Plants considered Sacred to Shiva:
Marijuana, Golden Apples (Bael fruit), Ashoka Trees, Peepal Trees, Banyan Trees, Coconut Trees, Red Sandalwood Trees, Kesara Trees & Champaka Trees.
Concepts to Know
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchalohahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilpa_Shastrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakshahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lokahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YidamRudraksha beads are considered sacred to Shiva.
Mercury (Parad) is considered sacred to Shiva.
Venus = ♀
Mars = ♂
Saturn = Saturday = Lead
Sun = Sunday = Gold
Moon = Monday = Silver
Mars = Tuesday = Iron
Mercury = Wednesday = Mercury
Jupiter = Thursday = Tin
Venus = Friday = Copper
Ashtadhatu is a mixture of all metals.
Crown = Violet = Clear Quartz
Third Eye = Indigo = Amethyst
Throat = Blue = Sodalite
Heart = Green = Rose Quartz
Solar Plexus = Yellow = Citrine
Sacral = Orange = Carnelian
Root = Red = Hematite
Shiva/Rudra = Marijuana/Rudraksha = Shiva Lingum
Kali = Datura = Crematorium
The Earth goes around the Sun, as we all know, and as the Earth goes around the Sun the Sun actually seems to move across the Horizon and it passes through those Constellations. Every day the Sun comes up in a slightly different spot than the day before, and in 365 days it goes back to the original spot. This is how Egyptians and Mayans had such great Calendars, they just made a wall to act as a fake Horizon for the Sun, then they would mark a line on the wall where the Sun rose, and at the end of the year they had 365 marks. And as the Sun seems to move around the Earth throughout the year, it passes through different Stars, and these Stars became the Constellations.
Aries, the Ram=April=Amethyst
Taurus, the Bull=May=Agate
Gemini, the Twins=June=Beryl
Cancer, the Crab=July=Emerald
Leo, the Lion=August=Ruby
Virgo, the Virgin=September=Jasper
Libra, the Balance=October=Diamond
Scorpio, the Scorpion=November=Topaz
Sagittarius, the Archer=December=Carbuncle
Capricorn, the Goat=January=Onyx Chalcedony
Aquarius, the Waterbearer=February=Sapphire
Pisces, the Fishes=March =Chrysolite
The Ogdoad can be found as a theme throughout most modern religions and some ancient Religions. An example of this is ancient Egypt. In the picture above you can see that the Sun has been placed in a boat, this is known as the Solar boat and it is thought to be part of the force that moves the Sun and the Moon across the sky. But if you look in the Solar boat you will see more Gods than just the Sun and moon, this is because the Egyptians noticed the Planets in the sky and called them Gods, just like the Sun is a God. This religion can be found in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Sumeria, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and Modern India/Hinduism.
Then there was Horus who represented the Horizon, but he was the planet Mars. They figured out the Cycle of Mars just like the Sun, and they also had the Moon's Cycles (And Moon Cycles give the lengths of our Months) and the Cycles of various planets. Even the Jewish Nomads knew about some of the Planets, they called Mars 'The Blushing One'. And in Christianity the 7 known planets of the time can be found in the Ancient Greek Christian Gnostic idea of The 7 Heavens which represented the Bodies in the Heavens the Heavenly Bodies or Planets. Some people like to say "They Planets were named after the Gods, the Gods weren't named after the planets" but that would only be true if Greece and Rome discovered the planets independently, but Greece found them first and gave them to Rome. And Egypt and Sumeria actually found them first. The 7 Heavenly bodies can still be found in our days of the week "Sun day" for the Sun, "Mon Day" for the Moon, etc. And the spoked wheel spread with this knowledge, an the spokes and their function are themselves a symbol of this.
A lot of people see statues of Zeus now a days and think that Ancient people thought Zeus threw lightning bolts at them, but before people knew about Gravity and the Atmosphere, they thought the Planets controlled the weather and it was specifically thought that Jupiter (Zeus) controlled the Lightning.
Many plants used to be thought to have a cycle based on the Planets and not the sun, and in the modern 'Old Farmer's Almanac' every year they publish the planetary crop planting cycle. And the history of Machines and Gears actually comes from the measuring of the sky on boats, and people making mechanical navigation devices. So Machines come from this also.
In Dream Yoga the Dream world is seen as a place where you can gain enlightenment, and the goal of Dream Yoga is to make massive progress in your dreams.It is similar to regular Yoga and is based on some of the same ideas. For example "Sadhana" which is Spiritual Progress, which is the base word of "Sadhu", which is a Shaivite Priest.
When you read most Lucid Dream Guides, they will usually just get you to the Point of Lucid Dreaming. Much of it is focused on the WILD, MILD, DILD, WBTB, etc etc. Techniques. But often times people do not make suggestions past that, except maybe to Fly or Meditate or use Jedi powers. But in Tibetan Dream Yoga "Realize You are Dreaming" is step 1. Not the last step like in usual guides, that is the first step in Dream Yoga.
The next goal in Dream Yoga is to eliminate any fears while dreaming. So once you "Realize you are in a dream" you have to actually "Realize you are not in the real world" so you have no restrictions. Breathe underwater, Put out fire with your hands, Jump off a cliff, Find a snake or anything else you may be afraid of or think can harm you.
Then once you are aware that you are not in the real world, the goal is to contemplate the real world and how it is similar in how time passes and things happen, etc. Meditate on reality while you are in your dream.
You can always go back to thinking about reality and interchange between different goals, but the next goal is to take control of the dream world. Playing with the Physics instead of just living within them. Not just making yourself fly, but making a tree carry you to the clouds. Or changing the weather or moving the Sun, Moon and Stars. Or Shrinking a mountain. Also try making things completely different, for example turning a Fish into a Dog, or turning a Tree into a Person.
Then, you have to realize that in the dream you are not a constant object. You can also change in the dream to become other things.
Then from there, the goal is to contact different entities in the dream and travel to different places with them or through them. These worlds are known as "Loka" in the ancient Sanskrit Language and are also talked about in Hindu tradition. The Entities you are supposed to seek are known as "Yidam" and can also be found in Buddhist Yoga.
Comparing your dreams to reality is a must in Dream Yoga so writing down your dreams is probably a good way to start doing that. Also thinking about your dreams while you Meditate is a good opposite technique to Meditating on Reality while you are dreaming.
A Ritual used in Tibetan Dream Yoga is known as the "RAOM GAOM" Mantra, where you say "RRRAAAOOOMMMM" and "GGGGAAAOOOMMM" with special emphasis on the "O". This is meant to help you remember your dreams if you do it when you wake up.
This is the Dream Yoga technique for inducing Dreams. The Symbol below is the Tibetan Syllable that sounds like "Ah". If you imagine this symbol in the middle of your chest, and think "Ahhhhhhh" in your head. It will help you go into a Vivid or Lucid dream.
The Calendar is 52 Weeks, a Card Deck is 52 Cards. The Deck of Cards that we all know today comes from Tarot Cards. Spades is Swords, Clubs is Wands, Diamonds is Pentagrams/Coins, and Hearts is Chalices. There are 52 Cards in a Deck, and 52 Weeks in a year. There are 4 Suits, and there are 4 Seasons. Knowing this you can begin to see how Systems were created for Predicting things using Cards.
Each of the 4 Seasons has been associated with a Direction, a Lunar Pattern, a Solar Pattern and a Color; The Seasons are also associated with the Birth Signs (Capricorn, Aquarius, Leo, Libra, Pieces, etc). This is what is used in Cultures all over the world, it is also in the Native American Medicine Wheel. And in the Chinese Calendar, as well as other Calendars, the Years are associated with Animals. In the Chinese Animals Calendar you can begin to see the larger Cycles of time, that are forgotten in the modern day to day, year to year thinking.
North:
Earth
Diamonds/Pentagrams
New Moon
Winter
Midnight
Green
West:
Water
Hearts/Chalices
Waning Moon
Autumn
Sunset
Blue
East:
Air
Clubs/Wands
Waxing Moon
Spring
Sunrise
Yellow
South:
Fire
Spades/Swords
Full Moon
Summer
Noon
Red
Panchaloha (Sanskrit Devanagari: पञ्चलोह; Tamil: பஞ்சலோகம், ஐம்பொன்(aimpon); IAST: pañcaloha; Tibetan: ལྕགས་རིགས་སྣ་ལྔ, Wylie: lcags rigs sna lnga) (also called Panchaloham, Panchdhatu - literally, "five metals") is a term for traditional five-metal alloys of sacred significance used for making Hindu temple idols (Murti). Making Panchaloha images was a well kept secret for a long time and their color changing properties added to their mysticism.
The composition is laid down in the Shilpa shastras, an ancient Sanskrit text on idol making. It is traditionally described as an alloy of gold(Au), silver(Ag), copper(Cu), iron(Fe) and lead(Pb) as the major constituent. Instead of lead, some use tin (Sn) or zinc (Zn). It is widely believed that wearing jewellery made of Panchaloha / Panchdhatu brings balance in life, self-confidence, good health, fortune, prosperity, and peace of mind.
In some traditions, particularly Tibetan, it was considered auspicious to use thokcha, meteorite iron; either as a component of the alloy in general, or for a specific object or purpose. The amount used could vary, depending upon the material's availability and suitability, among other considerations. A small, largely symbolic quantity of "sky-iron" might be added, or it might be included as a significant part of the alloy-recipe.
Practical compositions are Cu, Au, Ag, Pb and Zn; Cu, Ag, Pb, Fe and Sn; and Sn, Cu, Fe, Pb, and brass. Because of the cost, gold and silver are now omitted from the manufacture of general-purpose icons, where copper, brass, and lead in the ratio 29:2:1 are used.
In Hinduism, a murti (Devanagari: मूर्ति), or murthi, or vigraha or pratima typically refers to an image that expresses a Divine Spirit (murta). Meaning literally "embodiment", a murti is a representation of a divinity, made usually of stone, wood, or metal, which serves as a means through which a divinity may be worshiped. Hindus consider a murti worthy of serving as a focus of divine worship only after the divine is invoked in it for the purpose of offering worship. The depiction of the divinity must reflect the gestures and proportions outlined in religious tradition.
A murti is a means of communication with the god or Brahman in Hinduism. Murti is a Sanskrit term which is meant to point to the transcendent "otherness" of the divine; therefore the word "murti" cannot be substituted with or translated as statue or idol without losing the underlying concept's inherent meaning and taking on unrelated connotations.