Open Library - an open library of educational information. Modern rituals

Why are you snapping your fingers all the time?
- And I scare away crocodiles.
So they don't live here?
- And therefore they are not found that I scare them away.
(Old joke)

All sorts of rituals are an integral part of our lives from birth. Somewhere rituals converge with habits (you kiss a child before leaving for work or check the lock for front door, going to bed), somewhere they become part of social group folklore (a surgeon will never accept “thank you” before an operation, a thief will not steal a deck of cards, pilots do not like to be photographed before a flight).

In most cases, rituals are harmless, but sometimes they take the form of severe obsessive states, when a person loses touch with reality and performs repeated meaningless actions. But if this "ritual behavior" can be explained by the presence of different kind phobias, what makes mentally healthy people do such stupid things?

What are the rituals

Rituals can be roughly divided into two categories - positive (or help rituals) And negative (or avoidance rituals). The first type includes such "magical actions" that a person performs in order to enlist the support of certain " higher powers". A huge number of positive rituals can be found in student folklore, especially in the part that concerns exams and defense. scientific works: rub the nose of the dog of the border guard at the Ploshad Revolutsii station with a record book, lean out the window at midnight and that you have the strength to shout “Freebie, catch!”, put all the notes and textbooks on the subject under the pillow, or put a Soviet penny into a shoe under the right heel.

Negative rituals "help" avoid potential trouble. As a rule, the wording of such rituals sounds like a strict prohibition: do not wish “quiet duty” (for ambulance workers), do not cut your hair (for pregnant women), in no case drop rings (for those who are married), and so on.

A bit of history: From an ancient temple to business etiquette

Any adherent of this home magic"will tell you that all rituals and signs have a real basis. However, upon closer examination, it turns out that this basis is rather flimsy:

The very word "ritual" comes from the Latin ritualis - ritual. For our ancestors, ritual rites were, on the one hand, a kind of way of communicating with the supernatural forces of nature (for example, the rites of "appeasing" pagan gods), and on the other hand, they served to "legitimize" the position and relations between fellow tribesmen (a vivid example is the initiation rites that existed almost every nation). Many of these rituals have sunk into oblivion, others have acquired a religious and practical form (passed into church rites), and still others have completely lost their magical flavor and become civil code, business etiquette and diplomatic protocol.

To date, scientists know a huge number of ancient rites and rituals. And who would have thought that in the 21st century, especially wide use the most bloodthirsty of them will receive it: for example, in a criminal, military and professional environment, ritual initiation sometimes looks no less cruel than an ancient sacrifice.

Historical realities

One can really say about such rituals and signs that they have at least some real basis, but even that was lost over time. This, for example, refers to the belief that spilled salt portends a quarrel. According to researchers, this sign arose several hundred years ago, when salt was such an expensive product that not only quarrels arose because of it, but also entire riots.

Personal experience

It's no secret that the human mind tends to generalize. This mechanism allows us, when we find ourselves in an unfamiliar situation, not to “reinvent the wheel”, but to use ready-made schemes developed in similar situations in the past. But sometimes this mechanism plays a cruel joke with us: we take a single event as a manifestation of some general law that operates in the entire system. In other words, if you met a neighbor with a full bucket in the morning, and in the afternoon you were promoted, a false causal relationship may be fixed in your mind. And since a person is an extremely sociable creature, we immediately share our experience with fellow tribesmen, and our special case quickly becomes an unwritten rule.

Homo sapiens - scared man

Why modern man, which you will not be surprised by flights to the moon and computers the size of Matchbox, takes to heart the presence of black cats on the road? Let's try to highlight a few characteristic features that cause such a strong influence of rituals on our lives.

Ritual is meaningless action
The main goal of any ritual is to enlist the support of "higher powers"
Ritual is the hope for a miracle
Rituals allow no variation
"Fulfillment" of the ritual - not required
Ritual is good luck

Like the ancient hunters who drew a mammoth on the ground and symbolically pierced it with spears, we use rituals to create a certain “mood for victory” in ourselves. After all, you must admit that long sports training, sleepless nights over textbooks or many years of professional practice are certainly good, but a little more confidence in the form of a “happy shirt” will never hurt.

It turns out that any ritual is a cunning psychological trick, something like an injection of optimism and self-confidence. And it’s good if the action of the “magic elixir” ends here (no one has canceled the benefits of auto-training). But aren't we creating the illusion that with a simple set of actions and words, we can get anything we want, and at the same time avoid well-deserved trouble?

Very often, people who are just starting to be interested in the Native Faith and the history of the Slavic, Russian land, its rites, traditions and rituals, are faced with the problem of perceiving information about paganism due to difficult to understand terminology and scientific disputes, studies, tables. We will try to briefly and simply, in our own words, explain how and why Slavic beliefs and ancient pagan traditions arose, what meaning they carry, what happens during each ritual and why it is performed.

The most important events for each person have their point. The most important for him, his Ancestors and Descendants are birth, family creation and death. In addition, it is precisely with these situations that the most frequently asked question: whence such a similarity of pagan rites and Slavic rituals with Christian ones? Therefore, below we will consider and compare exactly them.

Slavic rites of birth and naming

The birth of a child with or without midwives was an important Slavic rite. They tried to approach him with all care and take the Child of the Family from the womb of the Mother, show and arrange his life in Reveal correctly. The umbilical cord of the child was cut off only with special objects symbolizing its gender and purpose. The pagan ritual of the birth of a boy involved cutting the umbilical cord on an arrow, an ax handle, or simply hunting knife, the birth of a girl and her entry into the Family required the following Slavic rite - cutting the umbilical cord on a spindle or on a wide plate. All this was done by the Ancestors in order to make the children understand their duties from the first minutes and touch the Craft.

At the birth of a child, the ancient Slavs did not conduct the now popular, but transformed under the binding of a person to a Christian egregore, the rite of baptism - naming. Pagan traditions allowed giving children only Nicknames, that is, names known to everyone. Until the age of 12, and then they could continue to call him that, the child went under this nickname and was protected from the evil eye and slander.

He was called by his real name when performing the Slavic rite of naming. Pagan Priests, Magi, Veduns or simply Elder Clans - call it what you want, called the child to him and began the ritual. In flowing water, they dedicated him as a Descendant of the Gods of the Family, dipping several times into the river with his head and, finally, they quietly informed him of the Name sent by the Gods.

Slavic wedding ceremony

The Slavic wedding ceremony actually includes many rituals and traditions, the pagan roots of many of which have remained in modern times. Usually, wedding activities lasted for a year and began with Matchmaking - asking for the girl's consent to create a family with the groom.

Next, Smotriny was held - the acquaintance of two Slavic families connecting their clans into a single one. After their successful passage, the Betrothal took place - The final stage matchmaking, where the hands of the future newlyweds were tied as a sign of the strength and inviolability of the union. Having learned about this, the girlfriends and friends of the young people began the rite of wreath weaving for the newly created family and later placed them on the heads of the bride and groom. Further, cheerful bachelorette parties and Molodetsky evenings were organized and held. To say goodbye to the heroes of the occasion with their parents, before creating a new one, another pagan rite was performed - Sazhen.

Then the direct preparation for the pagan wedding began and the Slavic rite itself, connecting the two Fates into a single Genus:

Washing the young with decoctions medicinal herbs to cleanse them of superficial before creating a family.
Dressing young friends and matchmakers in new Slavic shirts with special symbols for the wedding ceremony.
Bganiye - cooking loaves various kinds. The Eastern Slavs, during the wedding ceremony of connecting the Fates, baked a round loaf as a symbol of a good and satisfying life without corners and obstacles.
Requests are an official ceremonial invitation to the wedding ritual and celebration of relatives, acquaintances and friends of the bride and groom.
The escort of the young from the family by the mother to create a new one from the groom's house to the house of the betrothed, and then to their new common house.
The bride price is a symbolic attempt to keep the young woman from marrying and the groom's decisive actions to remove these obstacles. There were several ransoms throughout the ceremony, and they ended with a wedding chant.
Posad - the ritual distribution of places in the Family and the role of each: the newlyweds and their Relatives, the exchange of gifts and the consolidation of the Union of Clans.
Covering - the bride was untwisted or even cut off the braid as a symbol of binding to the Old and covered her head with a scarf - an ochipka, otherwise - a cap. Since then, the girl became a wife.

After the most ancient wedding ceremony with putting on rings with Slavic amulet symbols - the Svedebnik began the following pagan rituals:

Posag (dowry) - the transfer of dowry by the Bride's Parents to create a new family and clan. Everything from towels to kitchen utensils began to gather from the birth of the girl.
Komora - a cycle of rites of the wedding night and checking the bride for Purity and Virginity before Childbirth on both sides, the birth of a new Family.
Kalachins, Svatins, Gostiny - pagan traditions of treating and giving thanks to Relatives, Brothers and Sisters in Spirit and Heart - solemn feasts and gifts from all sides to the newlyweds and by them for everyone who came to congratulate.

Slavic funeral rite

The ancient pagan burial rites of the Slavs included the custom of burning the deceased. This was done so that the body would not prevent the soul of a person from going to Nav and starting there. new life, wait for the next incarnation in the Cycle of Nature and return to Reality in a new guise. At the beginning of the Slavic funeral rite on Ancient Russia they were preparing a boat for transporting the deceased across the Smorodina River to another World. Krada was installed on it - a fire made of logs, surrounded by sheaves of grass or simply dry branches, the body and gifts to the Navi Gods were placed in it. The power of Krada - Sacrificial Fire annealed the bindings of the deceased with the Yav World, and the launch of the already lit boat on the river at sunset, so that the moonlight showed the right path, was accompanied by the universal last words of the Memory of the Ancestor and Slavic Brother.

In regions where funerals using running water were inaccessible due to the aridity of the territory, this ancient Slavic burial rite was slightly modified. The resulting ashes were collected in a pot and buried in burial mounds. Often, the personal belongings of the deceased were put there, so that he could arrange a comfortable life in Navi. At Eastern Slavs before being forced into Christian faith and insistence to follow their rules, the following interesting tradition. After the ritual of burning and collecting the ashes, the pot was placed on a high pillar on road junction Fate and covered himself with a domina - specially made for this wooden house. Thus, they could come to the deceased to say goodbye and leave a commemoration, and he also ended up in the Navier Kingdom, where he could choose his further path of the Rebirth.

After all types of the above pagan funeral rites, the ancient Slavs arranged a feast - a feast in the memory of the deceased and ritual battles, symbolizing the battle with the Three-Headed Serpent on Kalinov Bridge for the opportunity for the deceased to choose his own path, thereby helping him reach his new place of residence.

Trizna, as a way of honoring the Ancestors of the Family, was also held on special calendar dates for commemorating the dead: Krasnaya Gorka, Rodonitsa and other ancient Slavic holidays. As can be seen from the description of the ancient pagan rite of burial of a Slav, everything possible was done to facilitate his Further Path, but the appearance of mourners as a tradition is interpreted by many as Christianity imposing its dogmas and attempts to make a person’s departure from Yavi the most difficult and long, tie him to living Relatives and inspire guilt.

Calendar holidays and rituals in Russia: spring, winter, summer and autumn

The most important calendar pagan holidays and Slavic rites on this day were held according to the Kolo Goda: on the dates of the Solstice and Equinox. These turning points meant a big role in the life of the Slavs, as they announced the beginning of a new natural season and the passage of the previous one, made it possible to set a good beginning and get the desired result: to collect bountiful harvest, get a rich offspring, build a house, etc.

Such calendar winter, spring, summer and autumn holidays of the ancient Slavs with the most important rites of sowing, harvesting and other rituals are and were:

Spring equinox March 19-25 - Komoyeditsy or Maslenitsa, Velikden

Summer Solstice June 19-25 - Kupala

Autumn equinox September 19-25 - Radogoshch

Winter Solstice December 19-25 - Karachun

Description of these ancient pagan holidays and Slavic rites or rituals held in Russia in these and others strong days at the Movement of the Kolo of the Year, you can read in our .

Bringing the Treb as a pagan rite of gratitude to the Native Gods: what is it

Special attention should be paid to the Requirements of the Native Gods before the Slavic rite, during the ritual or the onset of a calendar holiday in honor of one of the Patrons. Gifts from the bottom of the heart and with sincere gratitude to the Gods of the Slavic Pantheon were brought without fail - they could be of any price, since the wealth of each Slavic family was different, but they had to pay respect to the Family and the guardians of Yavi, Navi and Rule. The place of their offering was the Temples and Temples in which the churs of the Gods and Goddesses were located, as well as the Altars.

Very often, the trebs were brought in Nature during the performance of ritual pagan actions by the Slavs and the glorification of one or another Patron on his personal holiday, as well as during the activation of amulets and. Nowadays, few primordially ancient Slavic rites of presenting requirements and turning to the Gods have been preserved, therefore, the Veduns and Magi advise many, when conducting the ceremony, to simply communicate with Relatives, as with Relatives - with sincerity and courtesy, with an understanding of the importance of their role as a Descendant of the Russian Land and Successor Slavic Family. If what you ask is really important and necessary, if you have the Right, the Gods will definitely help and stand up for protection.

Exposure of magic, or the Handbook of a charlatan Gagin Timur Vladimirovich

From the book Philosophical Tales for those who are considering life or a fun book about freedom and morality author Kozlov Nikolay Ivanovich

Secular salon, or the world of rituals Allow me to assure you of sincere devotion and so on. Stamp This is the world of clockwork puppets, which, appropriately moving their arms, legs and torso, perform an ancient minuet dance. Why? What for? - Questions not from this world. It's not here

From the book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreams author LaBerge Stephen

Examples: The form of the ego "I am a man" (a woman sees this in a dream). "I consist of a pile of porcelain plates." "I am Mozart." The form of other characters "While I look at her, her face changes." "A giant with a head passes by like the Creature from the Black Lagoon." "Unlike reality, G.

From the book Live without problems: The secret of an easy life by Mangan James

Examples: The role of the ego "We are fugitives." "The plot of the dream was like the adventures of James Bond, and I played the main role." "I am a saboteur behind enemy lines during the Second World War." Roles of other characters "My friend is considered my father." "My father behaves like R., my

From the book Mars and Venus in the bedroom by Gray John

Examples One such incident happened just a week ago in Chicago. A young man working in a firm, a supporter of the philosophy of easy life, went to the hairdresser early in the morning. Approaching the car, he heard the distinct sound of a dropped key. It turned out that the zipper was unzipped

From the book Communication Training in 14 Days author Rubshtein Nina Valentinovna

CREATING ROMANTIC RITUALS Bonnie and I have several rituals that feed her feminine side and support my masculine side. Romantic rituals are simple actions that allow you to understand that a man cares about a woman and she appreciates him. I will bring

From the book From words to deeds! 9 steps to make your dreams come true by Richard Newman

Examples of Orders: - You will do what I tell you! - Do not drink more! Evaluations: - You went all in your mother, the same. - Are you stupid, don’t you see where you are going ?! Generalizations: late for work, how long will this continue?! - You absolutely

From the book Through trials - to a new life. Causes of our diseases the author Dalke Rudiger

Examples of Alex We met Alex in the student cafeteria. It's noisy and crowded, but we managed to find a free table. We decided to help him think through everything. necessary steps that will lead him to a degree.1. What needs to happen or what needs to happen

From the book A Useful Book for Mom and Dad author Skachkova Ksenia

Examples AlexAlex wants to become a research doctor. His dream is a large number different elements, so he gets a larger map than others. Not all parts are completely clear yet, but Alex thinks that with such a map he is quite comfortable to start moving.

From the book The Four Second Rule. Stop. Think. Do It author Bregman Peter

Examples of Alex Arranging this interview with Alex turned out to be more difficult than we expected. But it was even good: apparently, he is working hard and moving towards his dream.1. How are you, Alex? We are almost done with the third big element of our map:

From the book Missing Without a Trace ... Psychotherapeutic work with relatives of the missing author Preitler Barbara

Quality of time for rituals and holidays Our difficulty in understanding the rituals of archaic peoples is largely due to the difference in the perception of time. For us, time is a quantitative concept, but for primitive peoples it is a qualitative one. In antiquity, quality and

From the author's book

Ideas for wedding rituals There are many in every culture. In their number, which is in deep contrast with the small number of rituals for divorce, their significance is once again shown. Spouses want to feel the importance of the step being taken. Marriage should not only be

From the author's book

Ideas for divorce rituals 1. In a peculiar way role play remember again the main stages of the relationship: acquaintance, falling in love, the first disappointment, the beginning of the end.2. Conduct a ritual farewell in the same church where the marriage was concluded: remove the rings, untie

From the author's book

Tools and construction material for your own rituals of transition. Rituals are like a time-out in sports, which gives you the opportunity to get out of the linear flow of time, make contact with your inner needs, realize and try to use the chances of a new

From the author's book

8 The Value of Tea Parties Make Time for Rituals I recently rewatched the movie The Last Samurai. The action takes place in Japan in the 1870s. This is a veteran's story civil war in the USA, who was captured by the samurai and eventually learned to honor them

From the author's book

1.3. Lack of rituals A missing person cannot be said goodbye, and there is no body to bury. There are no documents confirming that this separation is permanent. Therefore, there are no rituals that could help to accept separation. There is also no social

Greetings. It is better if this ritual is worked out by the group itself. Its options are extremely diverse. For example, in the first minutes of the lesson, participants move around the room and, meeting with a partner, alternately touch their elbows, knees and silently smile at each other. Options for non-verbal greetings can be touching with shoulders, feet - according to the same principle "each - with each". It is possible to agree on the use of verbal means, for example, participants must necessarily say a few kind words to each other, without repeating themselves during new meeting: on the first day - to compliment the appearance, on the second - to emphasize the most striking dignity, on the third to praise for a specific act or act of behavior in the classroom, and so on, on the last - to highlight what "I learned from you." Methods of a general greeting are also used: standing in a circle, the participants raise their clasped hands up.

Parting. This refers not only to the ritual of completing the work of the group, but also the end of each lesson. A common circle is very popular, in which participants stand for a minute with eyes closed, putting his hands on the shoulders of his comrades and mentally conveying to the group his positive emotions and good wishes. Almost always, this procedure is accompanied by a slight rocking and a feeling of lightness and flight.

Traditional scheme classes. It, too, is a ritual that influences the participants because of its repetition. The scheme, or structure, of the lesson may be different. In our work, we often adhere to the following:

1. Greeting.

2. Survey of well-being (participants immediately plunge into the atmosphere of "here and now", reflecting on their emotional and physical state, reporting their thoughts and expectations in relation to the upcoming lesson, sometimes talking about dreams they had the day before).

3. Suggestion by the facilitators of the topic of the lesson (sometimes it can be determined not on the basis of the facilitator's preliminary ideas, but formulated as a result of requests made by the group members during the previous step).

4. A parable told by the facilitator (it serves as a kind of epigraph to the upcoming work and, due to its metaphorical nature, sets a certain program for the subconscious of the participants).

5. Warm-up exercises.

6. The main (working) part (in which passive exercises are interspersed with outdoor games - both of them almost always end with discussion and reflection).

7. Summing up the results of the lesson (statements of the participants in a circle about their current state, understanding of the work done, wishes and suggestions to the presenter).

8. Summary of the presenter (if necessary). Often in the form of a parable.

9. Farewell.

Each of the stages of the lesson is in itself a ritual action (the exception is the actual working part, which always, of course, takes the lion's share of time).

Applause. They can also become a ritual if it is accepted in the group to accompany any successful exercise, a bold act (for example, declaring oneself as a volunteer), or a subtle and witty statement.

Questions and tasks for self-control

1. What "magical" functions of rituals should a practical psychologist know about? What is the essence of these "magic" functions?

2. What concepts are revealed in the following definitions:

a. "...... - the order of performance of certain actions established by tradition".

b. "...... is a kind of behavioral metaphor in which some objects or actions are replaced by others, i.e. they act in the meaning of others."

c. "...... is nothing more than a form of play activity."

3. What is the essence of psychotherapy with sign systems?

4. Insert the correct word in the following statement about the connection between rituals and mythologemes:

"Ritual is then an effective psychological tool when its sign system turns out to be ......... the mythology that a person has."

5. What is the peculiarity of perception by the unconscious idiomatic expressions? Can this feature be used by a practical psychologist?

6. The following statement is true or false:

1. "Rituals always and under all conditions perform a psychotherapeutic function."

2. "If the rules of the game (ritual) are accepted at the conscious level (that is, they correspond to human mythology) and are properly understood by the subconscious (that is, their literal meaning coincides with a positive picture of future changes), then as a result we get a useful psychotherapeutic effect."

3. "Rituals do not play the role of psychotherapeutic techniques, but only help a person to structure his life."

7. Explain the essence of the psychophysiological mechanism of action of the "anchor" in the ritual from the point of view of neurolinguistic programming.

8. Do rituals always occur spontaneously in the training group or can they be suggested by the facilitator?

9. Give examples of rituals used in psychological training.

World cults and rituals. The power and strength of the ancients Matyukhina Yulia Alekseevna

Modern rituals

IN modern society there are rituals that accompany a person all his life. Scientists believe that the rituals of our time can be divided into 3 groups.

1. Traditional rituals and rituals that have come down to us from time immemorial.

2. Religious ceremonies.

3. magical rites accompanying the sessions of white and black magicians, as well as all kinds of healers, and folk superstitions.

The first group of rituals is the most numerous and understandable to everyone. It includes rituals known to every person, from birth to death. We got up in the morning, went to wash our face or turned on the kettle (computer, toaster, TV), got dressed, went outside, went to work, etc. All the things we are used to are everyday rituals that we perform automatically. Some of them are more significant and are connected with the ancient customs of our ancestors. We can name some of the most common rituals “with meaning” in our life:

- swaddling a baby boy in blue blankets and diapers, and girls in pink;

- naming the newborn;

- annual birthday celebrations;

- celebration of various holidays;

- rituals of hospitality;

- special rules of behavior, speech, communication, clothing, in which rituals are also easily recognized;

- weddings, commemorations.

If you carefully analyze any ritual, you can quite easily find its roots in the mists of time. What we are doing today, without thinking at all, most likely, was done by our distant ancestors, only at a different stage in the development of civilization. So, for example, we invite guests to the house not only for entertainment, but also in order to keep with friends a good relationship absolutely necessary for a normal life, and to avoid spoilage. The ritual of choking is also ancient: the pagans specially touched the filled bowls so that the ritual drink was mixed and had magical powers. In the Middle Ages, in connection with the widespread custom of pouring poison on each other, the feudal lords certainly tried to hit their glass on the opponent’s glass as hard as possible so that part of the wine would overflow into his glass.

The holiday of March 8 with the veneration of women does not trace its history back to the time of Clara Zetkin, as is commonly believed, but goes back to much more distant eras. Also in Ancient Rome in the first days of March, festivities were held with the veneration of goddesses and women in general.

Burning candles on a birthday cake is also an ancient ritual. The burning fire was considered purifying and especially beneficial on a person's birthday.

Many rituals are associated with ritual cleansing: since ancient times, it was customary to wash before and after any significant event in order to “cleanse” from everyday worries. Each nation created its own type of bath, washing in which, as well as the objects accompanying this action, had great ritual significance.

From the book Book 16. Kabbalistic forum (old edition) author Laitman Michael

From the book KABALISTIC FORUM. Book 16 (old edition). author Laitman Michael

Orders and rituals There are many different Orders in the world that use magic, which in one way or another, ideologically or ritually, is connected with Kabbalah. Do these rituals have an impact on the world? It has nothing to do with Kabbalah. It is even impossible to imagine how many beliefs, religions,

From the book The Essence of the Science of Kabbalah. Volume 1 (continued) author Laitman Michael

From the book The Essence of the Science of Kabbalah. Volume 2 author Laitman Michael

6. Science of Kabbalah and modern sciences 6.1 The science of Kabbalah and modern sciences. Lesson 1 6.1.1 The truth of the criterion of the value of science The value of any science in the world is determined by the value of its purpose. Therefore, there is no science that does not have a goal. All sciences in our world arose

From the book The Essence of the Science of Kabbalah. Volume 2 (original draft sequel) author Laitman Michael

6. Science of Kabbalah and modern sciences 6.1 Science of Kabbalah and modern sciences. Lesson 1 6.1.1 The truth of the criterion of the value of science The value of any science in the world is determined by the value of its purpose. Therefore, there is no science that does not have a goal. All sciences in our world arose

From the book Yoga: Immortality and Freedom by Eliade Mircea

"INTERNAL" RITUALS Sacrifice was likened to tapas quite early. The gods achieved immortality not only through sacrifice, but also through asceticism. The Rigveda (X, 167, 1) says that Indra conquered the heavens with the power of tapas; such ideas are deeply

From the book of the Inca. Life, religion, culture by Kendell Ann

Agricultural rituals In the chronicles, the ceremonial calendar cycle of the Incas is described as being associated mainly with agriculture, especially with the cultivation of maize, but recent research suggests that there were also ceremonies for the protection

From the book Indians North America[Life, religion, culture] author White John Manchip

Holidays and rituals What are the main holidays and rituals celebrated and carried out by the Indians as under open sky, and under the shadow of their sanctuaries? First of all, these were traditional holidays associated with the most important events in the life of each member of the tribe.K

From the book of Maya. Life, religion, culture author Whitlock Ralph

Rituals Almost all Mayan ceremonies required elaborate preparations. Among other things, these included fasting and sexual abstinence. Innocence was highly valued, and this is believed to explain a large number of sacrificed children who were considered "clean"

From the book Phoenicians [Founders of Carthage (litres)] author Harden Donald

Priests, Rituals All shrines and temples needed priests and other servants. The inscriptions mention both priests and priestesses and prove that at times the priesthood was the prerogative of an individual family for several generations. An inscription on a stone in Carthage mentions seventeen

From the book Nostalgia for Origins by Eliade Mircea

From the book World Cults and Rituals. The power and strength of the ancients author Matyukhina Yulia Alekseevna

Hunting rituals ancient peoples the world was the main source of food, so people treated it as a sacred act. There is not a single people of antiquity who lived in the forests, which would not have numerous, in many ways mysterious hunting

From the book History of Magic and the Occult author Zeligmann Kurt

Thieves' rituals For several centuries, thieves in many countries have performed a strange ritual: they cut off a finger from a dead person and go to work with this finger. It was believed that if you go around the house with your finger in your hands, then everyone will fall asleep very soundly and will not hear anything. Other thieves

From the book Essays in Comparative Religion by Eliade Mircea

Festive rituals Scallops Every year in France in April, the Scallop Festival takes place. The ritual of this delicious festival is that everyone can take part in catching special shells, “san jacos”. To do this is not so easy. shellfish

From the author's book

Devilish Rituals

From the author's book

33. RITUALS OF ASCENT All these myths and beliefs are associated with corresponding specific rituals of "ascension" and "ascension". The choice and consecration of a place for sacrifice is a process of exaltation of the profane space: “Truly a priest,