Mithraism

Mithras is a god of alliance. He is the power that brings people together in a fruitful relationship with each other.

In ancient Persia he was the god who upheld contracts that people made with each other, thus encouraging people to keep their word and do what they said they were going to. This meant people could trust each other to act as expected - which is a necessary condition for people to work together as a team.

People who live and work well together in society are better able to meet each others needs, than those who are isolated individuals. Working as a group they are also more powerful than if they were all individuals acting independently.

Our own modern society is marked by increasing individualism among the majority, which leads to powerlessness in relation to those who are smaller in number but better organised than them.

Such an imbalance in power makes modern individuals open to abuse by the more powerful groups. The individuals have no power to shape events and are at the mercy of others for their well-being and even their very lives.

Mithraism is at heart a way of building alliances between people so that they can become stronger together.

In Ancient Persia Mithras was the god that young men looked to bring them together in close fraternities with other men. In such Mithraic societies there was a sense that everybody would stick together and stick up for each other through thick and thin.

The Roman Empire also had its own Mithraic brotherhoods - a distant relative to those of Persia - and which was seemingly the Freemasonry of the time.

Today we are trying to revive the idea of Mithraism as a way for people to come together for the benefit of themselves and the wider society.

Zartomithraism

Zartomithraism is a particular variety of Mithraism.

It seeks to counter a possible concern with Mithraic societies. It is all very well people working together in close-knit groups, but is it really to the benefit of the wider society?

Zartomithrites are encouraged to have an eye for what is really the Ultimate Good. They don't think it right to look solely to their own interests like a criminal gang, or to lend their services as mercenaries to those who pay them the most. They try and make their own decisions as to what is really right and pursue that cause regardless.

The Goals of Zartomithraism

Firstly we seek to develop our ability to live better and more productively in the environment in which we find ourselves.

Secondly we seek to develop our ability to be a good influence on the world around us.

Thirdly we seek to develop our ability, in case we so wish in future, to build self-governing and self-sufficient communities of our own.

Kazakism

Kazakism is the name we give to the idea of creating fully self-reliant communities which can shape their own way of life.

In ancient times Kazakism was the way of life of the proud and independent tribes who roamed the vast steppe-lands of central Asia. Such a spirit survived to recent times in the Cossacks of Ukraine and Russia as well as tribal peoples elsewhere. Now Kazakism seems at odds with the modern world, but Kazakism represents the last of true human freedom, and we must try to revive it if humankind is to survive into the future.

ALTERNATIVE THOUGHTS:

Zartomithraism as a project


Zartomithraism combines two fundamental ideas. From Mithraism we get the idea of forming small societies of people who share a common life of ritual and self development. From Zoroastrianism we get the idea of the importance of pursuing the Good.

So Zartomithraism aims to assist in the creation of small societies of people who have the desire and capability to be a good influence in the world.

Mithraic Societies have a long history - often as close-knit bands of men who are better able to pursue their interests in this way than they would as individuals. These brotherhoods haven't always pursued the interests of the wider society, and this is why we are interested in Zoroastrianism. The world needs bands of people who really are working for the good order of the world, and this is what Zoroaster asks us to do.

Zartomithraism, as developed here, is a kind of religious framework - a few pointers to help those interested in developing the idea of a new modern Mithraism to get started on their journey.

Zartomithraism as a religion

Zartomithraism aims to be a religious pathway which offers a clear alternative to the Abrahamic one. In some sense it aims to be the Euranian or European counterpart to Hinduism.

Zartomithraism takes from Zoroaster the importance of pursuit of the Good and the concern for reason. However in other respects it departs from Zoroastrian orthodoxy and takes ideas from other parts of the Iranian and European pre-christian traditions. Compared to other currents within Zartianism we are less focussed of the dualistic battle of good and evil powers and leave room for other ways of making sense of the good and bad in life where activities comes in shades of grey.

Updated August 4024 EHE/2024 CE