| Back | The Asa Yazata -Apr 2022 |
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Asa Yazata An Ason is a 'spirit-being' and Yazata means 'worthy of worship' (a god). They are partial aspects of the comprehensive creative and right-ordering being that is Ashura-Mazda the Wise Lord. Unlike Aramazda the yazads are imagined in human form for easier comprehension and because their spirits can be seen in the human personality. Currently we recommend these twelve yazads for worship by Heathen Mazdeans: Mithras is the yazad of social order. He is the power that connects people to each other in the right way and produces the good social order. Mithras is regarded as the righteous leader of the asa yazata. He is like the crown prince of the Yazata family. Chrestus is the yazad of service, of being good and useful to others. He is concerned to uphold the individual dignity of all, and is willing to sacrifice himself so that others can escape the full consequences of their actions. Anhita is the mother goddess of life. She represents the processes that give birth to life and nurture and protect it. She is embued with maternal love and desires that the life gestated in her should be safe and flourish. She provides the matrix or womb within which young life develops. We see her acting as a human mother, as the wider family and society that looks after its dependent members, and as 'Mother Nature'. Hestia is the yazad of the hearth and home. She is the home-maker goddess. She is responsible for the happy functioning of the individual household and the wider 'homes' of the community , city and nation. She has a maiden daughter Vesta who has the role of tending the home-fire. Percus is the yazad of disruptive force. He strikes the world, creating change, upsetting existing patterns and breaking through barriers. He can act for good, being an agent of challenge that stimulates life to grow, and dissolving structures that restrict or do harm. He can also act for bad, undermining good patterns and bringing death. Friya is the yazad of love and desire. Like Percus she has a wild heart and represents the basic desires and drives that animate life. Tistar is a gardener, teacher and coach. He regulates the growth of living beings. In nature he provides rainfall. He is the the bringer of intellectual, emotional and physical development. As a teacher he is called Didascus . Harva is the female yazad of healing. Faber is the yazad of manufacture. He is the maker-god. He is the craftsman who crafts the material of the world into new designs. Aryama is the female yazad of community Saros is the yazad of listening and warning Vatis is a yazad of heightened energy who can rise above existing patterns and create new ones. He has especial sensitivity and ability to see the underlying workings of things. He is the seer , the priest and healer. He is the bringer of music and dance. Asa Ayazata Some Asa are too evil or at least too harmful to worship and so are not called Yazata. However they still exist and you need to be aware of them. Azideus is a demon of desire. He is inspired by an unbridled lust for power (and often other delights as well). He has an anguinic character lacking usual human emotions and empathy for others. He is obsequious to those above him in the power-chain, but cold-heartedly manipulates those who can be instruments of his success and ruthlessly eliminates his rivals. He shares something with Faber who he may employ to help him in his work. He is Mithras' main rival for control of the social order. Notes: Some of the yazads can be considered to be in male/female pairs : We think Mithras is best paired with Hestia because of their shared love of order - Hestia working within the home, and Mithras in the wider world. However Mithras also has a relationship with Anhita who is both his mother and someone he protects as an adult. Percus is paired with Friya because of their shared tempestuousness. Percus is quick to anger and Friya filled with desire. Tistar is paired with Erma because of their shared concern to aid the flourishing of those before them - through careful regulation of what they face - whether challenging or resting. Faber is paired with Aryama because of their shared enjoyment at creating new things - Faber prefers to deal with material he can control, whereas Aryama prefers to work with people. NB Both Aryama and Harva are goddesses in our pantheon and derive from a traditional Iranian god called Airyaman. This god was originally a god of community but became a god of healing at a later date. Suggested Germanic deity correspondences: Mithras : Tiew Chrestus : Balder Anhita : Frigga Hestia : Nanna Percus : Thunnor Friya : Freya Tistar : Ingfrey Harva : Eira Faber : Wayland Aryama : Sibba Saros : Hemdal Vatis : Woden Azideus : Loki Updated April 4022 - NB This is a somewhat new and experimental scheme so there is room for argument for instance as to whether the right yazads have been included in this list of 12+1 and whether the names given here are the best ones. |
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