A Seeming African Origin of the Milky Way Mythology and Its Relatedness to Other Mythology

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

To me, Animism starts in Southern Africa, then to West Europe, and becomes Totemism. Another split goes near the Russia and Siberia border becoming Shamanism, which heads into Central Europe meeting up with Totemism, which also had moved there, mixing the two which then heads to Lake Baikal in Siberia. From there this Shamanism-Totemism heads to Turkey where it becomes Paganism.

My thoughts on the Evolution of Religion: from Animism to Paganism

Philosophy to the Rescue: explaining Reason, Logic, Evidence, Truth, Certainty, Reality, and Science

Talking about “Religion and Deity Evolution” on Twitter (X) Questions and Answers

You can’t change people, by reason and evidence. WRONG, I do it all the time.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Maps by “John White” of  Crecganford from the Videos:

1. Misunderstanding Myth: Peterson, Hancock, Dawkins et al
2. The Milky Way: Source of some of our Oldest Myths

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Maps by “John White” of  Crecganford from the Video:

• The OLDEST story in the World – The Cosmic Hunt

Seven Brothers and the Cosmic Hunt: “European sky in the past. The difference in the star lore between sub-Saharan African and other traditions concerns not so much the number of objects selected, which in some Eurasian and American traditions was not great, but the degree of development of the explanatory narratives. Besides the Pleiades, in sub-Saharan Africa, the Milky Way, the Belt of Orion, Venus, sometimes Sirius, and Jupiter were also known. The Pleiades, with their heliacal rise and fall, were mostly interpreted as a marker for the beginning of the New Year and agricultural season, and the position of the Milky Way was also placed in connection to alternation of the dry or wet seasons. The practically complete lack of interpretations of Ursa Major in sub-Saharan Africa was not simply due to its poorer visibility at low latitudes compared with more northern regions. A Siberian-type Cosmic Hunt myth, perhaps, could be known in the Eastern Baltic area if it was brought there from the east somewhere in the Early Holocene, together with the Path of Birds for the Milky Way, Girl with water pails seen in the lunar spots, and the conception of stars as sky openings. However, the regional distribution of these three motifs in Asia and North America demonstrates a weak correlation with the distribution of Ursa Major as a game animal or as three hunters and animals in the context of the Cosmic Hunt myth. The latter interpretation of Ursa Major in Siberia much better correlates with the interpretation of the Milky Way as a snow track, which is an alternative to the Path of birds.” ref 

AI Overview: The Myths and Lore of the Milky Way. Siberian myths, particularly among Uralic and Tungusic peoples, see the Milky Way as the “Path of Birds” (Linnunrata), a celestial highway where migratory birds carry the souls of the deceased to the Upper World or spirit realm, sometimes linking to the shaman’s spiritual journey. It’s a crucial bridge between worlds, often associated with hearth fire, smoke, or celestial rivers, facilitating the soul’s passage to an afterlife, a concept shared across Northern Eurasia.

Video: How Ancient People Believed Birds Carried Souls to the Afterlife (Ancient Mythology Explained)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GOaqDU6y_o&t=435s

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Snake Symbolism: Milky Way and the Sun?

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Sun Snakes and Eclipses Mythology?

“In ancient Egyptian mythology, Ra is associated with the Great Serpent, a powerful creature that serves as Ra’s protector, embodying both the nurturing and destructive aspects of nature.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Hunting cult: Animism, Totemism, and Shamanism

*Animistic religious beliefs (Originating in Africa: 100,000 to 50,000 years ago): We die and go to the Sun/Heaven (by the Milky Way path), no life after Death. There is a sun spirit female and a moon spirit male. The new moon is favored for “sneaking hunting” (hunters are unseen) in the darkest night. All people are equal and dual-spirited, and animals also go to heaven, just like humans; they have a spirit while alive.

*Totemistic religious beliefs (Originating in Western Europe: 50,000 to 28,000 years ago): We die and go to the Stars/Heaven (by the Milky Way path), no life after Death. There is a sun spirit female and a moon spirit male. The new moon is favored for “sneaking hunting” (hunters are unseen) in the darkest night. The Third/First Quarter Moon was likely also favored as it related to the first ancestor clan, pseudo twin being that he-she/they were seen as duality: intersex, trans, bisexual, half-male and half-female, in “One Great” dual-spirit being.

*Shamanistic religious beliefs (Originating in Western Siberia: 34,000 to 9,000 years ago): We may die and go to the Stars/Heaven (by the Milky Way path) or have rebirth/reincarnation, Life after Death/afterlife (ancestors can interact to help or hurt). There is a sun spirit male and a moon spirit female. The new moon is favored for “sneaking hunting” (hunters are unseen) in the darkest night. Additionally, the Waning/Waxing Crescent Moon is favored in relation to the boy twins’ mythology, which explains why these twins can have different fathers. And these moons are the darkest nights after the new moon, thus also aiding in hiding in “ambush” hunting.

*Paganistic religious beliefs (Originating in Upper Mesopotamia (Turkey): 12,000/11,000 years ago): We may die and go to the Stars/Heaven (by the Milky Way path) or have rebirth/reincarnation, Life after Death/afterlife (ancestors can interact to help or hurt). There is a sun spirit male and a moon spirit female. The full moon is favored for “more safety for herders” (also: there is a higher number of births around the full moon for dairy cows) on the brightest night. Additionally, the Waning/Waxing Crescent Moon is favored in relation to the boy twins’ mythology, or the duality of bull horns and twin-peaked mountains, which explains why these twins can have different fathers. And these moons are associated with the Star of Venus, also known as the Morning Star or Dawn goddess.

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• Dualism: “Divine Twins” mythology, Pseudo Twins, and
  Twin Burials
• Duality and the Divine Twins: phases of the Moon and the Sun, Dark and light
• Early Europeans Practiced Human Sacrifice

“Investigating a collection of graves from the Upper Paleolithic (about 32/26,000 to 8,000 BCE), archaeologists found several that contained pairs or even groups of people with rich burial offerings and decoration. Many of the remains were young or had deformities, such as dwarfism.” ref

“Human sacrifice may be a ritual practiced in a stable society, and may even be conducive to enhancing societal unity (see: Sociology of religion), both by creating a bond unifying the sacrificing community.” ref

“The comparative analysis of different Indo-European tales has led scholars to reconstruct an original Proto-Indo-European creation myth involving twin brothers, *Manu- (‘Man’) and *Yemo- (‘Twin’), as the progenitors of the world and mankind, and a hero named *Trito (‘Third’) who ensured the continuity of the original sacrifice. To create the world, Manu sacrifices his brother and, with the help of heavenly deities (the Sky-Father, the Storm-God, and the Divine Twins), forges both the natural elements and human beings from his twin’s remains. Some scholars have proposed that the primeval being Yemo was depicted as a two-folded hermaphrodite rather than a twin brother of Manu, both forming indeed a pair of complementary beings entwined together. The Germanic names Ymir and Tuisto were understood as twin, bisexual or hermaphrodite, and some myths give a sister to the Vedic Yama, also called Yamī (‘Twin’). The primordial being may therefore have self-sacrificed, or have been divided in two, a male half and a female half, embodying a prototypal separation of the sexes that continued the primordial union of the Sky Father (Dyēus) with the Mother Earth (Dhéǵhōm).” ref

Creation myths origin???

I think it started 100,000 years ago in Africa, and went to 50,000 years ago with more of a magical thinking “animism thinking” Belief persuasion. All life had spirits; people had two spirits, one male from their father and one from their mother. Given two names to reflect this duality nature, all humans were believed to possess. Later, it would be expected as one spirit that is your lifeforce and one a guardian spirit/ancestor spirit, that was only connected to that person. We live and then die. When we die, we take the cosmic snake/fire-smoke embers/Milky Way path to the heavens/Ancestors went to the sun spirit upon death, no afterlife. All people were seen as relatively equal.

Then, 50,000 to 45,000 years ago, totemism emerged in Europe (France and Germany), and they only cared about their clan/tribe first, and maybe only them. Thus, at 43,000 years ago, they made a place with one side the Milky Way and the other a standing humanoid figure that seems more male-centered. This was actually the one who had two spirits (Intersex, trans, or bisexual; it could have been all three?), and was thus seen as an equal representation of the clan/tribe’s ancestors as a whole. And still no life after death, just up to heaven, and it is over.

Totemism dualism thinking was changed before meeting up with shamanism from the East (West Siberia/Russia). And the old mythology of dualness, which had been represented as one androgynous man, evolved into two separate people: a woman and a man, known as world parents, by approximately 38,000 years ago. They also had a Cosmic hunt by 30,000 years ago or earlier (38,000 years ago?). Animals were hunted/chased/led up the Milky Way path, to then be killed in hunting on it, or being sacrificed on it (Milky Way).

Then by 34,000 years ago comes shamanism with afterlife/reincarnation beliefs, which then made the change in duality nature again, by turning the male and female into the male and half-male boy/children twins (from the divine couple seen in totemism) who are first seen in a human sacrifice of two boys at 34,000 years ago, pseudo twins, as they had different fathers. The first real twin sacrifice burial was 27,000 years ago. In shamanism, the Cosmic Hunt bear or horned animal centered on the cow/bull in Israel 22,000 to 12,000 years ago. It was the Goat hunting mythology that was the focus from 12,500 to 11,000 years ago, in Turkey and Iran. But Bull hunt-related mythology was spread to Turkey by at least 12,000 years ago.

12,000 to 11,000 years ago in Turkey/Upper Mesopotamia, birthed the first deities from the older shamanism hunter cosmology. They had sky Father Sun and sky Mother Moon. The “sky” and “earth” deities, were the new duality twins. Hunting cult, “Cosmic hunt mythology,” becomes herding cult paganism by 12,000-11,000 years ago in Turkey/Upper Mesopotamia. They had/kept afterlife/reincarnation beliefs, shifting away from reincarnation and more limited to afterlife-only heaven thinking.

The herding paganism two deities gave birth to a daughter, the Dawn, around 10,000 years ago. This daughter was associated with both the sky and the earth, where she stayed until morning, and this association allowed most mythology to have her become the Earth mother, which happened at least 8,000 years ago. Either her or her mother gave birth to the divine boy twins, reestablishing the boy twins’ mythology prominence to explain duality. And because she, the Dawn/Venus star, went into a cave in the Earth, this, in some mythology, allowed the Earth to become a male god, and her husband.

The practice of circumcision on males that removes the “two spiritness” all people are born with started maybe 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, related with self-sacrifice and making one into a full man, in Southern Israel, then moved into Africa, as seen in Egypt by 5,000 years ago. New violence becomes the norm, 7,000 to 5,000 years ago, a time of “World War 0,” male clans rise, and competing males are killed to the point that there were 15/17 women to 1 man. The practice of circumcision was believed to remove a male’s duality (they are then believed to be REAL men, not androgyny males any longer). Also, this sacrificing of duality likely involved female circumcision at some point, thought to remove the man from females, thus, like what was thought happened to males when the foreskin was removed. So, too, the “womanness” was removed, ending the inborn dualness one was born with as a man. Therefore, circumcision ended the duality-myth worship. And it is this death of duality that will lead to the creation of monotheism.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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I classify Animism (animated ‘spirit‘ or “supernatural” perspectives). I see all religious people as at least animists, so all religions have at least some amount, kind, or expression of animism as well.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Gods, like religions in general, are cultural products. To me, high gods, like “Sky Father” (Sun or Blue Sky usually, or Storm deities on the deity’s “dark side” like Yin and Yang) or “Sky Mother” (Moon or Stars) myths beliefs are at 39% when tested, in hunter-gatherers the world over.

Around 10,000 years ago, ideas went into Africa. Around 10,000 to 9,000 years ago, these ideas from the Middle East were in Siberia then moved to China and to the Americas by around 9,000 years ago. Religious ideas also left the Middle East from 9,000 to 8,000 years ago to Europe. Around 8,000 years ago, new ideas got to Ukraine but didn’t spread far. From 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, ideas again entered Africa with evolved beliefs from the Middle East. By 7,000 years ago, evolved deities from the Middle East moved again to Europe and Ukraine. And 7,000 years ago, the Siberian sun god of the sky, with a warrior culture, armed forts, and pre-kurgans, moved from Siberia to Ukraine and then returned to the Middle East around 6,000 years ago, influencing the Sumerian religious ideas. 6,000 to 5,000 years ago, these new Siberian influenced ideas from the Middle East were also in Africa. Then new evolved ideas moved back out of from Ukraine to the East by 5,500 to 5,000 years ago to Siberia, then China, and the Americas. Ideas from Ukraine went into Europe as well. Then, 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, the new ideas, now somewhat evolved again, from Siberia headed back to Europe, and so did ideas from the Middle East. ETC. This is just a rough outline to grasp some of the details, as I feel I understand them. There is a bit more, but this gives a good idea of how complicated it was.

I think the person, snakes, and two birds seen at Körtik Tepe is the oldest known Neolithic archaeological site in Turkey, more than 12,000 years old, were likely related to the Orion constellation as a shamanic figure holding a snake, referencing the use of the Milky Way to communicate with the gods and ancestors, as well as soul travel via the Milky Way. The big snake to me would reference the Milky Way itself and the two birds, either the star Venus and the moon, or some aspect of the sun, and the moon, but the sun aspect was likely not the noon sun by itself, as I see that as gaining prominence at a later date. And I think the other figures, also related to the Orion constellation, either as a deity or a deity of the stars, put Orion there. I assume, as seen at Tell Fekheriye, Syria, 11,000 to 9,000 years old, involving two standing figures on “step stools of power” that by 11,000 years ago were at least two sky deities, such as something similar to both a sky father and a sky mother deity, at this time, related to the stars, or planets (also seen as stars or star-like). But we must remember that planets were seen as star-related in mythology.

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“The Heavenly Shepherd” or “Gigant Great Hunter”

“Depictions of the consistently phallic Egyptian god, Min, show the deity in a standing position in a stance that closely follows the Orion constellation. In Egyptian mythology, the god Min, associated with fertility, harvest, and male virility, was linked to the constellation Orion. Depictions of Min, often with an erect phallus, visually resemble the Orion constellation, particularly the alignment of stars in Orion’s belt.” ref, ref

“In ancient Egypt, the stars of Orion were regarded as a god, called Sah, representing a constellation that encompassed the stars in Orion and Lepus, as well as stars found in some neighboring modern constellations.” ref, ref

“The Babylonian star constellations of the Late Bronze Age named Orion meant, “The Heavenly Shepherd” or “True Shepherd of Anu,” Anu being the chief god of the heavenly realms. The True Shepherd of Anu (i.e., Orion) … is a human figure, clothed, bearded, and the Twins (i.e., Gemini), who stand in front of the True Shepherd of Anu…, are two human figures, clothed. The celestial body that stands below the True Shepherd of Anu is the Rooster (Lepus). Orion served several roles in ancient Greek culture. The story of the adventures of Orion, the hunter, is the one for which there is the most evidence (and even for that, not very much); he is also the personification of the constellation of the same name; he was venerated as a hero, in the Greek sense. The Seri people of northwestern Mexico call the three stars in the belt of Orion Hapj (a name denoting a hunter), which consists of three stars, and in China, Orion is related to Sieu, which, literally meaning “three,” refers to the stars of Orion’s Belt. In Siberia, the Chukchi people see Orion as a hunter, and in old Hungarian tradition, Orion is called Nimrod (Hungarian: Nimród), the greatest hunter, father of the twins Hunor and Magor.” ref, ref 

“In Greek mythology, Orion is a hunter, with hunting dogs (Canis Major and Minor) that mirror the Wild Hunt’s entourage. And whenever Scorpius appears, Orion hides away, for the two are never to be seen together. The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif occurring across various northern, western, and eastern European societies. The Wild Hunt typically involves a chase led by a mythological figure, escorted by ghostly or supernatural hunters engaged in pursuit.” ref

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New Grasp of the Evolution of Religion

I see the big snake in the Master of animals at “Kortik Tepe” as a representation of the Milky Way/Rainbow, and the shaman’s body with lines (like lines on tally sticks) is also a reference to the Milky Way/Rainbow, which is also the same as the snake in his hand, showing he has power over/uses the Milky Way/Rainbow, as well as the snake on his forhead, a snake symbol of his power over the Milky Way/Rainbow.

I see the Milky Way and Rainbows as a type of duality, such as yin-yang, which is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces, and as a similar connected theme in the duality of day and night, like the sun and the moon mythology.

Milky Way and Rainbows: Similarities found in diverse cultural references:

• Milky Way is related to or with Snakes/Serpents/Dragons
• Rainbow related to or with Snakes/Worms/Chameleons/Serpents/Dragons/Demons
• Milky Way is related to Dogs/dog-like: Wolf
• Rainbow related to Dogs/dog-like: Silver Gray Fox/Coyote
• Milky Way is related to birds
• Rainbow is related to birds
• Milky Way as a Path
• Rainbow as a Path
• Milky Way is related to a bridge
• Rainbow is related to a bridge
• Milky Way is related to a river
• Rainbow related to a river
• Milky Way is related to Milk
• Rainbow is related to Milk
• Milky Way is related to or linking with fire
• Rainbow is related to or linking with fire

“The Galactic Center is the barycenter of the Milky Way and a corresponding point on the rotational axis of the galaxy. The Galactic Center is approximately 8 kiloparsecs (26,000 ly) away from Earth in the direction of the constellations Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Scorpius, where the Milky Way appears brightest, visually close to the Butterfly Cluster (M6) or the star Shaula, south to the Pipe Nebula.” ref

“The sun or other source of light is usually behind the person seeing the rainbow. In fact, the center of a primary rainbow is the antisolar point, the imaginary point exactly opposite the sun. Rainbows are actually full circles. The antisolar point is the center of the circle. Because each person’s horizon is a little different, no one actually sees a full rainbow from the ground. In fact, no one sees the same rainbow—each person has a different antisolar point, each person has a different horizon. A fogbow is formed in much the same way as a primary rainbow. A moonbow, also called a lunar rainbow, is a rainbow produced by light reflected by the moon. Rainbows are part of the myths of many cultures around the world. Rainbows are often portrayed as bridges between people and supernatural beings. In the ancient beliefs of Japan and Gabon, rainbows were the bridges that human ancestors took to descend to the planet. The shape of a rainbow also resembles the bow of an archer. Hindu culture teaches that the god Indra uses his rainbow bow to shoot arrows of lightning. Rainbows are usually positive symbols in myths and legends. In the Epic of Gilgamesh and, later, the Christian Bible, the rainbow is a symbol from a deity (the goddess Ishtar and the Hebrew God) to never again destroy Earth with floods. Sometimes, however, rainbows are negative symbols. In parts of Burma, for instance, rainbows are considered demons that threaten children. Tribes throughout the Amazon Basin associate rainbows with disease.” ref

Milky Way is related to Dogs/dog-like: Wolf

“A Cherokee folktale tells of a dog who stole some cornmeal and was chased away. He ran away to the north, spilling the cornmeal along the way. The Milky Way is thus called ᎩᎵ ᎤᎵᏒᏍᏓᏅᏱ (Gili Ulisvsdanvyi) “Where the dog ran.” ref

“Most American Indian tribes used the stars as indicators of the time for seasonal ceremonies and their position when they were traveling across the land, but only one tribe was called the Star People. These were the Pawnee, they became part of the Caddoan tribes, who called them ‘Awahi,’ the Star People. The term ‘Caddo’ meant ‘true chiefs,’ and these people were descendents of the Mound Builders, who worshipped the Serpent and the Star. The Star that fell to earth was represented by a secret fire. The Caddo, as well as the early Pawnee, may have been influenced in their stellar cosmology by the more southern tribes, including the Maya. The Skiri (Wolf band) became so dominant among the Pawnee that other tribes called the Pawnee the Wolf People and the sign for ‘wolf’ came to mean ‘Pawnee.’ The Pawnee differ from other tribes in not following the positions of the Sun or the phases of the Moon; instead, they follow the Stars. Next to the Great Chief Star (Polaris, the North Star), three stars form an arc, representing the Medicine Man, his wife and their errand man. Pawnee Chiefs use the smoke hole in their lodges to sight the Stars known as the Council of Chiefs (Corona Borealis) passing overhead at dawn. The Stars announce the cycle of rebirth and renewal. Festivals are held at night, when the people can see the Stars, and planting ceremonies are held around midnight, when the seven stars of the Chaka (the Women) or Pleiades are directly overhead. The most important Stars are called the Swimming Ducks. These are the two bright Stars in the tail and stinger of the constellation of Scorpio, Lambda Scorpii and Upsilon Scorpii. When they are seen in the twilight of the southeastern sky before sunrise, the Pawnee know it is time to begin the ceremonies of spring, as soon as the first rolling thunder of spring is heard. The Milky Way is the ghost pathway of departed spirits. Just above the Milky Way is a spot devoid of any stars, and this is where the spirits of the dead return to the place beyond the Stars. The Milky Way is divided into two parts, one for those who died of natural causes and the other for people who died prematurely, as in battle. The Stars of the east are male Stars, and the greatest among them is a red Star known as Morning Star. Stars considered to be stationed in the west are female, and the most important one is a bright white Star called the Evening Star. The Morning Star is the planet Mars, and the Evening Star is the planet Venus. The appearance of the Wolf Star (Sirius) signifies the Wolf coming and going from the spirit world, running down the bright white trail of the Milky Way, which is also called the Wolf Road.” ref

“Canis Major is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy‘s 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for “greater dog” in contrast to Canis Minor, the “lesser dog”; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. The Milky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders, most notably M41. Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, known as the “dog star”. It is bright because of its proximity to the Solar System and its intrinsic brightness. In ancient Mesopotamia, Sirius, named KAK.SI.SA₂ by the Babylonians, was seen as an arrow aiming towards Orion, while the southern stars of Canis Major and a part of Puppis were viewed as a bow, named BAN in the Three Stars Each tablets, dating to around 1100 BCE. In the later compendium of Babylonian astronomy and astrology titled MUL.APIN, the arrow, Sirius, was also linked with the warrior Ninurta, and the bow with Ishtar, daughter of Enlil. Ninurta was linked to the later deity Marduk, who was said to have slain the ocean goddess Tiamat (whose severed tail was the Milky way) with a great bow, and worshipped as the principal deity in Babylon. The Ancient Greeks replaced the bow and arrow depiction with that of a dog.” ref, ref

“The mischievous deity Coyote grew annoyed with the slowness of their process and exasperatedly threw the bag of unplaced stars up over his head and into the sky. This scattering formed the Milky Way, the stars of which cannot be named because they were not properly placed.” ref

“One day Black God was busy making the constellations by carefully ordering the stars in the sky when Coyote became impatient and tossed the remaining stars from a bag, or occasionally a blanket, into the sky, forming the Milky Way. This story explains the reason some stars are dimmer than others, because Black God did not light the ones Coyote blew into the sky on fire. In another version of the story, Black God made the Milky Way on purpose. The Navajo believe it provides a pathway for the spirits traveling between heaven and earth, each little star being one footprint. The general view of Coyote in folk belief is generally negative and related to witchcraft. Witches called skin-walkers are believed to be able to adopt the form of a coyote.” ref

Rainbow related to Dogs/dog-like: Silver Gray Fox/Coyote

“An Achomawi Myth, of the First Rainbow, indigenous tribal people from northeastern California. The animals held a great feast to honor the rainbow, Silver Gray Fox, Spider Woman, the Spider Twins, Coyote, and the hard work everyone had done together.” ref

“There is an old legend in Japan that states when the sun is shining through the rain, the kitsune (foxes) have their weddings. In this first dream, a boy defies the wish of a woman, possibly his mother, to remain at home during a day with such weather. From behind a large tree in the nearby forest, he witnesses the slow wedding procession of the kitsune. Unfortunately, he is spotted by the foxes and runs. When he tries to return home, the same woman says that a fox had come by the house, leaving behind a tantō knife. The woman gives the knife to the boy, implying that he must commit suicide. The woman asks the boy to go and beg forgiveness from the foxes, although they are known to be unforgiving, refusing to let him in unless he does so. The boy sets off into the mountains, towards the place under the rainbow in search for the kitsune’s home.” ref

Milky Way as a Path

“Birds’ Path” is used in several Uralic and Turkic languages and in the Baltic languages. Northern peoples observed that migratory birds follow the course of the galaxy while migrating at the Northern Hemisphere. The name “Birds’ Path” (in Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Bashkir and Kazakh) has some variations in other languages, e.g. “Way of the grey (wild) goose” in Chuvash, Mari and Tatar and “Way of the Crane” in Erzya and Moksha.” ref

“Among the Finns, Estonians and related peoples, the Milky Way was and is called “The Pathway of the Birds” (Finnish: Linnunrata, Estonian: Linnutee). The Finns observed that migratory birds used the galaxy as a guideline to travel south, where they believed Lintukoto (bird home) was. The name in the Indo-European Baltic languages has the same meaning (Lithuanian: Paukščių Takas, Latvian: Putnu Ceļš).” ref

“In Estonian folklore it is believed that the birds are led by a white bird with the head of a maiden who chases birds of prey away. The maiden, the goddess Lindu, was the Queen of the Birds and the daughter of Ukko, the King of the Sky. After refusing the suits of the Sun and Moon for being too predictable in their routes and the Pole Star for being fixed, she fell in love with the Light of North for its beauty. They became engaged, but the inconstant Light of North left her soon afterward. The tears of the broken-hearted Lindu fell on her wedding veil, which became the Milky Way when her father brought her to heaven so she could reign by his side and guide the migrating birds, who followed the trail of stars in her veil. Only later did scientists indeed confirm this observation; the migratory birds use the Milky Way as a guide to travel to warmer, southern lands during the winter.” ref

“Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinized to Alpha Ursae Minoris) and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. The position of the star lies less than 1° away from the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star. The stable position of the star in the Northern Sky makes it useful for navigation. The ancient name of the constellation Ursa Minor, Cynosura (from the Greek κυνόσουρα “the dog’s tail”), became associated with the pole star in particular by the early modern period. Its name in traditional pre-Islamic Arab astronomy was al-Judayy الجدي (“the kid”, in the sense of a juvenile goat [“le Chevreau”] in Description des Etoiles fixes), and that name was used in medieval Islamic astronomy as well. In traditional Lakota star knowledge, Polaris is named “Wičháȟpi Owáŋžila”. This translates to “The Star that Sits Still”. This name comes from a Lakota story in which he married Tȟapȟúŋ Šá Wíŋ, “Red Cheeked Woman”. However, she fell from the heavens, and in his grief Wičháȟpi Owáŋžila stared down from “waŋkátu” (the above land) forever. In the ancient Finnish worldview, the North Star has also been called taivaannapa and naulatähti (“the nailstar”) because it seems to be attached to the firmament or even to act as a fastener for the sky when other stars orbit it. Since the starry sky seemed to rotate around it, the firmament is thought of as a wheel, with the star as the pivot on its axis. The names derived from it were sky pin and world pin.” ref

“The celestial pole also marked the place where the heavens were upheld by the world tree which had its branches in the sky, and its roots in the underworld below the land where people lived, and up which the shaman could climb to intervene with the gods. the pole star has been called the Nail Star, or northern nail. The celestial pole also marked the place where the heavens were upheld by the world tree which had its branches in the sky, and its roots in the underworld below the land where people lived, and up which the shaman could climb to intervene with the gods. This central axis of the world, about which the rest appears to revolve, has also been visualized as a mountain or a pillar. The celestial pole is not always marked by a star, or by the same star, for the Earth’s poles swing round in a circle during called precession. Polaris (in the tail of the Little Bear) which is nearly at the North Pole today was 3.5 degrees away in the 16th century, seven degrees away at the time of the Vikings. Four to five thousand years ago α-Draconis was the pole star. 8,000 years ago, it was τ-Hercules. 13,000 years ago, the nearest star to the pole was bright Vega, and this will be the Pole Star in thirteen thousand years’ time.” ref

“In a Khanti story from Western Siberia: “There is a mill which grinds by itself, swings of itself, and scatters the dust a hundred versts away. And there is a golden pole with a golden eagle on top which is also the Nail of the North. And there is a very wise tomcat which climbs up and down this pole. When he climbs down, he sings songs, and when he climbs up, he tells tales.” Before it was known that the Earth was spherical, in the Chinese Kai Tian (Heavenly Cover) theory of the universe, the heavens were like a bowl covering a square Earth (the Chinese Earth was symbolically square) which was domed in the center. The Great Bear constellation was in the middle of the heavens, people lived on the middle of the Earth. Rain filled a great ditch around the square Earth. The heavens were round and “rotated like a mill” from right to left, carrying with them the Sun and Moon which also had their own separate slower motions in the opposite direction. The Sun was seen as travelling round the celestial pole lighting first one then another part of the Earth’s surface, its distance from the pole varying according to the season. The changing seasons were also explained by the heavens sliding up and down the celestial pole as they rotated round so the North pole was further from the Earth in summer than in winter.” ref

Rainbow as a Path

“In Greek mythology, the goddess Iris personifies the rainbow. In many stories, such as the Iliad, she carries messages from the gods to the human world, thus forming a link between heaven and earth. Iris’s messages often concerned war and retribution. In some myths, the rainbow merely represents the path made by Iris as she flies.” In Navajo tradition, the rainbow is the path of the holy spirits, and is frequently depicted in sacred sandpaintings.” ref

Milky Way is related to a bridge

“Before the invention of the telescope, the Milky Way was observed only as a hazy band of light in which no individual stars could be distinguished. This mythical band is the source of many myths around the world, and different in various cultures.” ref

“There are many myths and legends about the origin of the Milky Way, the crowd of stars that makes a distinctive bright streak across the night sky. Milky Way (mythology) in Eastern Asian and Chinese mythology, the hazy band of stars of the Milky Way was referred to as the “River of Heaven” or the “Silvery River”. The Silvery River of Heaven is part of a Chinese folk tale, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, of the romance between Zhinü, the weaver girl, symbolizing the star Vega, and Niulang, the cowherd, symbolizing the star Altair. Their love was not allowed, and they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of crows and magpies would form a bridge over the heavenly river to reunite the lovers for a single day. That day is celebrated as Qixi, literally meaning ‘Seventh.” ref

“In Hungarian mythology, Csaba, the mythical son of Attila the Hun and ancestor of the Hungarians, is supposed to ride down the Milky Way when the Székelys (ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania) are threatened. Thus the Milky Way is called “The Road of the Warriors” (lit. “Road of Armies”) Hungarian: Hadak Útja. The stars are sparks from their horseshoes.” ref

Rainbow is related to a bridge

“Bifröst, a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard (the realm of the gods) is described in 13th century Norse mythology in both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. Scholars have proposed that the bridge may have originally represented the Milky Way.” ref

“Shamans among Siberia‘s Buryats speak of ascending to the sky-spirit world by way of the rainbow.” ref

“Among the Chachi or Cayapa of Ecuador the rainbow is said by some to be a bridge used by cave and hill spirits, as well as river spirits (Neil Wiebe, p.c. from Alfredo Salazar, 1982). Here the rainbow itself is not said to live in a cave, but it connects with caves to allow nature spirits that live there to travel to other locations.” ref

Milky Way is related to a river

“The Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains in South Australia see the band of the Milky Way as a river in the sky world. They called it Wodliparri (wodli = hut, house, parri = river) and believe that positioned along the river are a number of campfires. In addition, the dark patches mark the dwelling place of a dangerous creature known as a yura; the Kaurna call these patches Yurakauwe, which literally means “monster water.” The Aranda or Arrernte people, who come from Central Australia, see the band of the Milky Way as a river or creek in the sky world. This stellar river separates the two great camps of the Aranda and Luritja people. The stars to the east of this river represent the camps of the Aranda and the stars to the west represent Luritja encampments and some stars closer to the band represent a mixture of both. A group of Yolngu people from the Ramingining area in central Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory have a Dreaming story known as “Milky Way Dreaming”. In this story, which relates to the land, two spirit beings in the form of female quolls attacked their husband. The husband becomes a glider possum, gathers his warriors, and returns to kill them with spears. The spirits of the quolls transform into a type of freshwater fish, but they are caught in the creek nearby by the husband’s tribesmen and eaten. Their bones are collected by their brother, Wäk, aka the crow man, and put into a hollow log coffin. The Badurru Ceremony is performed and the coffin carried into the sky by the crow and his kin. The bones are then dispersed and form the Milky Way.” ref

“In Eastern Asian and Chinese mythology, the hazy band of stars of the Milky Way was referred to as the “River of Heaven” or the “Silvery River” (simplified Chinese: 银河; traditional Chinese: 銀河; pinyin: yínhé; Korean: 은하; RR: eunha; Vietnamese: ngân hà; Japanese: 銀河, romanized: ginga). In the Hindu collection of stories called Bhagavata Purana, all the visible stars and planets moving through space are likened to a dolphin that swims through the water, and the heavens are called śiśumãra cakra, the dolphin disc. The Milky Way forms the abdomen of the dolphin and is called Akasaganga which means “The Ganges River of the Sky.” ref

“In Irish mythology, the main name of the Milky Way was Bealach na Bó Finne — Way of the White Cow. It was regarded as a heavenly reflection of the sacred River Boyne, which is described as “the Great Silver Yoke” and the “White Marrow of Fedlimid,” names which could equally apply to the Milky Way. (Mór-Chuing Argait, Smir Find Fedlimthi).” ref

“To the Māori the Milky Way is the waka (canoe) of Tama-rereti. The front and back of the canoe are Orion and Scorpius, while the Southern Cross and the Pointers are the anchor and rope. According to legend, when Tama-rereti took his canoe out onto a lake, he found himself far from home as night was falling. There were no stars at this time and in the darkness the Taniwha would attack and eat people. So Tama-rereti sailed his canoe along the river that emptied into the heavens (to cause rain) and scattered shiny pebbles from the lakeshore into the sky. The sky god, Ranginui, was pleased by this action and placed the canoe into the sky as well as a reminder of how the stars were made.” ref

“In the Babylonian epic poem Enûma Eliš, the Milky Way is created from the severed tail of the primeval salt water dragoness Tiamat, set in the sky by Marduk, the Babylonian national god, after slaying her. This story was once thought to have been based on an older Sumerian version in which Tiamat is instead slain by Enlil of Nippur, but is now thought to be purely an invention of Babylonian propagandists with the intention to show Marduk as superior to the Sumerian deities. Another myth about Labbu is similarly interpreted.” ref

Rainbow related to a river

“The Mayans similarly saw rainbows as a sign that the gods were no longer angry with them, after their world was destroyed by fire-rain. Other myths talk of rainbows drinking water from streams and rivers (along with occasional sheep or people), then redistributing the water as rain.” ref

“In Latvian legends it was believed that the rainbow drank from river or lake like a living creature and thus released rain from its body. It was forbidden to approach the water source if there was a rainbow, or they would risk being accidentally swallowed by the rainbow, and later fall down during rainfall as nothing but bones.” ref

“In Nepal, one traditional view of the rainbow is that “it has come to bring the river to the land, to water it, and more rain will come.”  The Tolowa of northwest California consider the rainbow a sign of coming rain. The Panare of Venezuela believe that the rainbow causes it to rain. Insular Southeast Asia: Some speakers of Tagalog say that “when a rainbow appears it means rain is coming. The Bare’e of central Sulawesi in Indonesia say the rainbow calls up rain. The Kwamera people of Tanna Island in southern Vanuatu say that the rainbow is a sign that it will rain.” ref

“The Sabaot or Mt. Elgon Maasai say that “A rainbow ends in a river, and then it is very dangerous to come near the river. If you do, you will be eaten by the rainbow, or become sick. One person said he tried it once, but the rainbow moved away. The direction of the moving rainbow is significant—it follows the direction of the rain.” ref

Milky Way is related to a Snake/Serpent/Dragon

“The most well-known version of this is the Aegyptian-Greek ourobouros. It is believed to have been inspired by the Milky Way, as some ancient texts refer to a serpent of light residing in the heavens. The Ancient Egyptians associated it with Wadjet, one of their oldest deities, as well as another aspect, Hathor. In pre-Columbian Central America Quetzalcoatl was sometimes depicted as biting its own tail. The mother of Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec goddess Coatlicue (“the one with the skirt of serpents”), also known as Cihuacoatl (“The Lady of the serpent”). Quetzalcoatl’s father was Mixcoatl (“Cloud Serpent”). He was identified with the Milky Way, the stars, and the heavens in several Mesoamerican cultures.” ref

“A Serpent’s Tale: the Milky Way, Before light pollution robbed us of its celestial glow, the Milky Way was the backbone of the night and became part of ancient people’s myths and beliefs based on their perception of it as a serpent. In North America, whether as a giant form on the ground or pictured on a rock, the snake has a story to tell of the road for souls, one which goes back well over 4000 years and can be found in caves, on hilltops or as a pathway for the living to traverse, all reflections of the serpent stretching overhead.” ref

“Samal NagaA gigantic, trapped dragon in the milky way. It is said that it will be freed and devour all those not faithful to their respective deities in Samal mythology.” ref

Rainbow related to a Snake/Worm/Chameleon/Serpent/Dragon/Demon

“Rainbows and Serpents: Sacred cows are kept by many tribes for supplying milk to giant snakes.” ref

“From attested words for the rainbow in modern Japonic (Japanese-Ryukyuan) languages Martin (1987:498) reconstructed Proto-Japonic *ni-m(u)si ‘red/beautiful snake’. However, Alexander Vovin points out that –musi is ‘insect’, not ‘snake’. This may be similar to the ‘worm’ or ‘insect’ radical in the Chinese character for ‘rainbow’. In any case, the color ‘red’ appears to be unambiguous in this word. Among the Arecuna of northeast South America, dragon and rainbow cannot easily be separated. However, in describing the rainbow in its serpent form, we are told that “Keyeme, the rainbow, when it appears is thought of as a large multi-colored snake that lives in the high waterfalls. Among the Maumere of the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, the rainbow is a spirit snake that lives in the earth and comes out in heavy rains; it is said to be “striped yellow/green/blue, but its basic color is red. Given its identity with the rainbow, the Rainbow Serpent of Australia must be a multi-colored creature. This is indicated explicitly in some cases, as where Mountford states that in the western deserts of central Australia “The snake (wonambi) is a huge, many-colored creature with a mane and beard.” ref

“The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion of many Aboriginal Australian peoples. Much like the archetypal mother goddess, the Rainbow Serpent creates land and diversity for the Aboriginal people, but when disturbed can bring great chaos. There are many names and stories associated with the serpent, all of which communicate the significance and power of this being within Aboriginal mythology, which includes the worldview commonly referred to as The Dreaming. The serpent is viewed as a giver of life through its association with water, but can be a destructive force if angry. The Rainbow Serpent is one of the most common and well-known Aboriginal stories and is of great importance to Aboriginal society. Not all of the myths in this family describe the ancestral being as a snake. Of those that do, not all of them draw a connection with a rainbow. However, a link with water or rain is typical. When the rainbow is seen in the sky, it is said to be the Rainbow Serpent moving from one waterhole to another, and this divine concept explained why some waterholes never dried up when drought struck. The Rainbow Serpent is known by different names by the many different Aboriginal cultures. Yurlunggur is the name of the “rainbow serpent” according to the Murngin (Yolngu) in north-eastern Arnhemland, also styled Yurlungur, Yulunggur, Jurlungur, Julunggur, or Julunggul. The Yurlunggur was considered “the great father”. The serpent is called Witij/Wititj by the Galpu clan of the Dhangu people, one of Yolngu peoples. Kanmare is the name of the great water serpent in Queensland among the Pitapita people of the Boulia District; it is apparently a giant carpet snake, and recorded under the name Cunmurra further south. The same snake is called Tulloun among the Mitakoodi (Maithakari).” ref

“Two mythical Kooremah of the Mycoolon (Maikulan) tribe of Queensland, are cosmic carpet snakes 40 miles long, residing in watery realm of the dead, or on the pathway leading to it; this is probably equivalent to the rainbow snake also. In some cultures, the Rainbow Serpent is male; in others, female; in yet others, the gender is ambiguous or the Rainbow Serpent is hermaphroditic or bigender, thus an androgynous entity. Some commentators have suggested that the Rainbow Serpent is a phallic symbol, which fits its connection with fertility myths and rituals. When the Serpent is characterized as female or bigender, it is sometimes depicted with breasts, as in the case of the Kunmanggur serpent. Other times, the Serpent has no particular gender. The serpent is sometimes ascribed with a having crest or a mane or on its head, or being bearded as well. While it is single-headed, the Yurlunggur of Arnhem land may possess a double-body. In some stories, the Serpent is associated with a large fruit bat, sometimes called a “flying fox” in Australian English, engaged in a rivalry over a woman. Some scholars have identified other creatures, such as a bird, crocodile, dingo (dog), or lizard, as taking the role of the Serpent in stories. In all cases, these animals are also associated with water. The Rainbow Serpent has also been identified with, or considered to be related to, the bunyip, a fearful, water-hole dwelling creature in Australian mythology. Unlike many other deities, the Rainbow Serpent does not have a human form and remains in the form of animal. While each culture has a different interpretation on gender and which animal the deity is, it is nonetheless, always an animal.” ref

“Globally distributed beliefs about the rainbow that closely parallel similarly distributed beliefs about the dragon. Among many Bantu-speaking groups across central and west Africa the rainbow is thought to be formed from male and female intertwining snakes which “stop rain from falling; according to others they cause rain to fall. The Nyabwa of the Ivory Coast explicitly say of the rainbow that “when it disappears the rain comes (so it precedes the rain). Among several names given to the rainbow, the Galla or Oromo of Ethiopia call it ‘a sign of rain’. In some ways this interpretation is hard to process, since rain clearly is needed before a rainbow can appear, which makes it difficult to see it as a sign that rain will come, unless it is a sign that more rain will come. Nonetheless, this view is reported for a number of indigenous peoples. The dragon is conceived as bisexual in at least European alchemy, Taoist metaphysics in China, and classic and contemporary Mesoamerica. The Karen of peninsular Burma and Thailand regard Hkü Te as the lord of the region of death. He is occasionally to be seen as a rainbow in the west, and his wife Teu Kweh as a rainbow in the east. “When two rainbows appear in the east, the upper and larger one is her husband, who is visiting with her. Among the people of Palau in western Micronesia “the clear arc in a double rainbow is female; the indistinct one is male. To the Mortlockese of Pakin atoll in the eastern Caroline islands, Micronesia, a double rainbow consists of a female inner band and a male outer band.” ref

“While this is startling enough for those who have not examined the ethnology of the dragon in detail, initially it seems absurd to consider the possibility that the rainbow could also have a double-gendered identity. In Chinese folk belief a double rainbow is both male and female, the more colorful inner arc being male, and the fainter outer arc female. The Totonac Indians of the Mexican states of Vera Cruz and Puebla describe the rainbow as simultaneously male and female. The Chontal Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico say that “The full rainbow is a man, whereas a half rainbow is a woman, and very evil. If you show a red cloth to this female rainbow, as to a bull, she comes close to you. To the Cuna Indians of the San Blas islands off the east coast of Panama, “When there are two rainbows the brighter one is looked upon as a man and the other one as a woman. Among the Inga of southwest Colombia, the two bows of a double rainbow are called the male bow and the female bow. In Malay a single rainbow is called pelangi, but a double rainbow is pelangi sekelamin, where se– is a prefix meaning ‘one’ and kelamin is ‘family’ (etymologically meaning husband, wife and any children residing in a single house). To traditional Malays, then, the double rainbow was a married pair, male and female.” ref

“The Muria of Andhra Pradesh state in eastern India, say that “The rainbow is the great snake, Bhumtaras, that rises from its ant-hill to stop the rain.” In Okinawa the rainbow was traditionally believed to be a snake or dragon, and because this snake drank water in the sky, there was no rain. To the Muskogee or Creek Indians, who were located at the time of first European contact in what is now Georgia, the rainbow “was believed … to be a great snake called Oskin-tatcå (“the cutter off of the rain”), The Tzotzil of southern Mexico say the rainbow is “a cold Chamula female devil that steals corn’s soul … prevents rain from passing by it, and causes stomach ache. To prevent the rainbow from following a person it is considered effective to spread chewing tobacco around, urinate or exhibit oneself to it. The Kikuyu of East Africa say the rainbow “is a ‘wicked animal’ which lives in the water, comes out at night, eats goats and cattle, and has even been known to eat people.” ref

“According to the Piapoco on tributaries of the upper Orinoco River along the Colombia-Venezuela border, “A jungle demon makes the rainbow from smoke; it moves unseen, as the wind moves. The rainbow can take the rain prisoner so that it won’t rain, and in some cases this activity can be initiated by the intervention of a shaman.” The Eastern Timbira in east-central Brazil say that “The rainbow (‘person of the rain’) has its two ends resting in the open mouths of sucuriju snakes, which themselves yield rain. It appears as a sign that the rain has ceased. As already noted, to the Kakadu/Gaagudju of Arnhem Land in northern Australia, “The rainbow is supposed … to be the Iwaiyu (spirit) of a Numereji snake. When the latter spits he makes rain and says … “up above, Iwaiyu, go spittle, my Iwaiyu.” It does so in the form of a rainbow which is supposed to stop the rain.” ref

“The natives of the Pennefeather River, North Queensland, regard the rainbow as a very brightly coloured snake that comes up to stop the rain that has been wilfully made by their enemies; the name both of the rainbow and the snake is Andrénjinyi. To the Yoruba of southern Nigeria “the ‘great snake of the underneath’ is the rainbow god. It comes up at times to drink water from the sky. A variety of the python is the messenger of this god.” Among the Kulere of the northern Nigerian plateau it is said that “the rainbow is the tongue of a great serpent; when the serpent puts out its tongue the rain stops.” Among the Uduk of the Sudan, the python is “associated ambivalently with the Rainbow; the python is an earth-creature in its movement and its normal habit, until in the guise of a Rainbow it leaps into the air, or sleeps like a swamp-snake in the watery pools.” ref

“Among the Zande of Zaire: Ngambue is a big snake. Its skin is covered with white powdery substance, and it possesses a beard. This creature, which has a poisonous bite, may live in any waters. The well at Yambio is said to harbor such a snake. The rainbow wangu lives in bogs, or in cracks and holes near to streams. It is like a snake. In the hills near Lake Victoria the local (presumably Bantu-speaking) people believed there were “snakes guarding the wells. Human beings might approach only after making offerings to these guardian snakes.” Similarly, the Bagesu of Uganda “say that there is a snake living in springs where he will attack anyone who goes to draw water.” Among the Murle of the Sudan “The rainbow is a large dragon-like snake which sleeps in a cave when not flying in the sky.” Among the Mang’anja of southern Malawi, a mythical animal called ‘Mbona’ appears to be a water serpent, but one of a special character that links it to a mythic cycle found over much of Bantu-speaking central Africa: “What makes Mbona different from other Bantu deities symbolized by a water serpent? This mythical animal forms one of the great themes of Bantu mythology, namely the eternal conflict of the lightning and the rainbow.” ref

“The Mündü of the southern Sudan, say that the rainbow is “a giant snake which lives in a hole in the ground, and comes out to chase heavy rain away (drink the rain?).” The Kusaasi of Ghana connect the rainbow with a chameleon, and “believe that the chameleon is driving the rain away, and it will not rain.” These parallels between attributes of the dragon and attributes of the rainbow can hardly be accidental. Various sources report that the dragon is a giver of rain in India, East Asia, North America, and Central America, while the same trait is attributed to the rainbow in Europe, Mexico, Insular Southeast Asia and Africa. Likewise, various reports state that the dragon withholds rain in Europe, the ancient Near East, East Asia and Central America, while the same trait is attributed to the rainbow in India, Okinawa, North America and Mexico, South America, insular Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Africa. In both cases there is a marked ambivalence, some societies seeing the dragon/rainbow as producing rain, while others believe that it obstructs rainfall. Occasionally, closely-related peoples differ in whether they adopt one of these perspectives or the other, where the rain-giver is generally seen as positive and the rain-blocker as negative. Attitudes toward the rainbow are thus inescapably contradictory, since either position regarding its role in rainfall can be adopted with equally persuasive arguments.” ref

“In parts of the world where the dragon and rainbow are clearly separated, as Europe, India, China, or North America, water sources such as springs or wells are guarded by a dragon. In parts of the world where this separation is more tenuous, statements in the literature are relatively indifferent as to whether a spring is said to be guarded by a water snake or a rainbow, as these are regarded as different expressions of the same thing. In each of the above cases a water source is said to be guarded by a snake which is the rainbow, so it seems best to treat them as part of the ethnology of the rainbow. The important point in this survey, of course, is that springs and other water sources are guarded by both dragons and rainbows in different cultural traditions, and that this would be absurd if the rainbow were not conceived as an animate being capable of harming humans. This takes us back to the logic of an animistic view of nature. The rainbow is a transient thing, which may remain for seconds, minutes, or sometimes longer as a visible arc in the sky, but it is not a permanent fixture of the heavens. Preliterate peoples may not have understood the physical basis for the appearance of rainbows, but once they conceived of them as spirit snakes it became necessary to explain where they were when not in the sky, and the most straightforward explanation is that they reside in the pools, lakes or rivers from which they drink water to create the rain. There they stay during the dry season, and for much of their time during the wet season, and while there they guard the precious water from human intruders.” ref

Milky Way is related to Milk

“In Egyptian mythology, the Milky Way was considered a pool of cow’s milk. The Milky Way was deified as a fertility cow-goddess by the name of Bat (later on syncretized with the sky goddess Hathor). The astronomer Or Graur has suggested that the Egyptians may have seen the Milky Way as a celestial depiction of the sky goddess Nut.” ref

“The Greek name for the Milky Way (Γαλαξίας Galaxias) is derived from the Greek word for milk (γάλα, gala). One legend explains how the Milky Way was created by Heracles (Roman Hercules) when he was a baby. His father, Zeus, was fond of his son, who was born of the mortal woman Alcmene. He decided to let the infant Heracles suckle on his divine wife Hera‘s milk when she was asleep, an act which would endow the baby with godlike qualities. When Hera woke and realized that she was breastfeeding an unknown infant, she pushed him away and the spurting milk became the Milky Way. Another version of the myth is that Heracles was abandoned in the woods by his mortal parents, Amphitryon and Alcmene. Heracles, son of Zeus and Alcmene, was naturally favored by his father, who sent Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, to retrieve him. Athena, not being so motherly, decided to take him to Hera to suckle. Hera agreed to suckle Heracles. As Heracles drinks the milk, he bites down, and Hera pushes him away in pain. The milk that squirts out forms the Milky Way.” ref

“A story told by the Roman Hyginus in the Poeticon astronomicon (ultimately based on Greek myth) says that the milk came from the goddess Ops (Greek Rhea), the wife of Saturn (Greek Cronus). Saturn swallowed his children to ensure his position as head of the Pantheon and sky god, and so Ops conceived a plan to save her newborn son Jupiter (Greek Zeus): She wrapped a stone in infant’s clothes and gave it to Saturn to swallow. Saturn asked her to nurse the child once more before he swallowed it, and the milk that spurted when she pressed her nipple against the rock eventually became the Milky Way. According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu lies meditating on Shesha with his consort Lakshmi, in the Kshira Sagara (Sea of Milk), which is a representation of Milky Way. This “Sea of Milk” is also the (cosmic) ocean referenced in the Samudra Manthana episode of Vishnu Purana, a major text in Indian mythology. The Samudra Manthana explains the origin of the elixir of eternal life, amrita.” ref

Rainbow is related to Milk

“Latvian Lauma or Lithuanian Laumė, or Yotvingian Łauma is a fairy-like woodland spirit, and guardian spirit of orphans in Eastern Baltic mythology or Yotvingian mythology. Originally a sky spirit, her compassion for human suffering brought her to earth to share our fate. Laumės are the very oldest goddesses of Lithuanian mythology. The image of these goddesses may have formed during the historical Mesolithic period, just after the Ice Age. Laumės could appear in the form of animals, as mares or as female goats, bears and dogs. Later, Laumės had an anthropomorphic appearance: they usually had birds’ claws for feet and appeared as women with the head or lower body of a female goat. Other forms included half-human/half dog or half mare, similar to centaurs. Like cyclops, Laumės often had only one eye. They also had large breasts with stone nipples; pieces of belemnitida found on the ground were called “Laumės nipples.” ref

“Laumės were dangerous, especially to men. They could tickle or tweak them to death and then eat their bodies, and in this way, they were similar to Lamia of Greek mythology. The Lithuanian myth also claimed Laumės kept huge cows which could be milked by all people. However, after very cold weathers, the cows died; pieces of belemnitida were considered to be the remains of their udders. Laumės were afraid of tools made from iron. Laumės can be considered as atmospheric goddesses. It is said that Laumė was a beautiful goddess, who lived in clouds and had a diamond throne. Some myths claimed Laumė was a bride of thunder god Perkūnas; however, they did not marry because Laumė fell in love with the Moon, who was considered a male god in Lithuania. In other stories, the bride was stolen by the devil Velnias, named Tuolius. That’s why Laumė liked moonshine. In other myth, the bride of Perkūnas was a Laumė called Vaiva. The rainbow was called the ribbon of Vaiva. Despite her marriage, she had a beloved singer named Straublys. Straublys had stolen the ribbon of Vaiva. During the rain, Straublys stretches the ribbon of Vaiva across the sky, while Perkūnas is angry and shouts in thunder. It was believed it is the rainbow that causes the rain, while Lithuanian shepherds had a prayer or curse by which the rainbow had to turn to pieces and make the rain go away. The other myth claimed Laumė fell in love with a beautiful young man down to earth. They had a son named Meilius (name derived from word ‘Meilė’ – love). Laumė descended to the sky to breastfeed her son from time to time. However, the highest God found out about the son of sacrilegious love, smashed him into the highest place of the sky and gave him a place between stars. After that he cut Laumės breasts, and so, stone pieces of it can be found on Earth.” ref

“Laumės descended from the sky to Earth. They lived nearby lakes, abandoned bath-houses, in islands of lakes or dense forests. Many names of water pools in Lithuania are named after the word Laumė. Laumės liked to gather near rivers, lakes, swamps, in meadows, there dew fell in the night in New Moon or Full Moon. They danced and enjoyed themselves, leaving circles (like Fairy Ring) in the grass. Usually, Laumės were most powerful at Friday of New Moon, at the rainiest days of the month in Lithuania. Laumės could cause hail, storm or rain by singing, dancing or by curses. Laumės song was traditionally performed during weddings up until the 19th century. The song was performed by girls dancing in a circle, with one in the middle. The dance and song was also said to cause rain. The Rainbow was often called a ribbon lost by Laumės. That’s how they were associated with weaving. Laumės usually appeared in groups of three. They were able to do women’s work perfectly, as are especially skilled in weaving and spinning. They love children, respect industriousness and help those in need. They punish those who ridicule them, and those who are lazy.” ref

“The fair Rainbow-maiden, Louhi’s daughter, sat upon a rainbow in the heavens, and was clad in the most splendid dress of gold and silver. She was busy weaving golden webs of wonderful beauty, using a shuttle of gold and a silver weaving-comb. As Wainamoinen came swiftly along the way which led from the dark and dismal Northland to the plains of Kalevala, before he had gone far on his way he heard in the sky above him the humming of the Rainbow-maiden’s loom. Without thinking of old Louhi’s warning, he looked up and beheld the maiden seated on the gorgeous rainbow weaving beauteous cloths. No sooner had he seen the lovely maiden than he stopped, and calling to her asked her to come to his sledge. Then the Rainbow-maiden promised to be his wife if he would split a golden hair with a knife that had no edge, and take a bird’s egg from the nest with a snare that no one could see. Wainamoinen did both these things, and then begged her to come to his sledge, for he had done what she asked. Wainamoinen related the following story of how iron was first made: Long ago after there were air and water, fire was born, and after the fire came iron. Ukko (Finnish for ‘male grandparent’, ‘grandfather’, ‘old man’), parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest, and thunder), the creator, rubbed his hands upon his left knee, and there arose thence three lovely maidens, who were the mothers of iron and steel. These three maidens walked forth on the clouds, and from their bosoms ran the milk of iron, down unto the clouds and thence down upon the earth. Ukko’s eldest daughter cast black milk over the river-beds, and the second cast white milk over the hills and mountains, and the third red milk over the lakes and oceans; and from the black milk grew the soft black iron-ore; from the white milk the lighter-colored ore; and from the red milk the brittle red iron-ore.” ref, ref

“Neolithic stone carvings have been found in Russian Karelia which have features of both snakes and lightning. It is, however, uncertain whether these are directly connected to the figure of Ukko. Evidence for worship of snakes is found among different cultures around the Baltic, including the Estonians and Finns. There is evidence that the rowan tree was held sacred to Ukko. Rauni, a vaguely defined being has been hypothesised to be cognate to Germanic words for the rowan tree through Old Norse: *raunir. The ladybird was also considered sacred to Ukko and called ukonlehmä (Ukko’s cow). The Finnish name of the great mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is ukontulikukka (Ukko’s fire flower), also linked to worship of Ukko.” ref

Mythological Symbolism

“Of course, our ancestors have noticed that the stars are revolving. That is, except from the point in the heaven where no movement seems to take place. The seemingly rotating figure on the northern hemisphere symbolizes the Greatest male deity in the Mythological Story from all over the World. This figure symbolizes, for instance, Chronos, Zeus, Odin, Saturn (not the planet), and several other names. One of the most important holy figures for our ancestors was that of the white Milky Way, especially when symbolized as the great white God or spirit in the sky. Ancestors all over the World have had their story of creation connected to this white God-figure in the sky. But the figures are also symbolized with several other phenomenon’s, of which the Heavenly Ship and a White Horse or Bull are the most common.” ref

If the World Tree resembles the Earth celestial axis, (and the Earth magnetic field as well) one must conclude that some kind of celestial imagery depicts such a story. The Norse Worlds have Midgaard as the home of the humans, the Earth and Asgaard belongs to the celestial day- and nighttime realms with the Sun at day and Moon; the wandering stars = planets; stars and star constellations at nighttime. Lastly the Norse Udgaard belongs to the Giants and first creators in the Norse story of creation, which specifically is connected to the Milky Way whitish contours. On the northern hemisphere a great male-like Milky Way figure (Odin) can be observed at night on a favorable season. This figure seemingly revolves around the Earth celestial pole = the World Tree, and it is said in the myth that “Odin is hanging in the Tree” for “nine days and nights.” ref

“When interpreting such a myth, it is of course very important to recognize which mythical figure/archetype belongs to which cosmological observation and when not having discovered the connection, all kind of false interpretations and distorted explanations can occur. “Odin hanging on a tree” shall be “Odin hanging besides the tree” which resembles the Earth celestial pole. And “Odin hanging for nine days and nights” should be “being observed besides and connected to the Tree in about 9 month of the year” simply because this Milky Way figure cannot be observed in the lightest season of the year, a mytho-cosmological fact which also is described with the myth of “the deity in the Sky who disappears and the promise of his return”. OK, there he is: Odin hanging in the northern hemisphere night Sky, seemingly revolving around the celestial pole, thus being omnipresent and omnipotent and overlooking the whole Midgaard and the humans below. A male figure all made in the human imagination and still a part of the creation of humans because we all are made in the imageries of the deities above and below. The descent to the underworld is a mytheme of comparative mythology found in the religions of the Ancient Near East up to and including Christianity. The myth involves the death of a youthful god (or goddess: Persephone, Inanna, for instance) who is a life-death-rebirth deity, mourned and then recovered from the underworld by his or her consort, lover or mother.” ref

“The most simple marking of the northern Milky Way figure and the celestial north pole with the White Milky Way God seemingly revolving around the pole center. Navajo sand painting of the Great God revolving around the Earth celestial north pole. The different positions around the cross center gives origin to the cultural mytheme of the dying and rising god. The Star Atlas contours and the celestial north pole of the northern Milky Way. The most simple marking of the northern Milky Way figure and the celestial north pole. In the other horizontal position he might observe and carve a so called ship. Mythological the figure therefore become a mixed story with a great God who can change between human and animal shapes an as a God sailing away on his ship. When first one have discovered our ancestors way of symbolizing and mythologizing the Milky Way figure, it is easy to understand the old stories from almost every indigenous people all over the world. Then you also are able to understand the remarkable symbol- and mythological resemblance all over the World. Simply because all people have noticed the same colossal figure in the night sky. The theme of mythical deities and Heroes “descending to The Underworld” is of course very global since it deals with the the Southern Earth Hemisphere – and NOT with something down under the soil – and especially with the southern Milky Way contours and the Great Mother Goddess and the archetype of the Milky Way center.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Milky Way Mythology: Often a Path to the Afterlife, Souls of the Dead on the Milky Way

The world map was adapted from two milky way maps and one Cosmic hunt map by mythology expert John White, of the Crecganford YouTube Channel, as seen in the three videos in order:

1. Misunderstanding Myth: Peterson, Hancock, Dawkins et al
2. The Milky Way: Source of some of our Oldest Myths
3. The OLDEST story in the World – The Cosmic Hunt

The Americas map was adapted from one Milky Way map by archaeologist Edwin Lawrence Barnhart and one Cosmic hunt map by mythology expert John White, of the Crecganford YouTube Channel, as seen in the three videos in order:

1. THE MILKY WAY AS THE PATH TO THE OTHERWORLD: A COMPARISON OF PRE-COLUMBIAN NEW WORLD CULTURES
2. The OLDEST story in the World – The Cosmic Hunt

Milky Way Mythology: Often a Path to the Afterlife, Souls of the Dead on the Milky Way

References utilized for Main art #2: (1) (White, 2024), (2) (White, 2025), (3) (White, 2022), (4) (Taub, 2024), (5) (Wikipedia, 2025), (6) (Lebeuf, 2020), (7) (Barnhart, 2003), (8) (Berezkin, 2010), (9) (White, 2025), and (10) (Excellence Reporter, 2019)

Some groups of North and South America with Milky Way beliefs are listed in the art above:

Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, 2. Oglala, 3. Shoshone, 4. Lakota, 5. Cheyenne, 6. Pawnee, 7. Apache, 8. Seneca, 9. Aztec, 10. Maya, 11. Tucano, and 12. Inca. (16) (Barnhart, 2003)

Milky Way Mythology

Milky Way myths are wide-ranging not simply by place and time but even can be varied in the same place such as seen in Egypt. (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) In one Ancient Egyptian conception, the Milky Way was a ladder to the afterlife. (18) (Taub, 2024) Yet in another Ancient Egyptian thinking, the Milky Way was conceptualized as an ancient fertility cow-goddess called Bat, sometimes pictured as a celestial bovine creature surrounded by stars, or as a woman and was worshiped from the earliest religious records (later syncretized with the sky goddess Hathor). (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) & (19) Wikipedia (2025) Still another Ancient Egyptian conception, the Milky Way was a celestial depiction of Nut the sky goddess relating to stars, all heavenly bodies, and the cosmos as well as the barrier separating the forces of chaos from the ordered cosmos in the world. (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) & (20) Wikipedia (2025) Nut sometimes was pictured as a celestial bovine creature or as a woman made of stars. Nut also was a symbol of protecting the dead when they enter the afterlife. (17) (Wikipedia, 2025), (20) Wikipedia (2025), and (21) (Graur, 2024)

The Milky Way in a Babylonian mythology conception was formed from the severed tail of the slain goddess Tiamat, a later equivalent of the oldest generation of Mesopotamian deities the goddess Nammu (dating from 4,600 to possibly 6,000 years old). (17) (Wikipedia, 2025), (22) (Wikipedia, 2025), & (23) (Brisch, 2019) Tiamat was envisioned as the “shining” personification of primeval waters, the sea that filled the cosmic abyss in the chaos of original creation. Tiamat may have begun as part of the cult of Nammu, who was an older Sumerian female representation of a primeval sea/ocean/watery creative force, with equally strong connections to the underworld. (22) (Wikipedia, 2025), (23) (Brisch, 2019), and (24) (Wikipedia, 2025)

The Milky Way in a Hindu mythology conception was all the visible stars and planets moving through space are likened to the abdomen of the dolphin that swims through the water, and the heavens, “The Ganges River of the Sky.” (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) In another Hindu conception, the Milky Way is a representation of the Kshira Sagara (Sea of Milk: cosmic ocean), which God Vishnu lies meditating in with his consort Lakshmi on the primordial being of creation Shesha viewed as a serpentine demigod and king of the serpents. (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) and (25) (Wikipedia, 2025)

The Milky Way in an Eastern Asian and Chinese mythology conception was the “River of Heaven” or the “Silvery River.” (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) The Silvery River of Heaven (Milky Way) motif is part of a romantic Chinese folk tale, where once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month (typically after the New Moon in a Waxing Crescent Moon phase), a flock of crows and magpies would form a bridge over the heavenly river to reunite the lovers for a single day. (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) and (5) Wikipedia (2025)

“In Hungarian mythology, Csaba, the mythical son of Attila the Hun and ancestor of the Hungarians, is supposed to ride down the Milky Way when the Székelys (ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania) are threatened. Thus, the Milky Way is called “The Road of the Warriors” (lit. “Road of Armies”) Hungarian: Hadak Útja. The stars are sparks from their horseshoes.” (17) (Wikipedia, 2025)

“The Milky Way was and is called “The Pathway of the Birds” Among the Finns, Estonians, and related peoples.” (17) (Wikipedia, 2025)

One Greek legend explains how the Milky Way was created by Heracles (Roman Hercules) by spurting milk out when being pushed away as a baby suckling on the goddess Hera while she was startled awake and was not willing. (17) (Wikipedia, 2025) In another version Hera was awake and knowingly agreed to suckle Heracles but then he bit down and Hera pushed him away in pain, allows milk to squirt out to form the Milky Way. (17) (Wikipedia, 2025)

“Welsh mythology and cosmology derive from the ancient oral traditions of the Celtic Britons, which were maintained by druids and bards until the time of their recording in medieval Welsh literature. Many features of the night sky are named for the “children of Dôn” the ancient mother goddess and sky goddess, with the Milky Way being associated with Gwydion ab Dôn (the son of Dôn) and named Caer Gwydion (“The fortress/city of Gwydion”) or Llwybr Caer Gwydion (“the path to the Castle of Gwydion”).” (17) (Wikipedia, 2025)

“In Irish mythology, the main name of the Milky Way was Bealach na Bó Finne — Way of the White Cow. It was regarded as a heavenly reflection of the sacred River Boyne, which is described as “the Great Silver Yoke” and the “White Marrow of Fedlimid,” names that could equally apply to the Milky Way. (Mór-Chuing Argait, Smir Find Fedlimthi).” (17) (Wikipedia, 2025)

The Milky Way as the Path to the Otherworld: Pre-Columbian New World Cultures

Similar to Eurasia, people in the New World had many myths about the planets, the stars, Milky Way, and the universe. (26) (Barnhart, 2003) Indigenous-built structures from Chile to Alaska were observatories and recreated models of the universe by applying archaeoastronomy, thus illuminating past hidden customs of those groups. (26) (Barnhart, 2003) Cross-cultural comparison of the cosmologies of four New World cultures, the Inca, Maya, Aztec, and Navajo demonstrate that each believes in a three-planned universe: the earth plus an upper and underworld. (26) (Barnhart, 2003) Moreover, there can be shown that there is a prominent role of the largest of all-sky phenomena, the Milky Way, from the perspectives of eleven New World cultures: Inca, Tukano, Maya, Aztec, Apache, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Sioux, Shoshone, Seneca, and Kwakiutl. (26) (Barnhart, 2003)

While information on the Milky Way cannot be found for every New World culture. This should not be construed as a lack of beliefs regarding the Milky Way. (26) (Barnhart, 2003) Each of eleven New World cultures has their own myths regarding the creation and character of the Milky Way involving local animals and geography. (26) (Barnhart, 2003) The Milky Way is spoken of in terms of metaphors that have special meaning to each of eleven New World cultures as well. (26) (Barnhart, 2003) However, if one looks beyond the localized metaphors, to the meaning and function of the Milky Way in those same cultures, continuity emerges. (26) (Barnhart, 2003) Each of eleven New World cultures regards the Milky Way as the Path to the otherworld, traveled by spirits, deities, and shamans in trance. (26) (Barnhart, 2003)

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“A number of cave bears are depicted in Chauvet. Cave bears are identifiable by the steep incline of their foreheads. These three bears of #1 are found near the prehistoric entrance [not the present entrance] to the cave, on a panel in a small recess. The bears are painted in red. The central bear has been painted using the natural relief in the cave wall, with the shoulder following the line of the rock surface. This is a common artistic technique employed in prehistoric parietal art, suggesting that the cave wall topography whilst seen by torch light inspired the subject matter. The central bear is a complete figure, whilst to the left of it is an isolated bear head, and to the right of it a near complete bear. This may depict a sleuth of bears. The artist used a technique known as ‘stump-drawing’ – the use of fingers or a piece of hide to paint the muzzle and to emphasize the outlines of the head and forequarters; a form of perspective.” ref

“Another example of human activity within the cave can be found in the Skull Chamber, #2. In this space it is possible to see prints and bones on the floor, and on the walls, claw marks, engravings, paintings, hand prints and torch wipes. But in the very center a cave bear skull was moved and placed on the rock. This would have been done either 32,000 to 30,000 or 27,000 to 26,000 years ago. Ten drawings are arranged over the area of #3. The animal figures include 3 bears, 2 felines – including a panther – 2 ibex, 3 unidentifiable animals and 1 red dot, made with the palm of the hand.” ref

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“Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means “greater (or larger) bear”, referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE, drawing on earlier works by Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Assyrian astronomers. Today it is the third largest of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Major has been reconstructed as an Indo-European constellation. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century CE astronomer Ptolemy in his Almagest, who called it Arktos Megale. It is mentioned by such poets as Homer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Tennyson, and also by Federico Garcia Lorca, in “Song for the Moon”. Ancient Finnish poetry also refers to the constellation, and it features in the painting Starry Night Over the Rhône by Vincent van Gogh. It may be mentioned in the biblical book of Job, dated between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE, although this is often disputed.” ref

“The Cosmic Hunt is an ancient and widely distributed family of cognate myths. The story involves a large animal pursued by hunters; the animal is wounded and transformed into a constellation. Variants of the Cosmic Hunt are common in cultures of Northern Eurasia and the Americas, and include the story of Callisto in classical sources. The prey animal is either a bear or an ungulate, and the associated constellation involves the four stars of the bowl in the Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major. In some variants, blood or grease may fall from the wounded animal; in an Iroquois version, the blood causes leaves to change color in autumn. Sometimes the hunters are also placed in the firmament, represented by the stars of the Big Dipper’s handle.” ref

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Bear Worship and the Cosmic Hunt

“The Aurignacian is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with Early European modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the Levant, where the Emiran period and the Ahmarian period form the first periods of the Upper Paleolithic, corresponding to the first stages of the expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa. They then migrated to Europe and created the first European culture of modern humans, the Aurignacian. The Proto-Aurignacian and the Early Aurignacian stages are dated between about 43,000 and 37,000 years ago. The Aurignacian proper lasted from about 37,000 to 33,000 years ago. A Late Aurignacian phase transitional with the Gravettian dates to about 33,000 to 26,000 years ago. The type site is the Cave of Aurignac, Haute-Garonne, south-west France. The main preceding period is the Mousterian of the Neanderthals. One of the oldest examples of figurative art, the Venus of Hohle Fels, comes from the Aurignacian or Proto-Gravettian and is dated to between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago (though earlier figurative art may now be known, such as at the Lubang Jeriji Saléh site in Indonesia). It was discovered in September 2008 in a cave at Schelklingen in Baden-Württemberg in western Germany. The German Lion-man (Bear-man?) figure is given a similar date range.” ref

The Great Bear and the Cosmic Hunt

“In Siberia, bears were still held in special respect. Bears were believed to be representative of justice on Earth. Oaths were taken on a bear’s paw. They would kiss the paw and say, “May I be mauled by a bear, should what I say be a lie?”. The bear was not mentioned directly by its name but referred to by a title such as “Master of the Forest”. When hunters killed a bear, they would embrace it (Vladillen Tugolukov: Pathfinders on Reindeer Back, 1969)– even have sex with it – after it was dead, presumably. That was a custom taken into North America. It may be how syphilis got into the human population when it was not endemic in Siberia, only in America, and in bears. The idea was to keep the bear’s spirit amicably disposed to its killers.” ref

“They still hold Bear Feasts. (I did not enquire too closely about the other, except to observe the word was not in my dictionary). All the neighbours and guests would gather for the Bear Festival. When the bear is brought back to the village, women and girls throw snowballs (or water) at the hunters carrying the bear. Women were not allowed to attend the feast on the first day of the festival, which may last up to five days. The bear skin was stuffed and sat at the feast. The bear’s meat was eaten at the feast. Everyone dressed in their best clothes and performed masked plays, danced, and sang songs. Afterward,s the bear’s bones were laid out in a special way to enable its resurrection. More on Western Siberian, Mansi, bear festival.” ref

“In the far east of Siberia and northern Japan, a bear cub was hand-raised as a special pet, then sacrificed. Stories survive in western Siberia, in which the Bear is the son of God (that is, the Supreme Being or Sky God – as in many cosmological systems. His Father lowered him to Earth in a golden cradle (identified as the “Great Bear” constellation), and taught him how to make a fire and to hunt with weapons so he would never be cold and hungry. At the same time, he was told never to attack a human. In fact, the Bear was on a mission to see that honesty and justice reigned among mankind. But he forgot this and attacked people. So men killed him and took possession of fire and weapons.” ref

“The Bear is a culture hero who brings benefits to mankind and is also associated with the cycle of the seasons throughout the year, as well as life, death, and rebirth. Surviving ritual New Year festivities in some parts of Eastern Europe still enact this association of the Bear being killed, then brought back to life by a shaman-like figure. This association of the Bear, the Great Bear constellation, and the changing seasons is found in North American legends. They show how the Plough or Great Bear constellation goes around the sky, through the year, and through the night, acting as a nighttime clock and calendar. This story (abbreviated here) about the Great Bear constellation follows her progress and changing position right through the year. It shows the changing position in the night sky and the seasons, as well as the association of the bear with life – killed in the autumn, she is reborn in the spring.” ref

“Late in the spring, every year, the bear wakes from her long sleep, leaves her den, and goes in search of food. Chickadee catches sight of her and calls other hunters to assist him. With Chickadee and his pot (the double star) between Robin and Moose Bird, they chase the bear across the northern sky throughout the summer. About the middle of autumn, they overtake the bear who rears up on her hind legs. But Robin shoots her with his arro,w and she falls over on her back. Robin is splattered with blood, which splashes on the leaves of the trees below. Chickadee cooks the bear in his pot. Throughout the winter, the skeleton of the bear lies on its back in the sky. But her life spirit has entered another bear that lies upon her back in her den, invisible, hibernating. When spring comes round again, this bear will again leave her den and will be pursued by the hunters. She, in turn, will be slain but will send her life spirit to her den, from which she will come forth again when the sun once more awakens the sleeping earth.” ref

“In legends from Europe and Siberia, an elk steals the Sun in her antlers and is chased by the three hunters, one carrying a pot all night until they kill the elk and restore the Sun to rise again next morning. The next evening, her daughter begins the hunt all over again. These legends are pictured in rock drawings in places in Europe and Siberia. In Italy and Spain, too far south for elk, there is a deer. In Siberia, there were places where the spring hunting ritual was carried out or commemorated and sacrifices made for a successful hunting season, because many of these places are still sacred and have been in use for centuries. Female elk do not have antlers, and surviving Siberian legends, in which the part of female elk or female bear is played by the Great Mammoth Mother, gives a clue to the origins of both elk and bear stories with the mammoth hunters across the steppe tundra of Europe and Siberia, from 55,000 years ago to about 12,000 years ago. (The last mammoths died out about 4,000 years ago).” ref

“Another clue to the ancient origins of this legend is that the mammoth dips into the sea and becomes half fish, symbolically between the upper and lower worlds. The myth must date from a time and latitude when Ursa Major dipped below the horizon for part of the year, as Cygnus does now. When mammoths had become an ancient myth, the memory of a shaggy beast became the bear, and the memory of the tusks catching the sun became the antlers of a female elk. In Europe and Siberia, this constellation was seen as a mother elk with antlers. Amongst recorded legends are several in which the Cosmic Elk steals the Sun and is chased through the night by a hero/god, or twin heroes, or three hunters, the middle one carrying a cooking pot (the double star). They kill the Elk, and the sun rises again. Although the Elk is dead, her daughter (Ursa Minor) survives, and the hunt begins again.” ref

“The Cosmic Hunt is illustrated in rock drawings. The skies were mapped not as actually observed but with the mythical beings and events associated with the patterns of stars. Rock drawings of this type in Spain and in Yakutia have been dated to about 6,000 years ago. Excavations by a rock drawing of this kind, constantly redrawn and maintained as a sacred site, in Yakutia, found offerings dating from the late Neolithic to the 19th century. In Siberia, hunters always carried out a spring hunting ritual symbolizing the killing of the Cosmic Elk. In March, this constellation is overhead. It has not always been the same, as the Earth wobbles and the north pole moves, in a 26,000-year cycle. Although it is never exactly back to the same place, this is predictable enough to be useful in dating ancient star charts, and even rock drawings and stories about the constellations.” ref

“In Canadian myths, the Ursa Major constellation is a female bear. She is chased throughout the year by three hunters – the middle one with the pot, and in autumn she is killed, her blood stains the leaves. She lies on her back all winter, then in spring her daughter rises and the hunt begins again. The American continent became populated by people from Eastern Asia from at least 30,000 years ago, when they would have travelled mainly by boat along the coastlines, since the North Pacific was warmer as the Bering Straits were continuous land, which blocked the Arctic Currents. New people continued to travel across the North Pacific and the Bering Straits, after the ice age, so there are cultural similarities.” ref

“To the ice-age mammoth-hunters who used Mammoth bones and hides to build their homes, the constellation appeared a little different to the way we see it today. That is because our Sun, with its planets, is moving at 43,400 miles per hour. It travels 380 million miles each year, and is presently passing through a cluster of stars which includes five of the stars in the Plough and the star Sirius, which can be seen twinkling bright pale blue near the horizon in the Southern sky in winter. Two of the stars in the Plough have nothing to do with the other five; they just appear by chance to us to be part of the pattern of the constellation. So as we are moving the position, we see these stars change relative to the others.” ref

“In China, Tao magicians put the Plough constellation in the centre of their divining boards, which had the significant directions all around. They made a spoon-shaped model of lodestone, and the handle always pointed south. It was the first compass. The idea had come from the spoon-shaped carved antler sticks representing the Plough used by Siberian shamans to beat their tambourines and also for divining by observing the direction they pointed when thrown down. What happens to the Great Bear/Cosmic Elk is seen further south, nearer the equator, so it dips over the horizon for part of the year. It becomes a crocodile!” ref

ref

Cosmic Hunt: Variants of Siberian-North American Myth

“The mythological motif of the Cosmic Hunt is peculiar to Northern and Central Eurasia and for the Americas but seems to be absent in other parts of the globe. Two distinct Eurasian versions demonstrate North-American parallels at the level of minor details which could be explained only by particular historical links between corresponding traditions. The first version (three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are hunters and the dipper itself is an animal; Alcor is a dog or a cooking pot) connects Siberian (especially Western Siberian) traditions with the North-American West (Salish, Chinook) and East (especially with the Iroquois). The second version (the Orion’s Belt represents three deer, antelopes, mountain sheep or buffaloes; the hunter is Rigel or other star below the Orion’s Belt; his arrow has pierced the game and is seen either as Betelgeuze or as the stars of Orion’s Head) connects the South-Siberian – Central-Eurasian mythologies with traditions of North-American West – Southwest. Both variants unknown in Northeast Asia and in Alaska probably date to the time of initial settling of the New World. The circum-Arctic variant(s) (hunter or game are associated with Orion or thePleiades) are represented by neighbouring traditions which form an almost continuous chain from the Lapps to the Polar Inuit. This version could be brought across the American Arctic with the spread of Tule Eskimo.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref, ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

People don’t commonly teach religious history, even that of their own claimed religion. No, rather they teach a limited “pro their religion” history of their religion from a religious perspective favorable to the religion of choice. 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Do you truly think “Religious Belief” is only a matter of some personal choice?

Do you not see how coercive one’s world of choice is limited to the obvious hereditary belief, in most religious choices available to the child of religious parents or caregivers? Religion is more commonly like a family, culture, society, etc. available belief that limits the belief choices of the child and that is when “Religious Belief” is not only a matter of some personal choice and when it becomes hereditary faith, not because of the quality of its alleged facts or proposed truths but because everyone else important to the child believes similarly so they do as well simply mimicking authority beliefs handed to them. Because children are raised in religion rather than being presented all possible choices but rather one limited dogmatic brand of “Religious Belief” where children only have a choice of following the belief as instructed, and then personally claim the faith hereditary belief seen in the confirming to the belief they have held themselves all their lives. This is obvious in statements asked and answered by children claiming a faith they barely understand but they do understand that their family believes “this or that” faith, so they feel obligated to believe it too. While I do agree that “Religious Belief” should only be a matter of some personal choice, it rarely is… End Hereditary Religion!

Opposition to Imposed Hereditary Religion

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref, ref, ref 

Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey 

“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

We are like believing machines we vacuum up ideas, like Velcro sticks to almost everything. We accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives, often without realizing it. Our willingness must be to alter skewed beliefs that impend our balance or reason, which allows us to achieve new positive thinking and accurate outcomes.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

My thoughts on Religion Evolution with external links for more info:

• (Pre-Animism Africa mainly, but also Europe, and Asia at least 300,000 years ago), (Pre-Animism – Oxford Dictionaries)
• (Animism Africa around 100,000 years ago), (Animism – Britannica.com)
• (Totemism Europe around 50,000 years ago), (Totemism – Anthropology)
• (Shamanism Siberia around 30,000 years ago), (Shamanism – Britannica.com)
• (Paganism Turkey around 12,000 years ago), (Paganism – BBC Religion)
• (Progressed Organized Religion “Institutional Religion” Egypt around 5,000 years ago), (Ancient Egyptian Religion – Britannica.com)
• (CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS after 4,000 years ago) (Origin of Major Religions – Sacred Texts)
• (Early Atheistic Doubting at least by 2,600 years ago) (History of Atheism – Wikipedia)

“Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings…

Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure, or a firefighter talks about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victims of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.

“Understanding Religion Evolution: Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, Paganism & Progressed organized religion”

Understanding Religion Evolution:

• Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago)
• Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago)
• Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago)
• Shamanism (Siberia: 30,000 years ago)
• Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago)
• Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago), (Egypt, the First Dynasty 5,150 years ago)
• CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago)
• Early Atheistic Doubting (at least by 2,600 years ago)

“An Archaeological/Anthropological Understanding of Religion Evolution”

It seems ancient peoples had to survived amazing threats in a “dangerous universe (by superstition perceived as good and evil),” and human “immorality or imperfection of the soul” which was thought to affect the still living, leading to ancestor worship. This ancestor worship presumably led to the belief in supernatural beings, and then some of these were turned into the belief in gods. This feeble myth called gods were just a human conceived “made from nothing into something over and over, changing, again and again, taking on more as they evolve, all the while they are thought to be special,” but it is just supernatural animistic spirit-belief perceived as sacred.

Quick Evolution of Religion?

Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) pre-religion is a beginning that evolves into later Animism. So, Religion as we think of it, to me, all starts in a general way with Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item), which then enlists a full-time specific person to do this worship and believed interacting Shamanism (Siberia/Russia: 30,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employment of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago) (often a lot more nature-based than most current top world religions, thus hinting to their close link to more ancient religious thinking it stems from). My hypothesis is expressed with an explanation of the building of a theatrical house (modern religions development). Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago)  with CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago).

Historically, in large city-state societies (such as Egypt or Iraq) starting around 5,000 years ago culminated to make religion something kind of new, a sociocultural-governmental-religious monarchy, where all or at least many of the people of such large city-state societies seem familiar with and committed to the existence of “religion” as the integrated life identity package of control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine, but this juggernaut integrated religion identity package of Dogmatic-Propaganda certainly did not exist or if developed to an extent it was highly limited in most smaller prehistoric societies as they seem to lack most of the strong control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine (magical beliefs could be at times be added or removed). Many people just want to see developed religious dynamics everywhere even if it is not. Instead, all that is found is largely fragments until the domestication of religion.

Religions, as we think of them today, are a new fad, even if they go back to around 6,000 years in the timeline of human existence, this amounts to almost nothing when seen in the long slow evolution of religion at least around 70,000 years ago with one of the oldest ritual worship. Stone Snake of South Africa: “first human worship” 70,000 years ago. This message of how religion and gods among them are clearly a man-made thing that was developed slowly as it was invented and then implemented peace by peace discrediting them all. Which seems to be a simple point some are just not grasping how devastating to any claims of truth when we can see the lie clearly in the archeological sites.

I wish people fought as hard for the actual values as they fight for the group/clan names political or otherwise they think support values. Every amount spent on war is theft to children in need of food or the homeless kept from shelter.

Here are several of my blog posts on history:

• To Find Truth You Must First Look
• Archaeology Knowledge Challenge?
• Beware of Pseudo-History like the Claims of a Hammer in a 400 Million-Year-Old Rock
• The Evolution of Fire Sacralizing and/or Worship 1.5 million to 300,000 years ago and beyond?
• Proto Religion: Superstition around 1 million years ago, to Pre-Animism 300,000 years ago, & then Animism Religion 100,000 years ago
• Stone Age Art: 500,000 – 233,000 Years Old
• Around 500,000 – 233,000 years ago, Oldest Anthropomorphic art (Pre-animism) is Related to Female
• 400,000 Years Old Sociocultural Evolution
• Burial-pits, Cave-tombs, and/or Shallow-graves begin with Homo
• The Emergence of Pre-Religion 300,000 years ago, with Pre-Animism?
• Pre-Animism: Portable Rock Art at least 300,000-year-old
• Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
• Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses.
• Homo Naledi and an Intentional Cemetery “Pre-Animism” dating to around 250,000 years ago?
• Neanderthals “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” Mystery Cave Rings 175,000 Years Ago
• 130,000 years ago – Earliest evidence for burial and it’s Neanderthals…
• Did Neanderthals teach us “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” 120,000 Years Ago?
• What about Neanderthals and Religion?
• Animism: an approximately 100,000-year-old belief system?
• Animism: a belief among some indigenous people, young children, or all religious people!
• The Origin of Language: Starts in Symbolism Around 100,000 years ago, to Early Proto-Writing 44,000-5,000 years ago with Unrealized Connections
• Rock crystal stone tools 75,000 Years Ago – (Spain) made by Neanderthals
• Prehistoric Child Burials Begin at Least Around 78,000 Years Ago
• Stone Snake of South Africa: “first human worship” 70,000 years ago
• Similarities and differences in Animism and Totemism
• Did Neanderthals Help Inspire Totemism? Because there is Art Dating to Around 65,000 Years Ago in Spain?
• History of Drug Use with Religion or Sacred Rituals possibly 58,000 years ago?
• Totemism: an approximately 50,000-year-old belief system?
• Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
• Australia & Aboriginal Religion at least around 50,000 years old
• Modern Humans start around 50,000 years ago Helped by Feminisation
• Out of Africa: “the evolution of religion seems tied to the movement of people”
• Totemism and Shamanism Dispersal Theory Expressed around 50,000 to 30,000 years ago
• Back-migrations to Africa, Starting with Eurasia to North Africa around 45,000 years ago
• Possible Religion Motivations in the First Cave Art at around 43,000 years ago?
• 43,000-33,000 years old Aurignacian Figurine Marks, like at the Swabian Jura caves in Germany
• 41,000-20,000-year-old Upper Paleolithic Tally sticks
• 40,000 years old Aurignacian Lion Figurine Early Totemism?
• 40,000-35,000 years ago “first seeming use of a Totem” ancestor, animal, and possible pre-goddess worship?
• Prehistoric Egypt 40,000 years ago to The First Dynasty 5,150 years ago
• 38,000 Years Old Engraving of an Aurochs with Seeming Totemism Expression?
• Aurignacian Period female ‘Venus’ carvings start at 35,000 years ago, then Transfer on to Other Cultures?
• Sacred Bulls, the Moon, and Fertility begins at least around 35,000 years ago?
• Women were the focus of religion, from at least around 35,000 years ago, until 2,000 years ago?
• Stars: Ancestors, Spirit Animals, and Deities (around 6,000 years ago, with connections to shamanism at 30,000 years ago and possibly further back to 40,000 years ago with totemism)
• Sacred Bulls, the Moon, and Fertility begins at least around 35,000 years ago?
• 34,000 years ago Lunar Calendar Cave art around the Time Shift From Totemism to Early Shamanism
• 34,000 years old Russan “Sungir” Early Totemistic-Shamanism
• 31,000-25,000 years old Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic Totemistic-Shamanism
• Shamanism: an approximately 30,000-year-old belief system
• Could the Phallus Phenomena (A Bull Horn) and the Shamanism Phenomena beginning around 30,000 years ago
• Lenticular Cloud Formations may connect to Ancient “House of Gods” Mythology
• “Sky Burial” and its possible origins at least 12,000 years ago to likely 30,000 years ago or older.
• The Peopling of the Americas Pre-Paleoindians/Paleoamericans around 30,000 to 12,000 years ago
• Hunter-Gatherer/Indigenous Peoples Religiosity, Beliefs, and Practices
• Starting 30,000 Years Ago is the Sitting Venus Phenomena
• Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
• Trinity Evolution Started over 30,000 years ago, Maybe?
• Paleolithic Totem Venuses become the later Goddesses of the Neolithic and beyond?
• The “Inner Asian Mountain Corridor” as well as the “Eurasian Steppe Corridor” and Repetitious Migrations
• Who were the Groups migrating and merging with the previous Groups of Europe?
• 27,000 to 25,000 Years ago Oldest Shaman was Female, Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving
• Could a Gravettian carving around 25,000 years old relate to Later Goddess and the Bull cults like Catal Huyuk
• Gravettian burial of Caviglione Woman, (shaman?) dated to around 24,000 years ago
• The Gravettian culture (Europe) shared ritual ideas and The Ancient North Eurasian culture (Asia) 24,000 years ago
• 24,000 Years Old Sacred Burial of a Siberian Mal’ta Boy
• Mal’ta–Buret’ culture of Siberia and Basal Haplogroup R* or R-M207
• Groups partially derived from the Ancient North Eurasians
• Leda and the Swan: possibly relates back to 24,000–15,000 years old Mal’ta–Buret’ culture, Lake Baikal, Siberia?
• Similarities in Shamanism?
• Black, White, and Yellow Shamanism?
• Shamanistic rock art from central Aboriginal Siberians and Aboriginal drums in the Americas
• Horned female shamans and Pre-satanism Devil/horned-god Worship?
• Epipalaeolithic Near East 20,000 to 9,000 years ago and the Emergence of Advanced Culture as well as New Religion?
• Sifting through the relation of Bird spirits/deities of the sky (20,000 to 5,000 years ago)
• (Magdalenian/Iberomaurusian) Connections to the First Paganists of the early Neolithic Near East Dating from around 17,000 to 12,000 Years Ago
• 16,000 to 12,000 years ago Magdalenian Sacred Ritual and Symbols
• Are the Natufians of Israel around 15,000 to 11,500 years ago who you thought they were?
• Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
• Possible Clan Leader/Special “MALE” Ancestor Totem Poles At Least 13,500 years ago?
• Jewish People with DNA at least 13,200 years old, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
• Genetic studies on Jewish DNA is not 6,000 years old but has origin links to about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago?
• Baltic Reindeer Hunters: Swiderian, Lyngby, Ahrensburgian, and Krasnosillya cultures 12,020 to 11,020 years ago are evidence of powerful migratory waves during the last 13,000 years and a genetic link to Saami and the Finno-Ugric peoples.
• My Reasoned Speculations on the Early Migrations of Paganism 13,000 to 3,000 years ago, Cultural Transfer
• 13,000-12,000 years ago Culture Leading to New Oppression changed everything and it was not always this way.
• The Rise of Inequality: patriarchy and state hierarchy inequality
• Fertile Crescent 12,500 – 9,500 Years Ago: fertility and death cult belief system?
• 12,400 – 11,700 Years Ago – Kortik Tepe (Turkey) Pre/early-Agriculture Cultic Ritualism
• Paganism: spread of Haplogroup J and its Seeming connection of Bull Worship
• Pre-Pottery Neolithic (10000 – 6500 BCE) and Pottery Neolithic (7000–5000 BCE)
• 12,000-year-old Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made pagan temple”
• Gobekli Tepe is more like Shamanistic early Paganism, Not Adam, Eve, and Cain or Bible anything!
• Ritualistic Bird Symbolism at Gobekli Tepe and its “Ancestor Cult”
• Male-Homosexual (female-like) / Trans-woman (female) Seated Figurine from Gobekli Tepe
• Could a 12,000-year-old Bull Geoglyph at Göbekli Tepe relate to older Bull and Female Art 25,000 years ago and Later Goddess and the Bull cults like Catal Huyuk?
• Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago.
• Alcohol, where Agriculture and Religion Become one? Such as Gobekli Tepe’s Ritualistic use of Grain as Food and Ritual Drink
• Epigravettians Join the Religious Partying at Gobekli Tepe?
• Neolithic Ritual Sites with T-Pillars and other Cultic Pillars
• Paganism: Goddesses around 12,000 years ago then Male Gods after 7,000 years ago
• First Patriarchy: Split of Women’s Status around 12,000 years ago & First Hierarchy: fall of Women’s Status around 5,000 years ago.
• Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
• J DNA and the Spread of Agricultural Religion (paganism)
• Paganism: an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system
• Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism)
• Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and the Shamanism Phenomena
• Need to Mythicized: gods and goddesses
• 12,000 – 7,000 Years Ago – Paleo-Indian Culture (The Americas)
• Ancient Egypt: Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, and Predynastic from 12,000 to 5,000 years ago
• 12,000 – 2,000 Years Ago – Indigenous-Scandinavians (Nordic)
• Norse did not wear helmets with horns?
• Pre-Pottery Neolithic Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago?
• Masked Head Hunters of “Karahan Tepe” 11,400-year-old monumental site from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A to B
• 10,400 – 10,100 Years Ago, in Turkey the Nevail Cori Religious Settlement
• Evolution of human skin color, white-skin is really under 10,000 years old?
• Indo-European language Trees fit an Agricultural expansion from Anatolia beginning 8,000 – 9,500 years ago
• 9,000-6,500 Years Old Submerged Pre-Pottery/Pottery Neolithic Ritual Settlements off Israel’s Coast
• Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 9,500 to 7,700 years ago (Turkey)
• Goddesses/Demigoddesses/Grandmother-Mother Ancestor Spirits from Catal Huyuk?
• Cultic Hunting at Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”
• Special Items and Art as well as Special Elite Burials at Catal Huyuk
• New Rituals and Violence with the appearance of Pottery and People?
• Haplogroup N and its related Uralic Languages and Cultures
• Ainu people, Sámi people, Native Americans, the Ancient North Eurasians, and Paganistic-Shamanism with Totemism
• Ideas, Technology and People from Turkey, Europe, to China and Back again 9,000 to 5,000 years ago?
• First Pottery of Europe and the Related Cultures
• 9,000 years old Neolithic Artifacts Judean Desert and Hills Israel
• 9,000-7,000 years-old Sex and Death Rituals: Cult Sites in Israel, Jordan, and the Sinai
• 9,000-8500 year old Horned Female shaman Bad Dürrenberg Germany
• Neolithic Jewelry and the Spread of Farming in Europe Emerging out of West Turkey
• 8,600-year-old Tortoise Shells in Neolithic graves in central China have Early Writing and Shamanism
• Swing of the Mace: the rise of Elite, Forced Authority, and Inequality begin to Emerge 8,500 years ago?
• Migrations and Changing Europeans Beginning around 8,000 Years Ago
• My “Steppe-Anatolian-Kurgan hypothesis” 8,000/7,000 years ago
• Around 8,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Mistress of Animals, “Ritual” Motif
• Pre-Columbian Red-Paint (red ochre) Maritime Archaic Culture 8,000-3,000 years ago
• 7,522-6,522 years ago Linear Pottery culture which I think relates to Arcane Capitalism’s origins
• Arcane Capitalism: Primitive socialism, Primitive capital, Private ownership, Means of production, Market capitalism, Class discrimination, and Petite bourgeoisie (smaller capitalists)
• 7,500-4,750 years old Ritualistic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine
• Roots of a changing early society 7,200-6,700 years ago Jordan and Israel
• Agriculture religion (Paganism) with farming reached Britain between about 7,000 to 6,500 or so years ago and seemingly expressed in things like Western Europe’s Long Barrows
• My Thoughts on Possible Migrations of “R” DNA and Proto-Indo-European?
• “Millet” Spreading from China 7,022 years ago to Europe and related Language may have Spread with it leading to Proto-Indo-European
• Proto-Indo-European (PIE), ancestor of Indo-European languages: DNA, Society, Language, and Mythology
  
• The Dnieper–Donets culture and Asian varieties of Millet from China to the Black Sea region of Europe by 7,022 years ago
• Kurgan 6,000 years ago/dolmens 7,000 years ago: funeral, ritual, and other?
• 7,020 to 6,020-year-old Proto-Indo-European Homeland of Urheimat or proposed home of their Language and Religion
• Ancient Megaliths: Kurgan, Ziggurat, Pyramid, Menhir, Trilithon, Dolman, Kromlech, and Kromlech of Trilithons
• The Mytheme of Ancient North Eurasian Sacred-Dog belief and similar motifs are found in Indo-European, Native American, and Siberian comparative mythology
• Elite Power Accumulation: Ancient Trade, Tokens, Writing, Wealth, Merchants, and Priest-Kings
• Sacred Mounds, Mountains, Kurgans, and Pyramids may hold deep connections?
• Between 7,000-5,000 Years ago, rise of unequal hierarchy elite, leading to a “birth of the State” or worship of power, strong new sexism, oppression of non-elites, and the fall of Women’s equal status
• Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite & their slaves
• Hell and Underworld mythologies starting maybe as far back as 7,000 to 5,000 years ago with the Proto-Indo-Europeans?
• The First Expression of the Male God around 7,000 years ago?
• White (light complexion skin) Bigotry and Sexism started 7,000 years ago?
• Around 7,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Divine Bird (Tutelary and/or Trickster spirit/deity), “Ritual” Motif
• Nekhbet an Ancient Egyptian Vulture Goddess and Tutelary Deity
• 6,720 to 4,920 years old Ritualistic Hongshan Culture of Inner Mongolia with 5,000-year-old Pyramid Mounds and Temples
• First proto-king in the Balkans, Varna culture around 6,500 years ago?
• 6,500–5,800 years ago in Israel Late Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Period in the Southern Levant Seems to Express Northern Levant Migrations, Cultural and Religious Transfer
• KING OF BEASTS: Master of Animals “Ritual” Motif, around 6,000 years old or older…
• Around 6000-year-old Shared Idea of the Solid Wheel & the Spoked Wheel-Shaped Ritual Motif
• “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan; a Proto-Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna or Star of Venus?
• Religious/Ritual Ideas, including goddesses and gods as well as ritual mounds or pyramids from Northeastern Asia at least 6,000 years old, seemingly filtering to Iran, Iraq, the Mediterranean, Europe, Egypt, and the Americas?
• Maykop (5,720–5,020 years ago) Caucasus region Bronze Age culture-related to Copper Age farmers from the south, influenced by the Ubaid period and Leyla-Tepe culture, as well as influencing the Kura-Araxes culture
• 5-600-year-old Tomb, Mummy, and First Bearded Male Figurine in a Grave
• Kura-Araxes Cultural 5,520 to 4,470 years old DNA traces to the Canaanites, Arabs, and Jews
• Minoan/Cretan (Keftiu) Civilization and Religion around 5,520 to 3,120 years ago
• Evolution Of Science at least by 5,500 years ago
• 5,500 Years old birth of the State, the rise of Hierarchy, and the fall of Women’s status
• “Jiroft culture” 5,100 – 4,200 years ago and the History of Iran
• Stonehenge: Paganistic Burial and Astrological Ritual Complex, England (5,100-3,600 years ago)
• Around 5,000-year-old Shared Idea of the “Tree of Life” Ritual Motif
• Complex rituals for elite, seen from China to Egypt, at least by 5,000 years ago
• Around 5,000 years ago: “Birth of the State” where Religion gets Military Power and Influence
• The Center of the World “Axis Mundi” and/or “Sacred Mountains” Mythology Could Relate to the Altai Mountains, Heart of the Steppe
• Progressed organized religion starts, an approximately 5,000-year-old belief system
• China’s Civilization between 5,000-3,000 years ago, was a time of war and class struggle, violent transition from free clans to a Slave or Elite society
• Origin of Logics is Naturalistic Observation at least by around 5,000 years ago.
• Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State)
• Ziggurats (multi-platform temples: 4,900 years old) to Pyramids (multi-platform tombs: 4,700 years old)
• Did a 4,520–4,420-year-old Volcano In Turkey Inspire the Bible God?
• Finland’s Horned Shaman and Pre-Horned-God at least 4,500 years ago?
• 4,000-year-Old Dolmens in Israel: A Connected Dolmen Religious Phenomenon?
• Creation myths: From chaos, Ex nihilo, Earth-diver, Emergence, World egg, and World parent
• Bronze Age “Ritual” connections of the Bell Beaker culture with the Corded Ware/Single Grave culture, which were related to the Yamnaya culture and Proto-Indo-European Languages/Religions
• Low Gods (Earth/ Tutelary deity), High Gods (Sky/Supreme deity), and Moralistic Gods (Deity enforcement/divine order)
• The exchange of people, ideas, and material-culture including, to me, the new god (Sky Father) and goddess (Earth Mother) religion between the Cucuteni-Trypillians and others which is then spread far and wide
• Koryaks: Indigenous People of the Russian Far East and Big Raven myths also found in Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and other Indigenous People of North America
• 42 Principles Of Maat (Egyptian Goddess of the justice) around 4,400 years ago, 2000 Years Before Ten Commandments
• “Happy Easter” Well Happy Eostre/Ishter
• 4,320-3,820 years old “Shimao” (North China) site with Totemistic-Shamanistic Paganism and a Stepped Pyramid
• 4,250 to 3,400 Year old Stonehenge from Russia: Arkaim?
• 4,100-year-old beaker with medicinal & flowering plants in a grave of a woman in Scotland
• Early European Farmer ancestry, Kelif el Boroud people with the Cardial Ware culture, and the Bell Beaker culture Paganists too, spread into North Africa, then to the Canary Islands off West Africa
• Flood Accounts: Gilgamesh epic (4,100 years ago) Noah in Genesis (2,600 years ago)
• Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)
• When was the beginning: TIMELINE OF CURRENT RELIGIONS, which start around 4,000 years ago.
• Early Religions Thought to Express Proto-Monotheistic Systems around 4,000 years ago
• Kultepe? An archaeological site with a 4,000 years old women’s rights document.
• Single God Religions (Monotheism) = “Man-o-theism” started around 4,000 years ago with the Great Sky Spirit/God Tiān (天)?
• Confucianism’s Tiān (Shangdi god 4,000 years old): Supernaturalism, Pantheism or Theism?
• Yes, Your Male God is Ridiculous
• Mythology, a Lunar Deity is a Goddess or God of the Moon
• Sacred Land, Hills, and Mountains: Sami Mythology (Paganistic Shamanism)
• Horse Worship/Sacrifice: mythical union of Ruling Elite/Kingship and the Horse
• The Amorite/Amurru people’s God Amurru “Lord of the Steppe”, relates to the Origins of the Bible God?
• Bronze Age Exotic Trade Routes Spread Quite Far as well as Spread Religious Ideas with Them
• Sami and the Northern Indigenous Peoples Landscape, Language, and its Connection to Religion
• Prototype of Ancient Analemmatic Sundials around 3,900-3,150 years ago and a Possible Solar Connection to gods?
• Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)
• The Weakening of Ancient Trade and the Strengthening of Religions around 3000 years ago?
• Are you aware that there are religions that worship women gods, explain now religion tears women down?
• Animistic, Totemistic, and Paganistic Superstition Origins of bible god and the bible’s Religion.
• Myths and Folklore: “Trickster gods and goddesses”
• Jews, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
• An Old Branch of Religion Still Giving Fruit: Sacred Trees
• Dating the BIBLE: naming names and telling times (written less than 3,000 years ago, provable to 2,200 years ago)
• Did a Volcano Inspire the bible god?
• Yamnaya culture or at least Proto-Indo-European Languages/Religions may actually relate back to North Asia?
• Dené–Yeniseian language, Old Copper Complex, and Pre-Columbian Mound Builders?
• No “dinosaurs and humans didn’t exist together just because some think they are in the bible itself”
• Sacred Shit and Sacred Animals?
• Everyone Killed in the Bible Flood? “Nephilim” (giants)?
• Hey, Damien dude, I have a question for you regarding “the bible” Exodus.
• Archaeology Disproves the Bible
• Bible Battle, Just More, Bible Babble
• The Jericho Conquest lie?
• Canaanites and Israelites?
• Accurate Account on how did Christianity Began?
• Let’s talk about Christianity.
• So the 10 commandments isn’t anything to go by either right?
• Misinformed christian
• Debunking Jesus?
• Paulism vs Jesus
• Ok, you seem confused so let’s talk about Buddhism.
• Unacknowledged Buddhism: Gods, Savior, Demons, Rebirth, Heavens, Hells, and Terrorism
• His Foolishness The Dalai Lama
• Yin and Yang is sexist with an ORIGIN around 2,300 years ago?
• I Believe Archaeology, not Myths & Why Not, as the Religious Myths Already Violate Reason!
• Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
• Aquatic Ape Theory/Hypothesis? As Always, Just Pseudoscience.
• Ancient Aliens Conspiracy Theorists are Pseudohistorians
• The Pseudohistoric and Pseudoscientific claims about “Bakoni Ruins” of South Africa
• Why do people think Religion is much more than supernaturalism and superstitionism?
• Religion is an Evolved Product
• Was the Value of Ancient Women Different?
• 1000 to 1100 CE, human sacrifice Cahokia Mounds a pre-Columbian Native American site
• Feminist atheists as far back as the 1800s?
• Promoting Religion as Real is Mentally Harmful to a Flourishing Humanity
• Screw All Religions and Their Toxic lies, they are all fraud
• Forget Religions’ Unfounded Myths, I Have Substantiated “Archaeology Facts.”
• Religion Dispersal throughout the World
• I Hate Religion Just as I Hate all Pseudoscience
• Exposing Scientology, Eckankar, Wicca and Other Nonsense?
• Main deity or religious belief systems
• Quit Trying to Invent Your God From the Scraps of Science.
• Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
• Ancient Alien Conspiracy Theorists: Misunderstanding, Rhetoric, Misinformation, Fabrications, and Lies
• Misinformation, Distortion, and Pseudoscience in Talking with a Christian Creationist
• Judging the Lack of Goodness in Gods, Even the Norse God Odin
• Challenging the Belief in God-like Aliens and Gods in General
• A Challenge to Christian use of Torture Devices?
• Yes, Hinduism is a Religion
• Trump is One of the Most Reactionary Forces of Far-right Christian Extremism
• Was the Bull Head a Symbol of God? Yes!
• Primate Death Rituals
• Christian – “God and Christianity are objectively true”
• Australopithecus afarensis Death Ritual?
• You Claim Global Warming is a Hoax?
• Doubter of Science and Defamer of Atheists?
• I think that sounds like the Bible?
• History of the Antifa (“anti-fascist”) Movements
• Indianapolis Anti-Blasphemy Laws #Free Soheil Rally
• Damien, you repeat the golden rule in so many forms then you say religion is dogmatic?
• Science is a Trustable Methodology whereas Faith is not Trustable at all!
• Was I ever a believer, before I was an atheist?
• Atheists rise in reason
• Mistrust of science?
• Open to Talking About the Definition of ‘God’? But first, we address Faith.
• ‘United Monarchy’ full of splendor and power – Saul, David, and Solomon? Most likely not.
• Is there EXODUS ARCHAEOLOGY? The short answer is “no.”
• Lacking Proof of Bigfoots, Unicorns, and Gods is Just a Lack of Research?
• Religion and Politics: Faith Beliefs vs. Rational Thinking
• Hammer of Truth that lying pig RELIGION: challenged by an archaeologist
• “The Hammer of Truth” -ontology question- What do You Mean by That?
• Navigation of a bad argument: Ad Hominem vs. Attack
• Why is it Often Claimed that Gods have a Gender?
• Why are basically all monotheistic religions ones that have a male god?
• Shifting through the Claims in support of Faith
• Dear Mr. AtHope, The 20th Century is an Indictment of Secularism and a Failed Atheist Century
• An Understanding of the Worldwide Statistics and Dynamics of Terrorist Incidents and Suicide Attacks
• Intoxication and Evolution? Addressing and Assessing the “Stoned Ape” or “Drunken Monkey” Theories as Catalysts in Human Evolution
• Sacred Menstrual cloth? Inanna’s knot, Isis knot, and maybe Ma’at’s feather?
• Damien, why don’t the Hebrews accept the bible stories?
• Dealing with a Troll and Arguing Over Word Meaning
• Knowledge without Belief? Justified beliefs or disbeliefs worthy of Knowledge?
• Afrocentrism and African Religions
• Crecganford @crecganford offers history & stories of the people, places, gods, & culture
• Empiricism-Denier?

I am not an academic. I am a revolutionary that teaches in public, in places like social media, and in the streets. I am not a leader by some title given but from my commanding leadership style of simply to start teaching everywhere to everyone, all manner of positive education. 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

To me, Animism starts in Southern Africa, then to West Europe, and becomes Totemism. Another split goes near the Russia and Siberia border becoming Shamanism, which heads into Central Europe meeting up with Totemism, which also had moved there, mixing the two which then heads to Lake Baikal in Siberia. From there this Shamanism-Totemism heads to Turkey where it becomes Paganism.

My thoughts on the Evolution of Religion: from Animism to Paganism

Philosophy to the Rescue: explaining Reason, Logic, Evidence, Truth, Certainty, Reality, and Science

Talking about “Religion and Deity Evolution” on Twitter (X) Questions and Answers

You can’t change people, by reason and evidence. WRONG, I do it all the time.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Not all “Religions” or “Religious Persuasions” have a god(s) but

All can be said to believe in some imaginary beings or imaginary things like spirits, afterlives, etc.

Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, and Paganism

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Low Gods “Earth” or Tutelary deity and High Gods “Sky” or Supreme deity

“An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the “chthonic” deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an “Earth Mother” complementary to the “Sky Father” in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god.” ref

“A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. In some religious traditions or movements, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven or Sky Mother) is the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky father or God the Father.” ref

“Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as “sky father” deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a “sky father” god with an “earth mother” goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with “sky” not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven. Neopagans often apply it with impunity to sky goddesses from other regions who were never associated with the term historically. The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.” ref

“In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a “father”, often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of “sky father” may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an “earth mother“. “Sky Father” is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity name as the Greek Zeûs Pater and Roman Jupiter and Germanic Týr, Tir or Tiwaz, all of which are reflexes of the same Proto-Indo-European deity’s name, *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr. While there are numerous parallels adduced from outside of Indo-European mythology, there are exceptions (e.g. In Egyptian mythology, Nut is the sky mother and Geb is the earth father).” ref

Tutelary deity

“A tutelary (also tutelar) is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of “tutelary” expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the genius, functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Korean shamanism, jangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang. In Philippine animism, Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. Such as: Maria Makiling is the deity who guards Mt. Makiling and Maria Cacao and Maria Sinukuan. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. And similarly, Native American beliefs such as Tonás, tutelary animal spirit among the Zapotec and Totems, familial or clan spirits among the Ojibwe, can be animals.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Austronesian beliefs such as: Atua (gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori or the Hawaiians), Hanitu (Bunun of Taiwan‘s term for spirit), Hyang (Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology and this spiritual entity, can be either divine or ancestral), Kaitiaki (New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land), Kawas (mythology) (divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of the living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts), Tiki (Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne and represents deified ancestors found in most Polynesian cultures). ” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

Mesopotamian Tutelary Deities can be seen as ones related to City-States 

“Historical city-states included Sumerian cities such as Uruk and Ur; Ancient Egyptian city-states, such as Thebes and Memphis; the Phoenician cities (such as Tyre and Sidon); the five Philistine city-states; the Berber city-states of the Garamantes; the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth); the Roman Republic (which grew from a city-state into a vast empire); the Italian city-states from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, such as Florence, Siena, Ferrara, Milan (which as they grew in power began to dominate neighboring cities) and Genoa and Venice, which became powerful thalassocracies; the Mayan and other cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including cities such as Chichen Itza, Tikal, Copán and Monte Albán); the central Asian cities along the Silk Road; the city-states of the Swahili coast; Ragusa; states of the medieval Russian lands such as Novgorod and Pskov; and many others.” ref

“The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE; also known as Protoliterate period) of Mesopotamia, named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. City-States like Uruk and others had a patron tutelary City Deity along with a Priest-King.” ref

“Chinese folk religion, both past, and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. Such as Tu Di Gong (Earth Deity) is the tutelary deity of a locality, and each individual locality has its own Earth Deity and Cheng Huang Gong (City God) is the guardian deity of an individual city, worshipped by local officials and locals since imperial times.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is the patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include: Mumbadevi (Mumbai), Sachchika (Osian); Kuladevis include: Ambika (Porwad), and Mahalakshmi. In NorthEast India Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. Tibetan Buddhism has Yidam as a tutelary deity. Dakini is the patron of those who seek knowledge.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion:

You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician.” ref

“Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games (ludi) in her honor.” ref

“Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.” ref

“The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele) as “tower-crowned” represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.” ref 

Household deity (a kind of or related to a Tutelary deity)

“A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess – often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia.” ref

“The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the Lares of ancient Roman religion, the Gashin of Korean shamanism, and Cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish Brownie and Slavic Domovoy.” ref

“Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as “household gods” in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings, or reliefs. They could also be found on domestic objects, such as cosmetic articles in the case of Tawaret. The more prosperous houses might have a small shrine to the household god(s); the lararium served this purpose in the case of the Romans. The gods would be treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or be given offerings of food and drink.” ref

“In many religions, both ancient and modern, a god would preside over the home. Certain species, or types, of household deities, existed. An example of this was the Roman Lares. Many European cultures retained house spirits into the modern period. Some examples of these include:

• Brownie (Scotland and England) or Hob (England) / Kobold (Germany) / Goblin / Hobgoblin
• Domovoy (Slavic)
• Nisse (Norwegian or Danish) / Tomte (Swedish) / Tonttu (Finnish)
• Húsvættir (Norse)” ref

“Although the cosmic status of household deities was not as lofty as that of the Twelve Olympians or the Aesir, they were also jealous of their dignity and also had to be appeased with shrines and offerings, however humble. Because of their immediacy they had arguably more influence on the day-to-day affairs of men than the remote gods did. Vestiges of their worship persisted long after Christianity and other major religions extirpated nearly every trace of the major pagan pantheons. Elements of the practice can be seen even today, with Christian accretions, where statues to various saints (such as St. Francis) protect gardens and grottos. Even the gargoyles found on older churches, could be viewed as guardians partitioning a sacred space.” ref

“For centuries, Christianity fought a mop-up war against these lingering minor pagan deities, but they proved tenacious. For example, Martin Luther‘s Tischreden have numerous – quite serious – references to dealing with kobolds. Eventually, rationalism and the Industrial Revolution threatened to erase most of these minor deities, until the advent of romantic nationalism rehabilitated them and embellished them into objects of literary curiosity in the 19th century. Since the 20th century this literature has been mined for characters for role-playing games, video games, and other fantasy personae, not infrequently invested with invented traits and hierarchies somewhat different from their mythological and folkloric roots.” ref

“In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism. In reality, this distinction is somewhat academic, since totemism may be regarded as a particularized manifestation of animism, and something of a synthesis of the two positions was attempted by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s Totem and Taboo, both totem and taboo are outward expressions or manifestations of the same psychological tendency, a concept which is complementary to, or which rather reconciles, the apparent conflict. Freud preferred to emphasize the psychoanalytic implications of the reification of metaphysical forces, but with particular emphasis on its familial nature. This emphasis underscores, rather than weakens, the ancestral component.” ref

“William Edward Hearn, a noted classicist, and jurist, traced the origin of domestic deities from the earliest stages as an expression of animism, a belief system thought to have existed also in the neolithic, and the forerunner of Indo-European religion. In his analysis of the Indo-European household, in Chapter II “The House Spirit”, Section 1, he states:

The belief which guided the conduct of our forefathers was … the spirit rule of dead ancestors.” ref

“In Section 2 he proceeds to elaborate:

It is thus certain that the worship of deceased ancestors is a vera causa, and not a mere hypothesis. …

In the other European nations, the Slavs, the Teutons, and the Kelts, the House Spirit appears with no less distinctness. … [T]he existence of that worship does not admit of doubt. … The House Spirits had a multitude of other names which it is needless here to enumerate, but all of which are more or less expressive of their friendly relations with man. … In [England] … [h]e is the Brownie. … In Scotland this same Brownie is well known. He is usually described as attached to particular families, with whom he has been known to reside for centuries, threshing the corn, cleaning the house, and performing similar household tasks. His favorite gratification was milk and honey.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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“These ideas are my speculations from the evidence.”

I am still researching the “god‘s origins” all over the world. So you know, it is very complicated but I am smart and willing to look, DEEP, if necessary, which going very deep does seem to be needed here, when trying to actually understand the evolution of gods and goddesses. I am sure of a few things and less sure of others, but even in stuff I am not fully grasping I still am slowly figuring it out, to explain it to others. But as I research more I am understanding things a little better, though I am still working on understanding it all or something close and thus always figuring out more. 

Sky Father/Sky God?

“Egyptian: (Nut) Sky Mother and (Geb) Earth Father” (Egypt is different but similar)

Turkic/Mongolic: (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) Sky Father and (Eje/Gazar Eej) Earth Mother *Transeurasian*

Hawaiian: (Wākea) Sky Father and (Papahānaumoku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*

New Zealand/ Māori: (Ranginui) Sky Father and (Papatūānuku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*

Proto-Indo-European: (Dyḗus/Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) Sky Father and (Dʰéǵʰōm/Pleth₂wih₁) Earth Mother

Indo-Aryan: (Dyaus Pita) Sky Father and (Prithvi Mata) Earth Mother *Indo-European*

Italic: (Jupiter) Sky Father and (Juno) Sky Mother *Indo-European*

Etruscan: (Tinia) Sky Father and (Uni) Sky Mother *Tyrsenian/Italy Pre–Indo-European*

Hellenic/Greek: (Zeus) Sky Father and (Hera) Sky Mother who started as an “Earth Goddess” *Indo-European*

Nordic: (Dagr) Sky Father and (Nótt) Sky Mother *Indo-European*

Slavic: (Perun) Sky Father and (Mokosh) Earth Mother *Indo-European*

Illyrian: (Deipaturos) Sky Father and (Messapic Damatura’s “earth-mother” maybe) Earth Mother *Indo-European*

Albanian: (Zojz) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*

Baltic: (Perkūnas) Sky Father and (Saulė) Sky Mother *Indo-European*

Germanic: (Týr) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*

Colombian-Muisca: (Bochica) Sky Father and (Huythaca) Sky Mother *Chibchan*

Aztec: (Quetzalcoatl) Sky Father and (Xochiquetzal) Sky Mother *Uto-Aztecan*

Incan: (Viracocha) Sky Father and (Mama Runtucaya) Sky Mother *Quechuan*

China: (Tian/Shangdi) Sky Father and (Dì) Earth Mother *Sino-Tibetan*

Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian: (An/Anu) Sky Father and (Ki) Earth Mother

Finnish: (Ukko) Sky Father and (Akka) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*

Sami: (Horagalles) Sky Father and (Ravdna) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*

Puebloan-Zuni: (Ápoyan Ta’chu) Sky Father and (Áwitelin Tsíta) Earth Mother

Puebloan-Hopi: (Tawa) Sky Father and (Kokyangwuti/Spider Woman/Grandmother) Earth Mother *Uto-Aztecan*

Puebloan-Navajo: (Tsohanoai) Sky Father and (Estsanatlehi) Earth Mother *Na-Dene*

ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref 

Sky Father/Sky Mother “High Gods” or similar gods/goddesses of the sky more loosely connected, seeming arcane mythology across the earth seen in Siberia, China, Europe, Native Americans/First Nations People and Mesopotamia, etc.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref

Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. ref

 Judaism around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (The first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew” dated to around 3,000 years ago Khirbet Qeiyafa is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Elah Valley. And many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed around 2,500) ref, ref

Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)

“Judaism is an Abrahamic, its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Some scholars argue that modern Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the religion of ancient Israel and Judah, by the late 6th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions.” ref

“Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel, essentially polytheistic, with a plethora of gods and goddesses. Heading the pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with his consort, the goddess Asherah; below them were second-tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, all of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees, and a third and fourth tier of minor divine beings, including the mal’ak, the messengers of the higher gods, who in later times became the angels of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yahweh, however, was not the ‘original’ god of Israel “Isra-El”; it is El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, whose name forms the basis of the name “Israel”, and none of the Old Testament patriarchs, the tribes of Israel, the Judges, or the earliest monarchs, have a Yahwistic theophoric name (i.e., one incorporating the name of Yahweh).” ref

“El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity“, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ‘ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning “god”. Specific deities known as ‘El or ‘Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia’s Early Dynastic Period. ʼĒl is listed at the head of many pantheons. In some Canaanite and Ugaritic sources, ʼĒl played a role as father of the gods, of creation, or both. For example, in the Ugaritic texts, ʾil mlk is understood to mean “ʼĒl the King” but ʾil hd as “the god Hadad“. The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh, Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. In Ugaritic the plural form meaning “gods” is ʾilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ʾelōhîm “powers”. In the Hebrew texts this word is interpreted as being semantically singular for “god” by biblical commentators. However the documentary hypothesis for the Old Testament (corresponds to the Jewish Torah) developed originally in the 1870s, identifies these that different authors – the Jahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and the Priestly source – were responsible for editing stories from a polytheistic religion into those of a monotheistic religion. Inconsistencies that arise between monotheism and polytheism in the texts are reflective of this hypothesis.” ref

Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. ref

Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. ref

Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. ref

Christianity around 2,o00 years old. ref

Shinto around 1,305 years old. ref

Islam around 1407–1385 years old. ref

Sikhism around 548–478 years old. ref

Bahá’í around 200–125 years old. ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

Knowledge to Ponder: 

Stars/Astrology:

• Possibly, around 30,000 years ago (in simpler form) to 6,000 years ago, Stars/Astrology are connected to Ancestors, Spirit Animals, and Deities.
• The star also seems to be a possible proto-star for Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna, or Star of Venus.
• Around 7,000 to 6,000 years ago, Star Constellations/Astrology have connections to the “Kurgan phenomenon” of below-ground “mound” stone/wood burial structures and “Dolmen phenomenon” of above-ground stone burial structures.
• Around 6,500–5,800 years ago, The Northern Levant migrations into Jordon and Israel in the Southern Levant brought new cultural and religious transfer from Turkey and Iran.
• “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan may have connections to the European paganstic kurgan/dolmens phenomenon.

“Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamicate world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person’s personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.” ref 

Around 5,500 years ago, Science evolves, The first evidence of science was 5,500 years ago and was demonstrated by a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world. ref

Around 5,000 years ago, Origin of Logics is a Naturalistic Observation (principles of valid reasoning, inference, & demonstration) ref

Around 4,150 to 4,000 years ago: The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which was originally titled “He who Saw the Deep” (Sha naqba īmuru) or “Surpassing All Other Kings” (Shūtur eli sharrī) were written. ref

Hinduism:

• 3,700 years ago or so, the oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rig Veda was composed.
• 3,500 years ago or so, the Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Judaism:

• around 3,000 years ago, the first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew”
• around 2,500 years ago, many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed

Myths: The bible inspired religion is not just one religion or one myth but a grouping of several religions and myths

• Around 3,450 or 3,250 years ago, according to legend, is the traditionally accepted period in which the Israelite lawgiver, Moses, provided the Ten Commandments.
• Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, a collection of ancient religious writings by the Israelites based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament is the first part of Christianity’s bible.
• Around 2,400 years ago, the most accepted hypothesis is that the canon was formed in stages, first the Pentateuch (Torah).
• Around 2,140 to 2,116 years ago, the Prophets was written during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books.
• Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections:
• The first five books or Pentateuch (Torah).
• The proposed history books telling the history of the Israelites from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon.
• The poetic and proposed “Wisdom books” dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world.
• The books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God:
• Henotheism:
• Exodus 20:23 “You shall not make other gods besides Me (not saying there are no other gods just not to worship them); gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.”
• Polytheism:
• Judges 10:6 “Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”
• 1 Corinthians 8:5 “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords.”
• Monotheism:
• Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

Around 2,570 to 2,270 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Expressions of Atheistic Thinking:

• Around 2,600 years ago, Ajita Kesakambali, ancient Indian philosopher, who is the first known proponent of Indian materialism. ref
• Around 2,535 to 2,475 years ago, Heraclitus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or modern Turkey. ref
• Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, according to The Story of Civilization book series certain African pygmy tribes have no identifiable gods, spirits, or religious beliefs or rituals, and even what burials accrue are without ceremony. ref
• Around 2,490 to 2,430 years ago, Empedocles, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. ref
• Around 2,460 to 2,370 years ago, Democritus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher considered to be the “father of modern science” possibly had some disbelief amounting to atheism. ref
• Around 2,399 years ago or so, Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher was tried for sinfulness by teaching doubt of state gods. ref
• Around 2,341 to 2,270 years ago, Epicurus, a Greek philosopher known for composing atheistic critics and famously stated, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ref

This last expression by Epicurus, seems to be an expression of Axiological Atheism. To understand and utilize value or actually possess “Value Conscious/Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care responsibilities. Because value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic/psychopathic evil.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref, ref

“Theists, there has to be a god, as something can not come from nothing.”

Well, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something. This does not tell us what the something that may have been involved with something coming from nothing. A supposed first cause, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something is not an open invitation to claim it as known, neither is it justified to call or label such an unknown as anything, especially an unsubstantiated magical thinking belief born of mythology and religious storytelling.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

The “Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries”

Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ Atheist Leftist @Skepticallefty & I (Damien Marie AtHope) @AthopeMarie (my YouTube & related blog) are working jointly in atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, antifascist, anarchist, socialist, and humanist endeavors in our videos together, generally, every other Saturday.

Why Does Power Bring Responsibility?

Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept? I know I see the deep ethical responsibility that if there is power their must be a humanistic responsibility of ethical and empathic stewardship of that power. Will I be brave enough to be kind? Will I possess enough courage to be compassionate? Will my valor reach its height of empathy? I as everyone, earns our justified respect by our actions, that are good, ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanity’s flushing, over being brought down by some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.

I create the world I want to live in, striving for flourishing. Which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. To master oneself, also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. I may have lost a god myth as an atheist, but I am happy to tell you, my friend, it is exactly because of that, leaving the mental terrorizer, god belief, that I truly regained my connected ethical as well as kind humanity.

Cory and I will talk about prehistory and theism, addressing the relevance to atheism, anarchism, and socialism.

At the same time as the rise of the male god, 7,000 years ago, there was also the very time there was the rise of violence, war, and clans to kingdoms, then empires, then states. It is all connected back to 7,000 years ago, and it moved across the world.

Cory Johnston: https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/04/cory-johnston-mind-of-a-skeptical-leftist/?v=32aec8db952d  

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist (YouTube)

Cory Johnston: Mind of a Skeptical Leftist @Skepticallefty

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist By Cory Johnston: “Promoting critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics by covering current events and talking to a variety of people. Cory Johnston has been thoughtfully talking to people and attempting to promote critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics.” http://anchor.fm/skepticalleft

Cory needs our support. We rise by helping each other.

Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ @Skepticallefty Evidence-based atheist leftist (he/him) Producer, host, and co-host of 4 podcasts @skeptarchy @skpoliticspod and @AthopeMarie

Damien Marie AtHope (“At Hope”) Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, Psychology, and Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Historian.

Damien is interested in: Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Equality, Ethics, Humanism, Science, Atheism, Antiteism, Antireligionism, Ignosticism, Left-Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism, Mutualism, Axiology, Metaphysics, LGBTQI, Philosophy, Advocacy, Activism, Mental Health, Psychology, Archaeology, Social Work, Sexual Rights, Marriage Rights, Woman’s Rights, Gender Rights, Child Rights, Secular Rights, Race Equality, Ageism/Disability Equality, Etc. And a far-leftist, “Anarcho-Humanist.”

I am not a good fit in the atheist movement that is mostly pro-capitalist, I am anti-capitalist. Mostly pro-skeptic, I am a rationalist not valuing skepticism. Mostly pro-agnostic, I am anti-agnostic. Mostly limited to anti-Abrahamic religions, I am an anti-religionist.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):

Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism

My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com