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The Cult of Magna Mater, the Great Mother, is probably the oldest religion of all. The earliest stone-age sculptures depict the mother-goddess and an idol found in Catal Hüyük, 6000 years old, depict her in the form she later became worshipped as Cybele in Phrygia, a seated woman flanked by two leopards. The worship evolved through the millennia but the goddess remained a symbol of the powerful female forces in the universe. Many different interpretations appeared and various cults have interacted and mixed ideas.

Not much is known about her worship in ancient times but in her incarnation as Cybele in ancient Phrygia she started the cult which would later evolve into the cult of Magna Mater in Rome. As a small child she was put out into the wilderness to die but instead of killing her the panthers and lions nurtured her and she grew up into an intelligent, beautiful and headstrong woman. It is not impossible that she was a child mage who was later deified. She invented pipes and drums and also magickal medicines which she used to heal sick children and creatures in the Phrygian countryside. She became friend of not only the animals and people but also the satyrs and other supernatural beings. She fell in love with prince Attis but their love story was tragic. The intense love of the divine Cybele was too much for the mortal prince and he went mad, castrated himself and died. Cybele, driven mad by grief, roamed around to sound of pipes and drums seeking her lost love.

The links between this story and the cult of Inanna/Ishtar/Asherah are quite obvious and both cults influenced each other heavily. Attis was identified with Dumuzi and Tammuz, other dead and resurrected gods. The cults were widespread and Ezekiel mentions the female worship of Tammuz in his lamentation over the spread of paganism in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:14).

Around 200 BC the holy black rock of the goddess was moved from the Phrygian city of Pessinos, which had been the previous centre of her worship. Rome became the new center and her cult grew. The romans identified Cybele with the Greek Rhea and called her Magna Mater, the Great Mother. The priests of the cult were men who had castrated themselves in front of her image but most of the followers were women. The cult was a tumultuous, noisy and ecstatic affair which attracted many people. Only women (and castrated men) were allowed to attend the main celebrations of the goddess, which quickly got the reputation of being less religious ritual and more wild orgies. Much gossip went around about the indecencies and depravities of the cult but due to the protection of influential people it avoided persecution.

The cult was led by the female priestesses and the Archigalli, the high priest of the subordinate Galli, castrated male priests who were responsible for most of the dance, divination and healing of the cult. Many of the worshipers were organised into fraternities, most notably the Dendrophori ("tree-bearers") and Cannophori ("reed-bearers"). Members of these fraternities enjoyed a bit of social status and influence and many important people flocked to them. The liturgy of the cult was in Greek.

Many of the ceremonies commemorated the deeds of Magna Mater and her love to Attis, who represented the fertility and plants of the land. By his castration and death the land was given new life. Many festivals were held, called ludi ("plays") which were enthusiastic carnivals with banquets and comedic performances. One of the major festivals was Megalesia on the 4-10 April. At the height of the celebrations the taurobolium was performed, as a bull was castrated and sacrificed and new initiates were baptised in its blood. Another major festival was celebrated the 25th of March to commemorate the castration and death of Attis. The Cannophori carried reeds and stalks to the temple together with the idol of Attis. The taurobolium was performed and the genitals of the bull were thrown into a cave or well consecrated to Magna Mater. After three days of sorrow and grief for Attis, the carnival returned with Hilaria, the Day of Joy as Attis was resurrected and fertility yet again reigned thanks to the power of Magna Mater.

Mountains and caves were sacred to Magna Mater and her temples were often built near them. By sleeping in a temple many women hoped to get help from the goddess, who was said to help mothers and children. Midwifes were tied to the cult and many priests were healers. The priestesses were more involved with her ecstatic side, celebrating her secret mysteries behind locked doors. Practically nothing is known about them, except that they were exclusively women.

In the end, the cult vanished together with most other mystery cults of the antique era as Christianity took power and Rome was plundered. However, the cult was tenacious and left many tracks. St. Peters Cathedral in the Vatican is built right on top of the old temple of Magna Mater and some parts are presumably left under the foundations. Cybele was worshipped under the names Kubaba and Kuba in Arabia and Khaba in Mecca was originally a shrine to her. Many early Christians identified her with Mary. In the second century an ex-priest of Cybele named Montanus proclaimed that Christ was an incarnation of Attis and that women were the agents of the Great Mother and could prophesy as well as men. Naturally Montanism was declared as a heresy in the 4th century and it was crushed, at least according to orthodox history.

It is possible that the cult simply went underground and survived as a secret "women's society" among the higher classes, maybe even up to today. There are some rumours implying this, mainly about some parts of the British nobility and royal family. Other rumours tell of a survival of the cult in remote parts of Sicily or Spain. Regardless of the truth of this, the Cult was a very small tradition even during its heydays, with just a few awakened members and many unawakened followers. It obviously had strong ties to the Verbena, especially the Dianic fraction (which is strictly women) and parts of the Cult of Ecstasy. This fits in quite well with the Life magick of the Cult, originally directed towards healing but later turned to sensual uses.

Philosophy

"The Great Mother lives. Her body is the earth below us, giving birth to everything living and nourishing it. She is life and her secrets are the secrets of life. Only the women can understand them, the males would not understand and would only suffer the fate of Attis if they tried."

Organization

Each temple was independent, although some temples had more influence than others. In each temple the High Priestess had the greatest status, followed by the Archigalli. Below in status were the ordinary priestesses and lowest the galli.

Meetings

Beside the major celebrations, the priestesses met in secret celebrations depending on the phase of the moon.

Initiation

After showing true devotion to Magna Mater a member of the cult could apply to become part of the priesthood. This was often planned from birth for the children of the priestesses. The initiate was baptised in the taurobolium and males castrated themselves in front of the idol of the goddess and threw their genitals into the sacred cave. After that the initiates were left in the temple during the night. In many cases they saw visions sent by the Goddess, affirming their initiation. Initiates not deemed worthy by the goddess were sometimes found slain in the morning.

Chantry

The temples, mainly in Phrygia, Greece and Italy. The main temple was in Rome, where the Vatican currently lies. It is possible that some parts of it remain below St. Peters Cathedral, maybe even the sacred stone. Another major temple was in Delphi, which was later re-consecrated to Apollo and became much more famous for his oracle. Today none of the old temples are in use.

Acolytes

Healers, Eunuchs, Bon Vivants, Mothers.

Sphere

Life. The Great Mother encompassed all things living and growing, all parts of the life cycle from birth to death. In its original form the Life magick of the cult was mainly directed towards healing and fertility. Later some parts of the cult began turning more and more mystical, seeking to use Life to reach deeper goals, often used in compliment with ecstasy and secret rites. Both the priestesses and priests studied Life primarily but the priests were the only ones studying Time using their dances and the priestesses Spirit and Entropy using their orgies and blood magick.

Foci

Prayer to the Great Mother: All spheres

Sacred stone or Idol: Life, Correspondence

Many stones were meteorites (like the stone in Mecca). Other sacred stones were menhirs or monoliths, which were reputed to gather the power of the Earth Mother and give it to women who touched them. In some cases caves or wells were used.

Blood: Spirit

By pouring the blood as a sacrifice, the spirits would gather to feed on it. This was often combined with the taurobolium.

Ecstasy: Entropy

The total dissolution of everything. It was most frequently achieved through complete orgies where decency, reason and everything else was cast aside for the primal chaos.

Sex or male genitals: Prime

The origin of everything. The genitals of the sacrificial bulls were often used and sometimes the genitals of the gelli. Some priestesses conserved them, leathered the skin and made them portable foci but fresh genitals were always regarded as the most powerful.

Dance: Time

Concepts

Female mystic, Midwife, Decadent noblewoman.

Quote

"Io Cybele! Io Magna Mater! Impleat lapibus illis caloribem Magna Matris! Mulieribus pars vim tua det! Io Io Cybele!"

Rotes

Herbal Remedy (Life 1 Mind 1)

Many of the priests and priestesses were great healers. Their secret was to first study the patient and then almost instinctively know the right herbs or methods to heal the disease. They often wandered the countryside or parks, studying the plants (and animals) of the Mother, seeing which would work best for which disease.

The Mother's Blessing (Life 2/3/4)

The sacred stones were filled with the lifegiving power of the Great Mother and a priestess could tap it by caressing them and praying to Her. Some of the more frivolous priestesses invoked her to renew their strength after a night of lovemaking or to support their partners. A more common use was to pray to the mother for fertility and in some cases She granted it even to virgins after they had embraced the stone with unusual fervour. Such children were always regarded as having a great destiny and were often recruited to the cult.

Omfalos (Correspondence 2 Forces 2)

Sometimes the temples of the Mother had to communicate in matters of grave importance. Many of the holy stones were regarded as the centre of creation by the local believers and in a way they were all tied together (it was not uncommon for such stones to be engraved in a net-like pattern). By praying aloud and beating their fists against the stone in rhythm with the prayer, they could make their prayers faintly heard in all other temples of the Mother. This was especially prominent in the sacred caves or wells, in which could sometimes be heard whispering prayers from other places.

Call Forth the Servants of the Mother (Life 2 Mind 2)

Cybele had always a strong affinity for the great cats and her priestesses retain it to some extent. By praying to the Mother they can make all great cats look upon them as their friends, and also obey them (no mean feat for cats). However, the link works both ways. A priestess would never consciously harm any of the animals or put them in unnecessary danger as long as the friendship granted by the prayer is active. Reputedly the priestesses could call forth the fauns and satyrs by playing the pipes in the same fashion.

Resurrection of Attis (Life 4, Prime 2, Spirit 2)

This was the version of the Song of Orpheus the priestesses used to bring about a resurrection similar to the resurrection of Attis. It was not anything for the squeamish. They placed the body before the sacred stone and began to chant prayers to the Mother for three days (often professional weepers were hired to cry and lament in the background). During the time the body was anointed with oils and blood. As a final act, male subjects were castrated and female subjects awakened by ritual intercourse with a male the priestesses had possessed with the power of Pan. The castration could never be healed or the subject would die again. On the good side, by going through this rite the subject will always have a close tie to Attis and partially become the living embodiment of the fertility god.

Links

The Metro'on: Reclaiming Our Heritage A revival of the cult of Cybele.