Editing Zoroastrianism (section)

== Practices and rituals ==
[[File:Dinastia tang, shanxi, straniero dal volto velato, 600-750 ca.JPG|thumb|upright=1.15|An 8th century [[Tang dynasty]] [[Chinese ceramics|Chinese clay figurine]] of a [[Sogdia]]n man wearing a distinctive cap and face veil, possibly a camel rider or even a Zoroastrian priest engaging in a ritual at a [[fire temple]], since face veils were used to avoid contaminating the holy fire with breath or saliva; [[Museum of Oriental Art (Turin)]], Italy.<ref>Lee Lawrence. (3 September 2011). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904332804576540533071105892 "A Mysterious Stranger in China"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205105151/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904332804576540533071105892 |date=5 December 2017 }}. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. Accessed on 31 August 2016.</ref>]]

Throughout Zoroastrian history, shrines and [[fire temple|temples]] have been the focus of worship and pilgrimage for adherents of the religion. Early Zoroastrians were recorded as worshiping in the 5th century BCE on mounds and hills where fires were lit below the open skies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=1:chapter=131|title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, chapter 131|website=Perseus Digital Library|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227110410/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=1:chapter=131|url-status=live}}</ref> In the wake of Achaemenid expansion, shrines were constructed throughout the empire and particularly influenced the role of [[Mithra]], [[Aredvi Sura Anahita]], [[Verethragna]] and [[Tishtrya]], alongside other traditional Yazata who all have hymns within the Avesta and also local deities and culture-heroes. Today, enclosed and covered fire temples tend to be the focus of community worship where fires of varying grades are maintained by the clergy assigned to the temples.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ataskada-new-persian-house-of-fire-mid|title=ĀTAŠKADA|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=28 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728032103/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ataskada-new-persian-house-of-fire-mid|url-status=live}}</ref>

The incorporation of cultural and local rituals is quite common and traditions have been passed down in historically Zoroastrian communities such as herbal healing practices, wedding ceremonies, and the like.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2016/apr/11/iran-traditional-medicine-herbs-regulation-tehranbureau|title=Herbal life: traditional medicine gets a modern twist in Iran|last1=Ajiri|first1=Denise Hassanzade|date=11 April 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 July 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416204455/https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2016/apr/11/iran-traditional-medicine-herbs-regulation-tehranbureau|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/ritual/zwedding.htm|title=Zoroastrian Rituals: Wedding|website=Avesta|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=21 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521051350/http://avesta.org/ritual/zwedding.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS"/> Traditionally, Zoroastrian rituals have also included [[shamanic]] elements involving [[mystical]] methods such as [[spirit travel]] to the invisible realm and involving the consumption of [[fortified wine]], [[Haoma]], [[Bhang|mang]], and other ritual aids.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arda-wiraz-wiraz|title=ARDĀ WĪRĀZ|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=18 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518003556/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arda-wiraz-wiraz|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GĒTĪG AND MĒNŌG"/><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kartir|title=KARTIR|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=25 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625175526/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kartir|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bang-middle-and-new-persian-in-book-pahlavi-also-mang-arabicized-banj-a-kind-of-narcotic-plant|title=BANG|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713050625/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bang-middle-and-new-persian-in-book-pahlavi-also-mang-arabicized-banj-a-kind-of-narcotic-plant|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/magic-i-magical-elements-in-the-avesta-and-nerang-literature|title=MAGIC i. MAGICAL ELEMENTS IN THE AVESTA AND NĒRANG LITERATURE|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713204355/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/magic-i-magical-elements-in-the-avesta-and-nerang-literature|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Ossuary, Mullakurgan (near Samarkand), Uzbekistan, 7-8th century CE.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ossuary]] with reliefs of Zoroastrian priests attending a fire, Mullakurgan (near Samarkand), Uzbekistan, 7–8th century CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frantz |first1=Grenet |title=Splendeurs des oasis d'Ouzbékistan |date=2022 |publisher=Louvre Editions |location=Paris |isbn=978-8412527858 |page=159}}</ref>]]

In Zoroastrianism, water (''[[aban]]'') and fire (''[[atar]]'') are agents of ritual purity, and the associated purification ceremonies are considered the basis of ritual life. In Zoroastrian [[cosmogony]], water and fire are respectively the second and last primordial elements to have been created, and scripture considers fire to have its origin in the waters (re. which conception see [[Apam Napat]])<!-- (Boyce supposes this idea is due to an identification of lightning with rain) -->.

A corpse is considered a host for decay, i.e., of ''druj''. Consequently, scripture enjoins the safe disposal of the dead in a manner such that a corpse does not pollute the good creation. These injunctions are the doctrinal basis of the fast-fading traditional practice of ritual exposure, most commonly identified with the so-called [[Towers of Silence]] for which there is no standard technical term in either scripture or tradition. Ritual exposure is currently mainly practiced by Zoroastrian communities of the [[Indian subcontinent]], in locations where it is not illegal and [[diclofenac]] poisoning has not led to the virtual extinction of scavenger birds.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The central ritual of Zoroastrianism is the [[Yasna]], which is a recitation of the eponymous book of the Avesta and sacrificial ritual ceremony involving [[Haoma]].<ref name="YASNA">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yasna|title=YASNA|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=17 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517022410/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yasna|url-status=live}}</ref> Extensions to the Yasna ritual are possible through use of the [[Visperad]] and [[Vendidad]], but such an extended ritual is rare in modern Zoroastrianism.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/visperad|title=VISPERAD|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=2 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702004517/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/visperad|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/vendidad-parent|title=VENDĪDĀD|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713204357/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/vendidad-parent|url-status=live}}</ref> The Yasna itself descended from [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] sacrificial ceremonies and animal sacrifice of varying degrees are mentioned in the Avesta and are still practiced in Zoroastrianism albeit through reduced forms such as the sacrifice of fat before meals.<ref name="SACRIFICE i"/> High rituals such as the Yasna are considered to be the purview of the [[Mobad]]s with a corpus of individual and communal rituals and prayers included in the [[Khordeh Avesta]].<ref name="YASNA"/><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khordeh-avesta|title=KHORDEH AVESTĀ|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804050329/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khordeh-avesta|url-status=live}}</ref>

A Zoroastrian is welcomed into the faith through the [[Navjote]]/Sedreh Pushi ceremony, which is traditionally conducted during the later childhood or pre-teen years of the aspirant, though there is no defined age limit for the ritual.<ref name="ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS"/><ref name="Avesta">{{Cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/ritual/navjote.htm|title=Zoroastrian rituals: Navjote/Sudre-Pooshi (initiation) ceremony|website=Avesta|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=25 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025221655/http://avesta.org/ritual/navjote.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> After the ceremony, Zoroastrians are encouraged to wear their ''[[sedreh]]'' (ritual shirt) and ''[[kushti]]'' (ritual girdle) daily as a spiritual reminder and for mystical protection, though reformist Zoroastrians tend to only wear them during festivals, ceremonies, and prayers.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kustig|title=KUSTĪG|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331132954/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/kustig|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS"/><ref name="Avesta"/>

Historically, Zoroastrians are encouraged to pray the five daily [[Gāh]]s and to maintain and celebrate the various holy festivals of the [[Zoroastrian calendar]], which can differ from community to community.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gah|title=GĀH|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=10 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210055036/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/gah|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/festivals-i|title=Festivals i. Zoroastrian|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=11 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111074500/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/festivals-i|url-status=live}}</ref> Zoroastrian prayers, called {{transliteration|ae|[[Mantra|manthras]]}}, are conducted usually with hands outstretched in imitation of Zoroaster's prayer style described in the Gathas and are of a reflectionary and supplicant nature believed to be endowed with the ability to banish evil.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yenhe-hatam-prayer|title=YEŊ́HĒ HĀTĄM|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713204356/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yenhe-hatam-prayer|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asem-vohu-the-second-of-the-four-great-prayers|title=AŠƎM VOHŪ (Ashem vohu)|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713205853/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asem-vohu-the-second-of-the-four-great-prayers|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AHUNWAR"/> Devout Zoroastrians are known to cover their heads during prayer, either with traditional [[Kufi|topi]], scarves, other headwear, or even just their hands. However, full coverage and veiling which is traditional in Islamic practice is not a part of Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian women in Iran wear their head coverings displaying hair and their faces to defy mandates by the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cador-a-loose-female-garment-covering-the-body-sometimes-also-the-face|title=ČĀDOR (2)|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713150652/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cador-a-loose-female-garment-covering-the-body-sometimes-also-the-face|url-status=live}}</ref>