A doppelgänger, also known as a double walker or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person who haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In German folklore, a doppelganger is a wraith or apparition of a living person, distinguished from a ghost. The concept of a spirit double is an exact but elusive one.
The term “psychic” can refer to someone with heavy, natural, mystical power, often including the use of all three of the Pythagorean numbers. The number 1 symbolizes unity and the origin of all things, as all other numbers can be created from 1 by adding enough copies of it. Double triangle symbols have become popular as tattoos, representing spiritual journeys, past, present, and future.
Mysticism, popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, is a belief that all living creatures have a spirit double who is invisible but identical to the living individual. Double walkers are the exact copy of a real person, except they have the ability to be present in both worlds. A mystic is one who has conquered their ego so that they don’t identify with it.
Dualism in religion is the doctrine that the world consists of two basic, opposed, and irreducible principles: the messenger and the Twice-uttered Name of God. We are of two natures in life, sometimes called a lower self and a higher self, a false self and a true self, an ego self and a Divine Self.
In conclusion, a doppelgänger, also known as a double walker or doppelganger, is a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon that has been present in many cultures for thousands of years.
📹 Mold and the Doubling of a Dream: Mystical Dreams, Experiences, and Revelations
Welcome! I’m Lynna K Teer. Here on my channel, I talk about mystical dreams and experiences, the journey of spiritual …
What is a hidden twin called?
The first ultrasound in pregnancy is often less accurate due to the small size of the babies and the possibility of seeing one twin when there are actually two. Twins may share an amniotic sac, which increases the likelihood of one twin hiding during an early ultrasound. These twins are called monochorionic monoamniotic (mo/mo twins).
The hidden baby may be stealthy, hiding behind their sibling or slipping out of view during the exam. Lack of prenatal care during pregnancy can lead to surprise at birth, which was more common before ultrasound technology. Human error is another possibility, as the interpreters of ultrasound technology are human, and even experienced technicians or healthcare providers could misinterpret the mishmash of light and dark shapes, mistaking a developing twin for something else.
Although it is impossible to be 100% sure about the number of babies in the uterus until you give birth, after 20 weeks, a detailed anatomy scan can usually assess your baby’s growth and development. It is highly unlikely that a twin could still be discreetly chilling in the background, as they are too big to be missed.
What is a doppleganger?
Doppelgangers are individuals who resemble you but are not twins. Originally, they were ghosts, meaning a double walker. The term “doppelganger” comes from the German word “double”, which translates to “a ghost or shadow of yourself”. Nowadays, doppelgangers are often used to describe someone who looks similar to you or could be your twin. They are considered a spooky, ghostly double of a living person who haunts its living counterpart. This concept is widely accepted as possibly factual.
What is similar to a doppelganger?
The term “doppelgänger” is defined in a number of ways, including as “pictures,” “twins,” “images,” “portraits,” “clones,” “likenesses,” “counterparts,” and “doubles.”
How rare is it to have a doppelganger?
A BBC article in 2016 claimed that there is only a 1 in 135 chance of having a single pair of exact doppelgängers. However, a 2015 study using eight facial measurements found that if a person’s ear or forehead is wider than their look-alike’s, it can be determined whether they look “alike to a human” or “look-alike to facial recognition software”. This distinction can help determine if a double commits a crime.
In 2022, Cell Reports published an article exploring genetic similarities between look-alike humans, finding that doppelgängers share DNA, even if their ancestry is from different parts of the world. The study examined 32 look-alike participants using three different facial recognition programs, scoring 16 of the pairs similarly to identical twins.
What is a mythical twin?
Twins in mythology are often depicted with special powers, deep bonds, and the ability to heal. In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux share a strong bond, with Pollux giving up half of his immortality when Castor dies. Their constellation, the Dioskouroi or Gemini, is only seen during one half of the year, as they split their time between the underworld and Mount Olympus.
In African mythology, Ibeji twins are viewed as one soul shared between two bodies. If one of the twins dies, the parents create a doll that portrays the deceased child’s body, so the soul of the deceased can remain intact for the living twin. Without the creation of the doll, the living twin is almost destined for death because it is believed to be missing half of its soul.
Divine twins in twin mythology are identical to either one or both places of a god, representing a polarity in the world. These divine twins can function alone in one body, either functioning as a male or as male and female as they desire. Twins are often seen as rivals or adversaries.
Dualistic twins include Nut and Geb, God of Earth (Geb) and Goddess of the sky (Nut); Osiris, Lord of the underworld; Isis, daughter of Geb and Nut; Ausar, twin of Set; Mawu-Lisa, twins representing moon and sun; Yemaja, Mother of all life on earth; Aganju, twin and husband of Yemaja; and Ibeji, twins of joy and happiness.
In summary, twins in mythology are often associated with special powers, deep bonds, healing abilities, divination, and the ability to heal.
What is a mythical doppelgänger?
Doppelgängers are wraiths or apparitions of living people, distinct from ghosts. The concept of a spirit double, an invisible replica of every person, bird, or beast, is an ancient belief. Meeting one’s double signifies imminent death. The doppelgänger became a popular symbol in horror literature, with complex themes. In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Double, a poor clerk, Golyadkin, beholds his own wraith, who succeeds in everything he has failed. The wraith eventually disposes of his original. An earlier story of a doppelgänger is found in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s novel Die Elixiere des Teufels, 2 vol. (1815-16).
Is a doppelganger supernatural?
Doppelgängers, created through magic, are supernatural beings with no inherent powers. Their blood can be used as a binding agent for powerful spells, such as the spell that created the Originals and the vampire race. Elena, a supernatural being, mercy-killed Alaric Saltzman while wearing a Gilbert Ring, confirming her supernatural nature. This confirmed Elijah Mikaelson’s suspicion that the Gilbert ring wouldn’t work on Elena.
Doppelgängers can achieve immortality through vampirism, as seen in the case of Katherine, Stefan, and Elena. This is because vampires are not fully invulnerable creatures, and they can be killed through various means.
In Template:W, the “original” tragic love triangle involves Silas, a young witch, and Qetsiyah, a fellow witch. Silas wants their love to last beyond death and convinces her to create a spell that would make them immortal. On the night of their wedding ceremony, Silas absconded with the elixir Qetsiyah had created, leaving her withering plant life. Qetsiyah realizes that Silas had taken the elixir and given her portion to someone else. She seeks out Silas and finds him in the wilderness with her handmaiden, Amara, who had taken Qetsiyah’s share of the immortality elixir.
Are doppelgangers evil?
The Monster Manual characterizes these beings as potentially evil, yet also as neutral in their alignment.
What is a Dinglehopper?
In 1989’s The Little Mermaid, Ariel and Scuttle encounter a dinglehopper, a unique tool used by humans to straighten their hair. The dinglehopper is a small, unusual object that can be used to create an aesthetically pleasing hairstyle. The dinglehopper is a tool that can be used to start a motor, and its name is unknown. The dinglehopper’s unique design and ability to straighten hair make it a popular choice among humans.
What is it called when someone has a double?
A doppelgänger, also known as a doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person who haunts its own fleshly counterpart. They are often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon, often associated with bad luck or evil twins. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often seen as a harbinger of bad luck, while in modern times, the term twin stranger is occasionally used. This supernatural double is often referred to as a look-alike.
What does it mean if you have a doppelgänger?
A doppelganger is a mysterious, exact double of a living person, resembling their physical appearance and behavior. The term “doppelganger” comes from the German word “double walker” or “double goer”. These individuals are not just resembling the person, but are identical in their walking, acting, talking, and dressing. Despite being sighted, a friend or close relative may swear they are the person they are, even if they can prove they were not in the location where the double was sighted.
Sightings and reports of doppelgangers have been around for centuries, with superstition surrounding them. Traditionally, they have been viewed as sinister or evil entities, and seeing a doppelganger has been considered an omen of misfortune or bad luck. However, most reports of doppelgangers today show they are not sinister or evil, and they seem to be functioning as normal humans.
Many reports of doppelgangers are likely cases of mistaken identity, but it becomes harder to accept when seen by close friends, siblings, and parents who know the person intimately. It is also difficult to believe that they would be fooled by someone who simply resembles the original person.
📹 Mystical Initiation in Ancient Greece: The Eleusinian Mysteries
A healthy level of speculation is required this time as we dive into the fascinating Eleusinian mysteries and its transformative …
I’d love to see you cover more of ancient Hellenic/Greco-Roman religion(s) and others from antiquity. Especially as it continuously evolved and developed new forms of practice & belief like the Mysteries of Isis or the emergence of Theurgist philosopher-priests like Iamblichus during late Antiquity (or maybe even how myths where interpreted as theological/philosophical allegories). Awhile ago I read a very interesting book called Hellenism in Late Antiquity by GW Bowersock that detailed the endurance and transformation of Greco-Roman religion (and Hellenized religion in the Roman world in general, which is too often assumed to have just immediately died out in the 4th Century) that doesn’t really get discussed often.
Thank you for this! My older brother had talked to me about this last spring, I am happy you covered it in detail, all of what you covered he told me about. Those aspects of ancient Greece are so fascinating, and you have it right about Plato being directly involved with mystical practices, one of the things I never heard anyone talk about but I would find when I read his works.
This, I think, is the most thorough article on the Eleusinian Mysteries I’ve yet seen. Most other documentaries on the subject make it seem like there’s absolutely no record left of the strange (to us) and curious practices that went on at the Temple of Demeter in Eleusis (or Elefsis in Modern Greek). However, you’ve clearly looked at the source material, and by “source material,” I mean the ancient writers who shared some of what they knew about the Mysteries in their texts and presented us with a clearer picture as to what they were all about. Thank you so much for this. I’d also heard that there is or was a tiny church in the vicinity of Elefsis whose parishioners, largely women, still venerate Demeter as a saint, referring to her as “Saint Demeter,” though I don’t know how true this is. I look forward to following the path that the initiates took when I finally get to Athens, as one can still more or less go the same way they did from the base of the Acropolis (an area now known as Kerameikos) all the way to the site of the Temple of Demeter in Elefsis. Awesome article!
On the subject of whether there were mind altering substances in the wine they drank, I’m not sure it would have been necessary for there to have been. When I lived in San Diego I used to run the Rock and Roll Marathon, and they would provide a free beer at the finish line and bars downtown would often offer a free beer or discounted beers to runners if you went to them after the race. After running 26 miles, something about the resource depletion makes your body suck up that alcohol like a sponge, and I was always catching a ride home completely blasted after three or four beers. I feel like if you took a bunch of people who were starved, exhausted, and in an environment that primed them for intense spiritual experiences, and then gave them just one large glass of strong wine, that might be enough in itself to put them in a receptive state to have all sorts of crazy experiences by itself. That also got me thinking about the secrecy of the cult, and I wonder if it’s purpose is to preserve the experience for new initiates. When I was in boot camp, our “final exam” was something called “battle stations”, where we ran through a bunch of intense simulated scenarios after being forced to stay awake for about 36 hours. There was a strict rule that no one who had been through battle stations was allowed to discuss the details of it with people who hadn’t been through it, because they wanted to test people’s ability to respond to unanticipated situations while in a state of extreme exhaustion and stress.
Psychedelics are great, one time I was trippin on too much acid and I was staring at a fire pit and the fire pit turned into a mini world with little people and buildings, it was 2 years ago and it’s such an experience to remember. would love to try out the magic mushrooms next, just don’t know where to get them, so hard to come by
Beforehand, I would like to let you know that I admire your website in light of its elucidation of various aspects of antiquity vis-a-vis its multitude of cults and myths. As for the crux of my entry (hoping that you do not object to its contents), I noticed an important minor detail that was omitted within your assertion that Hades “forced” Persephone (Roman Presepina) “to spend months each year” in the “underworld.” The crucial detail was the method of Hades’ deception, whereby he insisted that the maiden goddess consume 4 Pomegranate seeds before she left for home. At any rate, because Persephone consumed such seeds (which some scholars consider a metaphor for Hades’ semen), she unknowingly committed herself to spend 1 month a year in the “House of Hades” for EACH Pomegranate seed she had ingested, thereby representing the mythological genesis of winters (4 months). In this connection, I strongly suggest you consider accessing the book “The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name” by Brian C. Muraresku. Cheers and Bravo! :washhands: P.S. According to various sources (especially the recommended work posted above), consumption of hallucinogenic drugs involved in the Eleusinian Mysteries appears to have been paramount – thus, a crucial factor of the “Telesterion Stage” of these sacred rituals (since the liquid ingested after fasting consisted of barley/wine tainted with such drugs).
Wow what a fascinating topic to cover really looking forward to perusal this series unfold. I loved your comment referencing how too often we look back on the past from todays view point. So true, even in modern times this plays out whereby again we place today’s morals/ethics/standards on things from say 40/50 years ago let alone 1000’s of years.
I’ve been perusal a lot of the website Esoterica. Dr Sledge makes this point a lot. That our modern distinction between science, philosophy, mysticism and religion doesn’t apply when discussing the beliefs and practices of the ancients. Even the relatively recent Isaac Newton was simultaneously a polymath, scientist and occultist.
This ancient ceremony, this acceptance into charged privileged ionics and dual opposite charges, can never be again in this world of our creation. What lies between, that which connected us with ‘It’, is, and has corrupted, thee organic links, since the coming of industrial mechanisms and thinking. Only the absence of violent vibrations such as industry, will we ever connect again.
True, today esp in the West we tend to rationalize all trends of ancient Greek philosophy. Important misunderstandings rise as a result. While Aristotle was truly focused on logic and method, Plato in his dialogues conveys a lot of Orphism and Pythagoreanism. Philosophy back then was not always an ”intellectual” (as we comprehend the term today) pursuit, but a life-altering and lifelong journey, leading to a Sophia (Wisdom) that surpassed this world. As Plato has it, ”those who truly philosophize, study death and dying”, meaning that the aim of philosophy was to help one go beyond the phenomena and enter realms hidden in memory, cloaked in symbols and waitng for an awakening … You should make a article on the Greek θείοι άνδρες (divine men), the αιθεροβάτες (etherwalkers or skywalkers) and the ιατρομάντεις (seers-doctors), too. Fascinating subjects of the ancient Greek cosmos. There are so many wonderful things people do not know about the old Greek world …
I don’t know if you have experience with psychedelics, but I can tell you this. My ability to speak and think in multitudes of concepts and link them together with clarity was catalyzed by taking and speaking to psilocybin mushrooms. I have had dozens of high dose full-blown psilocybin experiences and I have drunk wine – let me tell you friend, I find it hard to believe that anything truly mystical or moving is accomplished by playing some harps and sipping wine. If the Elusinian Mysteries were performed without psychedelics, then there is probably nothing mysterious about it and was probably as dry and boring as going to sunday church.
I have read about this in a book called, The Psychedelic Gospels. It is very interesting to know that a lot of our modern day culture, politics and philosophies are inspired by the Greeks and to know that perhaps these great philosophers had experiences with psychedelics, it would be very chaotic in todays’ world, where psychedelics are prohibited.
Great information. I started reading Russell’s History and he mentions the mysteries, but not much else. The ancient gods and their cults influenced thinking of the time. I took notes and now I have a greater perspective. There’s a 3 day, Catholic-influenced, non-mandatory initiation called Cursillo. It relies on secrecy to some degree.
Was there any aspect of keeping initiates from falling asleep through the initiation? I know that sleep deprivation will DEFINITELY add to hallucinations. It’s something modern fraternities, even the army, does for making initiates more “malleable” and accepting of the new information they are being given.
The Winter/Spring cycle of someone going to and leaving the underworld as part of a “deal” with the god of the underworld, as described in the myth of the Eleusinian Mysteries, seems to be VERY similar to beliefs involving the Mesopotamian god Tammuz and how his wife the goddess Inanna/Ishtar made him take her place and go to the underworld every winter and how people would “mourn” him every year followed by the Akitu festival of the Spring Equinox. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Greek mystery cult got its idea from that one
I wonder to what degree-if any-the Eleusinian Mysteries are a vestige of Mycenaean religion. They seem to have placed a comparable primary emphasis on Demeter and Persephone as the consorts of the then-pantheon head Poseidon, as the Earthshaker, in much more cthonic amid an overall death-and-rebirth mythos.
The Eleusinian Mysteries were ancient even for ancient Greeks. No one knows when they started. People like of Plato and almost all ancient Greeks and some very important Romans, had participated and fully support the truth of the extraordinary experience. These people have a reliability that makes me think I can not question what they say. One more thing, Demetra = Δήμητρα = Γη μήτηρ = mother Earth.
It is certainly not a definite fact, but I think anyone who has embraced the tutelage of plant medicine even exploratively can attest to the overwhelming similarity. It’s true that altered states of consciousness can be pretty easily achieved without drugs, but what we’re discussing here is orders of magnitude more intense than trance or endogenous ceremony. It’s hard to really put into words how much 5 grams of dried psilocybin umbrellas on an empty stomach does to you, especially in a ritualistic context where themes of life and death are the clear ideological stakes. To someone who has never come within an inch of their life, undergoing a near-death experience or an otherwise out-of-body transition down the river Styx and through the mouth of Hades and into the radiant embrace of Demeter, it must seem like frilly prose or clever symbolism. I assure you that a brush with death is not undeserving of such artistic license. If this ritual were so impactful, so universally and unfailingly intense as to bear rapport with the majority of adult Athenians for well over half a millennium, I humbly suggest that dactylic verse and charismatic aulete alone are insufficient to explain such tremendous power. Though the pageantry took place in a group ritual wherein purely psychosomatic explanations gain credence, remember that words and ideas alone are like shadows dancing along cave walls compared to visceral, bodily experience, an awareness Plato surely had in mind when he wrote the Republic.
Its interesting how the sharp delineation between philosophy and religion plays out in the historiography of ancient Greece.This delineation, which has existed in the west since at least the 18th century, has created a false division between the ‘rational’ philosophers and the religious. Mediaeval thinkers were embarrassed that the ancient thinkers were unapologetic polytheists, modern thinkers embarrassed that their philosophical hero’s from the ancient world took any religion seriously. This delineation has not existed in most civilisations, except to the point where they have been influenced by western culture.
I went to a Pentacostal Revival (I’m not a Pentacostal) high as could be on opiates; the rhythmic repetitive music (the song “I won’t go back” in double time for 15 minutes straight during a period of group reflective prayer from a live band), emotionally driven preaching, feverishly intense (verbal and non-verbal) prayer, anointings with oil, the laying of hands, and the visible acts of being “overcome with spirit” are very impactful in that state as long as you approach it without judgement or an overly analytical mindset. I understand the “getting in an altered state of mind” rituals to enhance the experience, I’ve also been while sober and it’s still very moving.
The ancient religions/mystery schools were about saving your own soul through spiritual practice and knowledge which was handed down from “the gods”. This is knowledge of the soul, how to empower it and work on it ie awakening energies and empowering them, getting to a higher level and abilities. The main goal was opening chakras, empowering them and awakening kundalini and raising it up the spine. This is when one reaches enlightenment and a much higher consciousness, ability, level etc. ie purification through fire. The kundalini is very hot and burns impurities out of the chakras upon ascending up the spine, the 33rd vertebrates.
Things done, shown and said… There is a logic to this which corresponds to our dealings with reality in the right order: first, we come into contact with reality, physically, through our senses, reality hits us, and these are things done, and experienced, whatever happens; then we can start observing them, tracking them, taking account of them, and these are things shown to us; finally, we need to interpret things, where there was an unfolding, a story to them that needs be expressed, told, so we can always recount it to ourselves, through memory, for as long as we live. From explanations in this article and Wikipedia it seems that the whole thing, Lesser and Greater Mysteries, was packed full of sense, meanings, and symbolism, which would help make their going through, an overwhelming experience even without subjection to anything physically mind-altering (e.g. long walk, fasting, alcool, ergot). I would guess that people being initiated would follow a certain path inside the Telesterion, possibly through different halls or rooms, each designed to experience various things, with a certain nature, contrast, and order, consistent with the mythological narrative (e.g. darkness and light; pain, horror, and death versus pleasure, delight and rebirth/life; going down/sinking into Hades and going back up, out of Hades).
The purpose was to cause the state of Enlightenment. The Gods were symbolic for subtle states and aspects of mind and the “transformation” was achieving an experience of one’s higher mind beyond one’s individual ego. Dying and being reborn is an allegory for this transcendence. There is, in fact, an entire accounting and praxis of the essential process available currently to those who sincerely seek it. That is, the experience is beyond the mind of concepts and that experience is only maintained in silence and hence the prohibition against speaking about it. The various mystical traditions around the world all seek the same essential result, from Sufism to Tibetan Buddhism to Shamanism etc. all have the same goal of the experience of Unity. However, each of those traditions are culturally based in other than Western Culture. The Arica School is the present incarnation of Western mysticism and in fact is deeply profound and logical Philosophy in the same manner as Plato. Hence, it is possible for one to directly experience the same result as the ancient Greeks sought but that requires a sincere desire to do so.
In regards to the fasting.. you’ll find this is common in most mystery religions..I personally follow the Norse path and we use the havamal.. you must understand that in the mysteries YOU are main character..YOU are Odin hanging on the tree.. or Jesus on the cross or persephone.. the reason it is done is this. We are body mind and soul yet in truth we are not out body or our mind.. we are the spirit within but we identify with our minds and bodies so we have to discover by direct experience this to truly KNOW this and the purpose of all mystery religions is to know thyself.. not faith but Gnosis. In my path we do as Odin did and fast for 9 days..9 us sacred to us and on the 9th day there is a ritual that is designed almost like a battle between the body and mind and the spirit and when you go through this process you conquer the body..it’s very hard to explain its something you have to experience yourself .. and this is only the first part.. the greater mysteries the mind is another story entirely.. namaste 🙏
Such interesting articles! I have a question, that is probably unanswerable… why is it that in ancient times, most civilizations were polytheistic but later became monotheistic? It seems to be a pattern in world history, among cultures that were not interacting. I know people like Joseph Campbell write on this but I disagree with his views, although they are interesting. Thank you.. 🙂
Thank you for your wonderful content, Filip. Your work has inspired much of what I do on my own website. I’m struggling to grow, and that’s really frustrating, but I think I’ll be able to be successful someday. I’m disabled so YouTube may be one of my only potential sources of income. Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated.
love ❤️ this episode. Ah God the beautiful initiations into the mysteries does indeed change your life. All modern/old philosophical and mystical societies have some diluted version of what you have explained. secrets are kept in the safe repository of the hearts, lives are changed forever, you are born again from death!
the word for “wine” is “Pharmakon” where we get the word Pharmacy which is to say that the “wine” they speak of isnt “wine” like today at all. it was a potion, Barley, water and mint. a small bit of research would hve lead you to the door of Albert Huffman who discovered Ergot(on barley)in 1938, an entheogen which contains LSD. the mint was to aid in nausea.
One might say that, in the interest of mass profit, we were blocked from another wave of Mystical Initiation during the 60’s and 70’s. I often wonder what might have been if even 30% of the population went down this path. Many of us from that time were affected for the rest of our lives and have not pursued so much of the material life.
In Pero there is a mystical experience tour that they take the group of participants to top of a mountain and give them a traditional soup to drink that contains mescalin a powerfull drug similar to LSD this happens under carefull guidance of the tour runners. People have participated in this spritually seromony say that thier view to life has been changed dramatically for ever!
A lot of people simply dont understand that a lot of this stuff isn’t literal, not to be taken face value. It means something deeper; something spiritual. They’re spiritual schools, mystery schools. They kept stuff secret and wrote in code. Someone who has sufficient knowledge on spirituality/occultjsm can understand those allegories to a degree, more or less depending on how much knowledge they have, how developed they are etc. the legends of the gods were allegories, a lot of them.
Adding onto my previous 2 comments, I think in ancient times when such a thing was more common vs now days where your average person knows nothing about the chakra system nor kundalini, how to awaken such and practice awakening and empowering such and humans haven’t practiced that for a very long time so such centers are dormant now. I think back then your initiate would be someone who got in touch with the kundalini and is now ready to be an initiate and join the mystery school vs now where someone who awakens kundalini and is working on raising it would be considered an adept amongst many occult sects etc.
I’m not schocked about rituals and or in context of control measures…We have cirumsision…and of course there is extended lashing in some Mourning’s of that expression which may draw blood or thrust in ashurah….leans of course closer to Iranian back ground culture but with in range of whole of Islam. as each Muslim countries have various tendency’s but I would not say it discredits as a “cult”
I use to consider myself a very spiritual person and after losing my faith in the mystical I there was a period of sort of arrogance about being freed from strange superstitious stuff but as time has passed I find myself returning to mystical stuff more open minded. It pretty much seems to be a part of being human to have some kind of mystical beliefs and without it I’m feeling like I’m missing out on that part of being human. I’d like to get it back but to get it back seems like I’m expected to return to The Matrix all while knowing it’s just an illusion.
This is such a well-done article! Yes, rationalists love to under-emphasize the role of the Divine in Greek life, preferring to think of them as junior versions of today’s atheist scientific elite. Yet it is the so-called elites who are childlike in an overly simplistic, reductionist sense. Christianity ushered in our current predicament of mass spiritual illiteracy. The reason so many people partook in the Eleusinian mysteries is because they actually worked to connect participants to the gods, unlike the mediocre, phone-it-in Sunday activities at a bazillion Christian churches every week. Yet the choice is not between A. no god at all and B. a single terrifying, elusive/abusive Father. There is a third choice you’ve gently touched upon here in the form of the ancient Mysteries.
Very nice summary thank you. Interesting to consider the social impact of mass ‘near death’ initiations in terms of an attempt to inoculate a culture against death anxiety en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_management_theory Re the suggested psychoactive component of the kykeon, there’s some recent data from a shrine to Demeter in Mas Castellar, Spain which could be taken to support Ruck/Wasson/Hofmann’s conjecture that the potion contained lysergamides.
“Before the beginning there was void. Nothing. No flesh. No rock. No air. No heat. No light. No dark. Nothing, save a single, perfect pearl. Within that pearl dreamed a mighty, unfathomable spirit—the One— Anu. Made of shining diamond. Anu was the sum of all things: good and evil, light and dark, physical and mystical, joy and sadness—all reflected across the crystalline facets of its form. And, within its eternal dream-state, Anu considered itself—all of its myriad facets. Seeking a state of total purity and perfection, Anu cast all evil from itself. All dissonance was gone. But what of the cast-off aspect of its being? The dark parts, the sharp, searing aspects of hate and pridefulness? Those could not remain in a state of separation, for all things are drawn to all things. All parts are drawn to the whole. Those discordant parts assembled into the Beast-the Dragon. Tathamet was his name-and he breathed unending death and darkness from his seven devouring heads. The Dragon was solely composed of Anu’s cast-off aspects. The end sum of the whole became a singular Evil- the Prime Evil, from which all the vileness would eventually spread throughout existence. Though separate beings, Anu and the Dragon were bound together within the Pearl’s shadowed womb. There they warred against each other in an unending clash of light and shadow for ages uncounted. The diamond warrior and the seven-headed dragon proved to be the equal of the other, neither ever gaining the upper hand in their fierce and unending combat-till at last, their energies nearly spent after countless millennia of battle, the two combatants delivered their final blows.
“Discovery of fragments of ergot (fungi containing LSD-like psychedelic alkaloids) in a temple dedicated to the two Eleusinian goddesses excavated at the Mas Castellar site (Girona, Spain) provided some possible support for this theory. Ergot fragments were found inside a vase and within the dental calculus of a 25-year-old man, providing evidence of ergot being consumed (Juan-Stresserras, 2002)”
There are Jewish writings about a Rabbi, on the challenging of the Roman Emperor, ɨnfiltɾating a structure called “The House of the Sages of Athens”. They seemed to be engaged in philosophy, but at the same time, kept a secretive lid on the occurrences there. It also seemed to be somewhat far from Athens proper. Could this be a reference to the use of the Telesterion as a more mystically-oriented version of Plato’s Academy or Aristotle’s Lycia, by the leaders of the Eleusinians, when the festival was not being celebrated?? Some commentators even claim the whole story is a metaphor- which would take down the need to claim a use of the Telestarion preserved only in Jewish sources, but since the same commentators note that the existence of “The House of the Sages of Athens” was based on some truth, could it be a metaphorical stand-in for some kind of interaction between the Telestarion and the Academy and/or Lycia?
In ancient times, the whole reason for religion/spiritual schools was to enlighten people that humanity had a soul and with sacred knowledge that was passed down to man, we can ascend through practice of that knowledge, to higher levels of consciousness, ability etc. and become a spiritually perfected and enlightened being. You know like how it basically describes Jesus in the Bible as thats what the story of Jesus is an allegory for. Raising the kundalini up the 33rd vertebrates which makes one ascend to a much higher level. Hence died and reborn. There were 20+ legends before Jesus that existed in ancient cultures that describe the exact same thing. It was code for you can save your own soul through these practices and raising the kundalini up the spine through the chakras etc as opposed to Christianity where they want people to believe it’s a literal story, not work on yourself spiritually but put your faith in a man to save you from death instead of trying to ascend to a higher level so you can get out of the cycle of reincarnation and ascend to what’s known as the godhead. The gods taught man that man has a soul and with the right practices man can ascend to a level just like they did. They were immortal and perfected beings who ascended. Not necessarily “gods”. Just beings that look like humans except much much more advanced in every way as they learned their true nature, how to develop it and master it, perfect it. And then created man and gave him the knowledge. Without the knowledge, we’re just like animals basically.
this is 1000% relatable to any psychedelic experience using sacred plants or medicines … the prohibition of mind expanding practices still exists today…and is frowned upon through taboo culture. However incredible the stories of psychedelic spiked wine and travels to a mysterious land to ritual of mind expanding proportions are very real and I highly recommend the book the immortality key awesome book!!
The BookofHenok {Enoch} (Chapter 16) 1 From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement -thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgement in which the age shall be 2 consummated, over the Watchers and the godless, yea, shall be wholly consummated.” And now as to the watchers who have sent thee to intercede for them, who had been aforetime in heaven, (say 3 to them): “You have been in heaven, but all the mysteries had not yet been revealed to you, and you knew worthless ones, and these in the hardness of your hearts you have made known to the women, and through these mysteries women and men work much evil on earth.” 4 Say to them therefore: ” You have no peace.”‘
alternate states of conscienousness theory is a western construct and interpretation of this event that is pre christian in is deliberation, venerance and holiness… but most authors are caught up with the enlightenment ideology and who want to take greek culture from the greeks themselves, like the water, sun, air they want to own today
Great article. Book recommendation for anyone who loves this subject matter: “Man Being Volume 1: The Transmission”. Covers everything from time travel, extraterrestrials, psychedelics, Vatican archives, Jesus, the afterlife, the Renaissance, Lemuria, the Pyramids, etc. Wild read. Best I’ve had in years.
And why is mysticism is contrary to knowledge in the first place. Self proclaimed “rationalists” approache science as if it was a religion in a fanatical way so I don’t see why you discredit those people just because they had religious tendencies. Mysticism meditation and other similar practices can lead to knowledge not scientific but philosophical knowledge and religious also as a catholic I deeply belive in this from experience.
If I may:. The point of any legit spiritual practice is not to alter one’s consciousness, though it may seem that way, but it is to progressively realize that the conventional “knowledge” of the self and world is, in fact, the penultimate alteration of the natural state of Being. I’m not sure when the trope “altered states” first gained cultural currency, but that notion is way beyond the point. It’s more of a disintegration of the world as the egoic-self would have it. Who could understand that coming out of the ‘normal’ and imposed state of normalcy. So the Mystery schools were keen on protection from spiritual gadflies and those who use the sacred as a badge worn by an inflated ego (I know, ego is a term that waited mellinia to come into use) the notion of ego inflation was well known even back then, however. Ok,. That’s what I got for you right now.
Hehe, sounds exactly like an ayahuasca retreat, among other initiation techniques … they go thru an ego death and rebirth. Psychedelics are necessary .. it serves as a cheat-code fast track to enlightenment. Otherwise it would take frigging forever for humans to achieve self realization 🙄 it should become a mandatory passage to qualify as a politician 😬
WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT BEING A HINDU? By Francois Gautier. Diversity in Divinity and Unity in Spirituality. Be Your Own Messiah. 1) Believe in God ! – Aastik – Accepted 2) Don’t believe in God ! – You’re accepted as Nastik 3) You want to worship idols – please go ahead. You are a murti pujak. 4) You dont want to worship idols – no problem. You can focus on Nirguna Brahman. 5) You want to criticise something in our religion. Come forward. We are logical. Nyaya, Tarka etc. are core Hindu schools. 6) You want to accept beliefs as it is. Most welcome. Please go ahead with it. 7) You want to start your journey by reading Bhagvad Gita – Sure ! 8) You want to start your journey by reading Upanishads – Go ahead. 9) You want to start your journey by reading Purana – Be my guest. 10) You just don’t like reading Puranas or other books. No problem my dear. Go by Bhakti tradition . ( bhakti- devotion) 11) You don’t like idea of Bhakti ! No problem. Do your Karma. Be a karmayogi. 12) You want to enjoy life. Very good. No problem at all. This is Charvaka Philosophy. 13) You want to abstain from all the enjoyment of life & find God – jai ho ! Be a Sadhu, an ascetic ! 14) You don’t like the concept of God. You believe in Nature only – Welcome. (Trees are our friends and Prakriti or nature is worthy of worship). 15) You believe in one God or Supreme Energy. Superb! Follow Advaita philosophy 16) You want a Guru. Go ahead. Receive gyaan. 17) You don’t want a Guru.. Help yourself ! Meditate, Study !
“Demeter and Persephone” were pagan “goddesses” who were not in fact goddesses at all and these rituals were participated in by females only. That’s how “enlightened” they were. Was Dionysus or the Maenads mentioned in this festival? That story of Demeter and Hades is exactly the same as the Mesopotamian story of Ishtar and her sister whats-her-name, who lives in the inderworld.
Beg pardon? Plato, a great thinker? To me, he’s more of an ancient philosophy equivalent of what August Derleth has been to horror fiction : a student, who preserved the works of the Master (Socrates) for later generation, but who had not understood even the basics o the Master’s thoughts, and whose own writing (often using the Master’s tropes and reputation) showed that amly, by their utter mediocrity. Socrates was the Genius, not Plato.
Interesting. I know I’ve heard/read about the ancient concept of ‘born again’ before that predated monotheism. But then one cannot tell this to average believers. I spoke with a car mechanic the other day who had never heard of Martin Luther or the reformation, or so he said. He was raised Catholic. I took no religious studies classes in college. I wish I had. They might have cleared up a lot of things that I thought at the time and have since proved basically correct. The only history class I took was ‘western civ’ as we called it, back in the 80s. Don’t know if they still have such. But in reality history, it’s causes and effects, should be taught at all grade levels in the govt. and private schools and the universities so they are prepared to take on the personal responsibility we are all born with in this representative republic. We exist in a time when we allow mal-educated morons to vote and the bronze/iron age religions were created when they still had Caesars, nobles, chattel slavery and on and on. But one cannot tell the average dumbass what this means especially when they encourage others to ‘vote the bible’ or whatever version, sub-version or subversion they lay claim to or make the pretense of following. Most of them are so blind to history they cannot discern that globalist Marxism is destroying their alleged religions and stealing their children’s minds. But then this has been going on for multiple generations and the religions themselves, like the schools, were created to breed blind believers, willing slaves and to keep them working.
Very nice article! Well done 👏🏻 Also, you mentioned the Hellenic world. Our country is called Hellas not Greece. This is a mistake that established during the Roman era. Allow me to correct some pronunciation mistakes that all English speakers are making because they are all learning Hellenic with the Erasmian pronunciation which is a disgrace for our language! No one ever were speaking Hellenic like this. This pronunciation was established by a Dutch scholar which created his own way of pronunciation for our language! In other words he wrote our language of who he wanted to pronounce our words… Anyway, I’ll try to write phonetically the correct Hellenic pronunciation! 3:39 Ελευσίνια μυστήρια / Eleusinian Mysteries This is a bit hard because non natives cannot predict this idiomatic pronunciation rule! You see those two vowels together: ε υ Normally those two are pronounced ε=e as in yes, and υ=i as in this. BUT in this particular world they have another pronunciation. In Hellenic each letter makes one sound so it’s each to match the English letter with the Hellenic in the word. Ε λ ε υ σ ί ν ι α Μ υ σ τ ή ρ ι α E l e f s í n i a m i s t í r i a The correct pronunciation is: Elefsínia mysteries and the city near Athens is called Elefsís/Elefsína. * Some times the letter υ might be pronounced as f or v when it comes after a vowel * 8:56 Μύσται Μύσται isn’t pronounced moo-stai. υ makes an i sound as in think for example. It’s not the English u as the n full! αι is a diphthong.
The Greeks generally called the wine, “pharmakon”. kykeon was the Eleusinian brew but it seems to have been more of a beer than a wine according to its basic ingredients. I’m suspicious about the psychoactive ingredient being a Datura because one of the effects of Scopolamine containing plants is amnesia, and from the sources we have the initiated could fully remember the experience. Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered LSD-25 was convinced the ingredient was ergot, a fungus which grows on wheat, a smut actually. Ergot contains many alkaloids, some quite dangerous because they are vasoconstrictors, think of your toes, fingers, nose and ears falling off, and another is LSA, a natural cousin of LSD. Hofmann hypothesized that the priests/ priestesses of Eleusis knew that boiling the ergot would cause the vasoconstrictor alkaloids to float to the surface of the brew as an oil thus allowing them to skim it off leaving the water soluble LSA in the brew. Demeter is the Goddess of wheat after all. Albert Hofmann, Gordon Wasson and Carl Ruck wrote a book called, “The road too Eleusis: unveiling the secret of the Mysteries” in 1978 about it. The academics of the time were suffering from the political fallout of the time, think Tim Leary and Nixon’s war on drugs, and dismissed the book. This was unfortunate because a great amount of insight, investigation and work went into the creation of this book by some exceptional minds. Anyway, as already mentioned a bunch of times in this comment thread, Brian Muraresku decided to dive back into this hypotheses that the Kykeon was a psychedelic brew.
Love this topic, fascinating. Christianity has many beautiful and sweet things to offer humanity.. but how far the Christians may or may not have set back humanity is nothing to be ignored. We were onto something before we became distracted by the Christian narrative, and forgot all of the other narratives that also describe the situation. Our psychology suffered for it, I think. But again, nothing wrong with the Christian narrative – in fact, to ignore it is to ignore a part of yourself and our evolution. But to only focus on that narrative.. what a sin. I hope the plants will still share their wisdom with us, and may they help us awake once again.
Plato gives us an insight into the secret wisdom of Egypt,wisdom that was a death sentence in Greece, Rome (Christianity)..Pythagoras, Socrates and later Hypatia of Alexandria. Plato in his dialogue “The Republic ” tells a story ” The Cave “. Plato starts the story by telling us of prisoners being held in a underground den, let us examine the cave via the geometry of Bernhard Riemann, Felix Klein..Klein bottle 3rd and 4th dimensions. Plato then tells us that the prisoners are bound up unable to move their heads, let us examine this bondage via the psychology of Erich Fromm ” socialisation of consciousness “aware-unaware. Plato then tells us that the prisoners mistake shadows for substance, let us examine this mistake via the works of Thales, Hume, Kant ” synthetic a priori judgement ” not the thing in itself ” Plato then tells us that one of the prisoners is released, let us examine this release via the works of T Lobsang Rampa ” stilling the mind, and consciousness astral travel “. Personal experience is the way.
I view anything with in Islam in mystical terms always trough lens of Qur’an…helps me sift and separate best from what is pious and God consciousness…in those eras of enlightened individuals …such as Abrimhim p b u h …of course with in Abrihamic Faith’s in its original form is actually Islam….and in other religions I can recognize the Prophets brought to there own people’s p b u h them all …but I can also recognize were idol worship is introduced and many Prophets becoming “God”heads….
scholars of early Christianity sometimes said that Christianity was considered as one more “mystery cult” or “mystery religion.” the BIG difference of course was that there was nothing SECRET about its rites and rituals. It also was a socially more inclusive group. it is wrong to think that Christianity displaced the MANY mystery cults, including the Eleusinian one, by the exercise of brute power. Christianity became the imperial religion ONLY in the 380s or 390s with Theodosius, not with Constantine who simply legalized it. The empire, at the time of Constantine, could NO LONGER PERSECUTE Christians because they were now to be found in all levels of society and to persecute them was to endanger the empire itself. Thus Constantine’s political interest in Christianity to serve as adhesive tape to keep the empire together. But one must also consider that, in fact, Christianity proved to be both simpler and more sophisticated than the mystery cults, the reason that it appealed to all social groups across the empire. in any case, there was no one mystery cult. there were many. in this they were like the many Indian religions which came to coalesce around the term “Hinduism.”
Persephone picked crocus flowers, sacred to Hades. She essentially “knocked on his front door”; he did not abduct her. Men proposed marriage by offering a woman a pomegranate, like nowadays how men kneel and hold up a ring.. Hades did NOT trick Persephone into marrying him, she accepted his marriage proposal. These are misinterpreted by northern Europeans (mainly British) who were not familiar with the details of Greek life, who didn’t know what crocus were or what a pomegranate’s offering meant.
India a peaceful enviorment for stress on theory of rebirth nothing going away seek truth like sunlight. Pandavas meet Kauravas after life bhisma parva wao how ar you here this was only drama.shekspetre inspirred wrote.. the line Wrld is stage inspired by Gita kutattva kashmal mindam concerns cater to polity.
Filip speaks from books. He seems to have had not enough experience of day to day life. And if he has not had a mystical experience he cannot properly comment on people such as Plato. He is a great lecturer but his talks are like a glass of wine without alcohol. Take off your T shirt sometimes Filip, and wear the outfit of a runner. Get to know the body.
It’s bizarre to read all the druggies here extol the virtues of drugs. If anything, the fact drugs were involved at all in these “mysteries” means there was NO mystery at all. These “rituals” were just early versions of potheads tripping at a festival, with the experience being nothing more than an acid trip.
Most of those old philosophers were as full of shit as the day is long. The mystery of God was only beginning to be revealed when Jesus came to earth as a man. Since then he has revealed more, but to this day is it mostly hidden with the prophets who are also hidden. They will be revealed in the end time (which will be soon no doubt), and so will the mysteries of God.
All the mystery about these mystery schools is easy to resolve by a change in context. (In other words, stop “projecting”.) There has been much debate about exactly what Plato was attempting to describe in in Allegory of the Cave, but he offered a vital clue in his Protagoras dialogue where he has Protagoras describe his fellow Sophists this way: “Now the art of the Sophist is, as I believe, of great antiquity; but in ancient times those who practiced it, fearing this odium, veiled and disguised themselves under various names, some under that of poets, as Homer, Hesiod, and Simonides, some, of hierophants and prophets, as Orpheus and Musaeus, and some, as I observe, even under the name of gymnastic‐masters, like Iccus of Tarentum, or the more recently celebrated Herodicus, now of Selymbria and formerly of Megara, who is a first‐rate Sophist. Your own Agathocles pretended to be a musician, but was really an eminent Sophist; also Pythocleides the Cean; and there were many others; and all of them, as I was saying, adopted these arts as veils or disguises because they were afraid of the odium which they would incur.” How does a person “pretend” to be a musician or disguise themselves as a “gymnastic-master”? Although Protagoras admitted to being a Sophist, Socrates describes him this way in Plato’s Theaetetus: “In the name of the Graces, what an almighty wise man Protagoras must have been! He spoke these things in a parable to the common herd, like you and me, but told the truth, his Truth, in secret to his own disciples.
These rites are the remnant of the spiritual practices that were prevalent before the rise of anti hero gods or demons known as Yahweh, Zeus, Baal etc and their dogmas. These rites were centred upon the great mother Goddess in her various guises as Persephone, Isis Cybele, Demeter, Agdistis, Medusa, Kalypso, Hekate,Eve etc, she is the wisdom serpent Goddess, her star being Sirius. Her periodic returns relate to the seasons of the great year, being the crossing between ages of light and dark as the ying/yang predicts. The pomegranate seeds are metaphorically her sages/magi who return with her, they are also known as the elect and the seed of Seth or children of the vine.
Good ole Christianity no doubt had to destroy the Mysteries. Some of their many acts of cultural terrorism which continues to this day. Albeit Christianity is at its weakest point and history and is very near to becoming a dead institution. Let the Mysteries return to this decadent age give us back the spiritual vigor which is our Birthright. The Nazarene Chokehold has been lifted. Agios Dionysus
“Wacky stuff?” That doesn’t indicate scientific neutrality on your part, Mr. Narrator. There is a lot more evidence than you shared. Or perhaps you’re not an especially thorough researcher? John Lamb Lash and Graham Hancock both offer more evidence in their thoroughly researched works rhan you have. Scant resoect for scant evidence.