The Sacred Teachings

In ancient Persia, Zoroaster taught that good (Ohrmazd) and evil (Angra Mainyu) were opposite forces and the battle between them is more or less evenly matched. A person should always be vigilant to align with forces of light. According to the asha or the righteousness and druj or the wickedness, the person has chosen in his life they will be judged at the Chinvat bridge to grant passage to Paradise, Hammistagan (A limbo area) or Hell.

Interesting to note that in Norse mythology Bifröst (or sometimes Bilröst or Bivrost) is a rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard and Asgard, the realm of the gods. According to the Prose Edda, the bridge ends at Himinbjörg where the god Heimdallr (Gods' watchman) resides.

A personified form of the soul that represents the person’s deeds takes the adjudged to their destination and they will abide there until the final apocalypse. In Ancient Egypt this part of the soul that permanently resides on the Aethereal Plane recording everything a soul does in all it's incarnations is called the Kohar.

After the final battle between good and evil, the good soul’s walk through a river of fire ordeal for burning off their dross and together they receive a post resurrection paradise. This is also what the Phoenix symbolizes when the souls who pass the Weighing of the Heart/Judgement are purified by fire and then reborn out of the ashes into a new Golden Age.

The similarities between Zoroastrianism and the Norse mythology are truly amazing, but there are also similarities to the Ancient Egyptian beliefs too. (No wonder they did their best to fragment and destroy the religion of Zoroastrianism , just as they did to the Norse too)

Artwork: The Chinvat Bridge