Haoma

Common card · No. 242666

Haoma (Avestan: 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀) also known as Hom (Middle Persian: 𐭧𐭥𐭬) is a sacred plant and yazata in Zoroastrianism, inherited from Indo-Iranian religion and corresponding to Vedic soma. Its pressed juice is prepared and consecrated in the yasna ceremony. The divinity Haoma acts as a priest and is invoked for strength, healing, victory, fertility, wisdom and righteous conduct. In the Hom Yašt, Haoma appears to Zoroaster in human form and instructs him to gather and press the plant. He is the lord of plants, grants good harvests and is associated with the souls of sacrificed animals alongside Goshurvan. The identity of the original Indo-Iranian plant remains disputed. Ephedra has long been used in Iranian Zoroastrian practice and is a major candidate, but scholars have also proposed cannabis, fly-agaric and other plants. The Vedic and Avestan texts describe stimulating, invigorating and other unusual effects, whose precise character is debated. The names haoma and soma are related to words for...

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