Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest active religions. It traces its origins to ancient Iran and Central Asia and to the prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) with roots dating back to the third millennium BCE.

One god

Zoroastrians believe there is one god called Ahura Mazda. Everything that Ahura Mazda created is considered pure and wholly good, and should be treated with love and respect, including the natural environment.

Two opposing forces

Dualism is the belief in the two opposing forces of Good and Evil. In Zoroastrianism, Good is represented by Ahura Mazda and Evil by Angra Mainyu.

Three material creations

Water, earth, and fire are sacred elements in Zoroastrianism. Fire is seen as a symbol of purity, and sacred fires are maintained in Fire Temples (agiyari or dar-e-mehr). Plants, animals and human beings are also seen as Ahura Mazda’s perfect creations and need to be protected.

Three calendars

There are three different Zoroastrian calendars – Fasli, Shahanshahi, and Qadimi. The Zoroastrian year is characterised by holy days, feasts and festivals, many linked to the seasons.

Five Gathas

The primary collection of Zoroastrian religious texts is called the Avesta. Much of Avesta is made up of texts to be recited by the priests during the rituals. It also contains myths, stories, and details of ritual observances, as well as 17 hymns grouped into five sections, known as the Gathas. The Gathas are believed to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. The Gathas form the core of the Zoroastrian act of worship, known as the Yasna.

Six spiritual creations

The spiritual creations, or Life-giving Immortals (Amesha Spentas) were made by Ahura Mazda from his own substance of light. They represent his own divine attributes and include:

Vohu Manah – Good Thought

Asha Vahishta – Truth, Order

Spenta Ameraiti – Right-mindedness

Khashathra Vairya – Power

Hauravatat – Wholeness

Ameretat – Immortality

Seven feasts

Zoroastrians celebrate seven feast days, six of which are the gahanbars. The gahanbars are:-

Maidyozarem – Midspring

Maidyoshahem – Midsummer

Paitishahem – Harvest-time

Ayathrem – End of autumn

Maidyarem – Midwinter

Hamaspathmaidyem – All Souls

The seventh feast is Noruz, which is the Zoroastrian New Year celebration and occurs on the spring equinox.

Seven to twelve

Between the ages of seven and twelve is the time when a child undertakes the initiation ceremony of Navjote. The child is given a sacred sudreh (shirt) and kushti (belt). The kushti is tied around the sudreh, accompanied by prayers.

Zoroastrians traditionally perform this kushti ritual several times each day.

72 chapters

The Yasna is Zoroastrianism’s principal liturgy, involving the recitation of the Yasna texts. The Yasna texts are made up of 72 chapters, composed in the Avestan language.

101

In Zoroastrianism, there are 101 names for their god Ahura Mazda. The list exists in Persian, Pazand and Gujarati.

The names include yazat; harvasp-tavān; harvasp-āgāh; harvasp-hudā; abadah; awī-añjām; …well, you get the idea.

167

There are currently 167 fire temples in the world, of which the Udvada Atash Behram in Gujarat is the most sacred Zoroastrian fire temple, and the oldest continuous burning fire temple in the world.

120,000

There are fewer than 120,000 followers of Zoroastrianism, with the greatest number concentrated in India.

1,000,000,000

Box office sales of the film Bohemian Rhapsody almost total $1BN, making it the most successful music biopic. The subject of the film, Freddie Mercury, was raised within the Zoroastrian faith.

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