ls -l ~/congo/glossary

holy communion

Greek christogram meaning Jesus Christ conquers
the first and last letters of Jesus and Christ, with nika for conquers
inscribed on Orthodox crosses and pressed into the bread of the Eucharist

gold covered chest built at Sinai to carry the terms of the covenant with God
inside were the stone tablets, a jar of manna, and the rod of Aaron that budded
its lid, the mercy seat, held two facing cherubim with an empty space between them
where God was said to meet and speak, and the chest was lethal to touch
lost after the fall of the temple, though Ethiopian tradition holds that it rests
at the church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum, the claim the Solomonic dynasty
of Haile Selassie I was founded on

drinking cup
used in Christian liturgy as part of a service of the Eucharist

Greek for word, reason, or ordering principle
used in the opening of John's gospel for the divine Word that became flesh
Chinese translations of that passage render it as dao

change of mind

two interlocked (or overlapping) squares, making what appears to be an eight-pointed star

the process of becoming one with God
the Eastern Christian teaching that salvation means partaking of the divine nature
summed up as god became man that man may become god

courtesy name of laozi, whose given name was li er
tradition has him set down the dao de jing for the gatekeeper at the western pass
before riding out of china and disappearing

testing

Chinese for the way or the path
the nameless origin of heaven and earth, which cannot be spoken or named
Chinese translations of John's gospel render logos as dao

translation of the Daoist term pu, the pattern of the world before it is shaped
a state of simplicity and potential that carving into names and categories destroys

Chinese for action without action, or effortless action
doing by not forcing, so that things unfold at their own pace

mountain range in hubei, home of the daoist internal martial arts
its art, taijiquan, works by yielding, so that soft overcomes hard
the wu-tang clan took their name from it by way of kung fu films

Obeah is a folk magic found among those of African descent
Its English translation is witchcraft
The obeah is the magick of the Secret Light

type of symbol used in magick
The term usually refers to a pictorial signature of a spirit

magical charm packet found in the folk magic practices
the wanga is the verbal or mental correspondence of the secret light

He defied the Olympian gods by taking fire from them and
giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge and, more generally, civilization

stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of Africans sold for enslavement
were forcibly transported to the Americas

he is accorded divine importance in Rastafari
Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974
Widely considered to be a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history

Sanskrit for the coiled one, the shorter form of kundalini
the coiled energy said to rest at the base of the spine and rise through the body
in Vedic astrology a kundali is also a birth chart, mapping the sun and planets at birth

the seven most powerful and popular Orishas
These are Elegua, Yemaya, Oshun, Shango, Obatala, Oya (sometimes Orunmila or Ochossi), and Ogun

sacred double-headed drums of the Yoruba tradition
played in sets of three to call and speak to the orishas

powerful spirits from the Yoruba tradition in Africa

Orishas are seen as intermediaries between humans and the creator god, Olodumare.
Their role is similar to that of saints in Christianity