Basics

Deus Magnus

Deus Magnus or the Great God is the ultimate focus of our worship.

God is by definition that which is most worthy of being attended to. What is most worthy of being attended to is that which is the source of our existence in all its various manifestations.

God desires what is Good, which we know because Good and Bad have been built into the fabric of existence as Pleasure and Pain. Nobody who has experienced the extremes of Pleasure and Pain can doubt that former is better than the latter in an absolute sense. It is God who has set this distinction into reality and motivated us to seek one and avoid the other.

Anghoruna

Chrestomazdeans recognise Existential Secrets or constituent elements of existence . These can also be called the Protoruna or Primaruna or First Runes. Some of these are:

Zurvan

Zurvan is the Ground of Being in Time and Space.

Zurvan represents the reality of the Universe with its good and bad aspects.It is the Foundation of Time and Activity which underlies all things.

Zurvan is the Foundation of existence, the substrate of space and time in which all activity happens.

Urvan

Urvan is the Soul.

i) Urvan acts on the world and continually shapes the progress of the world.

ii) Urvan is sensitive and has experience which can be good or bad.

iii) Urvan retains memory of its experience and can grow and develop over time.

Agathon

Agathon - The Good - is pure goodness whether as an abstract idea, an active presence or a passive experience. Agatha is not easily understood in her totality, but we can make an attempt by understanding her children the Agathoi.

Agathon is the Ideal Good which Urvan reaches up towards like reaching towards the sun.

Agathon is the particular configuration or kind of happening in Zurvan that is the best for life.

Agathon is also known as the Beautiful for she is the most desireable of all. However she is not easily attained directly and to know and serve her better one should get to know her children - the Agathoi.

Kakon

Kakon - The Bad - is pure badness whether as an abstract idea, an active presence or a passive experience.


The eternal drama of existence sees Urvan continually striving for Agathon and seeking union with Her. However there are all sorts of obstacles and impediments to this happening and Urvan is continually frustrated and suffering as a consequence.

Agathoi

The Agathoi are the Good Beings.They are more abstract and consistently good than the Tropoi. Many are derived from traditional Zoroastrian teaching.

The Agathoi are those beings recognised as being close to Agathon the Good or of partaking of her nature. We consider them her children with Vaius.

Among the Agathoi are Auramazda (Wise Lord), Chrestus (Good One), Spentaman (Life-promoting spirit), Eunoia (Good Thinking), Artista (Best Order) and Eudemonia (Happiness).

Artista (or Arta Thalica) is the (Ideal) Righteous Order or Righteous Progression of the world - a process where the actions of each fit harmoniously with the actions of others and the pre-existing nature of things. We believe it is the key requirement for a world which is congenial to life.

Kakoi

The Kakoi are the Bad Beings. Each of the Agathoi has a Kakus as an opponent.

Angeloi Tropikoi

The Angeloi Tropikoi are messengers of the favoured paths we can take in life. They can be seen as the personalities of Auramazda. We focus on seven of these - the Heptangeloi:

Sarus is the listener who is sensitive to the souls of all creatures and thus provides guidance as to the best moral path of action.
Anhita is the divine mother who provides growing life with nutrition and shelter adapted to their needs.
Mithras is the righteous leader and guarantor of social order.
Percus is the spirit of self-assertion and self-defence.
Friya is the life-force and power of love and desire.
Faber is the spirit of material creation and manufacture.
Vatis is the energetic spirit which breaks through obstructions to good thinking and living.


Trimagi

The Trimagi or Three Magi are three wise men whose intellectual work is considered the most worthy of attention. They are regarded as the foremost teachers of Agathon. The trimagi are Zoroaster, Plato and Aristotle.

Runes

Runes are more abstract concepts we pay attention to. They are the same as the Neomazdean runes.

Dolus

Dolus is deception, trickery, fakery. Dolus is the biggest obstacle that prevents Vaius uniting with Agatha. A big part of the work of Chrestomazdeans is to overcome Dolus so as to think straight with the clear mind of Eunoia.

Scriptures

Our primary scripture is the Gospel of Zoroaster also known as the Zartigathas or Songs of Zoroaster. We also value the traditional Avestan scriptures of the Persians and the philosophical writings of the ancient Greeks especially those of Plato and Aristotle. We also value the Jesus scriptures of the New Testament and gnostic writings of the same era as well as other writings in the Christian tradition.

Zorochristians may also be interested in the various Hellenistic philosophies such as Stoicism and Neoplatonism or later traditions such as Sufism.

In addition we hope that new scriptures will be written addressed most precisely to the needs of the present day.

Special Days

We especially celebrate March 26th as 'Zartus Natus' or Zoroaster's birthday; September 29th as Mihrakana - Feast of Mithras - a time for re-evaluating our work for Mithras; October 29th as Cyrus Day and 5th November as Atarkana - 'Feast of Fire' - a time for change.

In addition we may join with Ethnic Mazdaists and those of other traditions to celebrate the solstices and equinoxes - i.e. at Ostara, Litha, Messis and Yalda ('Easter', 'Midsummer', 'Harvest', 'Yuletide').

September 4022 ME / 2022 CE

Agathism Basics

Anghotria

Neomazdeans recognise an Existential Trinity (or Triad) of Zurvan, Vaius and Agatha.
  • Zurvan

    Zurvan is the Ground of Being in Time and Space.

    Zurvan represents the reality of the Universe with its good and bad aspects.It is the Foundation of Time and Activity which underlies all things.

  • Vaius

    Vaius is the "Blower" - the cause of all activity. Vaius sets everything in motion and continually shapes the progress of the world.

    Vaius is the source of activity that lives and acts within the space and time of Zurvan.

  • Agatha

    Agatha - The Good - is pure goodness whether as an abstract idea, an active presence or a passive experience. Agatha is not easily understood in her totality, but we can make an attempt by understanding her children the Agathoi.

    Agatha is the Ideal Good which Vaius reaches up towards like reaching towards the sun.

    Agatha is 'the Good' as a pure ideal. Agatha is also known as the Beautiful for she is the most desireable of all. However she is not easily attained directly and to know and serve her better one should get to know her children with Vaius - the Agathoi.

Dolus

Dolus is deception, trickery, fakery. Dolus is the biggest obstacle that prevents Vaius uniting with Agatha. A big part of the work of Neomazdeans is to overcome Dolus so as to think straight with the clear mind of Eunoia.

Agathoi

The Agathoi are the Good Beings. Many are derived from traditional Zoroastrian teaching.

The Agathoi are those beings recognised as being close to Agatha the Good or of partaking of her nature. They are imagined as the children of Vaius and Agatha for they come about when Vaius succeeds in getting close to Agatha and producing with her.

Among the Agathoi are Auramazda (Wise Lord), Eunoia (Good Thinking), Artista (Best Order) and Eudemonia (Happiness).

Artista (also Asha or Arta) is the (Ideal) Righteous Order or Righteous Progression of the world - a process where the actions of each fit harmoniously with the actions of others and the pre-existing nature of things. We believe it is the key requirement for a world which is congenial to life.

Kakoi

The Kakoi are the Bad or Evil Beings. Each of the twelve canonical Agathoi has one of the Kakoi as its counterpart.

Runes

Runes are more abstract concepts we pay attention to. There is no canonical system of runes but some suggestions are made here.

Trimagi

The Trimagi or Three Magi are three wise men whose intellectual work is considered the most worthy of attention. They are regarded as the foremost teachers of Good and Evil and the nature of life. The trimagi are Zoroaster, Plato and Aristotle.

Valued Writings

Our primary scripture is the Gospel of Zoroaster also known as the Zartigathas or Songs of Zoroaster.

We also value the traditional Avestan scriptures of the Persians and the philosophical writings of of Plato and Aristotle.

We also may be interested in any of the scriptures and wisdom writings of traditions that have descended from the lineage of Zoroaster, Plato and Aristotle. (This might include the work of the Stoics, ancient Gnostics, Neoplatonists, Christians and Sufis)

We also may be interested in the work of other philosophers both ancient and modern who add something useful to the main tradition. (This might include people such as Proudhon, Marx and Nietzsche.)

Additionally we believe that those with suitable gnosis or knowledge should write new scriptures that deal more precisely with the modern predicament.

Special Days

We celebrate March 26th as Zoroaster's birthday.