Y


Yaksha (SKT) A nature spirit which resides in a tree, usually regarded as female. Yakshas are said to accompany Kubers, the god of wealth. See Dryad

Yama (SKT) Abstinence. In yoga, there are considered to be five abstinences:

Ahimsa	Abstinence from injury (nonviolence)
Satya	Abstinence from lies (truthfulness)
Asteya	Abstinence from theft (absence of envy)
Brahmacharya	Abstinence from sensual indulgence (chastity)
Aparigraha	Abstinence from greed (nonattachment)

Yama is the second of the eight angas or limbs of yoga. See Angas

Yana (SKT) Theg-pa (TIB), meaning “vehicle.”

Yantra (SKT) A diagram, usually geometric, used to focus concentration during ritual meditation. The act of consecrating and charging a yantra is known as yantra-puja. Frequently, a written mantra and a drawing of a deity will accompany the geometric form. Sometimes yantras are worn in amulets for luck or protection. It could be said that a yantra is focus through visual form while a mantra is focus through vibration and tantra is focus through ritual action or method. See Mandala; Talisman.

Yechidah (HEB) Literally “Only One” or “Unique One.” The part of the soul corresponding to the atma (SKT). It is attributed to Kether, the first Sephirah of the Tree of Life. Equivalent to the sahasrara chakra.

Yggdrasil (Norse) The Tree of Life in Scandinavian mythology. Yggdrasil is the sacred ash tree comprising the cosmos. Its roots lay in Hel (the underworld), the trunk rises through Midgard (the material world), and the branches ascend into the sky through the mountain, Asgard. The clouds in the sky are said to be Yggdrasil’s leaves; the stars are said to be its fruit. The world-tree, Yggdrasil, emerged from the body of Ymir (the frost giant whose body formed the mists of Niflheim when the universe was originated). Ymir represents primordial chaos, destroyed by Odin, just as Tiamat was slain by Marduk in Assyrian mythology. Like the qabalistic Tree of Life, the cosmic pattern of Yggdrasil springs from the soil of the ultimate void. See Axis Mundi; Tree of Life.

Yidam (TIB) In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Yidam is a personal deity, the embodiment of the student’s awakened nature The word “Yidam” derives from Yid-Kyi-Dam-Tshig, or “samaya of mind.” A Yidam is built up through devotion to the student’s guru and identification with the particular line of transmission. The Yidam is the personification of one’s characteristic expression of Buddha nature, free of distortion. Through total understanding of one’s basic nature, all aspects of it are transmuted into the wisdom (prajna) of the spiritual path. This promotes skilful and lucid compassionate action which cuts through hesitation and illusion. The process of identification with a Yidam is extremely similar to gaining “the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel,” the attainment of what Aleister Crowley called “the true will.” Yidams appears in male and female form are classed as peaceful, semi-wrathful and wrathful:

	Male (symbol of awakened energy, skillful means, and bliss)	Female (symbol of compassion, emptiness, and Prajna)
Peaceful (inspiring gentleness)	Bhagavat	Bhagavati
Semi-wrathful (union of passion and anger)	Daka	Dakini
Wrathful (dynamic energy of vajra anger)	Heruka	Dakini

See Holy Guardian Angel; Samaya; True Will.

Yoga (SKT) Literally “union.” The word “yoke” comes from the same root. Yoga refers to the various paths toward harmony with the root source of being. As such, there are as many types of yoga as there are different types of people. Some of the main paths are listed below:

Atma yoga	Union with the true self
Buddhi yoga	Union with wisdom
Hatha yoga	Union through breathing and physical postures or practices
Jnana yoga	Union through knowledge
Karma yoga	Union through action or work in daily life
Kriya yoga	Union through purification, ritual action, and sacred outlook
Laya yoga	Union through raising the spinal forces (kundalini)
Mantra yoga	Union by incantations and correct recitations
Raja yoga	Union by control through meditation and contemplation
Sankhya yoga	Union through science (knowledge of the 25 tattwas, or modes of existence)

See Angas

Yuga (SKT) One of the four ages of the world as reckoned by Vedantic cosmology. The four ages have been krita-yuga (the golden age), treat-yuga (the silver age), dvapara-yuga (the copper age), and kali-yuga (the iron age). We are presently in the kali-yuga. The four ages collectively make up a mahayuga or manvantara. See Age; Kalpa.

Yule The pagan winter sabbat celebrated at the Winter Solstice. Many of the Christian traditions for Christmas derive from pagan origins.

Yule Log The traditional log burned at Christmas ceremonies which began with the pagan tradition for part of the Yule celebration.


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