In Tantra and Hinduism, an inanimate object such as a small (or sometimes, large) statue or idol into which deity is invoked. The object is then considered fit for worship as it now is the deity. This idolatry, although contrary to biblical injunctions, is based on the concept that deity is everywhere, so it could certainly fill a statue, drawing, etc.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Steele Alexandra Douris, author of the new Spirits, Seers & Séances.
Those of us who enjoy the interplay of the seasonal and the spectral can learn a lot from the Victorians, whose celebrations...