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XVII The Star
To a follower of the Zoroastrian religion, there are 3 main
parts to a person. The physical body or Tanu, the
Urvan which is the spiritual component of ones personality
which survives death and is endowed with a free will, and the
Fravashi which is a divine spark of the god Ahura Mazda.
It is the Fravashi or Arda Fravash (holy guardian
angel) which intrigued me and inspired this painting.
Everything in creation has its own Fravashi. It is the
design upon which the body is built, an archetype. The earth,
the winds, the oceans and rivers, even God the creator, Ahura
Mazda, has a Fravashi. It is indestructible,
incorruptible, and exists for all time.
When a person is to be born the Fravashi helps form the
body and internal organs. All during life the Fravashi watches
over the person and gives guidance and advice. In Death the
Urvan and the Fravashi are united.
The Fravashi is said to be seen as a star in the sky, the
brighter the star the greater the person. It is very similar to
the concept of a doppelganger, a spiritual counterpart to
ourselves who resides with God.
I
find this a beautiful way to illustrate ‘as above, so below’.
Also, every time I see a Star card the word that comes to mind
is ‘grace’. The Fravashi is given to everyone by the grace of
God.
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