Saturday, July 23, 2011

Why Did the Egyptians Have Animal-Headed Deities?

Lisa asks: Why Did the Egyptians only have animal-headed deities? Were they unimaginative? Take Anubis for example. "Let's give him a jackal's head cause that'll be really scary and awesome." What were they thinking?




Animal Deities answers:
First of all, ancient Egyptians did not only have animal-headed deities, as the picture on the right shows. Osiris was not an animal-headed deity, because he was/represented the crops that died (were harvested) and lived

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Why Do Some Goddesses and Gods Have Animal Heads?

Why do some goddesses and gods have animal heads? The deities you have probably most often seen depicted with animal heads on human bodies were the Egyptians gods and goddesses. The reason for this has been debated since the time of ancient Greece, and there is a lot of outdated theory floating around.

Modern Theory

Until recently the most widely accepted theory has been that the animal heads (falcon, dog, ram, etc) were representative of animals sacred to that goddess or god, and not

Read more ...

Why Do Some Goddesses and Gods Have Animal Heads?

Why do some goddesses and gods have animal heads? The deities you have probably most often seen depicted with animal heads on human bodies were the Egyptians gods and goddesses. The reason for this has been debated since the time of ancient Greece, and there is a lot of outdated theory floating around.

Modern Theory

Until recently the most widely accepted theory has been that the animal heads (falcon, dog, ram, etc) were representative of animals sacred to that goddess or god, and not

Read more ...

Friday, July 22, 2011

Animism: How Spiritual Beliefs Evolve

Evolution of Beliefs

Scientists say that animal deities eventually led to goddesses and then to gods. You can see some of that progression in the Egyptian goddesses and gods, who are often shown with the heads of animals---the animal that each one derived from.

As peoples lives changed, as gathering wild plants and hunting gradually changed to gardening and herding animals, and then eventually to farming, the beliefs of the peoples evolved as well. The belief in animal deities

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What Are Animal Deities?

What Do We Mean by "Animal Deities"?

The oldest spiritual belief system on Earth is animism. That is the belief that all things have spirit, including trees, animals, rocks, rivers, mountains---even man-made things. For more information on animism, visit Shamanista, a site dedicated to explaining animism and shamanism.

Animists honor all kinds of spirits. They consider stones, trees, and animals to be our older brothers and sisters. Some spirits are more powerful than others, but

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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Shamanic Journeying Trance Depth:

Shamanic journeying: How deep do you go in trance?

For years, certain organizations that raise funds by selling courses in basic shamanic techniques have been saying you just relax into a light trance and see where it takes you.

Yet indigenous shamans do not just relax and let their minds roll. They actively journey into the spirit world to do real work there. They journey only

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Shamanic Journeying Trance Depth:

Shamanic journeying: How deep do you go in trance?

For years, certain organizations that raise funds by selling courses in basic shamanic techniques have been saying you just relax into a light trance and see where it takes you.

Yet indigenous shamans do not just relax and let their minds roll. They actively journey into the spirit world to do real work there. They journey only

Read more ...

Animism: Respecting the Living World

How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What

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Shamanism As a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life

This inspirational book blends elements of shamanism with inherited traditions and contemporary religious commitments. Drawing on shamanic practices from the world over, SHAMANISM AS A

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