| Menu | Mitrakana in Tradition | 4018.10 |
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MITRAKANA "A time to reaffirm our allegiance and friendship with the Holy Immortals" The Avestan Mithra-kana, modern Persian Mehregan is an ancient Zoroastrian Autumnal festival, closely connected to the equinox, and dedicated to Mithra (reciprocity, mutual bond, friendship with the Gods.) Equinox is the astronomical phenomenon most clearly linked to the concept of “equity, balance, duty, fidelity, and genuine friendship.” Mithraic religiosity is allegiance to the Gods, commitment to virtue and wisdom, and having unshakeable faith in a higher destiny or mission. In Mithraism, mortal man is a friend of the Gods, a charioteer of the Invincible Sun, a bridge between the primal, and the boundless ideal of the Immortals. Mithraic religiosity is NOT rooted in any kind of fear of hell or slavery to an all-powerful Despotic God. Instead Mithraic religiosity is about believing in Gods as Friends/Allies Mithra. The Wisdom-Worshipping Religion teaches commitment to a luminous vision, and faith in a higher mission. To believe in the Gods as friends or allies means that Immortal Gods and men are bound together through “wisdom, virtue, an eternal quest for excellence, light and truth.” Mitrakana is a time to re-examine our allegiance to the Immortal Gods, to see if we are committed to our higher destiny or Not, to see if we are Loyal to the Powers of light/the Invincible Sun, and finally if we are fulfilling our contract/duties toward the Brilliant Immortals. Mitrakana has a dominant solar warrior aspect, and traditionally has been the occasion to mark the triumph of Justice over usurpation, and imposter. However in Zartomithraism we focus on this aspect of life instead at Atarkana in early November. Either way the story of the victory of the epic healer hero of the ancient Aryans Thraetaona [Freydon] over the Mesopotamian tyrant dragon Zahhak [Azidak] is an important part of the Mithraic tradition. The moral message is that Dominion and Power will go back to its rightful heirs, and at last Kingship will be for the downtrodden noble ones, the true allies, friends of the Gods. Ancient Iranian Sovereigns marked Mitrakana as an official occasion in which the king assigned “duties and assignments. We have to fundamentally understand that our religion is not about a false sense of entitlements, BUT about Duties toward the Brilliant Immortals, and fulfilling our higher destiny/contract with the Gods. Thus the two poles of the religious year were understood to be the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Mitrakana is a time for exchanging gifts, drinking great amounts of red wine, and holding lavish banquets in honor of the Immortals. I like to conclude by the following words from Counsels to PORYOTKESHAN, the “counsels of the foremost or ancient sages.” “I have come from the unseen world, I belong to the Wise Lord Aramazda, I belong to the Gods, not to the demons, to the good, not to the wicked. I am a man, not a demon. My mother is Spentarmity, ['Holy Devotion' also associated with the Earth], and my father is Aramazda. My humanity is from Martyae and Martyanae. I belong to the Auspicious Brilliant Immortals. I have no bonds to the Lord of flaws, and his demons of darkness and gloom." Adapted from the work of Ardeshir Farahmand to suit the needs of Zartomithraism by Marcus Zartianus |