by Bruce Johnson —
Bruce Johnson has over 30 years of study in the fields of Ancient Wisdom and occultism. He has taught classes on a wide range of topics, from Atlantis to mediums to Zoroaster. He is also a spiritualist minister, with a background in spiritual astrology. He lives in Colorado with his wife and their cat.
Vahana is a Sanskrit word that indicates a vehicle or carrier utilized by a divine being for transportation upon planes lower than its own intrinsic one. Vahanas of all forms and types can be seen not only in Hinduism, but in Occultism and many other philosophies as well. Vahanas fall into two general categories. The first type of Vahana [often depicted as a chariot or animal], commonly incorporates one or more creatures symbolic of lesser forces, that are controlled by a godly being. The second type of vehicle consists of the multiple bodies the human Soul uses to interact and function on levels below the Soul plane.
Examples of venerated entities and their vehicles include- Indra and his white elephant, Vishnu and Lakshimi riding the divine sun bird Garuda, Quetzalcoatl and his magical serpent raft drawn by dragons, the Egyptian sun-god Re guiding his solar boat, Ganessa and his mouse, Varuna the water god riding his sea monster Makara, the god Kama with a parrot as a vehicle, and Agni the fire deity who rides a ram.
The vehicles or bodies of the human Soul can be understood through the geometric combination of an up-ward pointing equilateral triangle aligned with and hovering above a square. The apex of the triangle symbolizes the Soul in its unmanifested form. The left-hand corner of the triangle illustrates the Buddhic or Spiritual body. The triangle’s right-hand corner indicates the vehicle variously known as the Causal or Intuitive body. These three vehicles compose the upper triad of the Individuality or Higher Self.
The upper left-hand corner of the square signifies the Mental body, with the upper right-hand corner portraying the Emotional body. The lower left-hand corner of the square designates the Astral vehicle, with the lower right-hand corner of the square symbolizing the physical body. These four bodies are called the lower quaternary and represent the Personality or lower self. This triangle/square symbol describes the seven human bodies and their order of density from the finest Soul level to the solid physical body. The bodies mentioned above are based on this writers knowledge, with other writers sometimes using different terms, numbers, and placements for the human vehicles.
The dual symbol of a god and their single vahana is rooted in esoteric fact. With extremely advanced individuals, the five lower bodies are eventually discarded, leaving the Spiritual body as the remaining vehicle of the Soul. Here we have the Adept who is pictured as a double-headed eagle, with both heads of the eagle wearing a crown. This symbol displays a meaning of spiritual perfection, a unification of the spiritual and material principles, and the highest Soul level attainable.
The charioteer and their chariot is a familiar symbol for the divine Self directing its vehicle. Chariots can be linked to all four elements of Nature. The Chariot card of the Tarot would be an example of an earth-related chariot. Various divinities are known for driving chariots pulled by- all colors and types of 4-legged horses, swans, foxes, he-goats, deer, golden finned seahorses, roosters, cats, peacocks, and with some Chariot Tarot cards, white and black sphinxes. Two additional examples of cards with drivers and vachanas in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck are The Sun card and the Death card, each containing a rider on a white horse.
