Karma – it may not be what you think

Karma isn't mentioned in the oldest Hindu book, the Rig Veda, which was written before 1000 BCE; some say as early as 1400 BCE, others a more conservative 1200 BCE. (Please note that all dates are approximate.) Since it is not mentioned there, the idea of karma and its effect on recurring lifetimes is probably a later development.

Karma is first mentioned in the Upanishads, though I suppose it's impossible to tell which Upanishad came first. As a group, they were written between 800 and 500 BCE.

The Bhagavad-Gita follows the Upanishads and was written between 500 and 200 BCE.

As far as I have found in the books, the idea that everything you do earns karma, good or bad, or that karma is the reason you have multiple lifetimes, or that karma follows you from one lifetime to another, is not a universal idea.

Too many people today use the concept of karma as a warning: if you eat meat, if you kill a bug, if you shoplift, if you do something bad, they will tell you, "it's your karma," warning you of dire the consequences of your actions.

Karma was never meant to predict your fate, rather it was an explanation for the action/reaction cycle that determines a future. It wasn't a look at the future, it was an explanation of the past.

Karma is, basically, a way to look at cause and effect of your actions. A bad action accumulates bad karma; a good action accumulates good karma. Apparently, according to modern thought, you must accumulate more good karma than bad, and that will somehow release you from the birth-death-rebirth cycle.

That is not the way the books describe it!

Instead, it is a "doing," but release comes only when your actions are completely selfless.

All actions done with purpose, either good or bad, accumulate karma, they "bind the soul" to the cycle of death-rebirth. As it says in the Isa Upanishad, "Only actions done in God bind not the soul of man." (1) In other words, actions performed in selfless service do not accumulate karma.

Performing acts for good are still acts done with a self-centered purpose…..to do good! They accumulate karma just as harmful acts do.

The Isa Upanishad goes on to say, "He who knows both knowledge and action, with action overcomes death, and with knowledge reaches immortality." (1) (Knowledge and action are two types of Yoga (Union with the Divine), Jnana (Knowledge) and Karma (Action). The other types are Hatha (physical), Bhakti (Love), and Rajah (Mystical Experience).)

According to Soumen De in his essay on "The Historical Context of the Bhagavad-Gita and Its Relation to Indian Religious Doctrines," Karma is "The law of universal causality, which connects man with the cosmos and condemns him to transmigrate -- to move from one body to another after death -- indefinitely. In the Gita, Krishna makes an allusion to the eternal soul that moves from body to body as it ascends or descends the ladder of a given hierarchy, conditioned on the nature of one's own karma -- work of life or life deeds." (2)

Also in the Gita is the information needed to overcome this cycle of transmigration.

Aarjuna, the compassionate warrior in the Gita who doesn’t want to go to war, is told: 2.03 "Do not become a coward, O Arjuna, because it does not befit you. Shake off this weakness of your heart and get up (for the battle), O Arjuna." (3) (Chapter 2 line 3.)

Arjuna doesn’t know what to do. He doesn't want to accumulate bad karma, and usually killing would do that, but here is Krishna telling him to go to battle. In modern terms, "this does not compute!"

He is assured that a body is supposed to be born, live, and die. He is doing nothing more than fulfilling a natural cycle by going to war and killing his enemy.

He is assured that if he is performing this action in the name of Deity, no bad karma will be accumulated: "2.40 In Karma-yoga no effort is ever lost, and there is no harm. Even a little practice of this discipline protects one from great fear (of birth and death).

"Translator's note: Karma-yoga is also referred to as Nishkaama Karma-yoga, Seva, selfless service, Buddhi yoga, yoga of work, science of proper action, and yoga of equanimity. A Karma-yogi works for the Lord as a matter of duty without a selfish desire for the fruits of work, or any attachment to results. The word Karma also means duty, action, deeds, work, or the results of past deeds." (3) (Chapter 2 line 40.)

Arjuna is further assured:

"2.49 Work done with selfish motives is inferior by far to the selfless service or Karma-yoga. Therefore be a Karma-yogi, O Arjuna. Those who seek (to enjoy) the fruits of their work are verily unhappy (because one has no control over the results).

"2.50 A Karma-yogi gets freedom from both vice and virtue in this life itself. Therefore, strive for Karma-yoga. Working to the best of one's abilities without getting attached to the fruits of work is called (Nishkaama) Karma-yoga.

"2.51 Wise Karma-yogis, possessed with mental poise by renouncing the attachment to the fruits of work, are indeed freed from the bondage of rebirth and attain the blissful divine state." (3)

The interrelationship and the exemption from rebirth due to the combination of knowledge (janan) and work (karma) is explained in chapter 3, lines 2 through 9:

"3.02 [Arjuna] You seem to confuse my mind by apparently conflicting words. Tell me, decisively, one thing by which I may attain the Supreme.

"3.03 The Supreme Lord said: In this world, O Arjuna, a twofold path of Sadhana (or the spiritual practice) has been stated by Me in the past. The path of Self-knowledge (or Jnana-yoga) for the contemplative, and the path of unselfish work (or Karma-yoga) for the active.

Translator's note: Jnana-yoga is also called Saamkhya-yoga, Samnyasa-yoga, and yoga of knowledge. A Jnana-yogi does not consider oneself the doer of any action, but only an instrument in the hands of divine for His use. The word Jnana means metaphysical or transcendental knowledge.

"3.04 One does not attain freedom from the bondage of Karma by merely abstaining from work. No one attains perfection by merely giving up work.

"3.05 Because no one can remain actionless even for a moment. Everyone is driven to action, helplessly indeed, by the Gunas of nature.

"3.06 The deluded ones, who restrain their organs of action but mentally dwell upon the sense enjoyment, are called hypocrites.

"3.07 The one who controls the senses by the (trained and purified) mind and intellect, and engages the organs of action to Nishkaama Karma-yoga, is superior, O Arjuna.

"3.08 Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction. Even the maintenance of your body would not be possible by inaction.

"3.09 Human beings are bound by Karma (or works) other than those done as Yajna. Therefore, O Arjuna, do your duty efficiently as a service or Seva to Me, free from attachment to the fruits of work.

Translator's note: Yajna means sacrifice, selfless service, unselfish work, Seva, meritorious deeds, giving away something to others, and a religious rite in which oblation is offered to gods through the mouth of fire." (3)

And, finally, this:

"3.19 Therefore, always perform your duty efficiently and without attachment to the results, because by doing work without attachment one attains the Supreme."

There it is, in a nutshell: "doing work without attachment one attains the Supreme"

Karma is not accumulated without attachment to the outcome.

The way to accumulate karma is to remain attached to the outcome; good or bad, attachment accumulates karmic debt.

To be free of karma, to escape the death-rebirth cycle, is to act selflessly, only in the name of Service, only in the name of God, Creator, Spirit, or any other name you wish to apply.

(1) Mascaro, Juan translator, The Upanishads, Penguin Classics, New York, 1965

(2) De, Soumen: The Historical Context of The Bhagavad Gita and Its Relation to Indian Religious Doctrines; Exploring Ancient World Cultures http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/de.htm

(3) Prasad, Ramanand translator, The Bhagavad Gita, Realization.org

http://www.realization.org/page/namedoc0/gita/gita0.htm

2012 The Astronomy Connection

The following article was written by Roderick Marling and posted on his Kamakala.com website.

Mr Marling gives an excellent explanation of the astronomy behind the Winter Solstice 2012 event, and the possible symbolism behind the mystery of this much-discussed occurance, the Mayan calendar date of 13.0.0.0.0 that corresponds to the winter solstice date of 12-21-12 at 11:11 PM UT (which in itself is an interesting set of numbers!).

Enjoy!

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From the beginning of Time human beings, from the most primitive to the most culturally sophisticated, have followed and recorded the natural rhythms and cycles of the Earth. The intricate dance between the Earth and the other heavenly bodies has been the source of wonder and amazement giving rise to innumerable stories and myths all over the world. Many of these stores are still passed on today.

Ancient people of the Earth were concerned with these natural rhythms and cycles because their lives and livelihood depended on them. In certain times of the year food was plentiful in certain regions and not in others. At certain times the rains would come, at others they could expect the heat and drought. They also observed that fertility was somehow linked with the cycles of the Moon.

According to these various cycles of Nature then, people began to recognize a Cosmos of increasing complexity - repeating patterns and cycles enfolded within even larger cycles of order. The cyclic movements of the Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars indicated a Natural Order to Reality that provided our ancestors with meaning and the reassurance of continuity.

Heaven and Nature touched every aspect of their lives. Not only did their astronomical observations indicate when to plant their crops and when to harvest, but also where to locate their temples, how to design their homes and even how to orientate their cities. These people occupied a living and intelligent Universe that governed their lives. Survival and success then, depended on how well one could read the celestial signs.

As a brief review of the some of the most basic of these natural cycles, we will begin with the rotation of the Earth on its axis. Because the Earth rotates one complete revolution every 24 hours we observe the reoccurring periods of day and night.

Unfortunately there are surprisingly large numbers of people today that still do not understand that this daily cycle is caused by the motion of the Earth and not by anything the Sun is doing. This could somewhat be explained by the fact that our linguistic customs lag centuries behind our scientific understanding, and we continue to speak in terms of sunrise and sunsets.

Be that as it may, the next cycle we will look at is based not on the motion of the Earth but of the Moon. The Moon revolves around the Earth every 29.5 days, giving us the concept of the month as it appears in its different phases from New Moon to Full and once again back to New.

Then there is the observable cycle of the year, as the Earth dances around the Sun in an elliptical orbit taking 365.25 days to complete one revolution.

As people continued to observe the heavenly bodies they also began to notice that some of the bright lights in the sky moved while others stayed relatively stationary. These wandering bodies we have come to know as the planets, and various people all over the world took a special interest in their particular movement and cycles, spawning a huge number of stories, myths and legends.

To those early astronomers who kept records of the movement of the Sun, Moon and Planets one of the greatest mysteries that they observed was the fact that every year they would wait for the Sun to appear on the Spring Equinox or Winter Solstice at a specific place on the horizon signaling the New Year.

Over time they were dismayed to find that the Sun no longer appeared in the same place it did just 70 years before, but had moved one full degree (the equivalent to the diameter of the Sun - times two). This slow movement, called the Precession of the Equinox, causes the Equinox Sun to appear to slip backward against the backdrop of the stars.

Astronomers have now managed to figure out that the Earth is not a perfect sphere by any means. It’s actually a bit flattened at the poles and has a bulge at the equator. As a result, the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun exert an uneven influence on the Earth. Their gravitational forces try to pull the equatorial bulge toward them. Because the Earth is spinning these forces make the axis of the Earth wobble, shifting ever so slowly. Gradually the polar axis that was at one time aligned with a particular star begins to shift until it is aligned with another star.

Right now the Earth’s axis at the North Pole points to the star Polaris – which appropriately we call the Pole Star. But 5,000 years ago the north celestial pole aligned to the star called Alpha Draconis. Eight thousand years in the future the pole star will be Vega.

This Precessional movement then is the same motion responsible for the shift of the location of the Equinoxes and the Solstices. The ancient astronomers detected the long term Precessional motion of the Sun through the back drop of the constellations and calculated the length of this Cycle to around 25,600 to 26,000 years.

This means that the Sun that marks the Spring Equinox which now appears in front of the background of stars in the constellation of Pisces, in about 500 years will rise in the constellation of Aquarius. It will continue to shift backwards through the various constellations Capricorn, Sagittarius, etc., until in about 26,000 years it will arrive back to the exact same point in Pisces.

The understanding of this Precession of the Equinox then gave rise to the many myths and legends of the different World Ages. As the Processional movement continued to shift the Equinox into a new constellation, various cultures perceived this as a New Age or New World. As the Spring Equinox Sun appeared to rise in the constellation of Taurus, people perceived this as the Age of the Bull; the Age of the Ram as it rose in the constellation of Aries; the Age of the Fish as it rose in Pisces and so on.

At one time many civilizations on Earth were aware of this natural cycle of the Earth and incorporated it into their cosmologies and concepts of Time in various ways. Each one reflecting a slightly different interpretation and meaning, but in their different ways they all held the Precessional Cycle as involving nothing less than the Cosmic process of Life’s evolution, subtly influencing all of Earth’s Life Forms to move to higher levels of organization and complexity. It came to symbolize the Spiritual Process of Unfolding Consciousness on our planet.

What is important here is that this belief was actually based on an observable astronomical cycle: every 72 years the Solstice and Equinox Sun appeared to move backward through the constellations one degree - as a hand on a clock indicating the hours of the day. In this Cosmic Clock however, the hand or marker in motion is the specific location of the Equinox or Solstice Sunrise, while the face of the clock is represented by the relatively stationary constellations of the stars.

With this in mind then, we will now turn our attention to how this Precessional Cycle became incorporated into the Mayan Cosmology and how it relates to their long count calendar and specifically to the year 2012.

Perhaps more than any ancient culture that we are aware of at this point, the Mayan people were obsessed with Astronomy. Not only were they able to project their astronomical calculations thousands of years forward and backward in Time, but developed a recyclable Venus calendar that was accurate to one day in 500 years and a table of eclipses that still functions today. They also accurately calculated the solar year out to four decimal places. To accomplish these impressive computations they created a sophisticated system of mathematics utilizing place value and the concept of the zero. And all this while Europe was still wandering around in the Dark Ages.

In a complex culture such as we find with the Maya and considering it spanned a period of almost a thousand years, it is important to remember that there arose different belief systems at different times, some of which were coexisting at the same place. Just as if we were to look at the demographics of say modern New York city, we would find Jews perhaps living besides Moslems, Protestants and Catholics - all entertaining different belief systems.

And so it’s appropriate here to limit our considerations of the Mayan culture to only those beliefs that lend meaning and significance to the auspicious date indicated in their long count calendar - Dec.21, 2012.

As we more sharply focus in on this date, we find that one of the indicators to its probable significance is that it specifically designates the Winter Solstice. As this is our starting point in our analysis then, let’s take a closer look as to what this might mean.

First of all it is good to be aware that around the world in various past cultures, each one designated a specific time to mark the beginning of their New Year. In ancient Sumeria and Babylon the New Year began with the Spring Equinox. In Israel the New Year was gradually shifted to the Equinox in the Fall, while in Northern Europe, New Year was celebrated at the time of Winter Solstice. We still observe this particular New Year tradition, but add a few extra days so that now our New Year begins on January 1st.

In the context of this tradition then, the Winter Solstice on December 21 was celebrated as the Sun’s birthday. It is the longest night of the year and therefore the shortest day of the year. It represented the ultimate power of the dark forces of Nature: the long winter night when things appeared to be dead and still. And out of the depths of this longest night the new Sun was born. From this point on, the power of the light grows in strength and the days slowly begin to grow longer.

The Winter Solstice then inaugurated the birth of a new solar year. The Sun appeared to come back from its annual trip to the South and begins its slow return in to the Northern Latitudes. The sunrise on December 21 was believed to be like the first sunrise, and the start of the New Year was in fact a celebration of the beginning of Time.

With this particular context in mind, we are now prepared to examine more closely the reasons why the Winter Solstice in the year 2012 is so important. In the Mayan long count calendar a cycle of 5,200 years ends on this date, and it just so happens that it also points to a rare astronomical alignment. In fact this alignment only happens once every 26,000 years.

The auspicious year of 2012 indicated in the long count calendar illuminates the fact that the Precessional movement of the Winter Solstice Sun will gradually bring its position into alignment with the very center of our Galaxy. For the Maya, this is like the last stroke of Midnight on New Year’s Eve, only in 2012 the New Year is the New Galactic Year of 26,000 solar years. The Galactic Clock will be at zero point and a New Precessional Cycle will begin.

At this point you may be wondering what is so important about the Milky Way and why were the Maya even concerned with it?

Our scientific culture has finally come realize that our planet, the Sun, and the entire solar system had its origins at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. We also have recently found that our Galaxy is 70,000 light years in diameter, with most of its 400 billion stars concentrated in the great central bulge.

Equipped with ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma-ray instruments, plus infrared telescopes most astronomers are now convinced that at the center of our Galaxy is a massive black hole the unimaginable seize of millions of our suns. This is where Science and Mythology truly meet. For what the center of our Galaxy may represent in terms of energy and the properties of time/space, no one has a clue.

But to the ancient Maya the Milky Way Galaxy represented the Great Cosmic Mother from which all Life was birthed. They saw our Galactic Mother stretching out across the night sky and somehow recognize the place where we all had come from. And the great central bulge at Her center they perceived as the Cosmic Womb. Within the central bulge there is what looks like a dark corridor, known as the dark rift. To the Maya it was referred to by many names but the most pertinent here is their reference to this area as the "birthing pace". Are we beginning to get the picture here?

Considering then the significance of the 2012 date in the Mayan calendar, it has been discovered that this year specifically points to a period of time when the December Solstice Sun aligns with and arises out from the backdrop of the dark rift, the "Galactic Birth Canal" in the central bulge. It's as if the Sun is actually being birthed anew from the Galactic Womb.

The Mayan Cosmology was not written in a book, but in the very stars above their heads. The meaning of this story was not revealed through the study of obscure interpretations, but through correspondence of associations assigned to the individual parts in the story. All we need to do is recognize those original associations and the story unfolds all by itself. Just as in our culture we have built up associations between the Winter Solstice, the New Year and the birth of Jesus Christ "the Son of God" who came into this world as "a savior of mankind".

With the Maya we have discovered another story associated with the Winter Solstice, the New Year and the fate of people on Earth. The astronomical alignment of the Precessional Cycle of the Winter Solstice and Galactic Center represents the "Zero Point" on the Cosmic Clock, thus marking the beginning of the New Age in our evolutionary journey in consciousness. It tells us that a New Sun is born, a New Year has dawned, a New Galactic Cycle has begun, and the transformation of our World is well underway.

The big secret in this particular story is that we need not wait for the Winter Solstice in the year 2012 to recognize that we are entering into this time of profound transition. For according to the most recent astronomical calculations the Solstice Meridian actually coincided most precisely with the Galactic Equator between 1998 and 1999.

Just as the Earth’s equator divides the planet into two hemispheres of North and South, the Galactic Equator is the astronomical term for the dividing line of the Milky Way, separating the Galaxy into two halves. Similar to the time of the Equinox when the Sun appears to cross the Earth’s Equator and thus enters into a new hemisphere, so too in 1998 the Winter Solstice Sun began to cross over the Galactic Equator. Considering that the Sun is so large (about one half a degree wide) and the motion is so slow, our Sun will not be completely across the Equator and fully into the new Galactic Hemisphere until 2018.

So we need to understand then that the Mayan 2012 date is simply an indicator to this 20-year period of transition – the birthing process of the New Age and the beginning point of the New Precessional Cycle of 26,000 years.

I find it almost the height of irony that the descendants of those white Europeans who came to the "New World" to bring enlightenment and salvation to the indigenous population, would now find buried here in some remote jungle a stone calendar/clock telling them what Time it is. A calendar or clock not foreign to their own cultural background, but one that actually incorporates and fulfills their most expansive vision of cyclic Time, the Precessional Cycle. This "Great Year" was long known to the Sumerians, Babylonians, Egyptians and the ancient Greeks but lacked a point at which it began or ended. Somehow down through the Ages that knowledge had been lost.

Perhaps the greatest gift the Mayan culture has given our world is the Zero Point to the Precessional Cycle of 26,000 years. Through the 2012 date in their calendar, they have indicated the importance of the Galactic Equator and it relevance to the Precessional Cycle, thus giving us the ability to now pinpoint the exact Time on our Galactic Clock.

Over the span of the 20 year transitional period as the Solstice Sun crosses the Galactic Equator and moves in to a new hemisphere, we will indeed witness the falling away of the old structures and the birthing of the new. For those who have eyes to see we are actually witnessing the birth of a planetary civilization. And the very logistics involved in this process will determine that the old values of the Nation States which was primarily based on competition and exploitation will have to eventually give way to a collaborative effort, where cooperation will be the dominate social value. This will arise not out of some new political, social or economic theory but the very desire of the human species to continue to survive and be successful.

Reference Material

Maya Cosmos, Three Thousand Years On The Shaman's Path. David Feidel, Linda Schele, Joy Parker. William Morrow and Company, New York. 1993.

Maya Cosmogenesis 2012. John Major Jenkins. Bear & Company, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1998.

Beyond The Blue Horizon – Myths & Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars, & Planets. Dr. E.C. Krupp. Oxford University Press, New York, 1991.

Stairways to The Stars – Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures. Anthony Aveni. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. 1997

All Gods Are Sun Gods

Sun Halo at Winter Solstice
Credit & Copyright: Philip Appleton (SIRTF Science Center), Caltech

Explanation: Sometimes it looks like the Sun is being viewed through a large lens. In the above case, however, there are actually millions of lenses: ice crystals. As water freezes in the upper atmosphere, small, flat, six-sided, ice crystals might be formed. As these crystals flutter to the ground, much time is spent with their faces flat, parallel to the ground. An observer may pass through the same plane as many of the falling ice crystals near sunrise or sunset. During this alignment, each crystal can act like a miniature lens, refracting sunlight into our view and creating phenomena like parhelia, the technical term for sundogs. The above image was taken in the morning of the 2000 Winter Solstice near Ames, Iowa, USA. Visible in the image center is the Sun, while two bright sundogs glow prominently from both the left and the right. Also visible behind neighborhood houses and trees are the 22 degree halo, three sun pillars, and the upper tangent arc, all created by sunlight reflecting off of atmospheric ice crystals.

The Winter Solstice is coming up on 22 December at 06:12 Universal Time, the moment when gods and the sun are born and "reborn."

In every culture from the murky past to the present day, there have been Sun Gods. Robert Ingersoll (1833 – 1899) makes a good case for the gods of all religions being gods of the sun. Indeed, most gods, including the monotheistic one, are described as "the Light."

The writing below is excerpted from The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll

Volume II (Lectures)

[1900]

http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/ing/vol02/index.htm

"Myth and Miracle" chapter III

http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/ing/vol02/i0172.htm

In all probability the first religion was Sun-worship. Nothing could have been more natural. Light was life and warmth and love. The sun was the fireside of the world. The sun was the "all-seeing"--the "Sky Father." Darkness was grief and death, and in the shadows crawled the serpents of despair and fear.

The sun was a great warrior, fighting the hosts of Night. Apollo was the sun, and he fought and conquered the serpent of Night. Agni, the generous, who loved the lowliest and visited the humblest, was the sun. He was the god of fire, and the crossed sticks that by friction leaped into flame were his emblem. It was said that, in spite of his goodness, he devoured his father and mother, the two pieces of wood being his parents. Baldur was the sun. He was in love with the Dawn--a maiden--he deserted her and traveled through the heavens alone. At the twilight they met, were reconciled, and the drops of dew were the tears of joy they shed.

Chrishna was the sun. At his birth the Ganges thrilled from its source to the sea. All the trees, the dead as well as the living, burst into leaf and bud and flower.

Hercules was a sun-god.

Jonah the same, rescued from the fiends of Night and carried by the fish through the under world. Samson was a sun-god. His strength was in his hair--in his beams. He was shorn of his strength by Delilah, the shadow--the darkness. So, Osiris, Bacchus, Mithra, Hermes, Buddha, Quelzalcoatle, Prometheus, Zoroaster, Perseus, Codom Lao-tsze Fo-hi, Horus and Rameses were all sun-gods.

All these gods had gods for fathers and all their mothers were virgins.

The births of nearly all were announced by stars.

When they were born there was celestial music, voices declared that a blessing had come upon the earth.

When Buddha was born, the celestial choir sang: "This day is born for the good of men Buddha, and to dispel the darkness of their ignorance--to give joy and peace to the world."

Chrishna was born in a cave, and protected by shepherds. Bacchus, Apollo, Mithra and Hermes were all born in caves. Buddha was born in an inn--according to some, under a tree.

Tyrants sought to kill all of these gods when they were babes.

When Chrishna was born, a tyrant killed the babes of the neighborhood.

Buddha was the child of Maya, a virgin, in the kingdom of Madura. The king arrested Maya before the child was born; imprisoned her in a tower. During the night when the child was born, a great wind wrecked the tower, and carried mother and child to a place of safety. The next morning the king sent his soldiers to kill the babes, and when they came to Buddha and his mother, the babe appeared to be about twelve years of age, and the soldiers passed on.

So Typhon sought in many ways to destroy the babe Horus. The king pursued the infant Zoroaster. Cadmus tried to kill the infant Bacchus.

All of these gods were born on the 25th of December. [Ages ago, December 25th was the approximate date of the Winter Solstice. Due to calendar reforms over the centuries, the solstice now occurs around the 21st of December. ~Michelle~]

Nearly all were worshiped by "wise men."

All of them fasted for forty days.

All met with a violent death.

All rose from the dead.

The history of these gods is the history of our Christ. He had a god for a father, a virgin for a mother. He was born in a manger, or a cave--on the 25th of December. His birth was announced by angels. He was worshiped by wise men, guided by a star. Herod, seeking his life, caused the death of many babes. Christ fasted for forty days. So, it rained for forty days before the flood--Moses was on Mt. Sinai for forty days. The temple had forty pillars and the Jews wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Christ met with a violent death, and rose from the dead.

These things are not accidents--not coincidences. Christ was a sun-god. All religions have been born of sun-worship. To-day, when priests pray, they shut their eyes. This is a survival of sun- worship. When men worshiped the sun, they had to shut their eyes. afterwards, to flatter idols, they pretended that the glory of their faces was more than the eyes could bear.

In the religion of our day there is nothing original. All of its doctrines, its symbols and ceremonies are but the survivals of creeds that perished long ago. Baptism is far older than Christianity--than Judaism. The Hindus, the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans had holy water. The eucharist was borrowed from the Pagans. Ceres was the goddess of the fields, Bacchus the god of the vine. At the harvest festival they made cakes of wheat and said: "These are the flesh of the goddess." They drank wine and cried: "This is the blood of our god."

The cross has been a symbol for many thousands of years. It was a symbol of immortality--of life, of the god Agni, the form of the grave of a man. An ancient people of Italy, who lived long before the Romans, long before the Etruscans, so long that not one word of their language is known, used the cross, and beneath that emblem, carved on stone, their dead still rest. In the forests of Central America, ruined temples have been found, and on the walls the cross with the bleeding victim. On Babylonian cylinders is the impression of the cross. The Trinity came from Egypt. Osiris, Isis and Horus were worshiped thousands of years before our Father, Son and Holy Ghost were thought of. So the Tree of Life grew in India, China and among the Aztecs long before the Garden of Eden was planted. Long before our Bible was known, other nations had their sacred books, temples and altars, sacrifices, ceremonies and priests. The "Fall of Man" is far older than our religion, and so are the "Atonement" and the Scheme of Redemption.

In our blessed religion there is nothing new, nothing original.

Among the Egyptians the cross was a symbol of the life to come. And yet the first religion was, and all religions growing out of that, were naturally produced. Every brain was a field in which Nature sowed the seeds of thought. The rise and set of sun, the birth and death of day, the dawns of silver and the dusks of gold, the wonders of the rain and snow, the shroud of Winter and the many colored robe of Spring, the lonely moon with nightly loss or gain, the serpent lightning and the thunder's voice, the tempest's fury and the zephyr's sigh, the threat of storm and promise of the bow, cathedral clouds with dome and spire, earthquake and strange eclipse, frost and fire, the snow-crowned mountains with their tongues of flame, the fields of space sown thick with stars, the wandering comets hurrying past the fixed and sleepless sentinels of night, the marvels of the earth and air, the perfumed flower, the painted wing, the waveless pool that held within its magic breast the image of the startled face, the mimic echo that made a record in the viewless air, the pathless forests and the boundless seas, the ebb and flow of tides--the slow, deep breathing of some vague and monstrous life--the miracle of birth, the mystery of dream and death, and over all the silent and immeasurable dome. These were the warp and woof, and at the loom sat Love and Fancy, Hope and Fear, and wove the wondrous tapestries whereon we find pictures of gods and fairy lands and all the legends that were told when Nature rocked the cradle of the infant world.

Phoenix here….One of the things that most strikes me from that last paragraph is the cross being a symbol of life. Below is a photo of an analemma, the shape created in the sky over the course of a year by the position of the sun at the same time every day. (See photo credit below picture). What occurred to me as I saw this picture was that it is very similar to the Egyptian ankh, the cross with the oval on top that represented Life. I wonder if some ancient Egyptian charted the sun in the sky at the same time every day and based the shape of the ankh, the cross of Life, on the changing position, the rise and fall, the birth and death of the sun. An interesting thought, don't you think?

Credit & Copyright: Vasilij Rumyantsev ( Crimean Astrophysical Obsevatory)

Explanation: If you took a picture of the Sun at the same time each day, would it remain in the same position? The answer is no, and the shape traced out by the Sun over the course of a year is called an analemma. The Sun's apparent shift is caused by the Earth's motion around the Sun when combined with the tilt of the Earth's rotation axis. The Sun will appear at its highest point of the analemma during summer and at its lowest during winter. Analemmas created from different Earth latitudes would appear at least slightly different, as well as analemmas created at a different time each day. The analemma pictured to the left was built up by Sun photographs taken from 1998 August through 1999 August from Ukraine. The foreground picture from the same location was taken during the early evening in 1999 July.

Links to related posts on the topic of sun, god(s), and solstices:

The Astronomy of Christmas and the Epiphany

Daoism on Winter

Similarities between Mithraic and Christian beliefs and practices

The Meaning of God (etymology of the word God)

The word God could derive from root words in several language families, and includes a combination of meanings, but the core idea of what God is seem to boil down to just a few definitions showing that ancient peoples regarded supreme beings much as we do today.

1 – to shine (indicative, no doubt, of the connection between God and the sun/sky)

Phoenix Legends

A few legends of the Phoenix from Arabia, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Japan, the Jewish tradition, Native American, Roman, and Russian folklore.

Astronomy: Phoenix in the Sky

Phe (Phoenix) is a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor. Phoenix was named by Johann Bayer in 1603 in his catalog, Uranometria. It lies between Grus and Eridanus.

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The Arabic Roc

In Arabic legends, the roc, or rukh, was a gigantic bird with two horns on its head and four humps on its back. It is mentioned in the Arabic tales, The Thousand and One Nights. The Venetian explorer Marco Polo referred to the roc in describing Madagascar and other islands off the coast of Eastern Africa. According to him, Kublai Khan inquired in those parts about the roc and was given what was claimed to be a roc's feather, which may really have been a palm frond. Sinbad the Sailor also told of seeing its egg, which was "50 paces in circumference." The roc is associated with strength, purity, and life.

***

The Phoenix lived in Arabia. According to the legends, only one Phoenix lived at a time for 500 years. At the end of its life-cycle, The Phoenix built a nest as it was dying and set the nest on fire and was consumed by the flames. After its death, a new Phoenix would then arise from the ashes and the new Phoenix was reborn. This cycle was repeated over and over. The Phoenix was the symbolic representation of the death and rebirth of the sun.

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The Chinese Phoenix

The legendary phoenix was a symbol of high virtue and grace to the Chinese. The phoenix, representing power and prosperity, reflected the empress, and only she was allowed to wear its symbol. The "phuong" is the male phoenix, and the "hoang" is the female. As conceived by the Chinese imagination, the phoenix has a large bill, the neck of a snake, the back of a tortoise, and tail of a fish. It carries in its bill either two scrolls or a square box that contains sacred books. According to tradition, the phoenix's song includes all the five notes of the traditional musical scale; its feathers include the five fundamental colors and its body is a composite of the six celestial bodies: the head symbolises the sky; the eyes, the sun; back, the moon; the wings, the wind; feet, the earth; and the tail, the planets. The phoenix appears only in peaceful and prosperous times, and hides itself when there is trouble. Therefore, the phoenix is both a sign of peace and a symbol of disharmony. In Chinese mythology, the phoenix is represented by the feng-huang, a bird symbolizing the union of yin and yang.

***

In China, Feng-huang, a bird that symbolizes the union of yin and yang, a sign of both peace and disharmony [sic].

***

The Phoenix from another of the Chinese Mythology offers another description. Under another name, Feng - it’s depicted as a bird of shining colors, very much like a pheasant. In remote times, The Feng supposedly frequented the gardens and palaces of righteous Emperors. As with all mythological creatures the versions, significance and the characters tend to vary according to culture and their belief.

***

The Chinese have a group of four magical creatures that represented the primodrial forces of the feathered, armored, hairy and scaly animals. These beasts are Bai Hu (tiger) or Ki-Lin (unicorn) for the West, Gui Xian (the turtle or the serpent) for the North, Long (dragon) for the East and for the South, Feng, the phoenix. Feng represented power and prosperity and was an attribute of the Emperor and Empress, who were the only people in China allowed to bear the symbol of Feng. It is the personifications of the primordial force of the Heavens, and is sometimes represented with the head and comb of the pheasant and the tail of the Peacock. However, the Chinese wanted to give Feng the best attributes of all beasts, and so it has the crane's forehead, the fowl's bill, the swallow's throat, the neck of a snake, the shell of a tortoise, the dragon's stripes and the tail of a fish. In its bill it carries two scrolls or a square box that contains sacred books. It is also said that its song contains the five notes of the Chinese music scale, that its feathers include the five fundamental colours (green, red, yellow, white and black), and that its body is a mixture of the six celestial bodies: the head symbolises the sky; the eyes, the sun; back, the moon; the wings, the wind; feet, the earth; and the tail, the planets. Feng is sometimes pictured with a fireball, representing the sun, and is called the "scarlet bird". It is the emperor of birds.

***

Feng (or Feng-huang) lives in the Kindgom of the Wise which is to the east of China. It drinks the purest water and eats bamboo. When it sings, all the roosters in the world accompany it in its five-note song. It only appears in time of peace and prosperity, and disappears in times of trouble. Unlike the European Benu, Feng can be male or female and live as a couple. This couple represents marital happiness. The Feng delivers the soul of the infant to the mother's womb, once she conceives it.

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The Phoenix in Egypt

In Egypt the phoenix was usually depicted as a heron, but also as a peacock or an eagle. The brilliantly red and golden plumed Bennu was the sacred bird of Heliopolis. Identified as a heron with its long straight back and head adorned at the back with two erect feathers, the Bennu was later named Phoenix by the Greeks. The Bennu lived on the ben-ben stone or obelisk within the sanctuary of Heliopolis and was worshipped alongside Ra and Osiris. It was said to create itself from the fire that burned on the top of the sacred Persea tree in Heliopolis. The sun rose in the form of the Bennu each morning. Bennu was also considered a manifestation of Osiris, said to spring from his heart as a living symbol of the god. The Bennu symbolizes rebirth as it rises from the ashes, just as the new sun rises from the old.

***

Although it’s a common legend to many ancient civilizations, the origin of the myth of The Phoenix is attributed to the Egyptians, a civilization that was obsessed with eternal life. Phoenix is the Greek name given to a mythological bird offered in sacrifice to Ra, god of the Sun in ancient Egypt. This bird was similar to an eagle and possessed a splendid golden-red plumage that made it look like it was wrapped up in flames. In some versions, The Phoenix was shown in flames rather than in feathers.

***

The Egyptians were the first to speak of Benu, which later became the Phoenix in Greek legends. Benu is mostly depicted as a heron, with a long straight back, a head adorned with two erect feathers, and its plumage red and golden. It was the sacred bird of Heliopolis, city of the Sun, where it stayed on the ben-ben stone or obelisk, inside the town's sanctuary. Its true home was however the Arabian desert, it only came back to Heliopolis to die/be born. Benu was associated with the Sun god Ra and with Osiris, god of the Underworld, who is said to have given the secret of eternal life to Benu. It symbolises rebirth, as it rises from its ashes like a new sun rises when the old has died. It also symbolises a new period of wealth and fertility, when the Nile flooded the earth each year.

***

It is said that Benu had created itself from the fire that burned on the top of the sacred Persea tree in Heliopolis. Another story says that the heron Benu was the first life form to have appeared on the mound which rose from the watery chaos of the first creation, which links Benu to the nile and its periodical floods. The mound was called the ben-ben, and was the origin of the town of Heliopolis. Benu is, one way or the other, the personification of creation and life-force. After 500 years, according to Herodotus, Benu flew to the Sun temple in Heliopolis to build its funeral pyre with incense twigs. It then climbed onto it and waited for the sun's rays to consume it, singing a song of rare beauty as it did so. According to Pliny, from the ashes emerged a small worm that the sun's rays turned into a new Benu at the end of the day. It is also said that a new Phoenix rose immediately from it's father's ashes and flew with it's predecessor's emblamed remains to Heliopolis, accompanied by a flight of turtledoves.

***

The planet Venus was called the 'star of the ship of the Bennu-Asar' (Osiris), and is mentioned as the Morning Star in this invocation to the sacred sun bird, Benu:

I am the Benu, the soul of Ra, and the guide of the gods in the Douat *,

Let it be so done unto me that I may enter in like a hawk,

And that I may come forth like Bennu, the Morning Star.

* the Douat is the Egyptian Underworld.

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The Phoenix in Greece

Greek mythology places the phoenix in Arabia, where it lives close to a cool well. Every morning at dawn it bathes in the water and sings a beautiful song. So beautiful is the song that the sun god would stop his chariot to listen. There only exists one phoenix at a time. When the phoenix feels its death approaching (every 500 or 1461 years) it builds a nest, sets it on fire, and is consumed by the flames. A new phoenix springs forth from the pyre. It then embalms the ashes of it's predecessor in an egg of myrrh and flies with it to the City of the Sun. There the egg is deposited on the altar of the sun god.

***

The Greek poet Herodotus wrote in one of his passages from his writings of The Phoenix’s legend that the Phoenix comes back every 500 years in order to search the body of its predecessor. After making a myrrh egg, The Phoenix puts the body of its predecessor inside it, and takes it to the Temple of the Sun located in Egypt.

500 years later, Tacitus and Plinius agreed that many of the ancient myths were confusing so they investigated the chronology of The Phoenix. Through their studies, they concluded that The Phoenix lived an equivalent to a Platonic year, a calculation determined by the alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets known at that time needed to return to their original positions which in our time represents a period of 12.994 years.

***

The ancient ones believed that this enormous astronomical cycle was complete provided all conditions of the planetary influence were the same. In other words, The Phoenix was considered similar to a mirror of the universe. By the end of the IVth century, Claudianus had written some verses about an immortal bird, able to reborn from its ashes, an heir to itself, and a witness of that time.

***

The Greek believed that the Phoenix lived in Arabia, in a cool well. At dawn, each morning, it sung a beautiful song, so beautiful that the Sun god would stop his chariot to listen. The Phoenix is a unique bird, there may only exist one at a time, which makes it a solitary bird. It does not reproduce, which adds to its loneliness, as only its death will bring on another of its race. When it feels its end approaching (between 500 and 1461 years, depending on the legend), it builds a nest with the finest aromatic woods, sets it on fire, and is consumed by his own flames. From the pile of ashes, a new Phoenix arises, young and powerful. It then embalms the ashes of its predecessor in an egg of myrrh, and flies to the city of the Sun, Heliopolis, where he deposits the egg on the altar of the Sun god.

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The Indian Garuda and Japanese Karura

In the Hindu and Buddhist culture, the phoenix is called Garuda, or Karura in Japan (see lyrics of "You Are Phoenix"). Garuda in some legends has an eagle's beak and wings, and a human body, with a white face, scarlet wings and a golden body. In others, especially in Japan, he is an enormous fire-breathing eagle with golden feathers and magic gems crowning its head. Garuda is the mount or avatar (earthly embodiment) of the god Vishnu (Hindu tradition), and is one of the supreme seers of infinite consciousness.

Kadru, mother of all serpents, had picked a fight with the mother of Garuda, that she locked away. Garuda then went to fetch the Soma, which gave him immortality, to free his mother from Kadru. Vishnu, impressed, chose him as his avatar or mount. However, Garuda kept a great hatred towards the Naga (family of serpents and dragons), and killed one every day for his meal. But a Buddhist prince taught him abstinence, and Garuda brought back to life the bones of many serpents he had killed.

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The Jewish Milcham

In Jewish legend, the phoenix is called Milcham. After Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she became jealous of the immortality and purity of the other creatures in the garden of Eden. She managed to persuade all the animals in the garden to eat the forbidden fruit and share her fallen state. All except for the phoenix gave in to her. God rewarded the bird by setting him up in a walled city where he could live in great peace for 1000 years. And at the end of every 1000 year period, the bird was consumed and reborn from an egg found in its ashes.

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The Native American Thunderbird

In the legends of native North Americans, the thunderbird is a powerful spirit in the form of a bird. Lightning flashes from its beak, and the beating of its wings is creates the thunder. It is often portrayed with an extra head on its abdomen. The majestic thunderbird is often accompanied by lesser bird spirits, frequently in the form of eagles or falcons. The thunderbird petroglyph symbol has been found across Canada and the United States. Evidence of similar figures has been found throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.

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Roman Phoenix

In Greek and Roman legends, the Phoenix is the symbol of immortality and resurrection. It is associated with the Sun god Phoebus (Apollo). Its name "Phoenix" is the Greek word for "red", which links this magical bird to fire and the sun. It is said to resemble an eagle or a peacock.

The following is a text by a Roman author, Claudian, which tells the story of the Phoenix. This poetic version is translated by Henry Vaughan.

THE PHOENIX

He knows his time is out! and doth provide

New principles of life; herbs he brings dried

From the hot hills, and with rich spices frames

A Pile shall burn, and Hatch him with his flames.

On this the weakling sits; salutes the Sun

With pleasant noise, and prays and begs for some

Of his own fire, that quickly may restore

The youth and vigor, which he had before.

Whom soon as Phoebus * spies, stopping his rays

He makes a stand, and thus allays his pains......

He shakes his locks, and from his golden head,

Shoots on bright beam, which smites with vital fire

The willing bird; to burn is his desire.

That he may live again; he's proud in death,

And goes in haste to gain a better breath.

The spice heap fired with celestial rays

Doth burn the aged Phoenix, when straight stays

The Chariot of the amazed Moon; the pole

Resists the wheeling, swift Orbs, and the whole

Fabric of Nature at a stand remains.

Till the old bird anew, young begins again.

* Phoebus another name for Apollo, but is also a poetic word to describe the sun.

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The Russian Firebird

The Russian Firebird

by Cyril Korolev

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/f/firebird.html

In Russian folklore the Firebird (Zshar-ptitsa) is a miraculous bird. Its feathers shine like silver and gold, its eyes sparkle like crystals, and it is usually been seen sitting on a golden perch. At midnight this bird comes to gardens and fields and illuminates the night as brightly as a thousand lights; just one feather from its tail could light up a dark room. The Firebird eats golden apples which give any who eat them youth, beauty and immortality; when the bird sings, pearls would fall from its beak. The Firebird’s chants can heal the sick and return the vision to the blind.

Resurrection, Rebirth, and Other Symbolism in the Number Three 3

As I demonstrated in my last post, Symbolism of Orion's Belt, some things based on the number three that are of spiritual and cultural importance are derived from astronomical sources other than the three popular lunar phases. For instance, the three stars of Orion's Belt have held great significance in many societies over the centuries.

However, many people believe that the philosophical and/or spiritual significance of the number three is connected to the visible phases of the moon, First Quarter, Full, and Last Quarter.

No doubt many things do correspond with moon phases, for example the Maiden, Mother, Crone of the modern pagan and Wiccan traditions which is a variation of the Birth-Life-Death trio of goddesses in the Greek and Roman mythologies.

The one "three" that is often overlooked is the three days of the New Moon. I believe that the period of three days during which the moon is invisible, dark, or "dead," is the astronomical event behind the concept of rebirth or resurrection, and frankly wonder why the Resurrection of Christ and the date of Easter is based on a Full Moon event when "rebirth" occurs following a New Moon.

Many death-defying or resurrection journeys to Under- or Other-worlds are accomplished through a pattern of three, or a multiple of three.

There is the ancient Egyptian journey of the soul to the Otherworld of Osiris which accomplished by passing through twenty-one gates (7 X 3). Plato's resurrection/rebirth "Myth of Er" in which the warrior who died in battle was returned to earth after 12 days (4 X 3).

In the original Sumerian myth of Inanna (known to the Assyrians and Babylonians as Ishtar), she disappeared for three days and nights in her journey to the Underworld looking for her sister. Before she left, she also sends a message to three gods, Enlil, Nanna, and Enki, asking them to save her if anything goes amiss. It's interesting to note that she also passes through seven gates on her way.

In some Sumerian myths, there are only three steps to the Underworld. (This is later expanded to seven.) Also, there are three guards of the underworld; the first holds the key, the second controls the river, and the third is the ferryman. Source: Inanna New Moon Goddess.

Since most of these journeys to and through death include the symbolism of darkness, I believe they are rooted in the three dark nights of a New Moon. The rebirth of the participant on the third day in those journeys is the symbolism of the appearance of the crescent moon, the lunar equivalent of resurrection or return to life.

Below is a list of threes in mythology and religion from Wikipedia. I've added a couple things which you'll find enclosed in brackets [ ]. Notice how many are on the theme of life and death!

Wikipedia on the significance of Three

In Mythology

• Georges Dumezil developed the idea of a Tripartite Ideology (Trifunctional Hypothesis) with respect to the Indo-European peoples consisting of three class divisions: Priestly~ Warrior~ Farmers/Craftsmen.

• 3 Greek gods: Zeus~ Poseidon~ Hades (Heaven~ Earth~ Underworld)
• 3 Roman gods: Jupiter~ Neptune~ Apollo (Heaven~ Earth~ Underworld)
• Ancient Egypt Theban Triad: Amun~ Mut~ and their son Khans
• 3 ancient Egypt central religious figures: Horus~ Isis~ Osiris

• The Maya believed 3 stars in the Orion Constellation (Alnitak~ Saiph~ Rigel) were arranged by the gods as a triangular hearth, enclosing the smoke of the fire creation - the nebula.

• 3 Greek Fates (Moirai, Moires): Clotho~ Lachesis~ Atropos (sometimes referred to as the 3 spinners).

• 3 Roman Fates: Decima~ Nona (goddesses of birth)~ Morta (goddess of death)
• 3 Roman Graces- (in Greek mythology called the charities and according to the Spartans, Cleta was the third): Aglaia~ Euphrosyne~ Thalia.

• 3 monstrous offspring by Loki and Angroboda: Fenrir~ Hel~ Jormungund
• 3 hags possessing immense power in Norse Myth: Urdr~ Verdandi~ Skuld
• 3 Gorgons-(snake-haired sisters in Greek mythology): Stheno, Euryale, Medusa are sometimes depicted as having wings of gold, brazen claws, and the tusks of boars. Medusa is the only one of the gorgons that is mortal.

• 3 different beings made up the different qualities of death according to ancient Greek belief: Thantos (male)~ Ker (female)~ Gorgo (female).

• 3 Roman Furies (female personifications of vengence) that were called the Erinyes (the Angry Ones) or Eumenides by the Ancient Greeks (Orestes called them the Solemn Ones, or the Kindly Ones): Alecto ("unceasing")~ Megaera ("grudging")~ Tisiphone ("avenging murder").

In religion

Abrahamic religions

• There are three main Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
• The Holy Trinity in Christian doctrine (or trinity in general), is God both as a single being and three persons: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. This is also known as Tripartite division.
• Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.
• The Wise Men who visited Jesus after His birth left Him three gifts.
• A devout Muslim tries to make a pilgrimage to all three holy cities in Islam: Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem
• King Solomon states in Ecclesiastes 4:12: "A three-ply cord is not easily severed." Examples of this concept of three-ness in Judaism are:
• The three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• The three pilgrim festivals (Sheloshet HaRegalim): Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot
• Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel taught: "The world continues to exist because of three things: justice, truth, and peace" (ibid. 1:18) [If only that were true!!!]
• The three Theological virtues referred to 1 Corinthians 13.
• In Roman Catholicism, three groups of martyrs, collectively known as Faith, Hope, and Charity (named after the Theological Virtues).
• Heaven, Hell and Purgatory (or Limbo).

Other religions

• The Wiccan Rule of Three claiming that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.
• The Triple Goddess: Maiden, Mother, Crone.
• In Taoism, the Three Pure Ones.
• [In the I Ching (Yijing), often considered a book of sacred philosophy to some Asian spiritual traditions, the lines of the trigrams and hexagrams from top to bottom represent heaven, man, and earth.]
• The three Gunas underlie action, in the Vedic system of knowledge. There is also the concept of Trimurti in Hindu tradition. The Buddha has three bodies. The three Vedas are called trayi i.e triad. Lord Shiva is Trinetra-Three-eyed. The confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and hidden Sarasvati is the famous Triveni-confluence of three rivers. Buddhism's three refuges are Trisharana- Buddhan sharanam gacchami, Dhammam sharanam gacchami, Sangham sharanam gacchami.
• In Greek mythology, the Three Graces or Charites. Also the number of heads of Cerberus, the monstrous dog that guards the gate to Hades
• Various Triple deities.

In esoteric tradition

• The Theosophical Society has three conditions of membership.
• Gurdjieff's Three Centers [intellectual, emotional, physical] and the Law of Three [every whole phenomenon is composed of three separate sources: active, passive, and reconciling or neutral]
• Feri Tradition teaches of the existence of three souls in each individual person.
• [Ancient Egyptians also believed a person had three souls, the Ba that roamed the earth as a human-headed bird, the tomb-bound Ka, and the Akh which journeyed to the Otherworld.]