Farvardegan

Today is the start of Farvardegan, which means “days of remembering the Fravashis" (guardian angels). It's a ten day Zoroastrian festival that includes the five days of Hamaspathmaidyem, which begin on March 16, and concludes with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 21.

Hamaspathmaidyem is the sixth and last gahambar. This gahamber is the most significant to Zoroastrians, because it's devoted to remembering the fravashis or guardian angels. According to Zoroastrian religion, each of the 6 creations was created during one of the gahambars. Mankind was created on this last one.

Agenda this week:

1. Read "Hope in the Dark"

2. Spring cleaning

3. Welcome the angels
4. Offer thanks
5. Recite prayers

1. Read "Hope the Dark":

I'm reading a new book, "Hope in the Dark; Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities" by Rebecca Solnit (2016). The forward is Grounds for Hope: "Hope is a gift you don't have to surrender, a power you don't have to throw away. And though hope can be an act of defiance, defiance isn't enough reason to hope."

She goes on to describe how the roots of hope are in our memory. When we remember how much things have changed (for the better and for the worse) in the recent past - a memory of a dynamically changing world, with atrocities as well as liberations - we get hope. If you don't remember how much things have changed, you don't see that they can change. 

"One of the essential aspects of depression is the sense that you will always be mired in this misery. that nothing can or will change. ... Things don't always change for the better, but they change, and we can play a role in that change if we act."

Despair is a form of impatience. Some stories in history take a long time to resolve. "If there is one thing we can draw from where we are now and where we were then, it is that the unimaginable is ordinary, that the way forward is almost never a straight line you can glance down, but a convoluted path of surprises, gifts and afflictions you prepare for by accepting your blind spots as well as your intuitions."

2. Spring cleaning:
To honor the angels, and prepare for Nowruz, Iranians clean their houses, mend anything that is broken, take baths, and buy new clothes.

In January I cleaned mold and mildew. In February I cleared clutter. In March I take the first steps of spring cleaning and maintenance, those big jobs that get put off through the winter months. This week my focus is in the living room - cleaning the filter on the heat pump, and cleaning the windows outside and in.

3. Welcome the angels:

After the house is clean, Zoroastrian families set out fresh flowers and light an oil lamp to welcome their ancestors and the Fravashis. 

This is like All Souls Day, when souls come down to the earth -- a joyful time for remembering and welcoming the souls of departed ancestors and all angels. The water and flowers in the vase are the symbolic reminders of the invisible souls and Fravashis, and are supposed to be changed daily for the next 10 days. The lamp is kept lit all the time (I use a candle, and keep it lit only when I'm nearby).

4. Offer thanks:

During this festival, Zoroastrians show love and gratitude to the Fravashis, for all the help they give during the year. The Fravashis help waters to flow, plants to grow, clouds to go where needed and the sun, moon and planets to go around in their orbits. They uphold the sky and earth. Every creation has a Fravashi, and human beings have individual Fravashis as our guardian spirits. 

This is also a time to show gratitude to one's ancestors - those whom we know and the countless others whom we don’t know, but who have made a difference to our lives.

People mostly stay home during these days before Nowruz, since the souls and Fravashis come home, and it is not proper to leave them and go out. Sometimes people keep a night long vigil.

It's also interesting to note that the Zoroastrians celebrate the last day of the year (March 20th) as the Day of Repentance, to ask Forgiveness from the Fravashis... much like the Orthodox Christian Forgiveness Sunday at the start of Lent.

5. Recite Prayers:

People say lots of prayers during these ten days. Zoroastrians turn towards a flame while praying, which symbolizes the fire of creation and the spiritual flame within each of us-- and so I stand before a candle flame to recite the Ashem Vohu (invocation of Asha) from the Avesta (Zoroastrian Book of Common Prayer).

The Ashem Vohu is a prayer with universal appeal. The word Ashem has many meanings: Law, Order, Beauty, Truth, Righteousness, Purity, Freedom. This one word expresses Divine truth, purity of body and mind, and all the beauty of nature. It's a central idea in Zoroastrianism.

This prayer is like a mantra, to be chanted slowly. To hear it recited, go to this link.

ashem vohû vahishtem astî

Truth is the best good.

ushtâ astî

It is happiness.

ushtâ ahmâi hyat ashâi vahishtâi ashem.

Happiness is to one whose truth (represents) best truth.