Page:History of Zoroastrianism.djvu/247

Rh and the same time the moon and the personification of the moon. The seventh Yasht and the third Nyaish are dedicated to this divine personage. Here also we find throughout the description of the waxing and the waning of the moon, the periods of the new and the full moons, and the benefit that the light of the moon imparts to the world. We hear much of the concrete moon, but very little of the abstract person of the angel. The sole-created Bull, the progenitor of the animal world, is invoked along with the moon. The moon waxes and wanes through Ahura Mazda. The Amesha Spentas gather the glory of the moon and distribute it upon the earth. When the moon warms up with its light, the golden coloured plants grow up from the earth during the spring.

The moon is constantly spoken of as the possessor of the seed of the Bull. The moon is furthermore described as the bestower, radiant, glorious, possessed of water, possessed of warmth, possessed of knowledge, wealth, riches, discernment, weal, verdure, good, and the healing one. The twelfth day of the month is dedicated to the moon.

Deification of the endless light. Anaghra Raochah means the Endless Light. It is the celestial light as opposed to the earthly light. In the order of naming the various kinds of heavenly lights, Anaghra Raochah comes after the stars, moon, and the sun. Like the stars, the moon, and the sun, this supreme light stood without motion until the Fravashis or the Guardian Spirits showed it its path of movement.

Anaghra Raochah is personified as a Yazata, being invoked at the sacrifice, and the thirtieth day of the Zoroastrian calendar bears his name. In a couple of instances we find Paradise