Cosmologies Flashcards
what are the five parts of the Christian cosmos?
Heaven, Hell, The firmament, Earth, Purgatory
What is purgatory
A place (perhaps a mountain) or a purifying inner experience (no defined physical location)
removes venial sin by fire
describe the firmament
separates the waters above and the waters below. has holes for communication or travel to heaven
the elect
those who lived exemplary lives, who ascend directly to heaven
theosis
transformative effect of divine grace, becoming more godlike in spirit
mortal sins
committed deliberately, with knowledge and consent. sentenced to eternal damnation
venial sins
forgivable sins, through purgatory to cleanse before election
Sheol
hebrew, Pit/hell
has water beneath it
heaven is occupied by
saints, angels, ascended souls
purgatory is occupied by
Venial sinners undergoing purification through fire
what is an axis mundi
a world axis, manifests in many cultures (pan cultural), conduit connecting cosmic realms, facilitating communication and movement between them
examples of Axis Mundis
Yggdrasil (norse), Bile Buadha/Craebh (Celtic), Irminsul and yeavering (germanic)
High places
foci in landscape with consolidation of territories/cities. Pan cultural, liminal spaces
proto-urbanization locals: Ceremonial and economic functions occurred here
examples of High places
Chang’an, Hill of Tara
irminsul
a monumental wooden pillar, acts as an axis mundi in germanic
early celtic cultures
Hallstatt (8th-6th C), La Tene (500-1st C BCE)
issues with anthropological writings from MA?
a lot of greco-romano-centrism since most knowledge from these cultures
Magh Mor
upper world (sky)
Mide
middle world (land)
Tir Andomain/TIr na nog
the other world (sea)
trees of power
Bile buadha or Craebh (celtic), Yggdrasil (Norse)
Tuatha de danan
the sidhe (faeries or gods) from the book of invasions (12 C)
Meath
site of the Hill of Tara and Newgrange. Occupied by ancestors of irish people (Milesians) after Tuatha are relegated to “other world”
how is the otherworld accessed
through entering burial mounds, caves, crossing sea, diving underwater
Liminal spaces
communication with ancestors is facilitated (place or time when the veil is thinnest, chance of encountering sidhe is high) eg. water, burial mounds etc.
high cross
mound/raised base and vertical pillar
Nemeton
a sacred wood in celtic tradition
fidnemed
sacred woods in irish tradition
samhain
end of harvest season, time of feasting and prepping for winter.
Dagda weds morrigan/nemain/badb catha
Dagda
tribal god, father, benefactor, protector
Morrigan
queen of demons
nemain
panic
badb catha
raven of battle
universalis columna quasi sustinens omnia
a universal pillar supporting the whole
nine cosmic realms united by yggdrasil in norse cosmology
Asgard, alfheim, vanaheim, midgard, jotuneheim, nidavellir, svartalfheim, muspelheim, Hell
who destroyed germanic monument Irminsul and when
Charlemagne in 772
Lau Tzu
a legendary or semi-legendary figure who wrote the Tao Te Ching when leaving the city of Chengzhou
Tao Te Ching
531 BCE, written by Lau-Tzu.
The great book of the way of virtue
Wu Chi or Tao
The beginning. universal energy from which all things eminate
the one
emerges from Tao, manifest the world. divides into two (yin and yang)
Chi (qi)
material energy/ energy flow/ life force
fueled by interactions of Yin and Yang
the five elements
wood, fire, metal, water, earth. generated by interactions of Yin and Yang
ten thousand things
emerge from the five elements. constitute all manifest existance
the practice of taoism is
an attempt to perceive the presence and workings of the universal tao, and to live in balanced accordance with it
taoist belief
the world is populated by invisible spirits
taoist reincarnation
the soul/spirit does not die when the corporeal body ceases to function -> migrates to next body
continues until unification with the tao (Cutting the thread of life)
Diyu
intermediate stage before reincarnation. a preparatory realm (different from purgatory)
The principle god of Taoism
The Jade emperor, Yu Huang
describe the taoist walled city
a repository of culture within the walls. fantastic/magic/danger outside of these walls
