception - Disorders/Dysfuntions

Read more here: » Visual perception: Encyclopedia - Visual perception

The Divine Comedy is composed of three canticas (or "cantiche"), Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise), composed respectively of 34, 33, and 33 cantos. The first cantica, Inferno, is by far the most famous of the three, and is often published separately under the title Dante's Inferno. As a part of the whole literary work, the first canto serves as an introduction to the entire Divine Comedy, making each of the canticas 33 cantos lon ...

See also:

The Divine Comedy, The Divine Comedy - Structure and story, The Divine Comedy - Inferno, The Divine Comedy - Purgatorio, The Divine Comedy - Paradiso, The Divine Comedy - Thematic Concern, The Divine Comedy - Response and criticism, The Divine Comedy - Original copies, The Divine Comedy - Derivative works, The Divine Comedy - Visual arts, The Divine Comedy - Literature, The Divine Comedy - Music, The Divine Comedy - Sculpture, The Divine Comedy - Notes

Read more here: » The Divine Comedy: Encyclopedia II - The Divine Comedy - Structure and story

The hardcore scene was responsible for intensifying the moshpit. Early New York and London punk gigs gave birth to the practice, but soon after hardcore came to prominence, its fans turned it into an artform. One notable innovation came from Huntington Beach. The circle pit began life as the H.B. Strut, a violent dance that involved participants strutting in a circle around the rim of the pit, swinging their limbs into onlookers. A somewhat accurate representation of the dance can be seen as the Circle Jerks po ...

See also:

Hardcore punk, Hardcore punk - Overview, Hardcore punk - History, Hardcore punk - The Big 3, Hardcore punk - Early support, Hardcore punk - Negative publicity, Hardcore punk - Moshing and dancing, Hardcore punk - Influence, Hardcore punk - Early history in Europe and the UK, Hardcore punk - Hardcore in the 1990s, Hardcore punk - Heavy Hardcore, Hardcore punk - Progression and experimentation, Hardcore punk - Hardcore today, Hardcore punk - Hardcore bands

Read more here: » Hardcore punk: Encyclopedia II - Hardcore punk - Moshing and dancing

AETHYRS (or Aires)

Each of us stands at the center of the Universe, within a four-part series of tablets, cornered by the elemental Watchtowers. Beyond the aethyric dimensions is the Astral, the mental circle, the Abyss, the spiritual circle and the divine. The aethyrs themselves are Dr. Dee's thirty otherworldly dimensions of consciousness, which he describes as "angelic" (or Enochian). They can be reached, however, only through the 19 "Keyes" or "Calls", the first 18 of which summon the Angels of the magic squares. The 19th call lifts the magician's mind to the æthyrs and can be used to summon any one of the Aires. Actually there are 49 Calls (Zero being the first), but only the latter 30 are the æthyrs themselves. There are also 92 Governors, whose names can be found in the Watchtowers. At least 3 Governors are assigned to each aethyr. There are also 24 Seniors, 4 Kings, 192 Angels and 128 Demons in the 4 Watchtowers.

It is in his writings about the aethyrs (The Vision and the Voice) that Crowley hides the most important of his teachings. From my own meditations it occurs to me that had Dee received tablets from different angels, such as the fiery, watery or material universes, he might have had real power and not merely airy or "mental" power (not to disparage the power accruing to Knowledge, it being the strongest known to man!). He'd have had Will, Daring and Silence as well. Just so, of Water we cannot speak and of Fire we have not prepared. But of Earth, who has endured preparation and initiation, can venture a call for materialization of a universe. Such possibilities should cause the magus to feel a strong shudder of fear, for according to Babylon, to create a world is to destroy a God.

Thus for "materialization" we'd need new vocabularies to correspond to the hooks (vavs) of the æthyrs. The build-up would be similar, but the "Aires" would now be "Earthes". For instance, PAZ (In Enochian, "Be as they"), might be PAGZ ("Be NOT as they").

Since the Aires are all 3-lettered, presumably Earthes would be 4-lettered, Waters 2-lettered and Fyres 1-lettered. However, if the Ayres all have 3-lettered names, there is a reason for that. The other elementals might have different numbered names only if we think of them as separate and perhaps the 4th is simply the "understood" rest of the quaternity. At any rate, now we see why there are only Aires. We'd better learn their meanings before we attempt any materializations.

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Circle Dictionary