Editing Zoroastrian Theocracy (section)

=== Practices and Rituals ===
Throughout its history, Zoroastrianism has centered its worship and pilgrimage on shrines and temples. Early followers worshipped outdoors on mounds and hills with open-sky fires. As the Achaemenid Empire expanded, shrines dedicated to various deities, including Mithra and Anahita, were built across the empire. Today, worship mainly occurs in enclosed fire temples where clergy maintain fires of different grades.

Zoroastrianism incorporates cultural and local rituals, including herbal healing practices and wedding ceremonies, passed down in its communities. Traditional rituals had shamanic elements, involving spirit travel and consuming ritual aids like Haoma.

In Zoroastrianism, water and fire play crucial roles in purification ceremonies. Both elements symbolize life, with fire representing spiritual insight and wisdom, and water being the source of that wisdom. Prayers are often conducted in the presence of fire, and the main worship ritual involves strengthening the waters.

Dealing with the deceased is carefully managed to avoid polluting the good creation. Some communities practice ritual exposure, while others cremate or bury their dead.

The central ritual is the Yasna, a recitation of the Avesta's book and a sacrificial ceremony involving Haoma. The Yasna is a high ritual led by Mobads, who also oversee other rituals and prayers in the Khordeh Avesta.

Zoroastrians enter the faith through the Navjote/Sedreh Pushi ceremony, typically held during childhood or pre-teen years. Afterward, believers are encouraged to wear their ritual shirt and girdle daily for spiritual reminders and protection.

Historically, Zoroastrians pray the five daily Gāhs and celebrate various holy festivals based on their calendar. Prayers, called manthras, are reflective and supplicant, believed to have the power to banish evil. During prayer, devout Zoroastrians may cover their heads, but full veiling is not part of Zoroastrian practice. Iranian Zoroastrian women, for instance, display their hair and faces during prayers in defiance of Islamic Republic mandates.