The forces of the Light, the White pieces of the ancient Persian Chess game of ASHA

"Our life is as a string of beads, precious as pearls, that we should cherish and guard."

A string, when just one of the beads is missing, is broken . . .

A chain is as weak as the weakest link . . .

    HOW WAS THE STRING MADE, SO THERE COULD BE

LIFE ON EARTH ?

click on any bead, represented by an English name below, to go to the story of it :

Symbol	Name in English	Name in the Ancient (Gathic) Avestic Language
	the Creator	Ahura Mazda
	the Preserver	Spenta Mainyus, manifested by perfect male/female beings: Sraosha / Mithra
	Eternal Life	Ameretat
	Wisdom	Vohu Mana
	Creative Work (Star)	Haurvatat
	Love	Aramaiti
	Peace (Moon)	Khshatra Vairya
	Power	Asha Vahishta
	Sun (Fire)	Khorshed, Atar
	Water	Aredvi Sura Anahita
	Air	Vâyu
	Earth	Zamyad
	Food	Haoma
	Life, Perfect Health	Vanant (Havani)
	Man	Zartosht, Ashavan
	Joy	Raman Hvastra

Ainyahita figure symbolizing Mother Earth, 
the Tree of Life sprouting from her

The symbolic "Tree of Life". Observe how, in the above symbolic picture, all the symbols of the respective 16 Forces of the Kingdom of Light are located either in the air or on earth, except two. Those can be found by looking at the Tree, which symbolizes Nature , and in which the Ashavan, the Man(or Woman ) who is living according to the teachings of the great teacher, is depicted as sitting in meditation. His/her body is on the created Earth, in harmony with all of the Earthly Forces , and his/her spirit is in harmony with all of the 'Heavenly' Forces .

   Before the Creation was started (just as there will be after it has ended), there was, is and always will be just Boundless Time, or "Zervan Akarana", also indicated by the name El or Ea, of whom several depictions have been found. So Zervan Akarana was not created, but through His Will, Ahura Mazda (Hormazd) was created, and right after He, the Creator, was born, like a twin brother the Destroyer, Ankareh Mainyu (Ahriman), His opposing force, was born as it has been described in the Bundehesh (Bundahishn), a book that contains the most ancient traditions that before then had been transmitted orally by mankind, since the very creation.

SOME MORE ABOUT THE CREATION

Statue of El, Ea or Zervan Akarana

   When Ahura Mazda started the Creation, every time one of the 16 positive principles of Life was created, the opponent of the Creator, Ankareh Mainyu, made a counter-creation for each of them, to a total of 16, so that one could say that opposite the above Tree of the knowledge of Life (of All Good = Vohu), there was now also a Tree of the knowledge of Bad, of Evil things. All of these 16+16+1 together constitute the 33 Lords ruling the Day and Night as they are called in the Zend Avesta (this number is also known in the Veda's from India). From then on, Mankind had to make a careful choice. 

This ancient Chinese vase is symbolizing the female principle of the Cup or "Grail" - despite the added parts that, together with it, represent all the Chinese  traditional elements of Wood (the Stand) and Metal (the Cap). The remaining elements are the material of which the vase itself has been made: mud or clay from Earth and Water, which has been baked into shape by use of  Fire and the content (its essential, which is here symbolized,  being a state of Emptiness) is Air. From whatever direction this vase is being looked at, the woman will be seen as standing in between two trees; this principle  can also be found in the later story of the two trees in Paradise (in the Book of Genesis of the Old testament, as it was re-translated from the Greek Pentateuch about 400 A.D. by the Masoretes). 

   That very same principle was already known before, as indicated by the figure of Ainyahita, placed in between the Two Trees (see below), just as in China the "Mother of Mercy", Quan Yin (see above) is depicted, and later, in the many Tarot cards depicting the principles of Good and Evil as the two Pillars of Jachin and Boas. They can also be seen on archaeological finds of replicas of Mithraist or Zarathustrian fire-altars. 

Ainyahita standing in between the two trees

Just three of the Tarot Cards showing the same principle,
Showing a parallel with Sraosha, Mithra and Rashn from the Zend Avesta
as the 3 judges of man's life after death

Elamite model of a Mithraïstic or possibly Zarathustrian place of Sun-Fire worship
Before the Sun-Altar, the two sytmbolic pillars D and D' are placed.
One of the celebrants (F) is ritually washing the hands of the other (G,kneeling).

The same, this time the Forces of Good (white) and Evil (Black) are symbolized by the pieces of the Ancient Persian Chess-Game of ASHA: 
Creation and Counter-Creation

   The card above is that of triumph of the Will through Knowledge,  signifying the capacity of man to be King, master of his own destiny, a conqueror who has fought no war. Indeed Yin and Yang, the two dragons, sphinxes (or cherubs) should work together, so they will, united, pull the King's Chariot! Do not kill the dragon but tame it!

   The two represent the warring passions of The Lover now united by the control of man's mind over his body, a control achieved through self-knowledge and an appreciation of the interaction between the two. Click on the card above to learn more about the inner meaning of it.

Melchizedek, High Priest of El or Zervan Akarana used Bread (White) and Wine (Red) as symbols for the two öpposing' forces that should be brought to coöperate harmoniously