#tengeriism

[miffygrrl]

types of spirits in tengrism

(beliefs/names or terms may vary from region and/or tradition)

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spirits are a huge part of tengrism, especially in terms of nature / the ones that are in nature and shamanism. first, ill mention the land spirits. land spirits are the spirits that are spirits of mountains, bodies of water, rocks/boulders, trees, and places on earth in general. the spirit can be the personification of that particular place or simply just spirits that live at that particular place. sometimes there is conflict with them and ancestral spirits that want to live in certain places of nature that the land spirits are already living at. there are shamanistic customs that allow these ancestral spirits to live with them peacefully which involves reconciliation. there are also specifically spirits of the sky. these sky spirits live in the 4 directions; north, east, south, and west. (before these terms it was front, back, left side, right side). each direction has its own associations. sky spirits living in the east and west are associated with black shamanism and white shamanism (khar böö and tsagaan böö). western sky spirits are believed to have made humans (us!), dogs, and animals used for food and other resources. eastern sky spirits are believed to have made eagles, animals not used for food/resources/forbidden to eat, and spirits of disease and misfortune. (eastern sky spirits aren't evil as the world is a balance of good and bad and is needed to be that way for stability.) that being said, spirits of disease and misfortune generally just cause sickness, misfortune, and mental confusion/fog. you will usually go to a shaman to deal with these sorts of spirits. then there's other spirits like ancestral spirits and 'neutral' spirits. these spirits tend to be morally grey and therefore will do good or bad depending on what they want to do and what is necessary. they can also be helpers/providers for shamans, being like an "extra soul" for them. these sorts of spirits can be found in nature as well.

thank you for reading! :)

[miffygrrl]

how to make an altar in within tengrist tradition (how to set up an altar will/may vary on differing traditions)

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for inside altars: to start off, we dont use things on our altars that dont have a purpose in practice/worship. so things for aesthetic purposes shouldnt be used. although an altar cloth is fine. but things like fake plants or decorations should be kept somewhere else. make sure the place you will be setting up your altar on (preferably a table that is dedicated to the altar only) is clean and tidy. it is preferred that you keep the altar somewhere like your bedroom or the living room. what is recommended to use are offering bowls made from brass, an incense holder for offering, a candle holder for offering preferably made out of brass, candles separate from the ones you use in the holder/container as you will light these when you are interacting with spirits, and tools you use during worship like a tsatsal, khadag, etc.

a tsatsal is a type of spoon specifically used for providing liquid offerings and is usually only used when offering outside. although throwing the liquid or sprinkling the liquid with your fingers is good as well. a khadag is a long piece of fabric often made out of silk mainly used on outside altars, as offerings, and during ceremonies. they come in different colors that signify various things. for example, blue represents the sky and is the most common one used on outside altars, while white symbolizes milk and pure kindness, often given as offerings. they also are used as gifts as they generally symbolize compassion.

outside altars: we call our outside altars ovoo/oboo. the shrine is made up of a bunch of rocks/stones/boulders over time and branches which usually have khadags hanging from them. they are usually located on more higher ground. when you pass an oboo you are meant to circle the oboo 3 times clockwise to have a more safe journey. it is recommended to also add more rocks to the oboo. offerings are also given at the oboo like money, forms of sweets/pastries, vodka, different types of milk, tea, etc. in order for the oboo to be housed by spirits, a shaman must go through a ritual for spirits to be enshrined/housed there. although using it as a dedicated place to worship Tengri will suffice. although keep in mind that you dont need an oboo to worship Tengri. while there are people trained in shamanism you can find online in engrist communities that are willing to do this said ritual somehow long distance, you can still offer things to spirits. one way is providing liquid offerings to the spirits of each direction (north, east, south, west).

i hope you enjoyed reading! <3

[miffygrrl]

tsagaan sar (mongolian lunar new year) is on march 1st! heres some things you can do to celebrate. this is how i personally do it from what i grew up doing :)

wake up before sunrise and get ready along with a nice outfit. its usually traditional clothing, but putting on a pretty outfit is just fine.

make suutei tsai (mongolian milk tea) and give some to the nature/land spirits first as they are just waking up for the spring. i also offer it to Father Heaven (Tengri) and Mother Earth (Etugen). make sure to greet the spirits and deities beforehand as well.

how i personally make suutei tsai is by first boiling black tea. remove the leaves and add whole milk, 1:1 ratio. then boil once. after, add a pinch of salt or even a bit more depending on how much you made. some even add a bit of ghee, so if that seems to strike your fancy you can add that as well.

watch the sunrise. my grandmother would tell me that watching the sunrise reminds us of a new beginning for the new year and the return of spring.

clean your house. i personally like to do a deep clean of the whole house alongside removing clutter. if you live on a farm, you should clean up your farm as well.

thank the gods and the spirits. i personally like to burn herbs and dried flowers and/or light a candle or two as an offering. then i thank them for always providing me with support and blessings.

make food! it doesn't have to be traditional mongolian food, it can just be foods and dishes you enjoy. although if you do want to make traditional foods, i recommend making gambir (basically mongolian pancakes) and/or khailmag since theyre quite easy to make. you should also share the food with your loved ones as well!

set goals and acknowledge what you appreciate in life. this isn't inherently traditional but my father would make me write down such things as a way to teach me how to be grateful and ambitious.

amaar baina uu? ("are you living peacefully?", a greeting on tsagaan sar). thank you for reading!!

[celestialelf]

A Russian Fairytale. The Spirit of Genghis Khan invokes a White Wind Horse both to send his blessings to the Russian people for their Orthodox Christmas (Jan 7th) and to celebrate the Year Of The Horse ( from Jan 30th -2014). The Wind Horse thunders across the vast Asian continent, past St Basil's church in Moscow's Red Square where Mother Russia is dancing and on to the Enchanted forest where Boris Christoff sings his spiritual blessing at Nature's first temple under the heavens, a woodland glade where assembled are her wild creatures and her magical spirit beings.

Slavic fairy tales overflow with fantastical creatures such as Alkonost, Baba Yaga, Koschei the Deathless, Firebird, Zmey, also with songs and tales of legendary heroes such as Russian bogatyrs, and superstitions about various nature spirits such as the Domovoi- the home spirit and Leshky or Forest spirit. Folk celebrations of various Christian festivals are also very popular with beliefs in various saints replacing earlier myths and legends, for instance St Elijah the Thunderer, is a replacement of old thunder-god Perun. Likewise, traces of ancient deities can also be found in cults of many other saints, such as St Mary, St Vitus, St George, St Blaise and St Nicholas, and it is also obvious that various folk celebrations, such as the spring feast of Jare or Jurjevo and the summer feast of Ivanje or Ivan Kupala, both very loosely associated with Christian holidays, are abundant with pre-Christian elements. These beliefs have considerable religious and sacral significance to the people still performing them. More information on Slavic Mythology here. In this context, my amalgamation of two differing traditions is a heartfelt attempt to portray that all the spirit denizens coexist with the many faiths and respect each other in the same spiritual universe.

More details at my blog The Dance Of Life here ( http://bit.ly/1a8H3kV )