dictionary v

New Age Dictionary V

Motif in stories throughout North and South America, Siberia, Northern Russia, and Greenland. Certain women are depicted as having the teeth of a rattlesnake or some other serpent set in their vaginas. They kill men who would have intercourse with them. As a result, these women may collect the deceased men's hunting equipment, but often these women are able to hunt with their toothed vaginas. A culture hero, sometimes acting the role of a young husband, is often involved in breaking and wearing down the vaginal teeth with a wedge or stone penis, so that intercourse does not end in death.
Vairagya: (Sanskrit): Dispassion; the power of renunciation by which a yogi is able to pursue the true rather than the false, the eternal rather than the ephemeral.
Vaisheshika:: One of the schools (systems) of Indian philosophy
Vaishnavism:: The system of Hindu beliefs and practices that honor Vishnu/Krishna as Supreme God; probably the most widely followed kind of Hinduism. Bhakti yoga is the primary practice of this religion, the final reward of which is eternal communion with God. The most famous of this god's many names are Vishnu, Narayana, Hari, Bhagavan, Krishna, and Rama; hence the usage Vishnu/Krishna. Vaishnavism's ancient name, Bhagavata ("followers of the Blessed Lord, i.e., Bhagavan"), may clarify its beginnings, for it makes a connection with the movement's two most important literary works: the Bhagavad Gita (first put in print ca. 150 BC) and the Bhagavata Purana (Shrimad Bhagavatam, ca. 850-900). Though the tradition began earlier, two things became clear by about 200 BC: the Bhagavatas related to their god, Krishna, by devotion and accepted the Vedas and Upanishads, the scriptures of Brahmanic Hindu religion. In this process the Brahmanic deities Vishnu and Narayana became identified with Bhagavan Krishna. Thereafter, Krishna has been viewed as an incarnation (avatara) of the Supreme God Vishnu (by South Indian Vaishnavas), and Vishnu has been viewed as a subordinate form of the Supreme God Krishna (by North Indian Vaishnavas). The Bhagavad Gita is the earliest full statement of the Bhagavata synthesis. Krishna teaches a path of salvation: desire-free performance of one's born duty should be combined with the meditative wisdom of the Upanishads, suffused by and culminating in loving devotion to Krishna.
Vaishnava: (Sanskrit): A follower of the Hindu god Vishnu
Vajra: (Sanskrit): One of the channels in the astral spine
Vakrasana: (Sanskrit): The curved posture
Valentinus:(100-180): Alexandrian Gnostic poet and author, born in Egypt Founded a school in Rome c. 140. He composed hymns, psalms, poems, and letters, of which only fragments survive. The only known writing of his is a mystical sermon, the Gospel of Truth, which describes the search for God and salvation through the Savior who proclaims truth and brings joy and knowledge. Written for initiates, it alludes to but does not discuss fully developed doctrines, leaving it to his many pupils and followers to develop and clarify his original ideas.
Valentinianism:: A Gnostic sect derived from Valentinus, A form of Christianity that spread throughout the Roman world and continued until the seventh century. Valentinus Teaching include the idea that the responsibility for the tragedy in the divine world that gave rise to material creation is not attached to any one age. This deliberate ambiguity employed when speaking of the cosmic tragedy was eradicated by subsequent writers such as Irenaeus in his accounts of Valentinus's work. Ptolemy identified two Sophias responsible for the tragedy so as to resolve ambiguities in Valentinus's original teaching. The two schools of Valentinianism, Roman and Alexandrian, took different positions regarding Jesus' true nature. The former asserted that Jesus was united to the Holy Spirit at baptism while the latter held that he was conceived and born spiritually. Valentinians believed themselves to be pneumatics (spiritual ones). The psychics were ordinary Christians who could rise to the pneumatic level or descend to the lowest level of material existence. Valentinians were also known for their allegorical method of explaining Scripture (Ptolemy wrote to Flora to explain the Hebrew Law; Herakleon wrote the earliest commentary on the Fourth Gospel). This respected and ancient mode of textual exposition emerged subsequently in the Christian school of Alexandrian exegesis. In Valentinian understanding, the authority for this method was the apostle Paul, who employed this technique in his letters.
Valhalla:: In Norse mythology, the banquet hall where the principal god, Odin, played host to the Einherjar, the souls of warriors who had died a courageous death in battle. Valhalla was the largest building in Asgard, the heavenly home of the gods, and it constituted one of Asgard's 12 realms. There the Einherjar feasted while awaiting the final battle of the world, Ragnarok. The Einherjar were brought to Valhalla by Odin's warlike maidens, the Valkyries, who were sent out by Odin to gather the souls of heroes as they fell on the battlefields. The name Valhalla is derived from the Old Icelandic term Valholl, meaning "hall of the slain." The Norse vikings were a warrior people, and in their warrior religion, stories of Valhalla played an important role. There was no other "heaven," and warriors who did not die valiantly in battle went to the murky, miserable underworld. And unlike the Christian concept of heaven, Valhalla itself was not a place of eternal reward.
Valkyrie: (German): In Scandinavian mythology a female power of death who chooses those who are going to die on the battlefield.
Vampire:: 1) A person who, for sexual or ritual reasons, drinks the blood of others. 2) The vampire is usually believed to be a restless soul of a heretic, criminal or suicide — that refuses to join the ranks of the dead but instead leaves its burial place — in its original body or taking possession of another's corpse — and becomes a bloodsucking creature in order to continue enjoying the pleasures of the living. The belief in vampires dates back to antiquity. Ancient Mesopotamians feared that corpses not properly buried would rise from their graves and attack the living to suck their blood. Homer's Illiad tells of Odysseus traveling beyond the Gates of Hercules to the land of the dead where he pours out blood to attract them that he might gain information from them. Western notions of the vampire come primarily from Slavic folklore, especially as it was interpreted by the author Bram Stoker in his novel Dracula (1897). In some isolated regions of eastern Europe, peasants still hang wreaths of garlic over their doors — a preventive measure cited in Dracula — as protection against evil spirits, but many other aspects of Stoker's story may have been his own invention.
Vampire, Psychic: (see Psychic Vampire)
Varshaphala:: In Hindu astrology, a method of progression using solar returns
Vasanta:: The Hindu deity of Spring, also Spring itself
Vasitri:: Also known as Salvaje and Aigypan. A sasquatch-like creature from the jungles of Venezuela. It is described as a wild man-like hairy creature that, according to the local Amerindians, constructs primitive huts and crude weapons. These beings are said to be extremely dangerous and carnivorous, eating men but carrying off women for breeding purposes.
Vatayanasana: (Sanskrit): The horseface posture in yoga
Vedanta:: Vedic method of Self-Realization
Vedas:(Sanskrit, "knowledge"): 1) The four Vedas of the earliest Sanskrit hymns and verses: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda. 2) Equivalent to shruti, "revelation," comprising the Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads as the "eternal" and "unauthored" source of Hinduism.
Vedanta:: The end or culmination of the Veda, eternally revealed sacred knowledge; one of six orthodox viewpoints (darshanas) of classical Indian thought. Vedanta is the most influential traditional Hindu school of thought to the present day, especially in its nondualistic form. The term Vedanta is applied both to the Upanishads (unsystematic sacred texts investigating the ultimate nature of self and cosmos), and a later set of related systems of thought arising from Upanishadic exegesis. Vedanta is sometimes called Uttara (later) Mimamsa (exegesis) to differentiate it from Purva (earlier) Mimamsa, explanation of the ritual-oriented portions of the Veda. The three bases of Vedanta are the Upanishads (especially the oldest ones, such as the Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, and Taittiriya), the Brahmasutras summarizing Upanishadic teachings), and the Bhagavad Gita . Vedantan thinkers share certain assumptions, including the authority of the Veda, brahman as cause and substance of phenomenal appearance, the transmigration of the self due to the necessity of experiencing the fruits of one's actions (karma), and the possibility of release from the cycle of rebirth. Several schools developed within Vedanta, holding to quite different views about the nature of ultimate reality (brahman) and its relation with the individual (jiva) and real self (atman), as well as the nature of liberation from bondage to rebirth. These views, seen most clearly in their respective commentaries on the Brahmasutras, include the nondualism of Shankara (ca. eighth century), the qualified (theistic) nondualism of Ramanuja (1017-1137), and the radical dualism of Madhva (1238-1317).
Vegetarianism:: Abstaining from eating flesh (meat, fish), and by some, eggs and dairy products. Religious traditions prescribing vegetarianism include Jains, Pythagoreans, Orphics, and Manichaeans; the medieval Cathari and Bogomils; and sects of Buddhists, post-Vedic Hindus, and Taoists. Historically it is associated with beliefs in reincarnation, the unity of life, bodily purity, sexual abstinence, rejection of sacrificial cults.
Venus:: 1) The second planet from the Sun, sometimes called the 'Morning Star'. or Lucifer. 2) The Roman goddess of beauty and sensual love, identified with the Greek Aphrodite (which was less directly sexual), in some accounts said to have sprung from the foam of the sea, in others to have been the daughter of Jupiter and the nymph Dione; for the Greeks, Zeus and a Titan. Some scholars view her as a manifestation of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. Venus was married to Vulcan (Hephaestus), but had affairs with Mars (Ares) and many other gods and demigods. Cupid (Eros) was the product of one of these affairs, this time with Mercury (Hermes).
Vestal:: A virgin religious dedicated to Vesta (the Roman hearth goddess). They were responsible for maintaining Vesta's sacred fire in a sanctuary symbolic of the corporate hearth of the Roman people.
Via Dolorosa: (Latin, "sorrowful road": The route in Jerusalem traditionally believed to have been taken by Jesus from Pilate's judgment hall to the place of crucifixion.
Vicar:(Latin, "substitute"): 1) A salaried Catholic priest who administers to a parish but does not receive parish income. 2) In the Anglican Church, a common title for a parish priest.
Vinshopaka:: In Hindu astrology, a method of calculating planetary strength using the Vargas
Vinshotari:: The most popular Dasha method in use today
Viraga: (Sanskrit): Non-attachment/desirelessness
Virgin Birth:: A cluster of Christian beliefs about Mary's virginity before, during, and after Jesus' birth. She conceived him by the power of the Spirit without sexual intercourse (virginal conception); she delivered him while remaining physically intact (virgin birth); she remained a virgin forever after (perpetual virginity).
Virginity:: The quality or state of never having had sexual intercourse. sex intercourse is the insertion of a penis into a vagina. (See Hymen) By this strict definition, a virgin can engage in oral sex, can have anal sex, can masturbate self and others. If we say that only the penis in the vagina removes virginity, than all but one form of sexual activity are permitted to a virgin. Most religions take issue with this and claim that virginity is both a physical and a moral state. Biblical Usage: (1) Bethulah seems to have been the biblical term for "virgin," in the Old Testament, and was translated, "a damsel, a virgin," etc.. The King James Version and the English Revised Version frequently render bethulah by "maiden" or "maid" but the American Standard Revised Version has used "virgin" throughout, despite the awkwardness of such a phrase as "young men and virgins" (2) 'almah, rendered in the Revised Version by either "damsel", "maiden", or "virgin" with margin "maiden" The word means simply "young woman" and only the context can give it the force "virgin." (3) parthenos, the usual Greek New Testament word for "virgin" . In Revelation 14:4 the word is masculine. (4) neanis, "young woman" . (5) Latin virgo The Old Testament lays extreme emphasis on chastity before marriage. The basis for this was so that the husband could be assured that all his bride's children were truly of his seed. Almost all the sexual prohibitions in the Bible seem to be aimed at assuring the man that all his partners children were his, also.
Virtues: Positive magickal properties of objects like herbs, stones, and creatures
Vishnu:: 1) A name for the all-pervasive, supreme Reality. 2) One of the Hindu trinity of gods, representing God as the sustainer of the universe. Rama and Krishna are the best known of His incarnations.
Vision Quest:: Native American spiritual practice for opening up to the universe and perceiving a clairvoyant vision of your personal guide for the purpose of prophesy, protection and discovering your life's purpose. Traditionally a time of fasting and praying.
Visualization:: The practice of 1) Forming clear mental images often used in magick to focus and direct energy to a visualized goal. 2) Imagining a scene, a person, or an object with intense clarity. This is often done through a meditation with a written "visualization journey" which allows the practitioner to enter an imagined place to make personal discoveries. Also known as "guided imagery," It involves the attempt to bring about change in the material realm by the power of the mind.
Viveka:(Sanskrit, lit., discrimination; distinction): The faculty of discretion that enables a human being to distinguish between true and false, reality and illusion.
Vivekananda: (1863-1902): A Hindu reformer and Indian culture hero, born Narendranath Datta, who founded the Vedanta Society (New York, 1895) as well as both the Ramakrishna Mission and the Ramakrishna Order in India (1897).
Vodou:: Voodoo
Vodoun:: Voodoo
Vodun:: Voodoo
Voodoo, Vodou (African, "divine spirits"): African-Christian new religion born in Haiti, whose followers worship the "divine spirits" in life and rituals and accept possession by those spirits for healing and spiritual guidance. Originally a pejorative term --"Voodoo" is now acknowledged as the proper designation for the complex beliefs and practices among the majority of the populace of Haiti. Voodoo began as the clandestine religion of enslaved African sugar-plantation workers in Haiti in the seventeenth century, but its early history is preserved only in scattered eighteenth-century colonial records and ordinance codes. The reports of covert meetings, dances, funeral practices, and even trance possession among enslaved and freed Africans indicate that they preserved ancient traditions in the face of enormous obstacles; the development of Voodoo is itself a tribute to the spirit and stamina of those early devotees. It is rooted in the West African Yoruba, Fon, and Angolan communities, as well as in French Roman Catholicism. It has primarily continued African priestly roles, ritual themes, symbolism, and pantheons of named female spirits (especially Ezili) and male ones (Ogou, Damballah-Wedo, Legba). Voodoo theology parallels traditional medieval Christianity, for its followers acknowledge a high creator deity, Bondye (Bon dieu), but invoke the intermediary spirits for intercession in human affairs. It is only the intermediaries--identified individually with Christian saints or sacred places--who descend to "mount" their "horses," their followers, during possession rituals. Roman Catholicism provides the ritual framework for the lives of Voodoo members as well, for they not only follow its traditional liturgical calendar for scheduling pilgrimages and lesser ceremonies but also participate in the common rituals of baptism, marriage, and the Mass. Roman Catholic prayers, some still in Latin, form a significant component of some Voodoo rituals, as do other lesser aspects and ritual objects from traditional Catholic festivals. The divine spirits (loa or lwa) of Voodoo occupy separate pantheons or nations; two of these, the Rada, whose spirits are generous and benevolent, and the Petro, whose strong spirits evince terrible powers, dominate worship in urban centers. The higher powers (lemiste) are associated with natural dimensions or places, such as sacred springs or cemeteries, and are joined in the spirit world by souls of the dead and ancestral spirits (lemo) and sacred twins (lemarasa). Individual worshipers, drawn to individual spirits by necessity or similarities in personality or temperament, may choose among them for personal devotion but must not neglect those ancestors and spirits traditionally venerated in the family. Voodoo rituals range from simple devotional acts, such as the lighting of candles with accompanying prayers, to family observances for the family dead to elaborate rituals enhanced by large meals, drumming and singing, and exuberant dance. The spiritual leaders in the Voodoo community are the male hungans and female mambos; in their religious roles, they perform divination and healing rituals for individual members, as well as oversee all training and calendrical ceremonies. As elders and teachers, they guide the possession trance dances, which allow the individual divine spirits to be present among their followers, to receive worship, and to offer healing and counsel. In Haiti, rural communities continue Voodoo as a family-centered religion firmly tied to traditional agricultural life, while urban centers have interwoven a wider variety of practices, some structured and formal--including rituals of initiation, funeral rites, pilgrimage to Catholic shrines, and festivals--some less so, including not only divination, but also the making of amulets for luck and protection.

Vortex: (plural- vortices or vortexes)
A vortex is the funnel shape created by the motion of spiraling energy. Specifically, the vortexes are swirling centers of subtle energy coming out from the surface of the earth. similar to the energy spiraling from the chakras of the human body. For this reason these vortexes are often called 'the Earth's Chakras". Sedona, Arizona, is the world's best-known vortex center. While the energy is astral in nature and not electric or magnetic, it does leave a slight measurable residual magnetism in the places where it is strongest.
Voynich Manuscript:: A mysterious medieval manuscript probably written between 1350 and 1750. It is written in an unknown script and an unknown language with drawings of fantastic plants and other illustrations. It appears to be an early Rosicrucian document or perhaps something alchemical. See the manuscript in its entirety, click here (manuscript) and type the word Voynich in the search engine.

Vrikshasana: (Sanskrit): The tree posture in yoga.
Vrishithe tree posturekasana: (Sanskrit): The scorpion posture in yoga
Vritti: (Sanskrit): Fluctuation or movement of the mind; thought.
Vulgate:: The Latin translation of the Bible by Jerome in the last decades of the fourth century. Jerome translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew rather than the Greek Septuagint as had been common in earlier Latin versions. The Vulgate was confirmed as the official version of the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1545-63) and until 1943 all Roman Catholic translations were required to use it.
Vyana:: In Hindu philosphy, one of the vital airs, circulates energy all over the body