Vagina Dentata: (
Latin, "vaginal teeth")
- Motif in stories throughout North and South America,
Siberia, Northern Russia, and Greenland. Certain women are
depicted as having the teeth of a rattlesnake or some other
serpent set in their vaginas. They kill men who would have
intercourse with them. As a result, these women may collect the
deceased men's hunting equipment, but often these women are able
to hunt with their toothed vaginas. A culture hero, sometimes
acting the role of a young husband, is often involved in
breaking and wearing down the vaginal teeth with a wedge or
stone penis, so that intercourse does not end in death.
- Vairagya: (Sanskrit)
- Dispassion; the power of
renunciation by which a yogi is able to pursue the true rather
than the false, the eternal rather than the ephemeral.
- Vaisheshika:
- One of the schools (systems) of
Indian philosophy
- Vaishnavism:
- The system of Hindu beliefs and practices that honor
Vishnu/Krishna as Supreme God; probably the most widely followed
kind of Hinduism. Bhakti yoga is the primary practice of this
religion, the final reward of which is eternal communion with
God. The most famous of this god's many names are Vishnu,
Narayana, Hari, Bhagavan, Krishna, and Rama; hence the usage
Vishnu/Krishna. Vaishnavism's ancient name, Bhagavata
("followers of the Blessed Lord, i.e., Bhagavan"), may clarify
its beginnings, for it makes a connection with the movement's
two most important literary works: the Bhagavad
Gita (first put
in print ca. 150 BC) and the Bhagavata
Purana (Shrimad
Bhagavatam, ca.
850-900). Though the tradition began earlier, two things became
clear by about 200 BC: the Bhagavatas related to their god,
Krishna, by devotion and accepted the Vedas and Upanishads, the
scriptures of Brahmanic Hindu religion. In this process the
Brahmanic deities Vishnu and Narayana became identified with
Bhagavan Krishna. Thereafter, Krishna has been viewed as an
incarnation (avatara) of the Supreme God Vishnu (by South
Indian Vaishnavas), and Vishnu has been viewed as a subordinate
form of the Supreme God Krishna (by North Indian Vaishnavas).
The Bhagavad Gita is
the earliest full statement of the Bhagavata synthesis. Krishna
teaches a path of salvation: desire-free performance of one's
born duty should be combined with the meditative wisdom of the
Upanishads, suffused by and culminating in loving devotion to
Krishna.
- Vaishnava: (Sanskrit)
- A follower of the Hindu god
Vishnu
- Vajra: (Sanskrit)
- One of the channels in the
astral spine
- Valentinus:(100-180)
- Alexandrian Gnostic poet and author, born in Egypt Founded
a school in Rome c. 140. He composed hymns, psalms, poems, and
letters, of which only fragments survive. The only known writing
of his is a mystical sermon, the Gospel
of Truth, which
describes the search for God and salvation through the Savior
who proclaims truth and brings joy and knowledge. Written for
initiates, it alludes to but does not discuss fully developed
doctrines, leaving it to his many pupils and followers to
develop and clarify his original ideas.
- Valentinianism:
- A Gnostic sect derived from Valentinus, A form of
Christianity that spread throughout the Roman world and
continued until the seventh century. Valentinus Teaching
include the idea that the responsibility for the tragedy in the
divine world that gave rise to material creation is not attached
to any one age. This deliberate ambiguity employed when speaking
of the cosmic tragedy was eradicated by subsequent writers such
as Irenaeus in his accounts of Valentinus's work. Ptolemy
identified two Sophias responsible for the tragedy so as to
resolve ambiguities in Valentinus's original teaching. The two
schools of Valentinianism, Roman and Alexandrian, took different
positions regarding Jesus' true nature. The former asserted that
Jesus was united to the Holy Spirit at baptism while the latter
held that he was conceived and born spiritually. Valentinians
believed themselves to be pneumatics (spiritual ones). The
psychics were ordinary Christians who could rise to the
pneumatic level or descend to the lowest level of material
existence. Valentinians were also known for their allegorical
method of explaining Scripture (Ptolemy wrote to Flora to
explain the Hebrew Law; Herakleon wrote the earliest commentary
on the Fourth Gospel). This respected and ancient mode of
textual exposition emerged subsequently in the Christian school
of Alexandrian exegesis. In Valentinian understanding, the
authority for this method was the apostle Paul, who employed
this technique in his letters.
- Valhalla:
- In Norse mythology, the banquet hall where
the principal god, Odin,
played host to the Einherjar, the souls of warriors who had died
a courageous death in battle. Valhalla was the largest building
in Asgard, the heavenly home of the gods, and it constituted one
of Asgard's 12 realms. There the Einherjar feasted while
awaiting the final battle of the world, Ragnarok. The Einherjar
were brought to Valhalla by Odin's warlike maidens, the
Valkyries, who were sent out by Odin to gather the souls of
heroes as they fell on the battlefields. The name Valhalla is
derived from the Old Icelandic term Valholl, meaning "hall of
the slain." The Norse vikings were
a warrior people, and in their warrior religion, stories of
Valhalla played an important role. There was no other "heaven,"
and warriors who did not die valiantly in battle went to the
murky, miserable underworld. And unlike the Christian concept
of heaven, Valhalla itself was not a place of eternal reward.
- Valkyrie:
(German)
- In Scandinavian mythology a female power of death who
chooses those who are going to die on the battlefield.
-
Vampire:
- 1) A person who, for sexual or
ritual reasons, drinks the blood of others. 2) The
vampire is usually believed to be a restless soul of a heretic,
criminal or suicide — that refuses to join the ranks of the dead
but instead leaves its burial place — in its original body or
taking possession of another's corpse — and becomes a
bloodsucking creature in order to continue enjoying the
pleasures of the living. The belief in vampires dates back to
antiquity. Ancient Mesopotamians feared that corpses not
properly buried would rise from their graves and attack the
living to suck their blood. Homer's Illiad tells
of Odysseus traveling beyond the Gates of Hercules to the land
of the dead where he pours out blood to attract them that he
might gain information from them. Western notions of the vampire
come primarily from Slavic folklore, especially as it was
interpreted by the author Bram Stoker in his novel Dracula (1897).
In some isolated regions of eastern Europe, peasants still hang
wreaths of garlic over their doors — a preventive measure cited
in Dracula — as protection against evil spirits,
but many other aspects of Stoker's story may have been his own
invention.
- Vampire, Psychic: (see Psychic
Vampire)
- Varshaphala:
- In Hindu astrology, a method of
progression using solar returns
- Vasanta:
- The Hindu deity of Spring, also
Spring itself
- Vasitri:
- Also known as Salvaje and Aigypan. A sasquatch-like
creature from the jungles of Venezuela. It is described as a
wild man-like hairy creature that, according to the local
Amerindians, constructs primitive huts and crude weapons. These
beings are said to be extremely dangerous and carnivorous,
eating men but carrying off women for breeding purposes.
- Vedic method of
Self-Realization
- Vedas:(Sanskrit,
"knowledge")
- 1) The four Vedas of the earliest Sanskrit hymns and verses: Rig
Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva
Veda. 2) Equivalent to shruti, "revelation,"
comprising the Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads as
the "eternal" and "unauthored" source of Hinduism.
- Vedanta:
- The end or culmination of the Veda, eternally revealed
sacred knowledge; one of six orthodox viewpoints (darshanas)
of classical Indian thought. Vedanta is the most influential
traditional Hindu school of thought to the present day,
especially in its nondualistic form. The term Vedanta is
applied both to the Upanishads (unsystematic sacred texts
investigating the ultimate nature of self and cosmos), and a
later set of related systems of thought arising from Upanishadic
exegesis. Vedanta is sometimes called Uttara (later) Mimamsa
(exegesis) to differentiate it from Purva (earlier) Mimamsa,
explanation of the ritual-oriented portions of the Veda. The
three bases of Vedanta are the Upanishads (especially the oldest
ones, such as the Brihadaranyaka,
Chandogya,and Taittiriya),
the Brahmasutras
summarizing Upanishadic teachings), and the Bhagavad
Gita . Vedantan
thinkers share certain assumptions, including the authority of
the Veda, brahman as cause and substance of phenomenal
appearance, the transmigration of the self due to the necessity
of experiencing the fruits of one's actions (karma), and
the possibility of release from the cycle of rebirth. Several
schools developed within Vedanta, holding to quite different
views about the nature of ultimate reality (brahman) and its
relation with the individual (jiva) and real self (atman),
as well as the nature of liberation from bondage to rebirth.
These views, seen most clearly in their respective commentaries
on the Brahmasutras, include
the nondualism of Shankara (ca. eighth century), the qualified
(theistic) nondualism of Ramanuja (1017-1137), and the radical
dualism of Madhva (1238-1317).
- Vegetarianism:
- Abstaining from eating flesh (meat, fish), and by some, eggs
and dairy products. Religious traditions prescribing
vegetarianism include Jains, Pythagoreans, Orphics, and
Manichaeans; the medieval Cathari and Bogomils; and sects of
Buddhists, post-Vedic Hindus, and Taoists. Historically it is
associated with beliefs in reincarnation, the unity of life,
bodily purity, sexual abstinence, rejection of sacrificial
cults.
- Venus:
- 1) The second planet from the Sun, sometimes
called the 'Morning Star'. or Lucifer. 2) The
Roman goddess of
beauty and sensual love, identified with the Greek Aphrodite
(which was less directly sexual), in some accounts said to have
sprung from the foam of the sea, in others to have been the
daughter ofJupiter and
the nymph Dione; for the Greeks, Zeus and
a Titan.
Some scholars view her as a manifestation of the Phoenician
goddess Astarte.
Venus was married to Vulcan (Hephaestus), but had affairs with
Mars (Ares) and many other gods and demigods. Cupid (Eros) was
the product of one of these affairs, this time with Mercury (Hermes).
- Vestal:
- A virgin religious dedicated to Vesta (the Roman hearth
goddess). They were responsible for maintaining Vesta's sacred
fire in a sanctuary symbolic of the corporate hearth of the
Roman people.
- Via Dolorosa: (Latin,
"sorrowful road"
- The route in Jerusalem traditionally believed to have been
taken by Jesus from Pilate's judgment hall to the place of
crucifixion.
- Vicar:(Latin,
"substitute")
- 1) A salaried Catholic priest who administers to a parish
but does not receive parish income. 2) In the Anglican Church, a
common title for a parish priest.
- Vinshopaka:
- In Hindu
astrology, a method of calculating planetary strength using the
Vargas
- Vinshotari:
- The most popular Dasha method
in use today
- Viraga: (Sanskrit)
- Non-attachment/desirelessness
- Virgin Birth:
- A cluster of Christian beliefs about Mary's virginity
before, during, and after Jesus' birth. She conceived him by the
power of the Spirit without sexual intercourse (virginal
conception); she delivered him while remaining physically intact
(virgin birth); she remained a virgin forever after (perpetual
virginity).
- Virginity:
- The quality or state of never having had
sexual intercourse. sex
intercourse is the insertion of a penis into a vagina. (See Hymen)
By this strict definition, a virgin can engage in oral sex, can
have anal sex, can masturbate self and others. If we say that
only the penis in the vagina removes virginity, than all but one
form of sexual activity are permitted to a virgin. Most
religions take issue with this and claim that virginity is both
a physical and a moral state. Biblical Usage: (1)
Bethulah seems to have been the biblical term for "virgin," in
the Old Testament, and was translated, "a damsel, a virgin,"
etc.. The King James Version and the English Revised Version
frequently render bethulah by "maiden" or "maid" but the
American Standard Revised Version has used "virgin" throughout,
despite the awkwardness of such a phrase as "young men and
virgins" (2) 'almah, rendered in the Revised Version by either
"damsel", "maiden", or "virgin" with margin "maiden" The word
means simply "young woman" and only the context can give it the
force "virgin." (3) parthenos, the usual Greek New Testament
word for "virgin" . In Revelation
14:4 the word is
masculine. (4) neanis, "young woman" . (5) Latin virgo The Old
Testament lays extreme emphasis on chastity before marriage. The
basis for this was so that the husband could be assured that all
his bride's children were truly of his seed. Almost all the
sexual prohibitions in the Bible seem to be aimed at assuring
the man that all his partners children were his, also.
- Virtues
- Positive magickal properties of
objects like herbs, stones, and creatures
- Vishnu:
- 1) A name for the
all-pervasive, supreme Reality. 2) One of the Hindu trinity of
gods, representing God as the sustainer of the universe. Rama
and Krishna are the best known of His incarnations.
- Vision Quest:
- Native American spiritual
practice for opening up to the universe and perceiving a
clairvoyant vision of your personal guide for the purpose of
prophesy, protection and discovering your life's purpose.
Traditionally a time of fasting and praying.
- Visualization:
- The practice of 1)
Forming clear mental images often used in magick to focus and
direct energy to a visualized goal. 2) Imagining a scene, a
person, or an object with intense clarity. This is often done
through a meditation with a written "visualization journey"
which allows the practitioner to enter an imagined place to make
personal discoveries. Also known as "guided imagery," It
involves the attempt to bring about change in the material realm
by the power of the mind.
- Viveka:(Sanskrit, lit.,
discrimination; distinction)
- The faculty of discretion
that enables a human being to distinguish between true and
false, reality and illusion.
- Vivekananda: (1863-1902)
- A Hindu reformer and Indian culture hero, born Narendranath
Datta, who founded the Vedanta Society (New York, 1895) as well
as both the Ramakrishna Mission and the Ramakrishna Order in
India (1897).
- Vodou:
- Voodoo
- Vodoun:
- Voodoo
- Vodun:
- Voodoo
- Voodoo, Vodou (African,
"divine spirits")
- African-Christian new religion born in Haiti, whose
followers worship the "divine spirits" in life and rituals and
accept possession by those spirits for healing and spiritual
guidance. Originally a pejorative term --"Voodoo" is now
acknowledged as the proper designation for the complex beliefs
and practices among the majority of the populace of Haiti.
Voodoo began as the clandestine religion of enslaved African
sugar-plantation workers in Haiti in the seventeenth century,
but its early history is preserved only in scattered
eighteenth-century colonial records and ordinance codes. The
reports of covert meetings, dances, funeral practices, and even
trance possession among enslaved and freed Africans indicate
that they preserved ancient traditions in the face of enormous
obstacles; the development of Voodoo is itself a tribute to the
spirit and stamina of those early devotees. It is rooted in
the West African Yoruba, Fon, and Angolan communities, as well
as in French Roman Catholicism. It has primarily continued
African priestly roles, ritual themes, symbolism, and pantheons
of named female spirits (especially Ezili) and male ones (Ogou,
Damballah-Wedo, Legba). Voodoo theology parallels traditional
medieval Christianity, for its followers acknowledge a high
creator deity, Bondye (Bon dieu), but invoke the intermediary
spirits for intercession in human affairs. It is only the
intermediaries--identified individually with Christian saints or
sacred places--who descend to "mount" their "horses," their
followers, during possession rituals. Roman Catholicism
provides the ritual framework for the lives of Voodoo members as
well, for they not only follow its traditional liturgical
calendar for scheduling pilgrimages and lesser ceremonies but
also participate in the common rituals of baptism, marriage, and
the Mass. Roman Catholic prayers, some still in Latin, form a
significant component of some Voodoo rituals, as do other lesser
aspects and ritual objects from traditional Catholic
festivals. The divine spirits (loa or lwa)
of Voodoo occupy separate pantheons or nations; two of these,
the Rada, whose
spirits are generous and benevolent, and the Petro,whose
strong spirits evince terrible powers, dominate worship in urban
centers. The higher powers (lemiste) are associated with
natural dimensions or places, such as sacred springs or
cemeteries, and are joined in the spirit world by souls of the
dead and ancestral spirits (lemo) and sacred twins (lemarasa).
Individual worshipers, drawn to individual spirits by necessity
or similarities in personality or temperament, may choose among
them for personal devotion but must not neglect those ancestors
and spirits traditionally venerated in the family. Voodoo
rituals range from simple devotional acts, such as the lighting
of candles with accompanying prayers, to family observances for
the family dead to elaborate rituals enhanced by large meals,
drumming and singing, and exuberant dance. The spiritual
leaders in the Voodoo community are the male hungans and
female mambos; in
their religious roles, they perform divination and healing
rituals for individual members, as well as oversee all training
and calendrical ceremonies. As elders and teachers, they guide
the possession trance dances, which allow the individual divine
spirits to be present among their followers, to receive worship,
and to offer healing and counsel. In Haiti, rural communities
continue Voodoo as a family-centered religion firmly tied to
traditional agricultural life, while urban centers have
interwoven a wider variety of practices, some structured and
formal--including rituals of initiation, funeral rites,
pilgrimage to Catholic shrines, and festivals--some less so,
including not only divination, but also the making of amulets
for luck and protection.
- Voynich Manuscript:
- A mysterious medieval manuscript probably written between
1350 and 1750. It is written in an unknown script and an
unknown language with drawings of fantastic plants and other
illustrations. It appears to be an early Rosicrucian document
or perhaps something alchemical. See the manuscript in its
entirety, click here (Gallery) and
type the word Voynich in the search engine.
- Vritti: (Sanskrit)
- Fluctuation or movement of
the mind; thought.
- Vulgate:
- The Latin translation of the Bible by Jerome in the last
decades of the fourth century. Jerome translated the Old
Testament from the Hebrew rather than the Greek Septuagint as
had been common in earlier Latin versions. The Vulgate was
confirmed as the official version of the Roman Catholic Church
at the Council of Trent (1545-63) and until 1943 all Roman
Catholic translations were required to use it.
- Vyana:
- In Hindu philosphy, one of the
vital airs, circulates energy all over the body
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