The word "shaman" probably originated among the Siberian Tungus (Evenks) and literally means "he (or she) who knows"; the belief that the word may be derived from Sanskrit is perhaps due to the relation between the words "shamanism" and "shramanism", from the sanskrit "shramana", Pali and Prakrit "samana"; the samanas were ascetics, not shamans, however. However, in Sanskrit, the word "shamana" also exists, and it means the act of calming, tranquilizing, soothing or destroying - this, through Buddhism, could have led to the formation of the modern word Shamanism. ( ...

See also:

Shamanism, Shamanism - Etymology, Shamanism - History, Shamanism - Asia, Shamanism - Americas, Shamanism - Aspects of the practice, Shamanism - Initiation and learning, Shamanism - Shamanic illness, Shamanism - Practice and method, Shamanism - Shamanic technology, Shamanism - Gender and sexuality, Shamanism - Shamanism and New Age

Read more here: » Shamanism: Encyclopedia II - Shamanism - Etymology

See also:

Shamanism, Shamanism - Etymology, Shamanism - History, Shamanism - Asia, Shamanism - Americas, Shamanism - Aspects of the practice, Shamanism - Initiation and learning, Shamanism - Shamanic illness, Shamanism - Practice and method, Shamanism - Shamanic technology, Shamanism - Gender and sexuality, Shamanism - Shamanism and New Age

Read more here: » Shamanism: Encyclopedia II - Shamanism - History

Different forms of shamanism are found around the world, and practitioners are also known as medicine men or women, as well as witch doctors. Shamanism - Initiation and learning. In Shamanic cultures, the shaman plays a priest-like role; however, there is an essential difference between the two, as Joseph Campbell describes: "The priest is the socially initiated, ceremonially inducted member of a recognized religious organization, where he holds a certain rank and functions as the tenant of an ...

See also:

Shamanism, Shamanism - Etymology, Shamanism - History, Shamanism - Asia, Shamanism - Americas, Shamanism - Aspects of the practice, Shamanism - Initiation and learning, Shamanism - Shamanic illness, Shamanism - Practice and method, Shamanism - Shamanic technology, Shamanism - Gender and sexuality, Shamanism - Shamanism and New Age

Read more here: » Shamanism: Encyclopedia II - Shamanism - Aspects of the practice

Shamanism refers to the traditional healing and religious practices of Northern Asia (Siberia) and Mongolia. By extension, the concept of shamanism has been extended in common language to a range of traditional beliefs and practices that involve the ability to diagnose, cure, and sometimes cause human suffering by traversing the axis mundi and forming a special relationship with, or gaining control over, spirits. Shamans have been credited with the ability to control the weather, divination, the interpretation of dreams, astral projection, and traveling to upper and lower worlds. Shamanistic traditions have exist ...

Including:

• Shamanism - Etymology
• Shamanism - History
• Shamanism - Asia
• Shamanism - Americas
• Shamanism - Aspects of the practice
• Shamanism - Initiation and learning
• Shamanism - Shamanic illness
• Shamanism - Practice and method
• Shamanism - Shamanic technology
• Shamanism - Gender and sexuality
• Shamanism - Shamanism and New Age

Read more here: » Shamanism: Encyclopedia - Shamanism

Odin is considered the highest god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism. His role, like many of the Norse pantheon, is complex: he is god of both wisdom and war. He is also attested as being a god of magic, poetry, victory, and the hunt. His name is, in Old Norse, Óðinn. Although its precise meaning is debated, the name is thought to be related to the word óðr, meaning "excitation" or "fury". Worship of Odin dates to Proto-Germanic paganism, and the names Old English (and Old Saxon) Wōden; Old ...

Including:

• Odin - Etymology
• Odin - General characteristics
• Odin - Odin and Mercury
• Odin - Celtic parallels
• Odin - Eddaic Odin
• Odin - Attributes
• Odin - Names
• Odin - Anglo-Saxon Woden
• Odin - Worship
• Odin - Sacrifices
• Odin - Shamanic traits
• Odin - Odin and Jesus
• Odin - Medieval reception
• Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin
• Odin - Modern age
• Odin - Notes
• Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia - Odin

Certain drugs can affect the subjective qualities of perception, thought or emotion, resulting in altered interpretations of sensory input, alternate states of consciousness, or hallucinations. This general group of pharmacological agents can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants. All of these agents act as neurotransmitter mimics, often as agonists or antagonists at neurotransmitter receptors. Their primary effects are markedly different from those of st ...

Including:

• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Psychedelics
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Dissociatives
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Deliriants
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Etymology and alternative terms
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - History of use
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Traditional religious and shamanic use entheogens
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Early scientific investigations
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Hallucinogens after World War II
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Social status of hallucinogens
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Legal status
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Pharmacology
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Pharmacological classes of hallucinogens
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Psychedelics serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonists
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Dissociatives
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Deliriants anticholinergics
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Hallucinogenic plants fungi and animals
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Plants
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Fungi
• Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants - Animals

Read more here: » Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants: Encyclopedia - Psychedelics dissociatives and deliriants

A Magus (plural Magi, from Latin, via Greek μάγος from Old Persian maguš; Old English: Mage) was a Zoroastrian astrologer-priest from ancient Persia. The best known Magi are the "Wise Men from the East" in the Bible. In English, the term may refer to a shaman, sorcerer, or wizard; it is the origin of the English words magic and magician. Magus - Etymology. Magus - Greek-Persian roots. The Greek word is attested from the 5th century BC (Ancient Greek) a ...

Including:

• Magus - Etymology
• Magus - Greek-Persian roots
• Magus - Greek use of magos
• Magus - English language
• Magus - History in the Persian Empire
• Magus - The Maga in India
• Magus - Fictional magi
• Magus - Games
• Magus - Comics

Read more here: » Magus: Encyclopedia - Magus

The term witchcraft (and witch) is a controversial one with a complicated history. Witchcraft is viewed differently in different cultures around the globe. Used with entirely different contexts, and within entirely different cultural references, it can take on distinct and often contradictory meanings. Each culture has its own particular body of concepts dealing with magic, religion, benevolent and harmful spirits, and ritual; and these ideas d ...

Including:

• Witchcraft - Practices typically considered to be witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Etymology
• Witchcraft - European witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Middle Eastern witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Ancient Middle Eastern and Near Eastern beliefs
• Witchcraft - Witchcraft in the Tanakh Hebrew Bible Old Testament
• Witchcraft - Witchcraft in the New Testament
• Witchcraft - Jewish views of witchcraft
• Witchcraft - African witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Theories of Neopagan witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Additional Reading

Read more here: » Witchcraft: Encyclopedia - Witchcraft

Religion (see etymology below) —sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system—is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine; and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions and rituals associated with such belief. In its broadest sense some have defined it as the sum total of answers given to explain humankind's relationship with the universe. In the course of the development of religion, it has taken ...

Including:

• Religion - Etymology
• Religion - Religion and science
• Religion - Philosophy and metaphysics
• Religion - Esotericism and mysticism
• Religion - Spirituality
• Religion - Myth
• Religion - Approaches to the study of individual religions
• Religion - Methods of studying religion subjectively in relation to one's own beliefs
• Religion - Methods of studying religion objectively in a scientific and religiously neutral fashion
• Religion - Development of religion
• Religion - Religion today
• Religion - Approaches to relating to the beliefs of others
• Religion - Exclusivism
• Religion - Inclusivism
• Religion - Pluralism
• Religion - Syncretism
• Religion - Universalism
• Religion - Systemization
• Religion - Religion and other approaches to forming beliefs about the nature of the universe
• Religion - Related philosophical stances
• Religion - Compare with

Read more here: » Religion: Encyclopedia - Religion

The attested forms of the theonym are traditionally derived from Proto-Germanic *Wōđanaz[1] (in Old Norse word-initial *w- was dropped before rounded vowels and so the name became Óðinn). Adam von Bremen etymologizes the god worshipped by the 11th century Scandinavian pagans as "Wodan id est furor" ("Wodan, which means 'fury'"). An obsolete alternate etymology, which has been adhered to by many early writers includi ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Etymology

The goddess Freya is described as an adept of the mysteries of seid (shamanism), a völva, and it is said that it was she who initiated Odin into its mysteries. In Lokasenna, Loki verbally abuses Odin for practising seid, condemning it as a unmanly art. A justification for this may be found in the Ynglinga saga where Snorri opines that in following the practice of seid, the practitioner was rendered unmanly. Another explanation is that its manipulative aspects ran counter to th ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Shamanic traits

The attested forms of the theonym are traditionally derived from Proto-Germanic *Wōđanaz[1] (in Old Norse word-initial *w- was dropped before rounded vowels and so the name became Óðinn). Adam von Bremen etymologizes the god worshipped by the 11th century Scandinavian pagans as "Wodan id est furor" ("Wodan, which means 'fury'"). An obsolete alternate etymology, which has been adhered to by many early writers includi ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Etymology, Odin - General characteristics, Odin - Odin and Mercury, Odin - Celtic parallels, Odin - Eddaic Odin, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Anglo-Saxon Woden, Odin - Worship, Odin - Sacrifices, Odin - Shamanic traits, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Medieval reception, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Etymology

According to the Prose Edda, Odin was a son of Bestla and Borr and brother of Vé and Vili and together with these brothers he cast down the frost giant Ymir and created the world from Ymir's body. The three brothers are often mentioned together. "Wille" is the German word for "will" (English), "Weh" is the German word (Gothic wai) for "woe" (English: great sorrow, grief, misery) but is more likely related to the ar ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Etymology, Odin - General characteristics, Odin - Odin and Mercury, Odin - Celtic parallels, Odin - Eddaic Odin, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Anglo-Saxon Woden, Odin - Worship, Odin - Sacrifices, Odin - Shamanic traits, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Medieval reception, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Eddaic Odin

Details of the Migration period of Germanic religion are sketchy, reconstructed from artefacts, sparse contemporary sources, and later the later testimonies of medieval legends and placenames. It was common, particularly amongst the Cimbri, to sacrifice a prisoner to Odin prior to or after a battle. According to Jonas Bobiensis, the 6th century Irish missionary Saint Columbanus is reputed to have disrupted a Beer sacrifice to Wuodan (Deo suo Vodano nomine) in Bregenz, Alemannia. Wuodan was the chief god of the Alamanni, his name appears in the runic in ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Worship

The Anglo-Saxon tribes brought their pagan faith to England around the 5th and 6th centuries and continued in that form of worship until nearly all were converted to Christianity by the 8th century. The Anglo-Saxon kings claimed descent from Woden. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Historia Britonum, Woden had the sons Wecta, Baeldaeg, Casere and Wihtlaeg, who in turn were ancestors of the royal houses of the Heptarchy Lombardic Godan appears in the 7th century Origo Gentis Langobardorum. According to the le ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Migration period

Scandinavian Óðinn emerged from Proto-Norse *Wōdin during the Migration period, Vendel artwork (bracteates, image stones) depicting the earliest scenes that can be aligned with the High Medieval Norse mythological texts. The context of the new elites emerging in this period aligns with Snorri's tale of the indigenous Vanir who were eventually replaced Aesir intruders from the Continent.[9] According to the Prose Edda, Odin was a son of Bestla and Borr and brother of Vé and Vili and together with t ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Viking Age

As the chief god of the Germanic pantheon, Odin received particular attention from the early missionaries. For example, his day is the only day to have been renamed in the German language from "Woden's day", still extant in English Wednesday (compare Norwegian, Danish and Swedish onsdag, Dutch woensdag) to the neutral Mittwoch ("mid-week"), while other gods were not deemed important enough for propaganda (Tuesday "Tyr's day" and Friday "Freyja's day" remained intact in all Germanic languages). "Woden ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Medieval reception

With the Romantic Viking revival of the early-to-mid 19th century, Odin's popularity increased again. Wotan is a lead character in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, written between 1848 and 1874. His name provides the root for 19th century conceptions of "Od", a hypothetical vital energy that permeates all living things. Odin, along with the other Norse Gods and Goddesses, is worshipped by Germanic pagan reconstructivists (see Odinism). Ásatrú, "faith in the Aesir", is an officially recogni ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Revivals

Less is known about the role of Odin as receiver of the dead among the more southern Germanic tribes. The Roman historian Tacitus probably refers to Odin when he talks of Mercury. The reason is that, like Mercury, Odin was regarded as Psychopompos, "the leader of souls". Julius Caesar calls Mercury the "deum maxime" of the Gauls in De Bello Gallico 6.17.1. Paulus Diaconus (or Paul the Deacon), writing in the late 8th century, tells that Odin (Guodan) was the chief god of the Langobards and, like earlier southern s ...

See also:

Wodanaz, Wodanaz - Etymology, Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury, Wodanaz - Celtic parallels, Wodanaz - Shamanic traits, Wodanaz - Worship, Wodanaz - Migration period, Wodanaz - Viking Age, Wodanaz - Medieval reception, Wodanaz - Revivals, Wodanaz - Notes, Wodanaz - Literature

Read more here: » Wodanaz: Encyclopedia II - Wodanaz - Odin and Mercury

For the Norse people, Odin's name was synonymous with battle and warfare, for he appears throughout their myths as the bringer of victory. Odin was a shape-changer, able to alter his skin and form in any way he liked. He was said to travel the world as an old man with a staff, one-eyed, grey-bearded, and wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Odin is associated with the concept of the Wild Hunt, a noisy, bellowing movement across the sky, leading a host o ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Etymology, Odin - General characteristics, Odin - Odin and Mercury, Odin - Celtic parallels, Odin - Eddaic Odin, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Anglo-Saxon Woden, Odin - Worship, Odin - Sacrifices, Odin - Shamanic traits, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Medieval reception, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - General characteristics