Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

Z
Zoroastrianism
In the history of religions Zoroastrianism has
been an unusually fruitful faith, exercising an
influence on the doctrines of other religions
disproportionate to its size. It was founded in
ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) in about 1000
B.C.E. (some sources say much earlier) by the
prophet Zoroaster, and was the official religion of
the area until the Muslims took over the area. A
relatively small body of Zoroastrians, who are
called Parsis in the subcontinent, survive in
contemporary India.
The religion of Zoroaster is best known for its
dualism. The god of light and the upper world,
Ohrmazd or Ahura Mazda (“wise lord”) and his
angels, are locked in a cosmic struggle with the
god of darkness and the lower world, Angra
Mainyu or Ahriman (“evil spirit”) and his
demons. Unlike Christianity, in which the
outcome of the war between God and the devil has
already been decided, Zoroastrianism portrays the
struggle as more or less evenly matched.
Individual human beings are urged to align themselves
with the forces of light, and are judged
according to the predominance of their good or
evil deeds.
For three days after death, the soul remains at
the head of its former body. All of the individual’s
good and bad deeds are entered in a sort of
accountant’s ledger, recording evil actions as
283
debits and good actions as credits. The soul then
embarks on a journey to judgment, walking out
onto the Chinvat (“accountant’s”) Bridge. In the
middle of the bridge, according to the Pahlevi
(Pahlevi is the ancient language of Persia) text, the
Bundahishn,
there is a sharp edge which stands like a
sword; and Hell is below the Bridge. Then the
soul is carried to where stands a sword. If the
soul is righteous, the sword presents its broad
side. If the soul be wicked, that sword
continues to stand edgewise, and does not
give passage. With three steps which the soul
takes forward—which are the evil thoughts,
words, and deeds that it has performed—it is
cut down from the head of the Bridge, and
falls headlong to Hell. (Pavry 1926, 92–93)
If, when weighing bad against good deeds,
debits outweigh credits, “even if the difference is
only three tiny acts of wrongdoing,” the sinner
falls off the bridge and into hell. Hell is a dismal
realm of torment, where the damned can
consume only the foulest food for nourishment. If
debits and credits cancel each other out, the soul is
placed in Hammistagan (“region of the mixed”), a
limbo realm in which souls are neither happy nor
sorrowful and in which they will abide until the
final apocalypse. In later texts, a person’s deeds