Runes

Runes are concepts we pay attention to that help us grasp the workings of the world. In Euromazdaism we try to rely on the wisdom and language of the ancient Persians and Greeks for our runes, but we can't avoid the influence from Hinduism.

Some Existential Runes

ZURVAN = BRAHMAN
Zurvan is the ground of time and space in which everything moves. Zurvan Apeiron is the Boundless Time - the Universal Time. Zurvan Aion is Limited Time , an Age or a lifetime.

URVAN = ATMAN
Urvan is the soul or the spirit of life. In origin Urvan means 'flow'. Urvan is our feelings and our movement and actions.

Related to Urvan, but not identical are:
i) VARTA - our conscious choices.
ii) Our SOUL-BODY - the layers of memories which create our personality
iii) AUTUS - our individual self, our ego.
iv) NOUS - our mind

ARTA = RITA
Arta is Order. When the Zurvanic flux is in a state of Arta then the different elements, the different beings and their actions work together in harmony and create something bigger than their individual selves.

DARMA = DHARMA
Darma are actions that uphold Arta. Where Arta is the Order of a well-functioning society, then Darma are the actions need to sustain this society and its institutions. Each person in the society has a role to play and this will not be the same for everybody - so darma will vary depending on a person's status and the changing needs of the society at large.

NOIA
Noia is our way of thinking. It is how we see the world and the grounds we use to decide how to act. Often our Noia doesn't reflect the reality of things and leads us to take actions that harm our interests.

DOLUS = MAYA
Dolus is deception, trickery, false illusion. Dolus is what clouds our Noia and leads it astray. Dolus is an aspect of DREG, which is any deviation from what is right and true.

STREPHIS is something like SAMSARA
Strephis is 'churning' also 'striving, struggle and strife'. We are in Strephis when we are fully engaged in life - when we are immersed in the world happening around us. In Strephis we are trying to make our way in the world, but we encounter resistance and obstacles and have to struggle to get through.

Strephis is essential for us to grow and develop, but it can also be uncomfortable , even painful and sometimes very dangerous. In strephis our minds take things at face value and our actions follow on directly from our emotions. If the world is not set up right for us then this can get us into unnecessary trouble.

ATARAXA is something like NIRVANA
Ataraxa is disengagement. Instead of engaging with the world and being buffeted by it , we can chose to disengage and not let it affect us.
When we are born we naturally engage with what is around us. Adverse experiences can teach us to hold back and be more cautious. Alternatively we can train ourselves not to engage automatically with techniques such as mindfulness.

December 4022
An earlier list...

Some Protoruna (primary runes)

Anghus is Being, Existence, Reality. Anghus is what exists. Anghus is reality. Anghus exists quite separate from our ideas about what exists. Anghus is characterised by multiplicity and complexity as a myriad sources of activity interact with each other and the fossilized structures of the past. As well as this universal Anghus we can also talk about a personal anghus - our personal existence and experience. This may not reflect the world accurately but the experience in itself is a real thing and thus is also a part of the universal Anghus.

Zurvan is the Foundation of Time and Activity which underlies all things. Zurvan is a period of time. Zurvan is the substrate of life, the sea in which we swim. Zurvan provides the material for our bodies and our souls and time for us to play our part in the unfolding of existence. We distinguish between Boundless Zurvan (Zurvan Akarana) which is the the unending Universal Time, and Bounded Zurvan which is the limited time available for a being to grow, live and come to its end. Such periods in our common social life we know as Ages, but each individual has their personal zurvan, their particular lifespan on earth.

Tyche is the manager of the activity that happens in Zurvan. She makes the final decision as to how Anghus unfolds over time. She is the weaver of our reality. Her decisions can be good or bad for us, but she doesn't decide alone. We can influence her by our actions. When we know of Tyche (also Tyke) we understand that the world doesn't really obey our commands. All we can do is make our attempts , our appeals to the Tyke, and depending on what others may do and other factors, hope for the best outcome.

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.

Agathon - The Good - is pure goodness whether as an abstract idea, an active presence or a passive experience. Agathon is not easily understood in its totality, but we each know it exists from our inbuilt sense that some experiences we have in life are good and some are bad. Agatha is the Ideal Good which we reach up towards like reaching towards the sun. Agatha has an opposite - Kakon the Bad.

Agathia - Goodness - is a quality of existence. We judge our experiences and activities as good or bad. We strive after what is good, and strive to make things good. This is built into us and ultimately is not just a personal whim but is founded on the underlying nature of things.

Logus is the law of Anghus. It is the logic behind the progression of existence through time. It is the way of doing things to produce good results. Knowledge of Logus is crucial for our success. It is not easy for an individual to learn much of the Logus direct from personal experience within a lifetime. Thus we rely much on the transmission of Logus knowledge from the accumulated experience of others who have come before us.

Arta is the 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. It is the ordered world which is congenial to life. Where there is Arta a hungry person will find food, the restless person will find a challenge, the lonely a soulmate, the injured will find healing, the children a parent, the adventurer a world to adventure in and those in difficulty will find the knowledge and tools and the help they need to overcome their situation.

Ashura is the active righteous power that produces the Good Order of Arta. The Ashura has knowledge, energy and strength to shape existence, bringing the different elements together in happy combination to produce a larger harmonious whole. It is important for us to support the Ashura and indeed our religion is all about helping us to do so.

Mazda is the Perfect Mind that fully understand the nature of Anghus, of existence, and of the Logus, the laws of existence. Mazda knows how to create new things, new beings, a newly organised existence, out of what was previously disorganised and chaotic.

According to orthodox teaching Ashura and Mazda work together as an inseparable couple with Mazda being the wise guide of the Ashura. Thus they are often treated as a single entity Ashura-Mazda or Aramazda for short.

NB For further runes see the Zartian.uk website