Part of Thought
Spirituality & Myth
Religious traditions, sacred practices, rituals, myths and symbols of the transcendent.
Concepts
- FohatFohat is an esoteric and theosophical concept representing the cosmic electric vital force that bridges spirit and matter throughout the universe. In philosophical…
- GroguGrogu is a character of the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, a small child of the same species as Yoda. In the Agency editorial he appears once, in Issue.25, as the…
- HannyaThe Hannya is a mask from Japanese Noh theatre that represents a female demon or vengeful spirit, typically depicting a woman consumed by jealousy, rage or sorrow to the…
- Hayao MiyazakiHayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker and co-founder of Studio Ghibli. In Archetype.0, the author tells of watching The Boy and the Heron, which he calls the…
- Heart SutraThe Heart Sutra is one of the most well-known texts in Mahayana Buddhism. Its full name in Sanskrit is the Prajnaparamitahrdaya Sutra, meaning The Heart of the Perfection…
- Joseph CampbellJoseph Campbell was an American writer and scholar of comparative mythology, known for the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). Issue.16 names him once, in the…
- Jostein GaarderJostein Gaarder is a Norwegian writer, author of Sophie's World, a novel about the history of philosophy. The Agency editorial names him once, in Creative.11, where…
- Lao TzuLao Tzu is the ancient Chinese figure traditionally credited with writing the Tao Te Ching, a foundational text of Taoism. In Creative.2, interviewee Carolina Justus…
- Law of AttractionThe law of attraction is a philosophical and metaphysical premise asserting that positive or negative thoughts actively attract corresponding life experiences and…
- Löwenmensch FigurineThe Löwenmensch figurine, also called the Lion-man of Hohlenstein-Stadel, is a prehistoric ivory sculpture discovered in a German cave, determined by carbon dating to be…
- MonomythThe monomyth is the foundational narrative template identified by Joseph Campbell in which a mythic hero ventures forth from ordinary life into a realm of supernatural…
- Myth of the AndrogyneThe myth of the androgyne is an allegorical account presented by the comedic playwright Aristophanes in Plato's Symposium to explain the origin of human desire and the…
- Mythical RitualA mythical ritual is a communal performance that re-enacts sacred archetypes, cultural narratives, and collective identities within a dedicated space and time. It bridges…
- MythopoesisMythopoesis is the act of creating myths or mythic narratives, giving shape to archetypal themes through original literary expression. In Archetype.1, it appears as the…
- NirvanaNirvana is a central concept in Indian philosophical and spiritual traditions signifying liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth. It represents the ultimate…
- Norse MythologyNorse mythology is the body of myths of the peoples of ancient Scandinavia, with gods such as Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki. The Agency editorial borrows its cast for a…
- Pan-Amazonian ShamanismPan-Amazonian shamanism is an archaic cosmological and spiritual continuum shared across dozens of diverse indigenous nations inhabiting the Amazon River basin. It…
- PharmakosA pharmakos was a human scapegoat in ancient Greek civic religion ritually expelled or sacrificed to cleanse a community of disaster or pestilence. The practice embodied…
- PhoenixThe phoenix is a mythological bird that cyclically regenerates from its own ashes, symbolizing death, renewal and transformation. In Archetype.0, the Agency editorial…
- Procreation in BeautyProcreation in beauty is a philosophical concept introduced by Diotima of Mantinea in Plato's Symposium, asserting that human love is fundamentally a desire to give birth…
- Psychedelic-Assisted TherapyPsychedelic-assisted therapy is a clinical treatment modality combining controlled doses of psychoactive compounds with professional psychotherapeutic preparation and…
- Purgative HealingPurgative healing is an ethnomedical process wherein physical vomiting, perspiration, and diarrhea are interpreted as therapeutic purifications of toxic somatic and…
- Raimundo Irineu SerraRaimundo Irineu Serra, known as Mestre Irineu, was the Brazilian religious leader who founded the Santo Daime, a religion born in Acre that uses ayahuasca as its…
- Religious SyncretismReligious syncretism is the blending of disparate religious traditions, theological symbols, and cultural practices into a cohesive new spiritual framework. It…
Terms
- Potionnoun
- A liquid concoction endowed with purported medicinal, magical, toxic, or transformative powers.
- Rebirthnoun
- A new beginning after a period of decline or destruction, used in mythology to describe the cyclical return to life after death. In Archetype.0, rebirth is the defining characteristic of both the Bennu and the Phoenix.
- Rezonoun
- A formal spiritual prayer or spoken invocation chanted to inaugurate, direct, or conclude a traditional sacred gathering.
- Secularadjective
- Denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis; worldly rather than sacred.
- Self-immolationnoun
- The deliberate destruction of oneself, typically by fire. In Archetype.0, self-immolation is the voluntary act by which the phoenix builds a nest of fragrant spices and woods, ignites itself and is consumed by the flames.
- spesnoun
- The classical Latin noun and personified Roman goddess representing hope, anticipation of good fortune, and enduring optimism.
- Synchronicitynoun
- The simultaneous occurrence of events that appear meaningfully related yet lack a direct causal connection.
- Syncreticadjective
- Characterized by the fusion or combination of different forms of belief, cultural practices, or theological doctrines.
- Transcendencenoun
- Existence or experience beyond normal physical limits and everyday material reality.
- transmuteverb
- To change, transform, or convert something in form, nature, or substance into a higher or different manifestation.
- vengeful spiritnoun
- A spirit driven by a desire for revenge, often depicted as a supernatural force that returns from the afterlife to right a wrong or punish the living. In Japanese Noh theatre, the Hannya mask portrays such a spirit: a woman consumed by sorrow and rage to the point of transforming into a demon.
- Yggdrasilnoun
- In Norse mythology, the immense sacred tree, an ash, whose branches and roots connect the nine worlds and hold the universe together.
