“Windows To Spirituality”
Contemporary Religious Satanism Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology is an academic anthology published by Ashgate in 2009 and edited by the Norwegian religious studies scholar Jesper Aa. Petersen. Containing eight separate papers produced by various scholars working in the field of Satanism studies, the book examines different forms of Satanism as practiced in...
Witch-cult Hypothesis The witch-cult hypothesis is a discredited theory which proposes that the witch trials of the Early Modern period were an attempt to suppress a pre-Christian, pagan religion that had survived the Christianisation of Europe. According to its proponents, this witch-cult revolved around the worship of a Horned God of fertility whom the Christian persecutors referred...
European Witchcraft European witchcraft can be traced to classical antiquity and has a continuous history during the Middle Ages, culminating in the Early Modern witch hunts and giving rise to the fairy tale and popular culture “witch” stock character of modern times, as well as to the concept of the...
The Satanic Bible The Satanic Bible is a collection of essays, observations, and rituals published by Anton LaVey in 1969. It is the central religious text of LaVeyan Satanism, and is considered the foundation of its philosophy and dogma. It has been described as the most important document to influence...
Maleficium (sorcery) Maleficium (plural: maleficia) as a Latin term, “An act of witchcraft performed with the intention of causing damage or injury; the resultant harm.” In general, the term applies to any magical act intended to cause harm or death to people or property. Its use in English comes from “Early 17th century; earliest...
The Satanic Temple The Satanic Temple is a nontheistic religious and political activist group based in Salem, Massachusetts. The Temple has chapters in 13 US states and in Canada The group uses Satanic imagery to promote egalitarianism, social justice, and the separation of church and state. Their stated mission is “to encourage benevolence and empathy among...
Parody Religion A parody religion or mock religion is a belief system that challenges the spiritual convictions of others, often through humor, satire, or burlesque (literary ridicule). Often constructed to achieve a specific purpose related to another belief system, a parody religion can be a parody of several religions, sects, gurus, cults, or new religious movements at the same time, or even a parody...
Egyptian Mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion. Myths appear frequently in Egyptian writings and art, particularly in short stories and in religious material such...
Babylonian Religion Babylonian religion is the religious practice of Babylonia. Babylonian mythology was greatly influenced by their Sumerian counterparts, and was written on clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually either written in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian language of earlier...
Armenian Mythology Armenian mythology originated in ancient Indo-European traditions, specifically Proto-Armenian, and gradually incorporated Anatolian, Hurro-Urartian, Mesopotamian, Iranian, and Greek beliefs and deities. Formation of Armenian mythology The pantheon of Armenian gods, initially worshipped by Proto-Armenians, inherited their essential elements from the religious beliefs and mythologies of the Proto-Indo-Europeans and peoples of the Armenian Highlands. Historians distinguish a significant body of Indo-European...
Inca Mythology Inca mythologyincludes many stories and legends that attempt to explain or symbolize Inca beliefs. The Incas tailored their mythology to glorify their own culture and to reinforce the idea that they were a superior people destined to rule others. The Inca civilization flourished in the Andes mountains of South...
Vedic Mythology Vedic mythology refers to the mythological aspects of the historical Vedic religion and Vedic literature, alluded to in the hymns of the Rigveda. The central myth at the base of Vedic ritual surrounds Indra who, inebriated with Soma, slays the dragon (ahi) Vritra, freeing the rivers, the cows and Dawn. Vedic lore contains numerous elements which are common to...
Hittite Mythology And Religion Hittite mythology and Hittite religion were the religious beliefs and practices of the Hittites, who created an empire centered in what is now Turkey from c. 1600 BCE to 1180 BCE. Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give a balanced view of...
Nabataean Religion The Nabataean religion is the form of Arab polytheism practiced in Nabataea, an ancient Arab nation which was well settled by the third century BCE and lasted until the Roman annexation in 106 CE. The Nabateans were polytheistic and worshipped a wide variety of local gods as well as Baalshamin, Isis, and Greco-Roman gods such as Tyche and Dionysus. They...
Atenism Atenism, or the “Amarna heresy“, refers to the religious changes associated with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten. In the 14th century BC, Atenism was Egypt’s state religion for around 20 years, before subsequent rulers returned to the traditional gods and the...
Ancient Iranian Religion Ancient Iranian religion refers to the ancient beliefs and practices of the Iranian peoples before the rise of Zoroastrianism. The Iranian peoples emerged as a separate branch of the Indo-Iranians in the 2nd-millennium BC, during which they came to dominate the Eurasian Steppe and the Iranian Plateau. Their religion is derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian religion, and...
Germanic Paganism Germanic paganism refers to the ethnic religion practiced by the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until Christianisation during the Middle Ages. It was an essential element of early Germanic culture. From both archaeological remains and literary sources, it is possible to trace a number of common or closely related beliefs amid the Germanic peoples into the...
Historical Vedic Religion The historical Vedic religion (also known as, Brahminism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism) refers to the religious ideas and practices among most Indo-Aryan-speaking peoples of ancient India after about 1500 BCE. These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and they were one of the major influences that shaped contemporary...
Paleolithic Religion Paleolithic religion is a set of spiritual beliefs thought to have appeared during the Paleolithic time period. Paleoanthropologists Andre Leroi-Gourhan and Annette Michelson believe religious behaviour emerged by the Upper Paleolithic, before 30,000 years ago at the latest, but behavioral patterns such as burial rites that one might characterize as religious — or as ancestral...
![Ancient Hittite relief carving from Yazılıkaya, a sanctuary at Hattusa, depicting twelve gods of the underworld,[55][failed verification] whom the Hittites identified as the Mesopotamian Anunnaki.](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/1642px-Yazilikaya_B_12erGruppe-520x342.jpg)
Mesopotamian Mythology Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia in modern-day West Asia. In particular the societies of Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria, all of which existed shortly after 3000 BCE and were mostly gone by 400 CE. These works...
