Blood Worship

 

Blood a symbol of life force believed in many cultures to contain a share of divine energy or more commonly the spirit of an individual creature.

 

 Blood had rain bearing or fertilizing power according to some traditions as in near eastern marriage ceremonies were the bride stepped over the sprinkle blood of a sheep.

the oldest ancient deity who consumed blood was probably Lilith. She is also described as the first demon, or a female spirit which exemplified all of the darkest attributes of the world.

Persian folklore also speaks of some spirits who consumed blood. The most famous of these was Estries. She was a demon - specifically a shapeshifter.

 

 Usually she was believed to have appeared as a beautiful woman who looked for men to drink their blood. , She was also well-known in Jewish legends.

 

In order to strengthen the Tree God Pemba, the Bambara of West Africa  sacrificed blood to it, and in some myths it is called the Blood Tree.

 

 Bull's blood was used for it suppose that magical power in the Roman rites of Mithras and Cybele. With the same symbolism of the life force blood is sometimes still drunk at Mexican bull fights.

 

From Hindu Beliefs – Kali as depict  as a fearsome creature with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.''

 

 

At the height of the Aztec empire the blood of thousands of victims a year will spill to reinvigorate the sun.

They believed the gods sacrificed their own blood to create the universe, so in turn, the Aztecs offered blood to the Gods as a sort of reciprocal exchange and gift for their creations (Pendragon 2). Furthermore, the supply of ritual blood was believed to maintain plentiful fertile crops and aid in the continuation of the Aztec world.

If blood was not sacrificed to the gods, the humans believed they would be punished and endure excessive pain “more violent than any man could ever do”

 

In ancient Greece, the disciples of Hecate the Goddess of Magic, performed blood rituals to enhance the power of their goddess

 

The mingling of blood is a Symbol of union in many traditions and can mark a seal or a covenant. In Roman Catholic doctrine Christ blood is present in the trans substantial wine of the Euchrarist.

A common blood ritual is the blood brother ritual, which started in ancient Europe and Asia. Two or more people, typically male, intermingle their blood in some way.

Blood sacrifice is sometimes considered by the practitioners of prayer, ritual magic, and spell casting to intensify the power of such activities. The Native American Sun Dance is usually accompanied by blood sacrifice

Some blood rituals involve two or more parties cutting themselves or each other followed by the consumption of blood. The participants may regard the release or consumption of blood as producing energy useful as a sexual, healing, or mental stimulus.

 

 

The great potency of blood has been utilized through sacrifice for a number of purposes—e.g., earth fertility, purification, and expiation.

 

Buddhism forbids all blood sacrifices

 

 

The gods demanding blood sacrifice are most commonly described as “fierce, violent and ‘hot’” (Fuller The gods who fall under this category are dark forms such as Durga, Kali, and village goddesses, such as Sitala Mata, Mariyamman, Bhairava and Narasimha.