Is vegetarianism a spiritual step?
The percentage of vegetarians and vegans in the West is definitely on the rise. Reduced meat and animal protein diets have convinced many of their benefits. There are occult reasons for this. They relate to metaphysical beliefs.
Does a diet reduced in animal protein have an effect on our psychology, or has our psychology been influenced by the aesthetics of ancient and modern myths? While awareness of the impact of our food choices is growing compared to the past, spiritual motivations are also emerging. Morality, health and environmentalism are not enough to motivate us; there is a need that shines through, shaped by nostalgia for ideal worlds.
In ancient mythologies, many foods were considered sacred or symbolic. In Greek mythology, for example, the pomegranate was associated with Persephone and the cycle of the seasons, while nectar and ambrosia were considered the food of the gods. These symbolisms had an impact not only on the cultural value of certain foods, but also on their spiritual and religious implications. Some foods are still used today in ritual or ceremonial practices because of their mythological significance.
In modern times, the influence of mythology on food is more subtle, but still present. Utopian visions of the future in modern spiritual culture and extraterrestrial imagery often offer a fascinating fusion of vitalism and harmony, embodying the synthesis of technological progress and respect for life in all its forms.
In science fiction, as well as in “alien cults”, we often find advanced civilizations that have overcome the environmental and social challenges we face today. These narratives depict societies in which technology is no longer a destructive force, but a tool for preserving and enriching life. They emancipate living beings from captivity to other species. These beings are described as peaceful, wise, and deeply connected to the forces of nature and the universe; they certainly reflect the human desire to transcend current physical and moral limitations and compromises.
These themes are deeply connected to the modern spiritual quest, which often focuses on the balance between progress and preservation, between our technological nature and our need to connect with the natural world.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a vegetarian as One who lives wholly or principally upon vegetable foods; a person who on principle abstains from any form of animal food, or at least such as is obtained by the direct destruction of [sentient, animal] life. I put the words “sentient” and “animal” in the sentence because it is usually not life itself but sentient animal life that is discriminated against; that is, except among “fruitarians” and some Jains and Buddhists who value plant life as much as animal life.
Looking at the historical mythopoetic roots, an existential narrative of the dynamic between unconscious order and freedom in chaos emerges. Human life is juxtaposed between the two extremes of tyranny and anarchy. God’s original plan included an implicit prohibition against killing other creatures for food; vegetarianism can also be interpreted in light of the human evolutionary narrative, considering that the transition from forager to predator to domesticator has profoundly influenced our psychology and culture. This transition process led to the ritualization of meat consumption, with religious and symbolic implications. Howard Williams, an activist, writer, and member of the London Vegetarian Society who lived between 1837 and 1931, believed that vegetarianism should be based on universal justice and compassion, the foundations of any valid ethical system. Williams criticized society’s indifference to animal suffering, attributing it, like slavery and racism, to the power of habit and cultural prejudice. He thus promoted a vegetarianism based not on asceticism but on aestheticism, the pursuit of pleasures greater than the mere satisfaction of carnal needs.
These arguments illustrate how vegetarianism has historically been linked to a broader vision of ethics, spirituality, and human responsibility toward the animal world. Mythologies and ancient stories often depict humanity as originally vegetarian, in a time of primordial peace and innocence. They associate the consumption of meat with animal cruelty and human slavery.
It seems implicit that a vegetarian diet reduces animal suffering and positively influences human morality.
Return to origins
Vegetarianism is found in various spiritual and religious contexts, particularly in Eastern traditions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, where nonviolence and compassion for all living beings are central principles. The principle of Ahimsa, which can be translated as non-violence, is found in religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, and promotes vegetarianism as a way to avoid harming animals. Diet was also debated by the great Hellenic philosophers; the idea that animals were meant for human use extends into philosophical discourse as far back as Xenophon and Aristotle, who lived at different times between 430 and 322 BC. Many Christians and Jews interpret Genesis as the origin of man’s “dominion” over animals. They see in this biblical passage the moral license that allows them to use animals for their own ends.
Are there any specific references to this issue in the monotheistic religions? The Torah indicates that animals and humans were initially to feed exclusively on plant foods, suggesting that vegetarianism was part of the original world order. Nachmanides, the first major rabbinic scholar to accept and legitimize the use of Kabbalah, who lived in the 13th century, argued that all sentient creatures possess a soul and a certain spiritual superiority, thus bringing them closer to humans. On the other hand, it was the 15th century Jewish philosopher Rabbi Joseph Albo who pointed out that killing animals involves cruelty and habituates the evil habit of shedding innocent blood. The laws of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) impose strict restrictions on the killing and eating of meat, suggesting that it is a non-ideal act and is permitted only under certain conditions. Similar dietary practices coexist in Islam, where it is “halal”, indicating its dietary precepts: the animal must be slaughtered according to specific rules, and the consumption of pork, carnivorous or omnivorous animals, birds of prey, and any animal that has died outside the precepts is categorically forbidden.
There is a sense of mystery and compassion about our ability to dispose of other living beings in a deliberate and necessary way.
The prophet Isaiah describes a time when all living things, including aquatic and celestial, lived in harmony without the need to destroy one life to sustain another. The Book of Genesis describes a time when the generations from Adam to Noah did not consume animal flesh; God gave Adam and his descendants plants and fruits to eat (Genesis 1:29), until the time after the Flood when God told Noah and his sons that they could eat meat (Genesis 9:3). After the Flood, meat was allowed as a concession to human weakness, but with many restrictions, including the prohibition against eating blood.
Manna, the food provided by God to the Israelites in the desert, was of non-animal origin and is seen as an example of divine providence that a vegetarian diet is compatible with life. Rabbi Isaac Kook, an influential mystical thinker who lived until 1935, argued that the permission to eat meat was only a temporary concession and that an ideal future would include a return to a vegetarian diet. In an ideal future state, as in the beginning, neither humans nor animals will eat meat, and no one will harm or destroy another living creature.
Both East and West seem to share a commitment to nonviolence and compassion for all living beings as a step toward the messianic age, suggesting that vegetarianism is an active participation in the divine plan or a fundamental aspect of the spiritual path. Mircea Eliade, a noted anthropologist of religions, interprets the desire to return to these mythical origins as an attempt to escape historical decadence, a yearning to recover the lost perfection of divine creation. In representations of paradise on earth, as in Hellenic Arcadia, life is simple and adventurous, and qualities such as Eros, loyalty, courage, and respect are emphasized. This world, reminiscent of mythical figures such as Pan, King Arthur, and Rousseau’s “good savage,” reflects an earthly and vigorous existence. Together with Eden, they both represent an idealized past, and although different in their symbolism and idealism, they share a conflict with the cultured soul of the city and its technology, which revels in progress, science and luxury.
The journey through vegetarianism and spirituality revealed to us a complex web where food, faith and philosophy intertwine to create a mosaic of profound meanings. A food choice that appears to be a step toward a more complete integration of the human being into the fabric of existence. Vegetarianism, as we have seen, is not simply a diet, but a powerful symbol and statement of intent: every food choice becomes an act of co-creation with the divine, a conscious step toward a universe in which human beings are liberated from need and reintegrated into the sacredness of life.
