Ouranophobia-fear of the heavens

throughout theology and mythology
heaven is usually defined as a sacred place or state of being,
often the dwelling of the god or gods,
a reward for people who lived their lives virtuously
its usually depicted as a paradise of sorts
located above or beyond the limits of the ordinary world
ruled over by a deity floating on clouds

in dantes divine comedy he journeys through the 9 rings of hell,
purgatory, and heaven ending up in a garden of eden like place

in modern christianity heaven is where upon their
deaths dutiful and pious christians
spend their afterlifes in bliss awaiting the rapture
the final resurrection of christ
and the end of this world

in norse mythology heaven is called vahalla or hall of the dead
here those who have fallen valiantly in combat are rewarded
as they await ragnarok
a time when they will rise up and join forces with the gods to defeat all evil

in hinduism and buddhism the equivalent of heaven is nirvana
a state of profound peace of mind free from suffering
in hindu philosophy nirvana is a union with the brahman
for buddists the word nirvana is literally translated as "blown-out"
when a person reaches nirvana they have reached
absolute enlightenment and no longer need to exist


in most cases heaven appears to be a very blissful place
but i suppose its also an end and perhaps thats what people find fearful

of course fear of the heavens could refer to fear those who rule the heavens
zeus with his lightning bolt sitting smug high on mt olympus
and then of course theres the army of archangels to carry out gods wrath
armed with spears and flaming swords
sure to strike fear in the hearts of all who behold them

when children are misbehaving people often say
"someone needs to put the fear of god in them"
fear of the heavens could very well be the fear of god

and it's been said that religion was designed
as a way of controlling the masses
so fear of the heavens could also refer to the fear of religion
or more accurately the fear of being controlled
the power of fear in our lives is quite amazing.


"love is what we were born with. fear is what we learned here."
                 -marianne williamson