Incarnation

In Christian theology, when God became a man, taking on the physical nature of Jesus, creating the second person of the Trinity, an addition of human nature to the nature of God. The doctrine is of vital importance to the Christian. This doctrine says only God could pay for sins, therefore, God became man to die for our sins which is the atonement. (Contrast with Kenosis. )

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

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Hail Mary

Ave Maria, Rosary. Roman Catholic prayer based on Luke 1: 28.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. "

The first part is taken from the Gospel of St. Luke and joins together the words of the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation (Lk 1: 28) together with Elizabeth's greeting to Mary at the Visitation (Luke 1: 42). The joining of these two passages can be found as early as the fifth, and perhaps even the fourth, century in the eastern liturgies of St. James of Antioch and St. Mark of Alexandria. Later, probably by Pope Urban IV around the year 1262, Jesus' name was inserted at the end of the two passages.

The second half of the prayer (Holy Mary. ) can be traced back to the 15th century where two endings are found. One ending, Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, is found in the writings of St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444 AD) and the Carthusians. A second ending, Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis nunc et in hora mortis nostrae, can be found in the writings of the Servites, in a Roman Breviary, and in some German Dioceses.

The current form of the prayer became the standard form sometime in the 16th century and was included in the reformed Breviary promulgated by Pope St. Pius V in 1568

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Rosary

(Latin: a rose garden)

1)    a certain form of Roman Catholic prayer in which the believer says 15 sets of ten Hail Marys with an Our Father between each ten.

2)    the set of beads used to keep count of the prayers. Related the Arab worry beads and the Hindu mala. (see Rosary)

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

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Unicorn

A mythical horse-like creature with a twisted horn coming from his forehead. A mythical animal generally depicted as having the head and body of a horse, the hind legs of a stag, the tail of a lion, and having a long tapering horn growing from the middle of its forehead.

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John Eckhart "Meister"

(1260-1327) German Christian mystic. A Dominican, Eckhart was a powerful preacher and mystical author, in both Latin and German, who was suspected of heresy toward the end of his life.

Although many of his writings have been lost, his thought is constantly being rediscovered by diverse groups of Christian thinkers. Although he found new vocabulary for describing the traditional stages of the soul's ascent to God, he was unusual in that he both affirmed a close identity with God (third stage) and suggested a fourth stage beyond God to an experience of the Godhead.

Influential on a contemporary group of Rhineland mystics, Eckhart has been considered a source of nearly every subsequent Christian movement from Protestant Pietism to religious existentialism.

(See also: John Eckhart "Meister" , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

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A biorhythm (or biological rhythm) is a hypothetical cyclic pattern of alterations in physiology, emotions, and/or intellect. "Bio" pertains to life and "rhythm" pertains to the flow with regular movement. Biorhythm - The basic theory. The theory of biorhythms claims one's lifecycle is affected by rhythmic cycles and makes approximate predictions of cycles of physical, mental and emotional characteristics. A rhythm or a cycle is a characteristic that is periodically repeated in a predic ...

Including:

• Biorhythm - The basic theory
• Biorhythm - Related terminology
• Biorhythm - Biological rhythm cycles
• Biorhythm - Plausibility
• Biorhythm - Application
• Biorhythm - History
• Biorhythm - Patents

Read more here: » Biorhythm: Encyclopedia - Biorhythm

Initiation - O

This occult term is generally used in reference to the expansion or transformation of a person's consciousness. An "initiate" is one whose consciousness has been transformed so that he now perceives inner realities. There are varying "degrees" of initiation (i.e., "first degree initiates," "second-degree initiates," etc.).

(See also: Initiation , New Age, Body mind and Soul)

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guardian angel

A protective presence who may be summoned to strengthen our souls as we meet the challenges of human incarnation

(See also: Guardian angel , Body Mind and Soul)

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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)

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Wicca

(Anglo-Saxon, "wise one. ")

An earth or pagan religion and magical system dedicated to the Goddess and God which uses ceremonies or rituals to achieve communion with the natural forces. The religion founded in England in 1938, often referred to as Witchcraft. A common creed is, ÒDo what you will, and harm none. Ó Modern Wicca owes much to the influence of Gerald B. Gardner

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Artemis

1.)   Greek Goddess of the Forest.

2.)  symbol of wilderness in women which is not to be lost. The Greek version of the classical moongoddess, whom the Romans called Diana. Artemis may mean: Height Source of Water; as the moon was anciently supposed to be the source and ruler of all waters.

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Ascended Masters

Those who are believed to have reached the highest level of spiritual consciousness and have become guides in the spiritual evolution of mankind, such as Jesus and St. Germaine. Sometimes called the Great White Brotherhood.

According to many, they can supposedly communicate spiritual truths to humans through channeling or other occult techniques. Membership includes Jesus, Buddha, St. Germain (see I AM movement), Ramtha (see Knight, J. Z. ), Mafu (see Torres, Penny), Seth (see Jane Roberts), and others. (Ascended Masters

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Day of Brahma

In Hindu esoteric teachings, one day of Brahma consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.

The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years.

• In the Treta-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years.
• In the Dvapara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years.
• And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have been experiencing over the past 5000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years.

In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord himself appears as the Kalki Avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves his devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again.

These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahma, and the same number comprise one night. Brahma lives one hundred of such years and then dies. These hundred years by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years. By these calculations the life of Brahma seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. "

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Aquarian Age

The New Age which begins (according to various calculations) between January 1, 1981 and May 5, 2012. Many New Agers believe the Aquarian Age will be characterized by a heightened degree of spiritual or cosmic consciousness.

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

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Reformation

The 16th century movement initiated by Martin Luther, initially intended to correct, protest, or reform the doctrines and practices of Roman Catholicism. Luther's efforts (later joined and expanded by Zwingli, Bucer, Calvin and others) quickly developed into a complete break with Catholicism.

The reformers' major doctrinal issues included a rejection of the Pope, church control of Bible translation and interpretation, a distinction in value between laity and clergy, and salvation being a product of the church and its sacraments (salvation by works).

A more thorough (and in some cases unorthodox) reform occurred with the Radical Reformation - the orthodox Anabaptist movement being an example. To various degrees, virtually all Protestant denominations today share a common heritage concerning the issues of the Reformation.

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

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Canon

General term for an authoritative set of sacred writings. The canon of Christian scripture consists of the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New.

The Canon is closed which means nothing more can be added to the Bible, even if missing pieces or genuine inspired writing of the Apostles were to be discovered. This is a custom of Christianity. .

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

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Vagina Dentata

( Latin, "vaginal teeth") Motif in stories throughout North and South America, Siberia, Northern Russia, and Greenland. Certain women are depicted as having the teeth of a rattlesnake or some other serpent set in their vaginas.

They kill men who would have intercourse with them. As a result, these women may collect the deceased men's hunting equipment, but often these women are able to hunt with their toothed vaginas. A culture hero, sometimes acting the role of a young husband, is often involved in breaking and wearing down the vaginal teeth with a wedge or stone penis, so that intercourse does not end in death.

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Dalai Lama

"Exalted Ocean", spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, now in exile in India; 14th and current Dalai is Gejong Tenzin Gyatsho, 1935-

(See also: Dalai Lama , Body Mind and Soul)

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Krishna

One of the primary Hindu gods, who, according to some Hindu sects, is the eighth or ninth incarnation of Vishnu and possibly the manifestation of the supreme demigod/God incarnating as Vishnu.

The name Krishna means black or darkness in Sanskrit, probably referring to Krishna's dark skin. Devotion to Krishna has been introduced in the West especially through the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

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

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chakra

(Sanskrit) A wheel or vortex of energy that exists in several parts of the physical body. We have seven major Chakras which correspond to Seven major glands. Chakras are used in energy and healing work

(See also: Chakra , Body Mind and Soul)

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Messiah

(Hebrew - annointed, as a prince - an heir apparent)

1)    according to Jewish tradition, a prince who would occupy the throne of David and lead the Jewish nation to become a world power

2)    Early Christian theologians quickly noted the similarity in meaning between Messiah and Christ and reached the conclusion that Jesus, being a Messiah, must also have been a Christ.

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Kundalini - N

The elemental energy of the human body which, like a serpent, rests coiled at the base of the spine.

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