Nine Nights in the Pit
The Barashnom: Zoroastrianism's Most Extreme Purification Ritual — Nine Days of Isolation, Sacred Dogs, and the Rebirth of the Priest The Inner Fire — Part 5 There is a ritual in Zoroastrianism so intense, so demanding, and so ancient that it makes every other religious purification practice on earth look like a warm bath. It takes nine days and nine nights. It involves isolation from all human contact. It requires passage through nine pits in the earth, each one a stage of deeper cleansing.
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The Barashnom: Zoroastrianism's Most Extreme Purification Ritual — Nine Days of Isolation, Sacred Dogs, and the Rebirth of the Priest The Inner Fire — Part 5 There is a ritual in Zoroastrianism so intense, so demanding, and so ancient that it makes every other religious purification practice on earth look like a warm bath. It takes nine days and nine nights. It involves isolation from all human contact. It requires passage through nine pits in the earth, each one a stage of deeper cleansing. A sacred dog is present — its gaze believed to drive evil spirits out of the candidate. The body is washed from head to toe with consecrated substances. Specific verses of the Avesta are recited at each stage.
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Yasna · Avesta · Vendidad