Let me take you on a historical and spiritual quest to understand our relationship with the cow cult, yes that's right your ancestors were cow worshipers. Most people respect their ancestral heritage as an important part of our lineage, so how have we manage to forget about the Heavenly cow?

I want to start by letting you know that I am vegan and so are cows, they are gentle creatures that humans have respected, loved and given the status of the goddess. When people tell me that it is normal and natural to use diary products and eat beef because we have always been doing so, I often wonder who is teaching them history? Why do human beings believe they know everything when actually they base their actions and beliefs on assumptions and indoctrination. People tell me these are cultural traditions but like most traditions somewhere down the line they are used to stagnate and control people by the ones who are power hungry. If you look at human history from an anthropological and or evolutionary perspective, we see that humans were always crossing culturally and evolving traditions and customs. So if you think we need to hold onto cultural practices, you must first try and find the history of where these practices actually originated from. If we go far back enough in history, we will find a time when human beings survived perfectly well without domesticating animals and farming the land.

There was a time when cows were not our personal drinking fountains, Aurochs, were the wild ancestors of modern cows, they once ranged over large areas of Asia, Europe and North Africa. Modern human's homo sapiens appeared 200,000 BC, between 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, the neolithic revolution took place on the fertile crescent, where humans manipulated agriculture and domesticated animals and the earliest evidence of milking cow was 4000 BC,[1] whilst all this was going on and even prior to the domestication of cows, they were held in high esteem. They were seen as a symbol for fertility and a life giving source. Before cows were used for milk production they were used to turn the soil they were very important tool and therefore not killed for meat, you don't kill your best worker! the ancient Egyptian culture was mainly vegetarian due to the fact they could easily cultivate grains and plant based products, thanks to cow and the Nile.[2]

The ancient Egyptians created a sacred text Book of the Heavenly Cow which appears in the tombs of pharaohs dating back 13,000 and the text it self may have been written in 2050 BC and 1710 BC in the Middle Kingdom period.[3] The domestication of cows took place 3100 BC [1] but they still "held the cow sacred and dedicated her to Isis, goddess of agriculture; but more than that, the cow was a goddess in her own right, named Hathor, who guarded the fertility”[4]

Isis was the sister and husband of Osiris (the son of Hathor) Isis symbolism was very similar to that of Hathor. A huge cult developed about Osiris that lasted well into Roman times. Isis was her husband's queen in the underworld and the theological basis for the role of the queen on earth. It can be said that she was a version of the great goddess Hathor. Like Hathor she not only had death and rebirth associations, but was the protector of children and the goddess of childbirth[5]

The ancient Egyptians were deeply spiritual and found symbolism connected with the natural world around them and written within the stars... The cow is also closely connected to the Sun or Ra (Sun God), when the cow was represented as the eye of Ra she was his daughter but also in a creation story the cow carried Ra between her horns. This symbolism maybe a representation of the passing of day and night. The Goddess Nut (who is also a version of Hathor aswell) her name meaning sky quite possibly represents the night (she is also known as Nuit, meaning night in French). The cows horns symbolize the crescent moon, and the moon represents the feminine energy. In western astrology the sign of Taurus is exalted in the moon sign and many crops can be planted according the moon cycle, seeds sprout on the crescent moon.
The four legs of the celestial cow represented Nut or Hathor could, in one account, be seen as the pillars on which the sky was supported with the stars on their bellies constituting the Milky Way on which the solar barque of Ra, representing the sun, sailed[6]

[1]

Isis and Osiris like Ra and Hathor, are symbolically opposites, masculine and feminine energies. The words Isis and Osiris are also very similar to the name of the star constellation of Sirius. The pyramids of Giza looked to have been purposely designed to reflect the constellation of Orion pointing to Sirius - O ( rion ) siri(u)s.
Michael Rice wrote in his Egypt's Legacy, "the evidence that the most refined astronomical observation was practised in Egypt in the third millennium BC (and probably even before that date) is clear from the precision with which the Pyramids at Giza are aligned to the cardinal points, a precision which could only have been achieved by their alignment with the stars."[7]

[2]

"Many Egyptian buildings were built with an astronomical orientation. The temples and pyramids were constructed in relation to the stars, zodiac, and constellations. In different cities, the buildings had different orientations based on the specific religion of that place. For instance, some temples were constructed to align with a star that either rose or set at harvest or sowing time. Others were oriented toward the solstices or equinoxes. As early as 4000 B.C., temples were built so that sunlight entered a room at only one precise time of the year."[8] Ancient Egyptians were adept astronomers and master craftsmen, accurately marking the passage of time, this enabled them to plan precisely their agricultural activities which enabled them to create an advanced ancient civilization that modern man still doesn't fully understand and is in awe of even to this day.

[3]

Astrologically speaking the ancient Egyptians were looking at a different sky than we do today because of the great procession, procession of the equinoxes or also known as "axial procession is a gravity-induced, slow, and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In particular, it can refer to the gradual shift in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation in a cycle of approximately 26,000 years."[9] Interesting that Hathor was also know as the mistress of the west (sunset) carrying souls into the afterlife. "equinoxes moved westward along the ecliptic relative to the fixed stars, opposite to the yearly motion of the Sun along the ecliptic."[9] The image above right shows the cardinal cross the Egyptians would of experienced during their civilization which is different compared to the image above left, our current cardinal cross.

[4]

Here is Isis depicted with wings representing the Eagle also known as Scorpio the opposite sign to Taurus. Scorpio represents death and rebirth, exactly like Hathor. Ancient Egyptian cosmic wisdom teaches us the power of opposites in nature, they left a visual diary of artifacts that are rich with highly sophisticated spiritualism for us to interpret. However western Egyptology has undermined a lot of the obvious visual facts by inferring biased white washed perspectives upon a a highly advanced north African culture that influenced European cultures.
"The scene is telling us that all of Egypt – the entirety of the nation itself – is laid out upon the same principles of “harmony” and the “balance of opposites” on which the Universe is laid out (maat). The scene tells us that in order to balance our own lives, we must live in a way that is in harmony with the Universe.By aligning their monuments to astronomical events like the solstices and equinoxes, the Egyptians (and the ancients in general) were pulling that heavenly harmony down to earth and into their own lives. They knew that old astrological Wisdom Teaching that “Man is the Microcosm” and the “Universe is the Macrocosm” and they certainly practiced the concept of “As Above, So Below” by aligning their monuments astronomically.Perhaps more interestingly, they also knew something more about this Wisdom Teaching that few people today understand: “As Inside, So Outside.”[10]

[5]

The ancient Egyptians are just one example of ancient civilizations that came to the same universal principles, who build pyramidal structures representing the 3 fold principle, the symbol of the higher man: Spirit Self, Life Spirit and Spirit Man. The cross is one of the most widely replicated symbols across the planet spanning throughout history, in many cultures and religions. The ancient Egyptians teach us by choosing the central path (opening the third eye) we can balance our own internal masculine and feminine energies, by allowing the base (carnal/unconscious) energies from the bottom of the spine be channeled to the crown of the head (spiritual /conscious).

A yoga diet is animal product free because God's divine energy is able to flow through the body more easily when you refrain from carry death inside your body. Our human bodies are channels that get blocked by negative energies, when the body is treated as if it is a temple then the spirit of God is able to reside there. God is light which brings life, this is not to say God was not borne from death, because yin and yang is an infinite energy. The ancient Egyptians understood and respected the importance of the life and death cycle because for them there was always eternal light after death. Just like in Scorpio season when the leaves start to fall and mulch into the ground, It brings nutrients for a new life. Most world cultures represented this circle movement shown to us in nature, in their life and death practices. For them there was an obvious karmic cycle. By refraining from killing and eating animals in our waking life, we stop absorbing that death energy and our reality completely changes to a higher conscious perspective for a respect for all life expressions, that they all carry the spirit of the life force (God) within. And quite literally our physical bodies don't deteriorate as quickly, and are less susceptible to diseases when we stop consuming dead flesh.

[6]

Choosing the central path is to choose the conscious path, it is the balance and harmony that works within nature. Human experience itself is a spiritual journey by default, because if we had not as a human race had spiritual experiences we would not of evolved into the modern humans we know today. Writing, art and technology developed from learning the natural laws. Today most people choose to learn man made laws? Such as death camps for animals. The mass world wide industry to slaughter animals is a man made construct not in keeping with the earths natural balance.

Hindus also have a deep respect for the cow, as a life giving force and practice vegetarianism, same goes for other dharma religion, so were early Christians, Islam promotes vegetarianism as a healthy and virtuous path. Native Americans sometimes hunted but there were many complex spiritual rights of passage that allowed someone to hunt an animal, it was always sustainable and respectful. Culture comes about from religious and spiritual practices that are intrinsically tied with our survival practices, what we put in our mouths. So where did this modern mass meat eating industry that we know today come from? It started with the industrial revolutions when people were forced to leave the provincial life behind and work in factories. Some of these factories were responsible for creating meat into a commodity and the the big global meat eating boom happened as a post war phenomenon created by new world order societies to slave and control people. If you can control food then you control every person, because we need it to survive. New technologies and life styles meant that many people were no longer interested in providing their own sustenance, modern city living meant there was no time and space to grow our own. In 1950 0.1 billion animals were slaughtered in the US, in 2015 9.2 billion animals were slaughtered, since the last 2 years that number has halved, don't be fooled that this a considerable drop because the USA also still import beef [11]

[7]

The picture above left is a contest of the American air force to try and milk a wild cow at Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs. Look how unhappy and petrified this cow is, naturally cows are gentle creatures until they feel threatened. If this cow wanted to be milked these guys wouldn't need helmets. Bull fighting is another cultural tradition that has out dated itself. Fighting bulls are groomed from the wild, for instance men will pick out a wild bull to separate it from it's herd deliberately at a young age, to make the bull angry towards men. Matador Torero Alvaro Munera, (picture top right) the day he gave up bull fighting for good. He collapsed in remorse in the stadium when he was aware that he was having to make the bull fight him. Torrero Munera is quoted as saying of this moment: "And suddenly, I looked at the bull. He had this innocence that all animals have in their eyes, and he looked at me with this pleading. It was like a cry for justice, deep down inside of me. I describe it as being like a prayer - because if one confesses, it is hoped, that one is forgiven. I felt like the worst shit on earth. "Cows are amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them; and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures.[12]

[8]

Cows are sensory creatures, they love to lick and rub each other, they need the comfort of their own herd, they feel stress and depression if they can't live a natural and ordinary life. "Cows are emotionally complex, social animals who develop close relationships with other cows. Mothers and calves have especially close bonds. Cows are deeply devoted to their young, and the bond formed between a mother and her calf remains long after the baby is an adult, with mothers and their offspring remaining together as grazing partners for years. Sadly, dairy cows are unable to experience this relationship."[13] Sadly Billions of cattle are used as a factory production line to make white water. To do this they have to be impregnated this is how they are raped by being artificially inseminated, then their calves are taken away from them from the first day of birth and forced to live in solitary confinement, if they aren't just battered to death! This cycle is constantly repeated without a natural break, until the cow is completely exhausted and dies at a premature age. When you drink milk from these sources you are drinking, antibiotics, puss, growth hormones and not to mention the energetic impact. I'm sorry but Organic doesn't necessarily mean cruelty free, it just means you pay more to exploit animals
"Like factory-farm cows, organic-farm cows are forced to experience the emotional distress of losing a child continuously until they are brought to slaughter. An organic dairy cow is seen as having one purpose in life: to produce milk – not milk to feed her babies, but milk to sell to millions of Americans. How fulfilling! Because of this, dairy cows are artificially inseminated every year, only going a couple months in between pregnancies during their entire lifespan. Once the cow gives birth, her calf is immediately taken away from her so it doesn’t drink ANY of her precious money…sorry, I meant milk."[14]

Please stop cruelty and crimes against cows and all living beings! The glass of milk, cheese, yogurt, beef, ham, chicken wings, egg sandwich is not worth the misery, pain and exploitation of any living being. We are just one element in a larger universe. We are not given the power and the right to abuse animals to make big business out of them to gratify cravings and addictions of the masses. We have to wake up and be the change we see in the world. By choosing not to buy these products you choose life not death. You pay homage to the advanced spiritual teachings of our ancient ancestors who respected and revered all living beings as gods not commodities.

Did the ancients suspect that the shape of our universe is thought to be the that of a torus (Taurus) field which looks like the bulls horns. This gives us an even more infinite representation of the life and death cycle that the heavenly cow symbolizes.

[9]

as Above, so Below

We must live in a way that is in harmony with the Universe. By aligning our lives with the bigger picture, the whole universe and our place in it, we can pull that heavenly harmony down to earth and into our own lives, like the Ancients once did. They knew that old astrological Wisdom Teaching that “Man is the Microcosm” and the “Universe is the Macrocosm”

We all need to embrace this ancient knowledge and practice it daily, most importantly for ourselves, for other beings and for the planet as a whole.