fredag 23 oktober 2009

The Barsam - a text by Parviz Varjavand

The Barsam is a Mithraic symbol also sacred to the Zoroastrians. It is a bundle of sticks tied together with a cord that is supposed to symbolize the cord of Mehr (Love and Promise) (Zon'nar and Koshti). Barsam was taken to Rome by Mithraists and becomes the Fascia and we have the infamous Fascism of Mussolini getting its inspirations from that. Yet the Barsam is not what the Fascia became to Mussolini. It does not have an Axe in the middle of it. The Axe was placed in the middle of the Fascia at times of war; it meant that civil liberties should be dropped and individuals should support the military leader and submit their human rights to his military leadership. The Fascia with an Ax in the middle is the bad symbol that gives us Fascism and we should be beware of, the Barsam is not a bad symbol.

How a Barsam for good is tied should be the pre-occupation of every Mazdayasni person; it gives us all our social structures. How do we band together to gain strength without sacrificing too much of our personal freedoms. That is why the red pointed cap known as "Capo Phrygio" or the cap that comes from Phrygiya or"Farghane" in Persia was always placed on top of the Barsam. This red pointed cap that Mithra usually wears symbolizes individual freedoms and only persons aware of their full individual rights when banded together form the proper Barsam. We are Barsamists and not Fascists.

Ushta,
Parviz Varjavand

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