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.
