WORSHIP: in Paganism and Wicca, this means to become one with the gods during a group or personal rite and to endeavor to draw the essence of a goddess or god within, to see and understand from their viewpoint.

(See also: WORSHIP , Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

ANCESTOR WORSHIP: The belief inherent in some religions, such as Shintoism, that asserts the continued existence of the deceased and the influence that the living descendants have upon their existence. Descendants have an obligation to support their ancestors through their actions and reverence.

(See also: ANCESTOR WORSHIP , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Sexual Worship.

See PHALLIC; LINGA

(See also: Sexual Worship , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Ancestor Worship A cult widely observed among peoples and usually defined as the cult of the spirits of parents and forefathers. It implies belief in the continued existence of the deceased and in certain cases in their power of being interested in and affected by the fortunes of their living descendants; the sense of a perpetual spiritual unity and moral reciprocity in obligations and services; and a dependence of the fortunes of the living on the fulfillment of these obligations.

This can be seen from the ancient Roman ideas portrayed in the Aeneid, where the household gods (lares and penates) are so carefully preserved through all vicissitudes. This belief and practice point to times when death was regarded as merely an event in a continuous life. With the ancient cults, the sense of personal separateness seems merged in the more vivid sense of family unity, from whose privileges and obligations death is no discharge. In fact, theosophy suggests that the reimbodying ego of an ancestor actually takes a body born of its own descendants as a result of the transmigration of life-atoms. Thus what might be called an ancestral blood stream, or a tree with collateral branches, subsists.

The basic idea behind ancestor worship seems to be that its holders envisaged unity in a continuous and never-ending stream of lives, perpetuating itself in succession through the ages, and out of which and back into which individuals arise and sink, an idea in direct contrast to the modern view that the individual is the most important factor in life.

(See also: Ancestor Worship , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Bull-Worship (See "Apis" ). The worship of the Bull and the Ram was addressed to one and the same power, that of generative creation, under two aspects -  the celestial or cosmic, and the terrestrial or human. The ram-headed gods all belong to the latter aspect, the bull - to the former. Osiris to whom the Bull was sacred, was never regarded as a phallic deity ; neither was Siva with his Bull Nandi, in spite of the lingham.

As Nandi is of a pure milk-white colour, so was Apis. Both were the emblems of the generative, or of evolutionary power in the Universal Kosmos. Those who regard the solar gods and the bulls as of a phallic character, or connect the Sun with it, are mistaken, it is only the lunar gods and the rams, and lambs, which are priapic, and it little becomes a religion which, however unconsciously, has still adopted for its worship a god pre-eminently lunar, and accentuated its choice by the selection of the lamb, whose sire is the ram, a glyph as pre-eminently phallic, for its most sacred symbol - to vilify the older religions for using the same symbolism.

The worship of the bull, Apis, Hapi Ankh, or the living Osiris, ceased over 3,000 years ago the worship of the ram and lamb continues to this day. Mariette Bey discovered the Serapeum, the Necropolis of the Apis-bulls, near Memphis, an imposing subterranean crypt 2,000 feet long and twenty feet wide, containing the mummies of thirty sacred bulls. If 1,000 years hence, a Roman Catholic Cathedral with the Easter lamb in it, were discovered under the ashes of Vesuvius or Etna, would future generations be justified in inferring therefrom that Christians were "lamb" and "dove" worshippers ? Yet the two symbols would give them as much right in the one case as in the other.

Moreover, not all of the sacred "Bulls" were phallic, i.e., males; there were hermaphrodite and sexless "bulls". The black bull Mnevis, the son of Ptah, was sacred to the God Ra at Heliopolis; the Pacis of Hermonthis - to Amoun Horus, &c., &c., and Apis himself was a hermaphodite and not a male animal, which shows his cosmic character. As well call the Taurus of the Zodiac and all Nature phallic.

(See also: Bull-Worship , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Twilight Worship:

Twilight Worship. Puja at dawn, midday, sunset and midnight.

(See also: Twilight Worship , Tantra, Tantra Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Bull, Bull Worship The bull has been worshiped as a symbol of generative creation in its celestial or cosmic aspect -- in contrast with the terrestrial and human aspect represented by the ram and sometimes the lamb.

Generally the bull or cow was used as a symbol of the moon cosmogonically, although occasionally associated with solar deities. Sometimes a white bull is represented, as seen in the Egyptian Apis, who legendarily is Osiris "incarnate" in that form; with the Hindus the white bull Nandi was associated with Siva. However, the significance of the ram is terrestrial, usually phallic, and lunar in the productive sense. Thus the bull represents cosmic evolutionary power, while the ram symbolizes the terrestrial generative powers. The sacred bulls did not necessarily represent male animals, but were mystically considered to be hermaphrodite or even sexless: thus the Egyptian bull, Apis, was depicted as being hermaphrodite, which showed his cosmic character.

The bull was at times considered to be one of the four sacred animals, corresponding to the four points of the compass and other quaternaries, such as the four Maharajas. In Assyrian and other sculptures in Asia Minor we often see a king in the act of seizing a bull by the horns and stabbing it in the belly, the significance of which is reason prevailing over impulse, mind over generative power, or the solar over the lunar elements in mankind and nature. Frequently the bulls were carved as winged, implying the creative or productive nature of the cosmogonic spirit and its all-permeant power throughout nature. The entire series of ideas here was akin to the theme associated with the Mithraic Mysteries, in one stage of which the bull figured prominently.

The preponderance of bull symbols in ancient Assyrian and other sculptures was connected with a time when the zodiacal sign Taurus, due to the precession of the equinoxes, was ascendant: this would be approaching three precessional cycles ago (more than 75,000 years). Thus the bull would then naturally be a favorite emblem and would have featured very largely in association with the iconographical elements of exoteric worship.

(See also: Bull, Bull Worship , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Disk-worship. This was very common in Egypt but not till later times, as it began with Amenoph III., a Dravidian, who brought it from Southern India and Ceylon. It was Sun-worship under another form, the Aten-Nephru, Aten-Ra being identical with the Adonai of the Jews, the " Lord of Heaven" or the Sun.

The winged disk was the emblem of the Soul. The Sun was at one time the symbol of Universal Deity shining on the whole world and all creatures; the Sabeans regarded the Sun as the Demiurge and a Universal Deity, as did also the Hindus, and as do the Zoroastrians to this day.

The Sun is undeniably the one creator of physical nature. Lenormant was obliged, notwithstanding his orthodox Christianity, to denounce the resemblance between disk and Jewish worship. "Aten represents the Adonai or Lord, the Assyrian Tammuz, and the Syrian Adonis"(The Gr. Dionys. Myth.)

(See also: Disk-worship , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Cow-worship. The idea of any such "worship" is as erroneous as it is unjust.

No Egyptian worshipped the cow, nor does any Hindu worship this animal now, though it is true that the cow and bull were sacred then as they are to-day, but only as the natural physical symbol of a metaphysical ideal; even as a church made of bricks and mortar is sacred to the civilized Christian because of its associations and not by reason of its walls.

The cow was sacred to Isis, the Universal Mother, Nature, and to the Hathor, the female principle in Nature, the two goddesses being allied to both sun and moon, as the disk and the cow’s horns (crescent) prove. (See "Hathor ‘ and "isis".) In the Vedas, the Dawn of Creation is represented by a cow. This dawn is Hathor, and the day which follows, or Nature already formed, is Isis, for both are one except in the matter of time.

Hathor the elder is "the mistress of the seven mystical cows " and Isis, "the Divine Mother is the "cow-horned" the cow of plenty (or Nature, Earth), and, as the mother of Horus (the physical world) - the "mother of all that lives The outa was the symbolic eye of Horus, the right being the sun, and the left the moon.

The right "eye" of Horus was called "the cow of Hathor", and served as a powerful amulet, as the dove in a nest of rays or glory, with or without the cross, is a talisman with Christians, Latins and Greeks.

The Bull and the Lion which we often find in company with Luke and Mark in the frontispiece of their respective Gospels in the Greek and Latin texts, are explained as symbols - -which is indeed the fact. Why not admit the same in the case of the Egyptian sacred Bulls, Cows, Rams, and Birds?

(See also: Cow-worship , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

temple: An edice in a consecrated place dedicated to the worship of God or the Gods. From the Latin templum, "temple, sanctuary; marked space."

Hindu temples, over one million worldwide, are revered as sacred, magical places in which the three worlds most consciously commune - structures especially built and consecrated to channel the subtle spiritual energies of inner-world beings.

The temple's psychic atmosphere is maintained through regular worship ceremonies (puja) invoking the Deity, who uses His installed image (murti) as a temporary body to bless those living on the earth plane. In Hinduism, the temple is the hub of virtually all aspects of social and religious life. It may be referred to by the Sanskrit terms mandira, devalaya (or Sivalaya, a Siva temple), as well as by vernacular terms such as koyil (Tamil).

See: garbhagriha, darshana, mandapa, pradakshina, sound, teradi, tirthayatra.

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

yajna: (Sanskrit) "Worship; sacrifice."

One of the most central Hindu concepts - sacrifice and surrender through acts of worship, inner and outer.

1) A form of ritual worship especially prevalent in Vedic times, in which oblations - ghee, grains, spices and exotic woods - are offered into a fire according to scriptural injunctions while special mantras are chanted.

-       The element fire, Agni, is revered as the divine messenger who carries offerings and prayers to the Gods.

-       The ancient Veda Brahmanas and the Shrauta Shastras describe various types of yajna rites, some so elaborate as to require hundreds of priests, whose powerful chanting resounds for miles. These major yajnas are performed in large, open-air structures called yagashala.

-       Domestic yajnas, prescribed in the Grihya Shastras, are performed in the family compound or courtyard. Yajna requires four components, none of which may be omitted: dravya, sacrificial substances; tyaga, the spirit of sacrificing all to God; devata, the celestial beings who receive the sacrifice; and mantra, the empowering word or chant.

-       While puja (worship in temples with water, lights and flowers) has largely replaced the yajna, this ancient rite still continues, and its specialized priestly training is carried on in schools in India.

-       Yajnas of a grand scale are performed for special occasions, beseeching the Gods for rain during drought, or for peace during bloody civil war. Even in temples, yajna has its Agamic equivalent in the agnikaraka, the homa or havana ceremony, held in a fire pit (homakunda) in an outer mandapa of a temple as part of elaborate puja rites.

-        

2) Personal acts of worship or sacrifice. Life itself is a jivayajna.

-       The Upanishads suggest that one can make "inner yajnas" by offering up bits of the little self into the fires of sadhana and tapas until the greater Self shines forth.

The five daily yajnas, pancha mahayajna, of the householder (outlined in the Dharma Shastras) ensure offerings to rishis, ancestors, Gods, creatures and men. They are as follows.

-       brahma yajna: (also called Veda yajna or rishi yajna) "Homage to the seers." Accomplished through studying and teaching the Vedas.

-       deva yajna: "Homage to Gods and elementals." Recognizing the debt due to those who guide nature, and the feeding of them by offering ghee and uncooked grains into the fire. This is the homa sacrifice.

-       pitri yajna: "Homage to ancestors." Offering of cakes (pinda) and water to the family line and the progenitors of mankind.

-       bhuta yajna: "Homage to beings." Placing food-offerings, bali, on the ground, intended for animals, birds, insects, wandering outcastes and beings of the invisible worlds. ("Let him gently place on the ground [food] for dogs, outcastes, svapachas, those diseased from sins, crows and insects" Manu Dharma Shastras 3.92).

-       manushya yajna: "Homage to men." Feeding guests and the poor, the homeless and the student. Manushya yajna includes all acts of philanthropy, such as tithing and charity. The Vedic study is performed in the morning.

The other four yajnas are performed just before taking one's noon meal. Manu Dharma Shastras (3.80) states, "Let him worship, according to the rule, the rishis with Veda study, the devas with homa, the pitris with shraddha, men with food, and the bhutas with bali."

Mystics warn that all offerings must be tempered in the fires of kundalini through the power of inner yajna to be true and valuable, just as the fire of awareness is needed to indelibly imprint ideas and concepts on one's own akashic window.

See: dharma, havana, homa, puja, sacrifice.

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

Shaktism (Shakta): (Sanskrit) "Doctrine of power."

The religion followed by those who worship the Supreme as the Divine Mother - Shakti or Devi - in Her many forms, both gentle and fierce. Shaktism is one of the four primary sects of Hinduism. Shaktism's first historical signs are thousands of female statuettes dated ca 5500 bce recovered at the Mehrgarh village in India.

In philosophy and practice, Shaktism greatly resembles Saivism, both faiths promulgating, for example, the same ultimate goals of advaitic union with Siva and moksha. But Shaktas worship Shakti as the Supreme Being exclusively, as the dynamic aspect of Divinity, while Siva is considered solely transcendent and is not worshiped. There are many forms of Shaktism, with endless varieties of practices which seek to capture divine energy or power for spiritual transformation.

Geographically, Shaktism has two main forms, the Srikula "family of the Goddess Sri (or Lakshmi)," which respects the brahminical tradition (a mainstream Hindu tradition which respects caste and purity rules) and is strongest in South India; and the Kalikula, "family of Kali," which rejects brahminical tradition and prevails in Northern and Eastern India.

Four major expressions of Shaktism are evident today: folkshamanism, yoga, devotionalism and universalism. Among the eminent mantras of Shaktism is: Aum Hrim Chandikayai Namah, "I bow to Her who tears apart all dualities." There are many varieties of folk Shaktism gravitating around various forms of the Goddess, such as Kali, Durga and a number of forms of Amman. Such worship often involves animal sacrifice and fire-walking, though the former is tending to disappear.

See: Amman, Goddess, Ishta Devata, Kali, Shakti, tantrism.

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

A dictionary Of Siddha Yoga Terminology. From Abhanga to Yogini.

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

Sun Worship All ancient pantheons contain a deity associated with the sun, so that the reverence and worship paid to the sun was ritually universal even where lunar worship may have predominated. With the Zoroastrians, sun worship was the dominant religious theme although a pantheon of other deities was not excluded.

It was not the visible orb which was worshiped as the solar divinity, but the spiritual power or being within or above the physical sun, which was but its reflection. The lord of the solar system sends its septenary forces and substances to all parts of the solar kingdom, thus binding it into a single organic individual.

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

Disk Worship Another form of sun worship; however, the ancients, especially whose who had been initiated in the Mystery schools, did not worship the physical sun but reverenced the central source of life and vivifying power of which the sun is the focus in its own kingdom, and which it therefore represents.

In ancient Egypt the various forms of the disk were favorite symbols, representing either the sun or moon. The deities specially connected with the solar disk were Amen-Ra, Aten, and Horus. In ancient India the disk or chakra was frequently associated with Vishnu; with the Buddhists it appears in the symbol of the wheel which every buddha is represented as turning or setting in motion.

The winged disk is a symbol of the soul or reincarnating ego. The wings represent the movement of the peregrinating ego through space and time, drifting by karmic destiny and its own inner impulses. The disk carried by the wings is the emblem of the ego itself.

(See also: Disk Worship , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Hare-Worship. The hare was sacred in many lands and especially among the Egyptians and Jews.

Though the latter consider it an unclean, hoofed animal, unfit to eat, yet it was held sacred by some tribes. The reason for this was that in a certain species of hare the male suckled the little ones. It was thus considered to be androgynous or hermaphrodite, and so typified an attribute of the Demiurge, or creative Logos.

The hare was a symbol of the moon, wherein the face of the prophet Moses is to be seen to this day, say the Jews. Moreover the moon is connected with the worship of Jehovah, a deity pre-eminently the god of generation, perhaps also for the same reason that Eros, the god of sexual love, is represented as carrying a hare.

The hare was also sacred to Osiris. Lenormand writes that the hare "has to be considered as the symbol of the Logos . . . the Logos ought to be hermaphrodite and we know that the hare is an androgynous type".

(See also: Hare-Worship , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

congregational worship: Worship done as a group, such as synchronized singing, community prayers or other participatory worship by individuals sharing a strict membership to a particular organization, with no other religious affiliations. Hindu worship is strongly congregational within ashramas and tightly organized societies, but usually noncongregational in the general sphere.

See: bhajana, kirtana, puja, yajna.

(See also: Congregational worship , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

ANCESTOR WORSHIP: ritualized propitiation and invocation of dead kin, based on the belief that spirits influence the fate of the living. A widespread ancient practice.

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

internalized worship: Yoga. Worship or contact with God and Gods via meditation and contemplation rather than through external ritual. This is the yogi's path, preceded by the charya and kriya padas.

See: meditation, yoga.

(See also: Internalized worship , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

kirtana: (Sanskrit) "Praising."

Devotional singing and dancing in celebration of God, Gods and guru. An important form of congregational worship in many Hindu sects.

See: congregational worship, bhajana.

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