Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi - Stephen E. Flowers Ph.D. 2017
The Structure of The World
Theories of Mazdan Magic
Cosmology
Some of the greatest mysteries are those that surround the complex Mazdan doctrines of cosmology. We have already glimpsed the sweep of mythic cosmology; here we want to understand the esoteric aspects of the structure of the world. The whole topic of cosmology is far too vast for us to enter into in any great depth. It deserves its own series of studies. Our aim is to give a general overview and to highlight those aspects that will prove to be of importance in magical theory and practice.
Historically, Mazdan cosmology provides us with the origin of the ideas of emanations and ages as received by other non-Iranian philosophies and systems of magic. Up until now these ideas are best known in the West through the Hebrew Kabbalah and the Hellenistic doctrine of Ages (Gk. αἰῶνες).
There are essentially three dimensions to the understanding of Mazdan cosmology. These are the doctrine of the ages, the doctrine of the astral spheres, and the doctrine of the worlds, or keshvars. In the Mazdan worldview these are part of one grand cosmological scheme. The doctrine of the ages is a temporal model, whereas the other two are spatial models, but together they form a single symbol of space/time order. Individually, however, each of these doctrines has also had an enormous influence on the myths and religions of the world.
The doctrine of ages asserts that there is a principle of Absolute Time, called Zurvan in Persian. Later shortsighted philosophers actually deified this principle and thought of it as the godhead. Their error was to mistakenly identify Zurvan as the Creator, when in fact Time was created by Mazda and is really a field of activity or process and not a god to be invoked in magic. Time can be used, but it is not sentient and therefore cannot be a recipient of symbolic communication. (See the twenty-first sîrôzah dedicated to Raman, which mentions this principle of Time, also in conjunction with the principle of Thvâsha [Space]). The gods and men operate in an environment of space and time. A key to successful magic is causing the right events in space and time to occur where and when they are proper. Therefore an understanding of these principles can be essential to effective work.
Zarathustra saw the cosmic order of time in the following way. There are three great ages: first, a time of pure consciousness separated from all negative influences by a void; second, a time when the forces of consciousness and of ignorance are mixed and are in conflict; and third, a time when the forces of good and consciousness will finally and inevitably reassert themselves in a permanent way. This forms a cosmic alchemy: separated, mixed, and re-separated in a transformed state. This tripartite cyclical process repeats itself in a multitude of small ways as a part of the greater scheme.
The astronomical or astrological doctrine is related to the doctrine of time in that time is usually measured or experienced through the movement of bodies in space; namely, the sun, the moon, and the stars. The placement and arrangement of these bodies and the laws of their motions in space do not merely describe the physical environment of our human bodies on this planet but rather form a system of communication between us and yazatas (as well as daevas). The motions of the bodies in space and the arrangement of the stars in the sky constitute a system of messages from the yazatas to Mankind.