I believe that Ahriman/Angra Mainyu isn't evil, but necessary, because Humans need the evil to perceive and appreciate the good. Humans need Darkness to perceive the Light, so in a sense, we need Angra Mainyu to be closer to Ohrmazd.

Any Label for that though?

I was learning about the origin of your religion and learned that Zoroaster was a priest in a religion and then when he was 30 he received a vision at a river. My questions are:

1. which religion was he part of prior to his vision?
2. where can I read about his vision in great detail? The only sources I found give vague details about his vision.
3. Was his vision during the time of Moses?

Hi, I have seen some Zoroastrians going to the Bahai temple to pray or fellow. Is this a common thing in Zoroastrianism?

I'm going to be vague about my faith since i am in a transitionary period right now, and because i'm widely ignorant about how zoroastrianism works, or even its views on other spiritual beliefs, i do believe however that i'm essentially asking to be proselytized which from what i heard isn't liked in zoroastrian ethics, so i am sorry if this comes off as offensive but, i am hoping that there is a way for me to honor Ahura Mazda without giving up my original faith. i still want to have Ahura Mazda not look at me with any disappointed, essentially i want to be on friendly terms with him, i have recently accepted the existence of other gods, it was great to get over my ignorance of the gods because of my fear. but now i'm trying to desperately look through as much religious material as i can and trying to make contact with gods as well to see if my ignorance of fear has caused an offense or set something onto me.

i remember being in a car ride with three other members of my family, when my dad mentioned zoroastrianism, he said something about how there were small spirits, which combined with other spirits to become gods, and than these gods which were amalgamations of spirits combined with other gods to create mega-gods as he called them. i don't know what a mega-god is, i guess its something akin to the Trinity. he went into further detail about smaller gods, like a god of a bunch of rocks, or a god of some clouds, a god of a family, or even a personal god. the last one struck out at me. at the time, i didn't know that much about how views of gods has changed over the centuries. i should also note that i thought zoro and aster were deities that combined into the final god from what my dad said, i don't know where he got this from. so i went into zoroastrianism presuming that it was about spirits becoming gods, and gods combining with other gods. then a while later maybe a few weeks, i was talking to my dad about it and he talked about how there would've been no monotheistic religions without zoroastrianism, that struck close to me, made me wonder if Zoroaster is a prophet of God almighty, on the car ride back home i thought of this idea that zoroastrianism was made to make the concept of one god, but abraham came along to define this one god. i don't believe in this anymore since Ahura Mazda is said to be completely good, while the abrahamic God is said to be the source of all good and evil because he created everything, i should also note that i have heard that Ahura Mazda is genderless while God is said to be male, or at least have the pronouns he/him.

i than remember watching i video about the religion, i think it was nearly two hours long. i remember a seen where zoroaster is said to have had a vision which enlightened him at the bank of a river while fetching for water. before hand the religion had me scared about my beliefs but in this instance i felt a calming. and even now i feel this need to pursue any knowledge about how Ahura Mazda works, how they act, and how they interact with people.

my best theory is that something was holding me back but now i somehow pierced a negative aura, could've been me unshackling from my ego. for now i am putting any assumptions that i have about the God of zoroastrian belief on hold until i can know more.

i simply want to know what happened here and whether or not this desperate curiosity to find out more about is good sign, i also want to know if there is a proven doctrine of a spiritual connection to Ahura Mazda, for example: does Ahura Mazda commune with people or do they cause events to happen as communication to prayer? do they communicate in visions like what happened to zoroaster or does Ahura Mazda communicate to people through dreams and/or thoughts?

i also want know how i can respect Ahura Mazda without worshipping or is this something i'm not allowed to do since i'm of another faith?

that should be all of my questions, if anyone has any recommendations for any videos or other media that can help me out with understanding Ahura Mazda, or how i can commune with them than please let me know.

For context I've been wanting to convert to Zoroastrianism i was raised in Iran and raised as Muslim but not really because it was more of the governments way of brain washing me but currently I'm atheist i do believe in some form of higher being but I'm kinda icked by the thought of an actual religion due to being lesbian ,religious and social trauma i guess but there's feeling i guess that i want to connect more with my ancestors learn more but the hate , ignorance and homophobia that comes with religious communities is holding me back it would be helpful if you could give me some advice! :)

I was reading a novel called rune-warriors, and one of the minor antagonist was a Jinn called "Al-Ghola" (that looks to be a sleep paralysis jinn of saudi arabia mythology), that try to kill the heroes in their nightmares, however in the story al-ghola fear the gold arrows (symbols of al-juzra a artemis-like arabian goddess), the Dogs (that can free his victims of his nightmares and are immune to his magic) and the sun (that Al-Ghola calls "The Eye of Ahura Mazda"), that make me think, there were Djinns in Zoroastrism or in early Iranin religion?, or the autor simply force it in the story?, thank you for your answers

if so hmu

I think Zarathushtra says somewhere in the Gathas that the best practice is to spend a few minutes in quiet stillness every morning, and some have interpreted this as meditation.

I regularly practice meditation, and have found Zoroastrian teachings highly informative and conducive. I’m curious if practicing Zoroastrians incorporate meditation into their spiritual work? It is certainly a standard practice in the Vedic systems, which seem to reflect an ancient Zoroastrian influence.

Thanks and Ushta te,

I have been researching more on Zoroastrianism but I’m confused at to why it’s considered monotheistic, when it has seperate lesser gods “worthy of worship”, with Ahura Mazda being a central creator figure. Can someone explain to me?

Outside of the Gathas and Zend Avesta, what would you recommend is essential reading for some one who's interested in learning more about Zoroastrianism?

Hi! I’m a senior in high school studying and writing a paper about Zoroastrianism, and I was wondering if anyone on here would be up for an interview on the morality and ethics of your religion? I want to be as accurate and respectful as I can when writing this paper and I was hoping I could interview practicing Zoroastrians in order to learn as much as possible. If you’re interested or available you can respond to this post or message me directly! Thank you!

Hello friends, i ask it since i remember read it in a ancient history book, it says that one of the reasons achaemenid and parthian empire were so tolerant with their neighbors religions is because they see the other religions as worship of Yazatas in other forms, and that only change during sassanid era when the imperial goverment try to destroy the "heretical zoroastrianism" (like the hellenic-zoroastrianism or the iranian folk religion) some decades before arab invasion of iran

dont use reddit too often so maybe i missed it somewhere but im a muslim looking into the religion and would like to have conversation with zoroastrians in the discord and iremember hearing that there was a discord somewhere but i may be mistaken

Hello everyone- I'm interested in learning more Gavruni/Dari because one of my parents speaks (from Yadz) but the other doesn't, so I never learned as a kid. Are there any resources (or individuals) who might have any information on this? My one parent has a hard time remembering which phrases words are Farsi versus Gavruni/Dari since he's not used the language since moving many years ago, so we could use some help. Thank you all for your wonderful info on this subreddit!

As the more conservative Zoroastrians who hold more-solid theology continue to withhold conversion from outsiders, what will the future of the religion look like?

Will the theology not get passed on as the conservatives shrink?

it appears to me that it is mostly the liberal new-age oriented Zoroastrians that are finding success in growing the religion as instructed by Mazda and Zoroaster (Yasna 31:3).

But these people don't seem to have a good understanding of the defined Metaphysics I've read about. To me, their interpretation seems much more malleable and, again, resembling "New-Age-spirituality". Do you think the future of Zoroastrianism, say in 100 years, will be in the hands of people similar to: Winston Head (MAGUS youtuber), and World famous Swedish Philosopher Alex Bard, or Academic Scholar Jason Reza Jordan?

(I don't know much about the California Zoroastrian Center, or where organizations like it fit into this dichotomy)

Hi! I am a 16 year old girl from Iran (but I live in the UK). I grew up with a athiest farther and agnostic mother, and a result I am athiest and always have been. My mother has always told me how fond she was of Zoroastrianism, however, and recently this has sparked an interest in my mind. I really want to learn more, as I admire the religion and am looking to potentially convert once I learn more. Can someone help me with:

• Finding an accurate English translation of the holy book Zoroastrians use. (My farsi reading capabilities are incredibly weak)
• What Zoroastrians stand for. For examples, Muslims have the pillars of Islam. Is there something similar to this for Zoroastrians? I heard of the phrase "good words, good thoughts, good deeds" from my mum, but can someone confirm that this is a motto of Zoroastrianism?
• Do they believe in God, and if so, what God? What is his story, what does he stand for? I just pray he didn't have sex with a 9 year old like someone I know...
• Do I need to pray? What prayers do I do, are there verses I have to read?
• Are there any restrictions like eating pork or such? I can assume that a main restriction would be having bad words, thoughts or deeds but apart from that are there any?
• Can I convert? I heard in India or something Zoroastrians can't be converts, and i was wondering if I could? I am Iranian, but I just wanted someone to confirm I could.

All of this would be incredibly helpful, thank you! :)

As the title says, I've been looking into religion for years but have never found one that works with me. My SO is religious and has encouraged me to find a higher meaning. Can I be a good fit for this?

I am a Christian who just learned about Zoroastrianism and I want understand it instead of brushing it to the side. From what I gathered from this subreddit, conversion should be allowed for anyone, but there are many who don't allow it. Why is this?

Hi all,

I have been studying Zoroastrianism and I very much want to convert and, in fact, have pursued conversion. Unfortunately, due to where I live the only Zoroastrianism community does not accept converts. I also cannot afford to travel for this purpose as of right now either, so I cannot convert for the time being.

However, the teachings and practices of the faith are already a huge part of my life, identity, and thinking. I find these teachings to be an essential part of my decision making.

I am essentially wondering if I can “be considered” a Zoroastrian without having received formal initiation.

Anything helps! Thank you.

Hi everyone! I’m just starting to read the Yasna as well as learning Avestan and at the beginning of each Ha., I normally spot either “Zōt u rāspī” or “Zōt” (ofc in Avestan script, not transcribed like this) and was wondering what this meant?

Hi all,

Unfortunately, due to where I and in the world, there is only one Zoroastrian community and they do not allow conversion. I have accepted this and have taken to educating myself; however, I have not been able to find any authoritative resources on how to pray. Perhaps I haven’t looked in the right places, but if anyone has information regarding this, I would greatly appreciate you passing it on. Thank you!

Is it true that Zarathustra was a Yezidi pir and wanted to found his own religion? I also heard from a few Yezidis that he wanted to force us to covenant, no hatred is a question 🙏

https://bsky.app/profile/vahidrezaramezani.bsky.social/post/3lbji56lon22c