Wicca is a modern pagan, witchcraft religion

Wicca is a diverse religion with no central authority or figure defining it.

Wicca often involves the ritual practice of magic, though it is not always necessary

Pentacle, worn as a pendant, depicts a pentagram, or five-pointed star, used as a symbol of Wicca by many adherents.

Beliefs in Wicca range from hard polytheism to even monotheism.

Wicca is typically duotheistic, worshipping a god and goddess traditionally viewed as a mother goddess and horned god.

The term Wicca first achieved widespread acceptance when referring to the religion in the 1960s and 70s

Application of the word Wicca has given rise to "a great deal of disagreement and infighting".

The Goddess and the God may be regarded as the Divine Feminine and the Divine Masculine

The God and Goddess are generally seen as lovers and equals, the Divine Couple who together co-create the cosmos.

Traditionally the God is viewed as a Horned God, associated with nature, wilderness, sexuality, hunting and the life cycle

The Horned God is given various names according to the tradition, and these include Cernunnos, Pan, Atho and Karnayna.

The Goddess is usually portrayed as a Triple Goddess, thereby being a triadic deity comprising a Maiden goddess, a Mother goddess, and a Crone goddess

Some Wiccans, particularly from the 1970s onwards, have viewed the Goddess as the more important of the two deities, who is pre-eminent in that she contains and conceives all. In this respect, the God is viewed as the spark of life and inspiration within her, simultaneously her lover and her child.

Showing posts with label newar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label newar. Show all posts

Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Twilight Language

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The Twilight Language
TWILIGHT LANGUAGE is a rendering of the Sanskrit terms "sa"dhya bha"a" (written also: "sandhya bha"a", "sa"dhya-bha"a", "sandhya-bha"a") and "sa"dha-bha"a" (also written "sandha-bha"a", "sa"dha bha"a" and "sandha bha"a") - or of their modern Indic equivalents (especially in Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Maithili, Hindi, Nepali, Braj and Khariboli).

The twilight language (Sanskrit:"sandha-bhasa", Tibetan:"gongpe-ke") is a polysemic language and communication system associated with tantric traditions in Vajrayana Buddhism and Hinduism. It includes visual communication, verbal communication and nonverbal communication. Tantric texts are often written in a form of the twilight language that is incomprehensible to the uninitiated reader. As part of an esoteric tradition of initiation, the texts are not to be employed by those without an experienced guide and the use of the twilight language ensures that the uninitiated do not easily gain access to the knowledge contained in these works. According to Judith Simmer-Brown:

AS HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID, TANTRIC TEXTS ARE WRITTEN IN "TWILIGHT LANGUAGE" ("SANDHA-BHASA", "GONGPE-KE"), WHICH, AS THE "HEVAJRA-TANTRA" STATES, IS A "SECRET LANGUAGE, THAT GREAT CONVENTION OF THE "YOGINIS", WHICH THE "SHRAVAKAS" AND OTHERS CANNOT UNRIDDLE". THIS MEANS THAT THE TEXTS OF BUDDHIST TANTRA CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT THE SPECIFIC ORAL COMMENTARY BY AUTHORIZED VAJRAYANA TEACHERS.
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