Minoan Snake Goddess

Minoan Snake Goddess by Dr Alena Trckova-Flamee, Ph.D.
The Snake Goddess was one of the Minoan divinities associated closely with the snake cult. She is called also Household Goddess due to her attribute of the snake, which is connected with welfare of the Minoan house. But the snake is also symbol of the underworld deity, so the Snake Goddess is related to chthonic aspects too. The first, who identified this Minoan Goddess and who described her domestic and chthonic role and her cult, was A. Evans. He tried to find parallels in the Egyptian religion and linked the Snake Goddess with an Egyptian Goddess of the Nile Delta, Wazet (Wadjyt). From his point of view the attribute of goddess – snake – was a form of underworld spirit, which had a domestic and a friendly significance.

M.P. Nilsson hold a snake as personification of the Snake Goddess and he believed, that her chthonic form is one of the aspects of the Great Mother. But at the present time there are discussions about the functions of the Snake Goddess. In Crete does not exist a real archaeological evidence for her household role and there is almost no support for the chthonic aspects too. A small offering vessel of the Pre-Palace period in the shape of a female figure with a snake coiled around her body from Koumasa, came to light between some grave goods. But the other ritual figurines of the Snake Goddess were found in the Temple Repositories of the Knossos palace and public sanctuaries in Gurnia, Khania and Gortyn, where she was worshipped. Unknown provenience is the Snake Goddess made from ivory and gold (in the Boston museum) and a small bronze goddess with coil of snakes (in the Berlin museum). Two famous faience Snake Goddesses from Knossos belong to the New-Palace period (about 1600 BCE). Besides the ritual function, they are among the best examples of the Minoan art with its dominant features – naturalism and grace. They are presented as the ladies of the palace court, dressed in the typical Minoan clothes with a long skirt (flounced, or with an apron) and a tight open bodice. The snakes crawl around the body of one the goddesses and appear in each hand of the other. These statuettes are interpreted sometimes as the goddess and her votary, the mother goddess and her daughter, or the human attendants of goddess, as well as the women personified the goddess. Totally different ritual objects of the Snake Goddesses came from sanctuaries of the Post-Palace period (1400-1100 BCE). They are made from cheaper material – terracotta – in the position with raised hands, extremely stylized in accordance with the manners of this period. Their symbol – a snake – is often mixed with the other sacred signs: horns of consecration or birds.

Figures of the Snake Goddess and some other cult objects – so called snake tubes and vessels with wholes, decorated by a model of snake – illustrate the worshipping of a Snake Goddess and her cult in Crete during some periods. It seems that this cult came to existence from very early Minoan age, derived from the Egyptian belief system, but there was the strong Near-Eastern influence too. In the Egyptian mythology the snake was a personification of the goddess Kebechet, symbolized the purification by water in the funeral cult, so the snake became a protector of the pharaohs in their death. In the Sumerian and the Old-Babylonian literary tradition the snake was a wise creature and an expert for miraculous herbs of the eternal youth and immortality. A similar idea is contained in the Cretan myth about Glaukos, where the snake knows the herb of rebirth and resurrection.

It is possible, that the worshipping of the Minoan Snake Goddess was in some context to the rebirth, resurrection or renewal of the life. This cult was flourishing mainly in Knossos of the New-palace period and in the Post-Palace public sanctuaries. It is sure, that mainly Knossos’ idols, made from faience with a high artistic level, had an important function in the Minoan religion. We have to take into consideration, that the material of the New-Palace Snake Goddesses – faience – symbolized in old Egypt the renewal of life, therefore it was used in the funeral cult and in sanctuaries. The Post-Palace Snake Goddesses, worshipped in the small public sanctuaries, kept probably a more popular role. These ritual objects were influenced by the Mycenaean culture. Their attribute of the snake had a strong signification in the belief system of all Aegean region at this time. The terracotta models of painted snakes were found in the Cult Center of Mycenae and the motif of snakes appear between the decoration of vessels for funeral cult from the Late Mycenaean cemeteries in the mainland and in the islands Rhodos, Kos and Cyprus.

The symbol and spirit of the Minoan Snake Goddess took in the Greek mythology many different features. The snake had a protective and beneficial role on the shield of Athena, it represented the chthonic power connected with the Goddess of Earth, it was the attribute of Asklepios, probably due to its knowledge about the herb of rebirth, resurrection and eternal youth and generally it was the symbol of superhuman power of the god. But the snake could have a totally negative role too as an originator of the death and an avenger in company with the mythical creatures.

Conception and Evolution of The Mother Goddess in India

The Devi as Mother

Devi, the Divine Female, revered by all, as is revered a mother, is better and universally known as the Mother Goddess. Reverence for ‘mother’ is  inherent in any one born, a beast or a man, and is the first pious impulse in a child, which shapes the flesh to a human face. The first man, it seems, while contemplating the idea of the unseen Divine, looked at the face of the woman who bore him, the protective, caring and loving mother, and discovered in her the ultimate ‘divinity’ and the manifest form of the unseen Divine. Devi, the Goddess, thus, transformed as mother and is now since ages the Mother Goddess. The Mother Goddess is India’s supreme Divinity. Myriad are her shrines and unending her boons. Centuries long tradition of worship has woven around her innumerable myths and the devotional mind has discovered in her oceans of mercy. In fury or in frown, she is always the same protective, caring, loving Mother with a benign face and a blessing hand.

Mother Goddess in the Indus Valley

Mother                                Goddess in Terracotta                                 from the Indus Valley

 

 

 

This impulse seeking to combine the Divine with mother seems to have been man’s earliest spiritual experience. At some point of time and perhaps for an effective performance of worship rites, which a believing or fearing mind necessitated, this perception of mind was transformed into a material medium. The Indus dweller further magnified it when, for realizing his idea of the Supreme Divinity, he elevated the Mother to the Mother Earth that blessed him with grain, water, air, fire and afforded for him a dwelling. The terracotta figurines of the Mother Goddess, recovered in excavations at various Indus sites (now mostly in Pakistan), are not only the ever known earliest manifestations of the Divine Power in any medium but are also suggestive of a well evolved Mother Goddess worship cult. As appears from the so far recovered figurines of the Goddess datable from 3000 B. C. to the 1st century B. C., this primitive manifestation of  the proto Mother in terracotta idols seems to have continued to prevail till almost the beginning of the Christian era.

 

 

 

Female Deity from Mohenjo-daro (Indus Valley) with Exposed Genitals

These figurines, being made of clay and thus defining their kinship with the earth, of which they are cast, represented the Mother Goddess as Mother Earth. As significant and suggestive is her iconography- the large breasts filled with milk, uncovered genital organs, beautifully dressed hair and a good number of bangles on her wrists.

This is the iconic perception of the Being who bears, feeds, takes all calamities on her head and covers the born one under her protective umbrella and, at the same time, define in the modeling of her form an absolute aesthetic beauty. As suggest her bangles, the traditional emblem of marital state, besides a mother she is also a consort. Thus, in her material manifestation,  She represents, with absolute motherhood, also the absolute womanhood. She causes life and sustains it, and is also the cause of life, its inspiration and aspiration, and the reason to live.

 

 

 

                              Mother Goddess in the Vedas and Other Early Texts

In its contemplation, the Rigveda, which seems to have conceded to the idea of the Divine Female, takes two different lines, one mystic and the other traditional. The traditional line was the same as prevailed amongst the primitive Indus community, which perceived the Divine Female as Mother Goddess. The Rigveda calls the Female power Mahimata (R.V.1.164.33), a term which literally means Mother Earth. At places, the Vedic literature alludes to Her as Viraj, the universal mother, as Aditi, the mother of gods, and as Ambhrini, the one born of Primeval Ocean.

The Rigveda takes a mystic line, when it perceives the Proto Female as Vak or Vani, which, as the creative speech, manifests the cosmos and all existing things. In Vedic mysticism the cosmos and all things pre-exist but are unmanifest. The Vak, or Vani makes them manifest.

 

 

The Proto Female has been perceived also as Ushas, the glowing light of early morning. What the darkness of night makes unmanifest, Ushas makes manifest. In metaphysical theorization, which Vedic literature enunciates, ‘all things exist but become manifest in Her, that is, in the Proto Female’. The Upanishadas elucidate this Vedic proposition with greater clarity.  In their contemplation, the Upanishadas identify this Vedic Proto Female as Prakriti, the manifest nature, which is the material aspect of the Creation.  The Upanishadas suggest that She is the all-pervasive cosmic energy inherent in all existing things.

The Vedas and Upanishadas weave around Devi a body of mysticism, but, in popular tradition, as suggests Harivansha Purana, a 4th-5th century religious treatise, when it alludes Her as the Goddess of jungle and hill tribes, She was yet the same simple unmystified puritan Mother Goddess. Her ties with the primitive man were emotional and relatively strong. However, there also emerged, in simultaneity to this worship cult, and obviously inspired by Upanishadas’ mysticism, a body of metaphysics, which perceived the Divine Female as Shakti, the guided cosmic energy and the transcendental source and support of all creatures and all created things.  The Mahabharata, keeping in line with the Vedic mysticism, alludes Her as the source of all things, the spiritual as well as material. The epic enunciates that all things, material and abstract, manifest and unmanifest, are only the manifestations of the Divine Female. According to the Mahabharata, this metaphysical Being, the Mother Goddess of the primitive man, is the basis, the root and the root cause of everything. She is the eternal upholder of Dharma and truth, the promoter of happiness and the giver of salvation and prosperity but also of sorrows, grief and pain. She removes obstacles and worries and renders Her devotees’ path detriment free.

                              Devi in Puranic literature

During the period after the Mahabharata to the emergence of the Puranic era around the 4th-5th century A.D., the Devi is only the little quoted theme in literature and art of the elite. The worship of Devi was those days a wide spread phenomenon, yet till her elevation to the status of a Puranic deity, such worship was confined to only, or mostly, around the remoter corners of the primitive world of tribes. The tribes like Santhal, Bhumia and others of Bihar, Orissa and Bastar yet have a live convention of announcing their lineage at the time of wedding of their sons as well as daughters. Both sides begin with their origin, which is usually from one of the nature gods and commit themselves to Shiva, the Yogi of hills and their protector, and Mahimata, the Mother Earth, as their Dharini, the upholder. Quite interestingly, it depicts the five thousand year long continuity of the cult of worshipping Shiva, as the Mahayogi, representing the Divine Male and Mahimata, the Mother Earth or Mother Goddess, representing the Divine Female. It was only after She was accommodated into the Brahmanical pantheon, that the Mother Goddess was an object of worship in the world of elite also.

The Devi theme, once it becomes a part of the Brahmanical pantheon around the 5th century A.D.,  almost explodes the entire body of Puranic literature, with each Purana text coming out with one of Her aspects or the other. Here, She not only occupies the thinking mind but also its the altar. She is invoked not only as the Supreme Power reigning the cosmos and reigning above all gods, but as the cosmic energy incarnate, She is invoked also with greater thrust : “Ya Devi sarvabhuteshu shaktirupen sansthita, Namastasye namastasye namastasye namo namah”, that is, ‘O yea, the Goddess who in the entire cosmos stands for energy form, we make our salutations to Thee, over and over we salute Thee’ (Markandeya Purana).

Of all texts, the Markandeya Purana is most elaborate in its Devi concept and related rites and is considered as yet the most authentic document on the cult of Devi. It contains a full book, known as the Devi Mahatmya, conceptualizing and adoring Devi. She has been identified in Markandeya Purana primarily as Durga. On the face of it, the Markandeya Purana seems to move away from the prior manifestation of Devi as Mother Goddess, or Mother Earth, but in reality it is only a continuity of the Indus valley tradition. It is, at the most, a departure from the iconic manifestation of the passive Indus Mother Goddess to the operative personified representation of the Divine Mother who abounds with myths of  Her origin and exploits, but She is yet the same Mother Earth or the Divine Mother. The Devi Mahatmya part of the Markandeya Purana is narrated by sage Markandeya to king Suratha and merchant Samadhi, who, having lost respectively their kingdom and business, approach the sage for knowing from him how to regain their prior status. After having narrated the significance of the Divine Mother and Her unique power, sage Markandeya asks them to prepare an earthen image of the Divine Mother and worship it. Obviously, even during Puranic era, She best manifested as Earth and in an earthen medium.

                              Devi in Metaphysical Perception

In Puranic literature, religious conventions, anthropomorphic iconography and ritual practices, the Mother Goddess has been diversely conceived and variedly named. There is, however, a wondrous unanimity in Her metaphysical visualization and cosmic perception. In Her metaphysical perception, whether it occurs in myths or legends, rituals or rhetoric, classics or folk traditions, or to the eye of a worshipper, painter, sculptor or poet, She is the Adi Shakti, the proto energy including in it all forms of vitality, strength, might, power, force, proficiency, dynamism and all operative faculties. As Adi Shakti, She represents Prakriti, which operates in and on all things, the manifest or otherwise, materially present or abstract. She is the dynamic factor of the cosmos, and at the same time She is Dhatri, the holder of all things, whether static or moving, and is thus also constant and firm. She is manifest nature and is thus materially present, yet She is also the absolute Consciousness, the thinking Mind, the universal Intellect and the Controller of senses. She is thus the sleep, thirst, hunger, as also the light, brilliance, shadow and darkness. Modesty, contentment, compassion, mercy, beauty, charm, faith, patience, quietude,  activity, movement as also vengeance, or even violence are Her aspects. And, above all, She is the Universal Mother.

Devi’s cosmic perception is a mix of metaphysics and mythology. In India’s metaphysical perception the Creation has been perceived as comprising of two factors, variedly named as Prakriti and Purusha, Matter and Self, Male and Female and the like. Mythology identifies them as Shiva and Shakti.

Prakriti or Matter, which in metaphysical equation Female represents, is the manifest aspect of Creation while Purusha or Self its unmanifest aspect. In mythological perception this equation undergoes a change. Here Shiva is Shava, the inanimate Being and Shakti, the energy incarnate, His enlivening and operative power. Without Shakti Shiva is the dead mass. Symbolically Shakti is the inherent energy of all things, whether manifest or unmanifest. This Shakti factor, a concept of metaphysics, is perceived in mythological contemplation as Devi and in primitive vision as the Divine Female.

                              Other Dimensions of Devi Related Mythology

The primitive concept of the Divine Female seems to be that of a non-operative boon giver votive deity who the primitive man realized iconically but did not humanize. The Puranic Devi, or the Mother Goddess, despite the related metaphysics, is more a humanized Being with an abundance of mythology woven around Her. After the Puranas vested in Her operative attributes, they conceived Her not only in various roles but also with innumerable personality aspects and in different manifestations. There grew around Her theories of Her origin, myths of Her manifest and incarnate forms, fables of Her various exploits and annals of Her acts of charity and benevolence.

As to Her origin, there prevail innumerable myths, although only two of them are more quoted and have greater relevance to the over-all Devi cult. One of them points out towards Her exploits against evil and restoring righteousness and in the other She is conceived as preceding all of the Gods-Trio (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva).

In one case, She was created out of the gods’ celestial powers with all their attributes vested in Her. In the other, She had always existed but appeared as and when required.

As the tradition has it, a buffalo demon Mahishasura ruled the earth. The tyrannous demon inflicted upon all creatures great atrocities and rendered life miserable. He even invaded heaven, the seat of Indra and other gods and drove them out of the holy place. Under a sanction from Brahma Mahishasura was invincible against any male, a beast or human born. After Brahma made the disclosure of his boon, gods decided to seek a female warrior for eliminating the buffalo demon. When they found none capable to accomplish their object, they decided to create such one out of themselves and by their own powers. They decided to create a female warrior, who was unique in might and unparalleled in beauty and charm, as she could be required to bewitch and beguile the demon also by them. Accordingly, her head was formed by the powers of Shiva, her hair by those of Yama and her arms, breasts, waist, feet, toe-nails, fingernails, nose, teeth, eyes, brows and ears respectively with those of Vishnu, Moon, Indra, Brahma, Sun, Vasu, Kuber, Prajapati, Agni, Twilight and Vayu. Her glittering jewels and ornaments were Ocean’s gift and her necklace inlaid with celestial gems that of the great Serpent Shesh.

The Devi emerged with three eyes and eighteen hands carrying in them various celestial weapons, the instruments of war and destruction- Shiva’s trident, Vishnu’s disc, Varuna’s conch, Vayu’s bow, Agni’s dart, Yama’s iron rod, Surya’s quiver, Indra’s thunderbolt, Kuber’s mace, Brahma’s rosary and water pot, Kala’s sword and shield, Vishwakarma’s battle axe and many others. Himvana gave her a lion to ride. The enthused gods rejoiced and in gratitude prostrated before Mahadevi, as they called Her. Mahamuni Narada then narrated to Her the plight of gods, hearing which She proceeded to annihilate Mahishasura and killed him in no time.

As significant is Her other cult. The text called Devi Bhagawat was the first to propound it. After the Great Deluge Vishnu emerged as a child floating upon a fig leaf.

In dismay, he asked himself as to who he was, who created him and why he was there. Suddenly there emerged a celestial voice that announced-all that is, it is me. Me alone is eternal. Puzzled, he looked around and saw a celestial female with four hands emerging before him. She carried a conch, disc, club and lotus, wore divine clothes and jewels and was attended by twenty-one powers, more important ones being Rati, the goddess of love and erotic, Bhuti, the goddess of riches and prosperity, Buddhi, the goddess of wisdom, Kirti, the goddess of credibility, Smriti, the memory, Nidra, the sleep, Daya, the compassion, Gati, the movement and pace, Tusti, the contentment, Pusti, the growth and affirmation,  Kshama, the forbearance, Lajja, the grace and Tandra, the lethargy. Vishnu realized that She was the Adi Shakti Mahadevi and bowed to Her in reverence.

                              Devi’s Symbolism

In one mythological tradition, Devi’s emergence has been linked with Mahishasura. Mahishasura is not the beast in man but rather the human face taking to the face of a beast, and that too, to none else but to that of a buffalo, the most insensitive, self-contained epitome of evil. This suggests total human failure, which none of the gods, equipped only with this or that attribute or representing just this or that virtue, could repair. Only Devi, the supreme virtue equipped with all weapons and means of war, the Divine Totality, could change such state of affairs.

 

The other myth suggests that Devi preceded Gods Trio. She not only annihilated evil and paved the way for virtue and good to prevail but also revealed cosmic mystery. Her multi-arms suggest Her multi-fold protective umbrella and role. When Mahishasura, the male, contains energy, it leads to evil, the self-centered unguided might breeding ego, greed  to acquire and possess more, an ambition to conquer and rule, but when contained in a female frame, it is only the guided power eradicating evil, perpetuating good and virtue and despite that She held arms and resorted to killing, She has attending upon Her only virtues and celestial attributes. She is multi-armed but has a single head, that is,  whatever the number of operative organs, the guiding  faculty that breeds determination, is just one and single.

 

 

 

 

The Manifest Forms of the Divine Female

This Devi form, irrespective of Her origin-cult and evolution, has multiple manifestations, the prime ones being three. The Markandeya Purana and almost all other Puranas perceive Devi, the Universal  Mother, primarily in Her role as warrior or destroyer,  sustainer and creator, three aspects of cosmic act which vest with Trinity. As warrior, She is Mahakali, the Destroyer who eradicates evil, evil doers and wrongs and restores good and righteousness. As sustainer, She is Mahalakshmi, who bestows bliss, prosperity, wealth and material happiness and yields good crop and abundant grain. And, finally, as  supreme wisdom and all knowing intellect, She is Mahasaraswati, who nourishes all creative faculties, arts, music, dance and creativity. In anthropomorphic visualization Mahakali, is the Shaktirupa, the energy incarnate and is hence multi-armed, their number varying from four to eighteen or even more, and carries in each of them an instrument of destruction. She also grants abhaya and varada and thus, on one hand eradicates evil and on the other protects good ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The four-armed Mahalakshmi carries primarily the lotus, which rises from the earth, routes across and above the water and sprouts into the air and sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It pervades with its glow and fragrance all three worlds. The four-armed shubhra-vasana, Mahasaraswati, the Goddess clad in white, rides a lotus, and subsequently a swan, both symbolizing purity, chastity and detached knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Puranas thus begin personifying Her in various aspects and initiate Her variedly conceived iconic and anthropomorphic formations. The warrior and demon slayer Mahakali is perceived also as Durga who for accomplishing Her object takes to other forms and creates for Her aid subordinate powers as Mahavidyas and Matrikas. Different from the black complexioned Mahakali, who wears a ferocious  look, Durga, though still the same demon slayer, has golden complexion, a benign face and feminine softness.

 

The Puranas disapproved renunciation and discovered in family life itself means of salvation. They hence perceived their Divinities not as recluses or mendicants but as householders, as the Divine couples. They perceived the abstract Supreme Being of the Vedas manifest as Gods-Trio, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and associated with each of the Trio one of Devi’s manifest form, Durga or Mahakali with Shiva, Mahalakshmi with Vishnu and Mahasaraswati with Brahma.

Shiva is also the proto lover and then Durga, his consort, manifests as the humble domestic Parvati. Parvati, the white complexioned daughter of Himalaya, is also Shiva’s loving Gauri. While in exile from Baikuntha to hills of South, Vishnu takes to Venkatesh as his name. Here his consort Lakshmi, or Mahalakshmi emerges as Padmavati. When Vishnu incarnates as Rama his consort Lakshmi emerges as Sita and when he incarnates as Krishna, Lakshmi incarnates as Radha. Brahma’s consort Mahasaraswati is better known as Sharada and most of her ancient shrines are devoted to her only in her name as Sharada. The ancient sculptures of Sharada follow Durga’s iconic norms.

Matrikas and Mahavidyas

The Puranas like Skandapurana, Devipurana, Brahmavaivartapurana, Devibhagawata, Prapanchasaratantra, Lingapurana etceteras, have conceived of other forms of Shakti to couple other important male gods. The more widely accepted number of such manifestations of Shakti is seven, though in some of these and other Puranas it is eight and even more. They are better known as the Saptamatrikas, or Seven Mothers. In Matrika cult, Brahma’s consort is known as Brahmani, Shiva’s as Maheshvari, Raudri or Rudrani and Vishnu’s as Vaishnavi. In his Varah incarnation, Vishnu’s consort is Varahi and in Narsimha incarnation Narsimhi. The consort of Shiva’s son Karttikeya is Kaumari, or Karttikeyani, that of Indra Indrani or Mahendri and of Yama Chamunda or Chamundi.

There prevail two myths in relation to Saptamatrikas. A demon Andhaka had the boon to get every drop of his blood that fell on earth transformed into yet another Andhaka. The demon thus multiplied himself in the battlefield rendering his opponent impossible to eliminate him. Once he attempted to take away Shiva’s consort Parvati. Shiva shot an arrow at him. The blood gushed from his body but only to create many more Andhakas. Finally gods sent their Shaktis to assist Shiva. These Shaktis licked each drop of demon’s blood before it fell on earth. Another version of the myth is almost similar to it except that demon’s name was this time Raktabija and instead of Shiva his consort Durga confronted him. Durga created Saptamatrikas by her own power to assist her in eliminating the demon.

Other significant manifestations of Devi have been perceived in ritual tradition as Ten Mahavidyas.

Though a late cult, individually some of the Mahavidyas, say Kali, have quite an early origin. Their number coincides with Vishnu’s ten incarnations and is, hence, interpreted as the Shakta or Shaivite version of ten-incarnation Vaishnava cult. In Devi theology, Devi, like Vishnu, has been revered as the creator and maintainer of the cosmic order. Sometimes Vishnu’s incarnations are considered as arising from these Mahavidyas, as Kali becoming Krishna, Chinnamasta becoming Narsimha and so on. These Mahavidyas are Kali, Tara, Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshwari, Bagala, Dhumavati, Kamala, Matangi, Sodasi and Bhairavi, and are more or less the tantrika innovations of the Divine Female.

Devi in Popular Tradition

The tradition of worshipping the Mother Goddess, in whatever name, thus, has very early beginning. It is believed Rama invoked Devi when he felt that without her blessings he would not be able to eliminate Ravana. Sikhs’ tenth Guru Gobind Singh and the great Maratha warrior Shivaji invoked her to assist them in accomplishing their object.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During India’s struggle for freedom her sons resorted to Devi and perceived their land as Bharat-Mata. Reciting Vande Mataram, that is, salutation to  Thee, Mother, they laid their lives for her freedom.

She is now India’s most widely worshipped deity and has associated with her more festivals and events than has any other Divinity.

The Sumerian Shadow Queen

The Sumerian Shadow Queen by Michael Faulkner

Six thousand years into humanity’s past, two thousand years before the rise of Egypt, there flourished a civilization of wonder, a budding rose in a world primeval, and her name was Sumer.

In the cosmology of ancient Sumer, the Abzu, the primordial sea, existed before the creation of the world. Within the Abzu, was birthed Ki, the prime mover, mother of all. She also had another name, Ereshkigal. She walked upon the land and her footsteps blessed the world through her presence. From her womb came a triune of elders that would forge a new world. These elders, Ninhursag, queen of the mountains, Ninmah, the exalted lady, and Nintu, the lady who gave birth, all assisted in the creation of humanity. By assisting An, the All-father, as he shaped several renditions from clay, humanity was ultimately forged. The folklore of humanity being shaped from clay is a millennia old concept that is still pervasive in several religions today.

Ninhursag was not only considered a co-creator of humanity and a mother goddess, but it was said that she was wisdom personified. From her great sapience came the divine laws, given to the elder council and then bestowed upon humanity. Sumerian divine laws, issued forth by the gods, thus guided humanity in all facets of life. Ninhursag was the first daughter of Ereshkigal, and in Sumerian cosmology, the most powerful.

Her divine laws, known as the “Me” were held sacred in all the temples and courts of Sumer. These laws were guarded by Enki, lord of the deep waters, a possible son/husband of Tiamat, the queen of the deep waters. Enki gave forth decrees of power to all the other gods of ancient Sumer. Inanna, the goddess of love and war, soon objected to being overlooked by Enki’s decrees. She saw this as a grievous negligence on his part and determined that vengeance must be sought. One night, Inanna got Enki intoxicated and convinced him to grant her greater power and further dominion over humanity. Being inebriated, he willingly granted her dominion over all blessings of arts and crafts, including the gift of song. When Enki became sober he desperately tried to take back this newly granted power. But to no avail, for Inanna had already usurped her influence over these blessings and established a faith center at the holy city of Erech, the central hub of her spiritual dominion. And though Tiamat was helpless to avenge her son, this folly did not go unnoticed by Ninhursag or her mother, the elder goddess, Ereshkigal.
Soon immortal blood would fill the rune-pocked circle of life.

Ereshkigal, Night Queen of Sumer

Ninhursag went to Ereshkigal and asked her to bring forth retributive justice upon Inanna. What Inanna did to Enki broke the divine laws of Ninhursag. Certain stories have wrongly portrayed Inanna as the victim in this legend. However, just by analyzing the story, it’s clear that Inanna brought destruction down upon herself by breaking the laws of Ninhursag.
Ereshkigal was considered by many scholars to be either Inanna’s older sister, sister-in-law, aunt or possibly a tribal elder depending upon interpretation, and was the supreme goddess of the Abzu, the primordial sea of chaos. She knew that Inanna had deceived Enki into releasing power to her wrongfully. This desecration of the sacred laws would not go unpunished. Inanna’s fate was sealed by her own foolishness.

One day Ereshkigal asked Inanna to come and visit her and sup with her. Inanna, not suspecting that her perdition awaited, agreed to come and visit. It also would have been seen as a severe slight to have declined a dinner invitation from an elder. Soon Inanna entered into Ereshkigal’s sanctuary, stepping on shadows as she walked. As Ereshkigal gave her food and wine, she instructed Namtar the Fate-Cutter, her messenger and vizier, to release his diseases upon Inanna. Ereshkigal then affixed upon Inanna, the eternal eye of death which drained Inanna of her immortal soul. She spoke sacred words of power against Inanna in an incantation of vengeance that took away all her power. Ereshkigal then struck her with the glyph-covered, sacred staff of ruin. Inanna’s flesh withered and her body, still possessing lifeforce, was then hung from a hook on the outer wall of Ereshkigal’s palace for a thousand years.

Associated Mythos

Within the Sumerian underworld there resided, Belit-tseri, the wise one, crone of the dark deep and Sumuquan, the cattle god. Both deities were part of Ereshkigal’s underworld sovereign horde. Heroes and priests resided there as well and all kneeled before her throne. And from her throne of power, Ereshkigal ruled life and death in equal portions. She was the matriarch of Heaven and Hell. She was the provider of creation and the bringer of destruction to the ancient Mesopotamian world.

In this mythos she had much in common with Kali, the Hindic deity whose worship began in the distant epochs of the Neolithic period. Other cognates in world mythos include Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld, the Morrigan, the Celtic Goddess of War, and the Native American Spider Woman myth are among many Ereshkigal-like entities that appear throughout many diverse, ancient cultures. The Mesopotamian kindred cultures of Babylon, Assyria and Chaldea were all greatly influenced by the far older Sumer.

Author’s Notes: Traces of the ancient Sumerian religion survive today and are very much reflected in the holy writings of both the Jewish and Christian religions. In the Book of Ezekiel, there is mention of a Sumerian deity. In Ezekiel 8:14, the prophet sees women of Israel weeping for Tammuz (Damuzi) during a drought. However, most parallels can be found in the Book of Genesis. The second chapter of Genesis introduces the concept of paradise, Eden, a place which is similar to the Sumerian Dilmun, described in “The Myth of Enki and Ninhursag.” Eden is also a Sumerian root word derivative which translated means “in the East.” Within the ancient folktale “The Epic of Gilgamesh” there are several cognates to Genesis that are much older in origin. These include the tree of knowledge of good and evil as well as the great flood myth.

Reference and Recommended Study
Siren, Christopher B. The Assyro-Babylonian Mythology, Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire.
Bratton, F. Gladstone Myths and Legends of the Ancient Near East, New York: Thomas Y. Cornwell Co.
Walker, Barbara G The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers.
Bacon, Edward Vanished Civilizations of the Ancient World, London: Thanes & Hudson.
Woodman, Marion and Elinor Dickson, eds. Dancing In The Flames: The Dark Goddess In The Transformation of Consciousness, Boston: Shambhala.
Black, Jeremy A. et al Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, Texas: University of Texas Press.
Bottero, Jean Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Foster, Benjamin From Distant Days: Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia, London: Capital Decisions Ltd.
Sandars, N.K. Poems of Heaven and Hell from Ancient Mesopotamia, New York: Penguin Books.
Dalley, Stephanie Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford World’s Classics), England: Oxford University Press.

Michael Lohr is a professional international journalist. His work has appeared in such diverse magazines as Rolling Stone, The Economist, Southern Living, Men’s Journal, ESPN the Magazine, Outside Magazine, Caribbean Travel & Life, Canoe Journal, Canoe & Kayaking, Outdoor Life and Blue Ridge Country, to name a few.

He is currently Senior-Editor-At-Large and a member of the Board of Directors of Beyond Borders Press based in Reykjavík, Iceland and Bay of Islands, New Zealand.
His webpage can be found at: Michael Lohr

Italian Gods and Goddesses

Anteros Italian-Roman god of love and passion. He was, specifically, the god of mutual love and would punish those who did not return love.

Aradia Italian witch goddess. She came to earth to teach her mother Diana’s magic. Symbolizes the air element, the moon.

Astraea Italian goddess of truth and justice. Also known as Astria.

Carmen Italian goddess of spellcasting and enchantments.

Cel Italian god of death and the underworld.

Comus Italian god of revelry, drinking, and feasting.

Copia Italian goddess of wealth plenty.

Corvus Italian messenger god.

Fauna Italian goddess of the earth, wildlife, forests, and fertility. Symbolizes prosperity as

well.

Faunus Roman and Italian god of woodlands. Symbolizes love. Also known as Pan [Greek].

Frebruus Italian god of purification, initation, and of the dead.

Fortuna Italian goddess of fortune, fate, destiny, blessings, luck, and fertility. Often invoked when one wants to receive money by chance, like in a lottery or contest.

Jana Italian goddess of the moon.

Jove Italian-Roman sky god.

Lethns Italian earth and nature deity. Invoke during sky, water, or element of earth, or for divination.

Lucifer Italian god of sun and light. Brother and soulmate of Diana, father of Aradia.

Lucina Italian goddess of childbirth.

Lupercus Italian god of agriculture, wolf-god.

Marica Italian goddess of agriculture.

Nox Italian goddess of the night.

Pertunda Italian goddess of sexual love.

Umbria Italian goddess of shadows and things which are hidden or secret.

Uni Italian goddess of witchcraft.

Vertumnus Roman-Italian god of fruits.

Virbius Italian god of outlaws and outcasts; the guardian of sanctuaries.

http://coven-of-midnight.wikidot.com/it … -goddesses

Amaunet

Amaunet is an ancient Egyptian Goddess of Air or Wind, Whose name means “She Who is Hidden”, “The Invisible One” or “That Which is Concealed”. She is one of eight primaeval Deities Who existed before the beginning of the world, and Who together made up the primordial ocean. There are several creation myths in ancient Egypt, depending on the place; many regions had a story of the beginning of the world that featured their local God. The myth in which Amaunet finds Herself is from the area of Thebes, specifically the town called Khmun, which is better known by its Greek name Hermopolis (“City of Hermes”, the God the Greeks associated with the actual Egyptian patron God of the town, Djehuty, who is also better known by His Greek name of Thoth). The Hermopolitan Ogdoad was of such importance that the name “Khmun” simply means “Eight Town”, and even today the modern name, el-Ashmunein, is derived from a Coptic word meaning “eight”. As the number four was symbolic of totality to the ancient Egyptians so eight was even more complete, as doubling it served to intensify its meaning.

In the creation myth of Khmun, the primeval flood or ocean was made up of four elements, personified as balanced pairs of male and female Deities: Infinity (or Formlessness), represented by the God Heh and the Goddess Hauhet; Darkness, by the God Kek and the Goddess Kauket; Water, by the God Nun and the Goddess Naunet; and Air or Hidden Power, personified by the God Amun and the Goddess Amaunet. These eight Deities swirled in and among the primordial floodwaters until they came together in a burst of flame to create the first mound of earth, called the Isle of Fire. The Scribe-God of Wisdom and the Moon, Djehuty (Thoth) then landed on the island in the form of an ibis and laid an egg from which the Sun hatched, and Time began. Seven of the eight Deities then left to live in the Underworld, but Amun stayed behind in the land of the living. According to the people of Khmun, their version of the creation myth was supposed to be the oldest one, and Khmun was said to be the very location of the ancient Isle of Fire.

This primaeval ocean, which is an archetypal version of the annual flood produced by the Nile River, possessed in itself all the elements needed to make the world, and through its eight Deities found a totality of material and energies within its chaos.

Amaunet’s name is the feminine version of Amun’s, but She seems to be at least as old as He: The first mention of either Deity is as a pair, in a Pyramid Text dating to around 2350-2345 BCE, during the Egyptian Old Kingdom’s Fifth Dynasty. The “Pyramid Texts” is the name given to a series of spells carved on the walls of the burial chamber of pyramids (natch) which were believed to protect the dead King and help him make his way through the afterlife. The texts (and the Gods mentioned) are quite likely even older than the Fifth Dynasty, for the spells appear as it were fully formed, and include language that was archaic for the time. Amaunet (and Amun) in these spells were regarded as protective Deities: They are adressed as “Amun and Amaunet, You Who protect the Gods, and Who guard the Gods with Your shadows”. Though Nun and Naunet are described in a similar manner, it seems especially appropriate for Amun and Amaunet, Who both represent the mysterious and invisible hidden forces of nature, to give protection through their shadows; implicit in the idea of a shadow is that things can be hidden there.

When Amaunet was depicted with the other Deities of the Ogdoad, She, like the other Goddesses, was depicted as a woman with a snake’s head; sometimes the Goddesses’ feet were replaced with the heads of jackals. The Gods of the Ogdoad were shown with frogs’ heads: both the snake and frog are associated with the Underworld, water, and transformation; and jackals additionally are linked with the dead or Underworld. These eight Deities were sometimes shown in baboon-form, much like Djehuty sometimes was. Amaunet could also be depicted in human form, however, and in this guise She was shown wearing the Red Crown of Upper Egypt (meaning the southern, or upstream, part of Egypt); She sometimes holds a papyrus staff, which can symbolize both the primeval waters as well as thriving new life, as the image of the papyrus-plant was used in hieroglyphs to write the verb “to flourish”.

Though Amun was syncretized to the Sun-God Re as Amon-Re and became one of the most important of all Egypt’s Gods, Amaunet seems to have primarily been a local Goddess of the area around Thebes. Amaunet was apparently superceded by the Vulture-Goddess Mut as Amun’s consort (though it is sometimes said that Mut is not actually His wife), especially in Thebes itself. However Amaunet was never fully replaced, and continued to be worshipped Herself, especially in Karnak, which was Her main cult-center. In the great temple of Amun there was a colossal statue of Amaunet, and She had Her own priests there.

Amaunet is depicted in a small temple to Amun at Djamet (the modern Medinet Habu), just across the Nile from Luxor, dating from the 18th Dynasty which was begun by the Pharoah-Queen Hapshepsut in the mid-15th century BCE and continued by her successor/predecessor/co-regent (depending on when in the reign we’re talking) Thutmoses III. The decoration of this temple nicely illustrates the war between Thutmoses and the memory of Hatshepsut; many of the reliefs have been altered or defaced, and the names changed in an attempt to erase Hatshepsut’s legacy (though we can still read them—nice try, Thutmoses III!). On one of the pillars from this temple, Amaunet is shown with Thutmoses III, offering him life by placing an ankh to his mouth. She is depicted wholly in human form, and dressed in the archaic sheath-dress common to Goddesses, with the Red Crown of Upper Egypt on Her head. She clasps the upper arm of the King, who is wearing a headdress typical of Amun, thereby identifying him as Amaunet’s husband. This same temple was built on and added to through Ptolemaic times, a millenium and a half later, where a door-lintel from that period is carved with Amun and Amaunet, showing that She was worshipped right up till the latest times of ancient Egypt. All told, Her worship spanned (at the least) a good 2300 years.
Amaunet was worshipped as a protective mother Goddess, Who, with Her roots in the beginnings of time and creation, was believed to play a fundamental role in keeping the natural forces of the universe going. Amaunet was invoked in some of the rituals of the King, including the sed-festival, the royal jubilee that renewed the King’s youth and vigor, enabling him to continue his reign in strength and prosperity. In Her protective role She was considered a Mother Goddess—some sources call Her the Mother of Re, which with the linking of Amon and Re made Her both wife and mother of Her husband. As is not uncommon among Egyptian Serpent-Goddesses, Amaunet was sometimes shown suckling the King or future King to grant him health and protection. And from Her home in the Underworld, She and the other seven primordial Deities were responsible for making sure the sun rose each morning.

In Karnak She was sometimes associated with Neith.
Alternate spelling: Amunet, Amonit

http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/amaunet.html

Devotion to Kali

Devotion to Kali
on: 03 May 2011, 14:36:37DoctrinesOn the battlefield Durga creates goddesses to help her, including Kali and the Matrikas, the Seven Mothers. Kali is Durga’s personified wrath. Or Parvati can take on a fierce form by transforming herself into Kali from the poison stored in Shiva’s throat. Kali incites Shiva to dangerous and destructive behaviour that threatens the stability of the cosmos, and they dance together so wildly the world is threatened. Shiva traditionally calms Kali and defeats her, though there are few images and myths of Kali in a tranquil state. Kali plays an opposite role to Parvati in Shiva’s life. She is the goddess who threatens stability and order. Kali’s dangerous role in society outside the moral order is increased by her association with criminals. Not surprisingly, Kali plays a central part in Tantrism, especially the left-hand path, and dominates Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals.

Unlike mother goddesses who give life, Kali takes life. She feeds on death and must be offered blood sacrifices. Kali is the feminine form of the word kala, time. Kali is the energy or power of time. Her blackness represents the supreme night which swallows all that exists. The emptiness of space is her only clothing, for when the universe is destroyed the power of time remains without its veil. Without shakti, expressed as the i in Shiva’s name, Shiva becomes inert like a shava, corpse. Kali standing on the inert Shiva represents her standing on the universe in ruins.

Kali’s terrifying appearance is the symbol of her endless power of destruction and her laughter an expression of absolute dominion over all that exists, mocking those who would escape. Her arms are the four directions of space identified with the complete cycle of time. Four arms symbolise absolute domination. Her sword is the power of destruction, the severed head she holds is the fate of all the living, and the garland of skulls shows the inseparableness of life and death. Kali as the power of time destroys all and embodies all fear. As she alone is beyond fear she can protect from fear those who invoke her. Thus she has a hand in the removing fear gesture. The pleasures and joys of the world are ephemeral, and true happiness exists only in that which is permanent. Only the power of time is permanent and can give happiness, so Kali gives bliss as symbolised by her giving hand which may offer a bowl of plenty.
By accepting the harsh truths that Kali represents, devotees are liberated from fear of them which people who deny or ignore them must suffer.

History

The importance of Kali in Bengal reflects her derivation there from local goddess cults among semi-hinduised tribes. In the Hindu tradition the earliest references to her come from around the sixth century CE, when she is associated with battlefields and the fringes of Hindu society. In South India the tradition of a dance contest between Kali and Shiva, which Shiva won, may reflect Shaiva dominance of a local goddess cult. Later texts give Kali the dominant role in the relationship. By the eighth century Kali is identified with Shiva’s consort Parvati. Kali coming forth from Durga’s forehead may be a myth to integrate or subordinate one form of the Goddess with another. As the Shaiva and Vaishnava sects were evolving so was the Shakta cult with the worship of Kali and Durga. The Shaivas and Vaishnavas tried to attract these Shakta devotees by associating Kali and Durga with their sects. Eventually Kali and Durga became more closely connected with Shaivism, but traces remain of links with Vaishnavism.
The South Indian goddess Pidari can be identified with Kali. Sometimes she was only a gramadevata, village deity, but we can trace her history through inscriptions of the Cola period (c. 850-1279 CE) in which she has at least six different names, including Kala-Pidari, which is Kali. This shows the tendency towards a proliferation of deities and also the emancipation of goddesses. The influence of Tantrism caused the development of a large number of independent goddesses. Tantrism affected Buddhism as well as Hinduism and was popular in different regions of India at different times. It reached a peak in Eastern India during the Pala period (c. 750-1162 CE). In Tantric texts Kali is praised as the greatest of all gods or the highest reality. The Nirvana-tantra says Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva arise from her like bubbles from the sea and, compared to her, they are like the amount of water in a cow’s hoofprint compared to the waters of the ocean. In late medieval Bengali literature Kali has a central place.

There is a long tradition of human sacrifice to the Goddess in different parts of India, and there is evidence that this was practised regularly in some of the main Shakta temples of Bengal until the early nineteenth century when it was banned by the British. Occasional child sacrifices are still reported today. The Thugs strangled and robbed travellers in the name of Kali until the cult was eradicated by the British. Criminal associations continue, though, for Naipaul interviewed a group of murderous criminals in India: A Million Mutinies Now (1990) who were religious and worshipped Santoshi Mata, a form of Kali. The poem Bande Mataram, “I praise the Mother,” by the religious nationalist novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838-94) is in his novel Ananda Math. The poem is a hymn to Kali as Bengal personified that became adopted as the Indian national anthem. Symbols

In Bengal the most popular image of Kali is as a young laughing woman who is jet black. She is naked except for a cobra round her neck and a garland of severed hands or arms and a short skirt of bloody heads. A vertical third eye is in the middle of her forehead. She has long sharp fangs and a vivid red tongue smeared with blood which is sticking out. Blood is smeared on her lips. She can be shown with the corpses of children as earrings and serpents as bracelets. Her black hair is long and wild. She has four arms with hands holding a sword, a severed head, and a bowl of plenty, with one hand in the removing fear gesture. Shiva, her consort, is under her foot and is white and dead-looking compared with her dark dynamism (for the meaning of this symbolism, see Doctrines).

Kali is often depicted on the battlefield dancing wildly while drunk on the blood of her victims, or in a cremation ground sitting on a corpse and with jackals and goblins around her. She can be shown dancing with Shiva, causing the world to shake. There are few images of Kali as calm and docile. Kali is dominant in Tantric iconography. In the nationalist movement Bengalis and others used the mother goddess, usually in the form of Kali, as a symbol of India. Kali was Mother India.

Adherents

These are predominantly in Bengal and are followers of Shakta Hinduism. Kali has millions of devotees. Kali is also worshipped in other parts of India and among Indian communities overseas. For example, there are two Kali temples in Singapore. Headquarters/Main Centre

The Kalighat Temple, Calcutta, India. Calcutta’s name comes from Kali-ghata, the bathing steps of Kali by the Hooghly River. http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/h … /kali.html

Cernunnos

Deer are fascinating, mysterious animals.  Quiet, stealthy, strong; they represent something haunted about Nature.  Whole families of deer can be near us in the woods without our even knowing it; hidden amongst the bushes or so camouflaged that they just blend into the background.  As such, we can be startled when we finally ‘see’ them, their form and coloring suddenly ‘emerging’ from the backdrop of twigs, leaves and mulch as though they were losing some cloak of invisibility and ‘revealing’ themselves to us.

The ancient Celts were also fascinated with deer.  They hunted them, ate their meat and used their hides for clothing, all the while reverencing these seemingly peaceful yet strangely powerful creatures. Deer thus came to play a role in Celtic spirituality and mysticism, often being featured in stories that became legendary.  The great leader of the Fiana – Fionn mac Cumhaill – for instance, married a woman who was originally a deer (or was she a woman who could shape-shift into deer form?).  Their son, Oisín, could change back and forth between animal and human form, and is said to have been in the habit of following either a hart or a stag through the woods until it led him across the sídhe into the Otherworld!
The Celtic fascination with deer came to a focus in the great Antlered God Cernunnos.

Though his name is not recorded anywhere until historic times, Cernunnos may well have been worshipped and followed by mystics, hunters and magicians since Paleolithic times (c. 40,000 – c. 10,000 BCE).  Thus his cult and the mysticism surrounding him pre-date the advent of Celtic culture and religion.  We can now view Paleolithic etchings in stone as well as cave-paintings of deer and a stag-like deity (or perhaps it’s a shaman dressed up in deerskins with antlers on his head) in many texts. Does the cult and do any of the rites associated with the Celtic Horned God descend from this much earlier time?

Icons of Cernunnos in stone, paint and engravings have been found throughout the territory of the ancient Celts, from Spain to Romania and from N. Italy up to Ireland and Scotland.  He has long been associated with druids, mystics and magicians in Celtic traditions.  He is the horn and primary icon of power for male Celtic mystics, just as the Goddess – in any of her many manifestations – is the primary source, fount and wellspring of power for female mystics.  Druids, magicians and mystics have long witnessed Cernunnos under two aspects: (1) first, as a passive icon of Earth-Peace, standing in a clearing or near a well or spring at the edge of the wilderness, and (2) second, as the virile, potent, wild representative of the masculine side of Earth-Power, raging into our circle and our imaginations from somewhere other than ‘here.’

Cernunnos has long been recognized under several related titles.  As he was one of the central gods in ancient as well as mediaeval Celtic mysticism, he was given a wide scope of powers, influences and domains.  The Celtic reverence for him can be deduced from the number of his titles and the variety of the realms over which he was given sway.  By exploring these titles and attributes we might come to a better understanding of the Horned God and thus be better prepared to encounter him today.

Cernunnos was primarily known as the Lord and Protector of Wild Animals.  He is often depicted with other wild animals – foxes, wild boars, snakes, wolves, etc. – gathered around him, as though they were basking in his aura or perhaps even being ‘restored’ by his presence.  Wounded animals were said to be in his charge; they would either (1) be healed by him and returned to their full vigor or (2) they might be led across a sídhe into the Otherworld.  (In Celtic cosmology, animals are also en-souled beings.  If they have developed a distinct personality and individuality in their lifetime, they quite easily survive death as separate entities, going on from this life to live in the Wildwoods and Fields of the Otherworld).  Cernunnos is said to be able to influence the winds and rains that refresh and water the wood and field, valley and heath, keeping them verdant and life-engendering.

All deer are the emissaries of Cernunnos.  I have often thought of the deer in this way, especially when looking out into the darkness from the circle of light established by a campfire.  When I see those large yellow eyes glinting back at me, I understand Cernunnos to be our guardian and guide as well as the Lord of Wild Animals.  When you see a deer standing in the shadows in the woods or walking along the edge of a field near where you are celebrating, meditating or just relaxing, either alone or with friends, chant his name to yourself, allowing that Cernunnos is nearby, in spirit if not in the flesh.  If you are meditating, you might say a series of his names, such as “Herne—Cernunnos—Bok—Dumas.”  In this way you participate in his enigmatic power and benefit from his elusive presence.

Cernunnos is also the Wild Lord of Virility and Abundance.  Though the deer are normally quiet and move with a strange finesse through forests and along open fields, when they are angered or when provoked they can fly into a deadly rage.  They may kick to defend themselves; they can deliver quite a blow with their front legs.  Male deer – harts and stags – can also do great harm with their antlers, if they so chose.  Cernunnos, as the ultimate embodiment of stag-nature, is the manifest icon of male virility, sexual prowess and power.  By analogy, he has also been imaged with a bag of gold or silver coins at his feet, or with small leather pouches of valuable objects hanging from the tines of his antlers, as “abundance” is just a few metaphorical shades removed from virility.

Cernunnos is also known as Guide of the Dead; a title he is probably bestowed with on account of the stealth and grace of his movements.   In Celtic traditions, those who can walk through the thickets and off-path in the woods without being seen or heard are thought to be capable of walking between the worlds.  Those who make too much noise in the wilds of Nature are thought to be too boisterous to ever find the pathways between Here and There.  Those who are quiet, however, can ‘hear’ the Otherworld, and by following these sounds they may find the sídhe (i.e., ‘doorways’) and crossEover.

As such, Cernunnos presides over various kinds of journeys into the Otherworld.  He leads mortals across the sídhe after death, and guides them to the trailhead of new adventures, encouraging them to carry on with the quest for wisdom, truth and beauty that was already begun in this life.  He can also lead adventurers into the Otherlands while still in their coích anama (“soul house”; i.e., the body), if they need to see something there, or if they are looking for someone.  Following Cernunnos through the Veil between the Worlds is one of the surest ways of making the journey and returning unscathed, as he generally won’t abandon those who follow him with good purpose.

Cernunnos – in his role of Guide of the Dead – often appeared near dolmens and barrowsídhe in ancient Celtic times.  Dolmens are stone structures; the remains of pre-Celtic, Neolithic burial sites.  They usually consist of three upright stones across which a ‘table stone’ has been laid.  Neolithic peoples created these structures and then placed their dead in the ‘chamber,’ after which they covered the stones over with earth.  By the time of the Celts, all the dirt had been eroded away, leaving the standing stone structure.  Many dolmens are large enough for a person to walk into.  They mark places of intersection between the worlds.

Ghosts, deities, the Faeryfolk and later Christ and Mary and their saints were all thought to appear to mortals at, near or in dolmens.  Barrowsídhe are long burial mounds; called ‘sídhe’ because they were also thought of as places where one world opened into another, creating a place of synergy between mortals and immortals; between the incarnate and discarnate realms.  Cernunnos has long been among those beings who appear to mortals at dolmens and barrowsídhe.

Today, following in this tradition, Cernunnos may appear to his mystics at graveyards and near tombs.  Lonesome graveyards near patches of woods and cemeteries where the Yews and other foliage have been let grow wild are the best places for such apparitions, as is a site of a single burial off in the woods or near a body of water, where the marker has either been decimated or destroyed by the elements, or where there never was one in the first place.  If you see a deer near a cemetery during the day of a New Moon, chant the names of Cernunnos, and he will lead you toward the tines of “new birth,” in spiritual terms.  If you encounter a stag near a lonesome graveyard on a Full Moon night, say his name thrice to yourself, quietly, and then say the name of someone who has crossedEover of whom you would like to dream.  Cernunnos will usually oblige us with a memory of the dead if we ask with an open heart.

When I was thirteen, I encountered Cernunnos near an old 19th century mausoleum in the woods near the town where I grew up.  It was October, and while ascending a well-frequented path up into the multicolored cathedral of trees, I was arrested by the sound of a snort accompanied by the sudden awareness of something very powerful quite close by!  I looked up and there, above me to the left, on the bank above the trail, was the largest animal I had ever seen close up and in person; a stag with a rack of antlers on his head!  He didn’t seem dangerous; merely powerful.

I saw his black eyes and nearly lost my sense of place in his gaze.  The stag snorted again and backed away, and then turned and bounded up the hill.  Stunned, I pathed on up the little foot-trail toward the mausoleum; my intended destination.  There I saw the stag again, standing by the old wrought-iron fence that still surrounded the moldering single-chambered sandstone block edifice in those days.  Whenever I think of Cernunnos, now, I often remember that scene – the stag at the iron-fence next to a ruined mausoleum out in the woods.  I had begun learning about Cernunnos shortly before this encounter, and so in my adolescent imagination I ‘knew’ that this stag was old Downie Hornie appearing to me.
Ever since that time I’ve always had an epiphany whenever I happen to encounter deer and especially an antlered stag in wilder than usual places.  Though what I encountered that day was, I have no doubt, a flesh and blood animal, I have always believed that the Horned God became present to me, poetically and sensuously, via this wondrous animal that I happened to cross paths with at the trailhead of my adolescent journey.

Cernunnos can ‘appear’ under a variety of guises – he is not confined to the form of a stag – and in Celtic traditions there are several classic images of him.  The most mysterious is perhaps the “three headed visage,” in which the Stag is “three-faced,” as if just having looked to his right and to his left. As if in time-lapse photography, you ‘see’ both of the partial profiles as well as the head-on view in the same instant of the vision.  This visage of the Horned One alludes to something very unusual about him; that he is triple in himself.  Many Celtic deities appear to us in triads, each ‘person’ in the triple manifestation having its own name, aspects or characteristics.  Cernunnos is unusual in that he is a single deity, yet he can suddenly appear in this three-headed aspect.

Some believe that this evinces his connection with the Triple Goddess, whose lover he is.  Just as She is Goddess of Earth, Moon and Water, so he is connected with these three realms of Nature in turn; being an inspiration to poets (lunar), magicians (earth) and healers (water).  Others mystics have suggested that this merely proves what should be obvious about Celtic consciousness; that whenever it thinks of the divine or that mysterious ‘otherness’ which exists just beyond our human ability to comprehend the world, it always thinks and imagines in threes.

Cernunnos can also appear in human form, usually as a man with horns or antlers growing from his head or on a helmet that he wears.  Occasionally he is imaged as having a man’s body and a stag’s head.  At other times he seems entirely human, until you see those two small horns growing out of his head just above his brow, mostly hidden under his crop of long, matted and quite straggly black or dark brown hair.  When appearing as an adult man, he is in possession of his full powers.  In this manifestation he is often accompanied by two younger men, both of whom are naked and ithyphallic.  Their condition of arousal speaks to the fecundity of the god; no one comes into the Horned God’s presence without feeling empowered and enervated in some way.  The power of Cernunnos is exemplified in sexual potency as well as in the sudden arousal of poetic creativity.

When in human form, Cernunnos may also appear with a strange horned serpent.  Sometimes this animal is held in both hands while at other times the serpent will be seen entwining the god’s antlers.  This serpent is a mystical symbol of the god’s power to move back and forth across the side; it is an animal that slithers back and forth between worlds.  It burrows in the earth, evincing its connection with the Celtic Earth Goddess Tailtiu.  It can also travel subtly across water, suggesting its primordial connection with the Celtic Source-River-Spring Goddess Danu.  It can also climb trees, thus evincing its connection with the Cosmic Goddess Anu in Her transcendent aspects.  As the serpent represents these connections, it embodies Cernunnos’ relationship with the Triple Goddess.

Finally, Cernunnos can appear with vines and mosses strung from his antlers.  This is evidence of his adventurous nature, his wildness and his wisdom quest.  As Cernunnos seeks Wisdom in the Wildwoods and Fields of Life, so we should seek it in ourselves, in Nature and in one another.  The “Vined Cernunnos” (as this visage of him is sometimes called) is the icon of Celtic Philosophers and Poets, whose quest in life is for the kind of awakening that gives rise to ever-deepening glimpses of Wisdom.  By following Cernunnos in this guise, one may be led out on wild expeditions – imagined or otherwise, intellectual, emotional or experiential – into strange lands where the soul is educated in ancient archetypal legends by trial, initiation and endurance.  To follow the Vined Cernunnos is to seek the inebriation resulting from earthy illumination and lunar enlightenment.

Celtic mystics also experience Cernunnos under different guises at different times of the year.  For instance, in the vernaltides he is often manifest as a young man – often adolescent – with horns.  In this guise he is similar in aspect to Herne the Hunter or a very young Green Man who is not yet sexually or poetically mature, yet vigorous and enthusiastic.  It is in this form that Cernunnos and the Triple Goddess make the fields fertile by their union.  At Summer’s Solstice the Horned One becomes known through the presence of the Green Man.  Then, in August, after Lughnassadh, as the sun begins to wane, he shifts form again, coming to us as the ever-pesky Puck.  At the autumnal equinox he appears as the Old Antlered One, Downie Hornie, in which guise he haunts us until Samhain.  After this turnstile in the earthen year he usually withdraws his presence from mortals, disappearing until he is reborn during the Season of the Winter Solstice as the Gifting Stag; a young hart whose virility and strength will enable him to survive the long winter months ahead while the rest of Nature sleeps.
There are also holy days and nights connected with Cernunnos, especially in the pattern of Celtic Lunar Spirituality that I have created over the last 20 years, wherein each Full and New Moon of the year is given a name that connects it with particular legends, themes, symbols and rituals.  The Celtic year begins on 1 November, after the long night of Samhain, which is often spent in adventuring between the worlds.  The calendar that my students and I now use is set within the bounds of the solar year, the first Moon of the year being either the first Full or New Moon after dawn on the 1st of November.  In any given year, there are 12 or 13 New Moons and 12 or 13 Full Moons.

The Ninth Full Moon in this Lunar Calendar is called Cernobogmas and is dedicated to the “Hunt for the Black Stag.”  The night usually begins with a symbolic meal, at which fresh and baked apples, fresh nuts and fruits (especially grapes, blueberries and strawberries, which are often in season at this time of the year) are served.  At this meal, participants relate stories about Cernunnos and any encounters they may have had with him.  Then, as the Moon rises, they venture out to the edge of a wooded area or some other place where deer are often seen and where they will be able to tarry for a while without trespassing or attracting attention to themselves.  Here they will prepare themselves for an encounter with Cernunnos.

Participants – the “hunters” – may stay in one place, hoping to see the deer pass by; coming out into the open as night falls.  They might also go hiking along the edge of a wood or down a field path, stealthily like the deer themselves, anticipating seeing a stag or at least the spoor of one. This “Hunt for the Black Stag” may go on for hours, depending on what kind of encounter the hunters are seeking.  If all they want is a glimpse of a deer, then the night’s ‘hunt’ need not be long and drawn out.  Some mystics of Cernunnos, however, are never satisfied until they have seen an antlered stag or hart.  If such is their quarry, the quest may well take most of the night; patience will be required for their vigil.

The “Black Stag” of this hunt is Cernunnos in his most mysterious presencing.  The black fur of this beast indicates that he is at least 500 years old – so the old legends say – and to see Cernunnos in this guise is to run the risk of being gifted with a dose of all his aspects; abundance, virility, sexual prowess, potent inspiration and poetic creativity.  While preparing for the hunt and also while out on the witch for Cernunnos, participants may chant the follow invocation:

Hail Cernunnos, Stag of the Woods come to us we pray you! Inspire us with an earthen faith and an adventurous love of life! Lead us and we will follow you through the wildwood and to the heath where the haunted ones of the Sídhe worship in the dark night of Mystery’s embrace!  Nema!

If Cernunnos or any of his representatives is sighted, consider yourself blessed.  In whatever form you catch a glimpse of the god – whether in the form of a yearling male, an antlered hart or as a full-grown stag with a rack that is about half-grown (as Cernobogmas often falls during July, he won’t usually have a full rack by this time) – thank him for the ‘hunt’ you have had and anything else you may have experienced along the way.  Often, when I am in the woods seeking Cernunnos, I am aware of his presence, even if I never see a tine, black eye or white-tail of him.  Ultimately it is this sense of nearness that you are seeking, of which the physical animal is but a fortunate icon.  After the hunt, those who have gone out seeking Cernunnos might want to share their accounts of spurious and more arcane sightings before bidding one another “merry meet and merry part” and returning home.

The ninth New Moon of the year – called Cernunnos-Togen – is a day for “the Mediation of the Stag.”  As New Moons are days of solitude and anal- duccaid (“breath prayer;” meditation) in my Poet’s spirituality, anything you do will either be done alone or with one other person.  If the year began with a New Moon, then Cernunnos-Togen may well come before Cernobogmas.  If it does, use this day to tell stories of Cernunnos and reflect on his myths and any stories you may know about him.  If the year began with a Full Moon, Cernobogmas will usually come after Cernunnos-Togen.  If so, use this day to reflect on your Hunt for the Black Stag, going back over any significant encounters you may have had, either in the woods or imaginatively.  The day should be marked by the eating of apples (perhaps in a piece of apple cake or in an apple pie) or by the imbibing of apple juice with one of your usual meals.

Cernunnos is also associated with the Season of Yule (13 – 25 December) that I have developed, during which time the Antlered God is known as The Gifting Stag; a mystical animal whose antlers symbolize all of the strange powers of the Winter Solstice Season.  The myth of the Gifting Stag arose out of Cernunnos’ role as the guide of those devoted to earthen wisdom.  As one task in this role, he aids those who are seeking spiritual and psychic rebirth as they experience the death of Old Sun on 21 December and then the birth of New Sun at dawn the next day.

The Gifting Stag inspires us to put into practice whatever insights we may have gleaned from pathing wisdom in and through the Winter Solstice Season.  He has been known to appear on the 26th of December, sometimes inspiring those who have kept the Yule well to give away certain gifts they have received to those who are less fortunate than themselves.  During the days after Yule this strange Stag may be glimpsed here and there as the celebrants return to their daily routines.  [For a more detailed description of this day see my book, The Fires of Yule: A Keltelven Guide for Celebrating the Winter Solstice (2001)].

It is through his titles and guises and via the rituals through which we adore and admire him that we can come into contact with the Celtic Horned God today, in the ordinary-yet-always-haunted course of our daily lives.  If you want to encounter Cernunnos, take a little time at the New Moon each month to (1) meditate on his visages, (2) reflect on the meaning of his titles, and then (3) chant his names.  What I’ve provided you with in this article should be sufficient, at first, to gain some acquaintance – imaginary at least, psychic at best – with the Antlered One.

After you have reflected and meditated at the time of at least one New Moon, take a little time the next time the Moon is about to be reborn and hike out to the woods to a cemetery or to a grave in some lonesome spot.  There keep a vigil.  The best time to look for deer is at dawn and dusk.  Find a somewhat secluded place, perhaps up in a tree or amongst some bushes at the edge of the wood, graveyard or a field, and wait.  [Always respect graveyards.  Do not trespass in them after hours unless you have permission from caretakers or the institution with which they are connected.  If the graveyard is out in the woods and is untended, the place will have stored up a great deal of shunnache.  Always treat graves with deference, as they are “thin places” between the worlds.]  Engage in anal-duccaid (“breath-prayer;” meditation) and, chanting the names of the Antlered God, imagine him coming to you or sending you one of his emissaries.  If you are led, take a couple of apples with you – one for you and one for any deer that might show up.  If a deer comes near, toss the apple – in as unthreatening a way as possible – toward it.  If you don’t frighten it too badly, you might well foster a more prolonged encounter, as the animal will perhaps hang around to see if there’s any more food to be had!  Deer rarely ever turn down apples.

While you wait, engage in imaging exercises.  You might – after you have practiced breathing and chanting for a few minutes – imagine Cernunnos in all of his glory and majesty, off roaming through the Wildwoods and Fields of the Otherworld.  See him, shaggy-furred and downy horned.  He is beautiful, strong and ever-masculine.  His eyes are often yellow, reflecting the light of the Moon, as he is the servant of the Moon Goddess, Ceridwen, and is her duly chosen emissary to poets, artists, musicians and other people with a creative vocation.  He may be placid and quiet or ready to rage.  If in this last aspect, know that if you are seen by him in your imaging you may encourage him to share his virility, abundance and strength with you!  He snorts.  He rears up, and then he bounds off, charging through fields or into strangewoods or vales.  Follow him!  Ride the wind and know that you could ride him, if he were to let you!  If you allow yourself to see him coming out of the woods or along a path near where you are keeping vigil, this in itself may summon him to your aid.

Whether or not the deer come near, keep your vigil, but only so long as you are led; then get up to leave.  Accept whatever you have been given during this vigil.  If you don’t have an encounter with Cernunnos this month, perhaps it will happen next month.  By imaging him on each of the New Moons, you will be better prepared for the Hunt for the Black Stag on Cernobogmas.  An encounter with the Antlered One, however, may well happen anytime, especially when you least expect it!

As the purpose of spirituality is to awaken us to what is already all around us; not only to the visible dimension but the invisible ones as well – we must be ready to experience whatever Nature has in store, and not be downcast if we don’t get what we want, like some petulant child.  The magic and wonder of encountering the deer will be its own reward and will, eventually, make all of the waiting and chanting and mystical ‘hunting’ worthwhile.

© Copyright 2002 Montague Whitsel, All Rights Reserved.

The Goddesses of Avalon

The Goddesses of Avalon
The Goddesses of Avalon are the heart and soul of the Sacred Landscape, each weaving a transformational energy into the matrix of the archetypal realm. Once we have successfully made contact with the landscape areas and established a good working relationship which each of these places of power, we can use them to connect with the Ladies of Avalon. These five Divine Ancestresses will further our quest for positive change, personal Sovereignty and the wisdom that comes from drinking deep from the cauldron of our souls.

The Avalonian Tradition draws its inspiration from British, rather than English, culture. Wales was able to maintain and preserve the culture, language and traditions of Celtic Britain far longer than the rest of England, so we look to Welsh language, literature and folklore to understand the beliefs of the Britons. The Welsh mythic cycle contains the first references to King Arthur, and through him, to Ynys Afallon – the Island of Avalon. Therefore, to discover the Goddess as She has revealed Herself to the Britons, and as She was probably worshiped on Avalon, we must turn to the mythology of Wales. We therefore seek the Goddesses of Avalon in The Mabinogion and its associated legends as this collection of stories represents the surviving corpus of the mythology of the Celtic Britons and as such, is worthy of deep study

It is imperative to honor these Goddesses by studying Their myths, seeking out Their symbolism, and coming to understand the lessons They bring to us. When reading The Mabinogion, it is especially important to identify the elements that are a reflection of the patriarchal Christian world in which the stories were set down in writing; these have nothing to do with the true essence of the Goddesses and the teachings inherent in Their myths. We must remember that the social standing and privileges of British Celtic women were very different from those of women at the time the stories of The Mabinogion were written down. Once we can read the stories of the Welsh Goddesses without the filter of medieval mores and Christian philosophy, a very different portrait of Them emerges. The betraying harlot becomes the giver of Sovereignty, free to choose Her mate as She wills and granting kingship to whom She deems best. The abandoning mother becomes the Great Teacher and the devouring witch is revealed as the Initiatrix into the Mysteries.

The very fact that these stories were written down by people outside of the cultural context that revered these figures makes all the difference in the tone of their portrayal and the overall interpretation of elements in the story. Due to oral tradition, then, the Divinities of the British Celts do not benefit from having their myths written down by those who worshiped Them, as do the Gods of other cultures. We are not inheritors of an intact tradition, and must look between the lines to seek out the symbols that have made the transition from oral to written form, even if those that transcribed them attempted to have them make sense in their own cultural context. It is for this reason that we must immerse ourselves in the study of Celtic culture so that we may piece the bigger picture back together and reclaim what we can of what was.

The Five Goddesses of Avalon

Blodeuwedd is the Lady of Initiation. She calls us to cast off the garments of expectation and to peer into the darkness of the self to find, and ultimately live, our inner truth. She teaches us to fly where others would see us grounded.

Mythological Sources for Blodeuwedd – The Mabinogion – “Math, Son of Mathonwy”; Hanes Blodeuwedd

Rhiannon is the Lady of Manifestation. She calls us to stand strong regardless of the challenges to our truth. She teaches us to ask for what we need, and grants abundant and loving support to carry us through our dark times.

Mythological Sources for Rhiannon: The Mabinogion – “Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed” and “Manawydan, Son of Llyr”

Ceridwen is the Lady of Transformation. She calls us to enter into our darkness to seek out the seeds of our wholeness. She teaches us that the only path to wisdom is through trial and experience. In Her Cauldron, the mysteries of death and rebirth are revealed, and we emerge to initiate the process once more. We ride the Wheel with our newfound insight and understanding, so that we may illume the next phase of our journey with what we have learned.

Mythological Sources for Ceridwen: The Tale of Gwion Bach and Hanes Taliesin

Arianrhod is the Great Teacher, holding the energy of the active principle. She is the embodiment of the Wheel, yet not Herself subject to it. She is the force of Bound and Rebound, the Karmic Lesson Bringer that brings the Universe into Balance. All cycles and time are within Her realm of influence. Arianrhod is the Source of Awen, the Divine Spark of Inspiration, although it is through Ceridwen that Awen is bestowed.

Mythological Source for Arianrhod: The Mabinogion – “Math, Son of Mathonwy”

Branwen is the embodiment of Sovereignty and is the Guardian of Avalon, holding the energy of the passive principle. She is the Whole, the Center, the Axis Mundi. The primal Feminine energy, all things emanate from Branwen. She is the Goddess of the Land Manifest, as well as the Spirit of the Land. On Avalon, Branwen was primarily consulted in matters dealing with Her Realm – that is, concerning the full tapestry of Avalon, rather than the individual stitches. She is the Goddess of the grand scheme of things, the broader perspective that allows the greater patterns to be revealed.

Mythological Source for Branwen: The Mabinogion – “Branwen, Daughter of Llyr”

– Excerpted with permission from Avalon Within: Inner Sovereignty and Personal Transformation Through the Avalonian Mysteries (2004) by Jhenah Telyndru.
Text and images are copyright © 2004 The Sisterhood of Avalon unless otherwise noted. Site design and graphics by Jin Wicked and are property of The Sisterhood of Avalon.

The Symbols of Hecate

The Symbols of Hecate

Though not among the most famous, Hecate is one of the most intriguing images from the ancient Greek and Roman mythology, due to her complex evolution, which, needless to say, means that the symbols of Hecate are also filled with hidden meanings. The image of Hecate is one of the easiest to recognize, as she appears as the goddess with three heads, or three bodies, or sometimes with three different or identical representations at the same time. The most common explanation for this unusual form was that Hecate was in fact three goddesses in one: in the sky, she was Selene, the moon, on earth, she was Artemis, the virgin huntress, and underground, she was Persephone, the queen of the dead.

Initially, the archaic version of Hecate was a benevolent goddess, who granted men their deepest wishes – in general related to material wealth, gains from gambling, victory in battles as well as in competitions and the gift of eloquence for orators and politicians. Hecate was a Titaness, and thus she did not belong to the same family as the gods, but Zeus made no attempts to take over her domain after the rest of the Titans were overthrown. Later on, Hecate evolved into the goddess of witchcraft, ghosts, necromancy and magic – and most of her symbols that we know of today are related to these areas.

The most famous of the symbols of Hecate is the moon – since, as stated above, she was often identified with Selene herself, or Artemis, who also counted the moon among her symbols. In one tradition, the three forms of the goddess Hecate are the new moon, the half moon and the full moon. Since she was one of the few goddesses living in the Underworld, all animals sacred to her had to be black. Most commonly, the symbol of Hecate among animals was a black bitch or she-wolf – which remains associated with witchcraft to this day.

As the legend goes, the queen of Troy, Hecuba, killed herself after the city was conquered by throwing herself from a rock. Hecate took pity of her and turned her into a black bitch, and thus into one of her familiars. The Stygian dogs are also often associated with Hecate, and the sound of dogs howling is considered a sign that the goddess is approaching. This strong association with dog symbols indicate that Hecate was a foreign goddess, or at least her cult was imported from a foreign tradition, whose origins are now lost in time, since dogs played a very limited role in traditional Greek cult rituals. Some other animals that became symbols of Hecate were a black mare and a polecat. Once again, it’s obvious that the association of black cats with magic was incredibly strong, since it remained valid over 2,500 years later. As the myth goes, the first of them was a witch named Gale, so greedy and full of lust, that the gods punished her by turning her into a black polecat, and Hecate welcomed her among her favorite animals. The red mullet is also sacred for Hecate, because of a similarity in names – the Greek word for red mullet sounded very similar to the word “three”, which was included in the name of the goddess to signify her three shapes. Also, one of her symbols is the frog – as a creature that lives in two worlds – in water and on earth – and can cross the border between them at will. Sometimes, the animal symbols take over the appearance of the goddess completely, and she is represented in the form of a monster with three heads – of a dog, a horse and a serpent. The serpent may be replaced with a lion head.

In the human form, whether with one body or three, Hecate is often represented with one or two torches in her hand. This symbol is related to another well-known myth. When Demeter was desperately searching for her kidnapped daughter, Persephone, Hecate accompanied her in the world of the dead, lighting the way with torches. After that, when Persephone became queen of the underworld, Hecate remained on her side, as her companion.

Due to the identification with Artemis, Hecate is sometimes referred to as a virgin goddess, but many other authors consider her as the mother of some of the most famous witches, including Circe and Medeea. Hecate is also the goddess of crossroads, doors, walls and passage ways, and thus another one of her symbols is a chain of keys. Offerings to the goddess were left at crossroads, to be eaten by the homeless, or sometimes by dogs.

Same as Hermes, the messenger god, she was capable of crossing the ultimate border – the one separating the world of the living from that of the dead. Among the plants, the symbols of Hecate were most often those that were poisonous or used to prepare potions, such as the mandrake or the belladonna, but also oak leaves and yew were sacred to the goddess, same as the cypress tree, which was a common plant used to decorate graves.

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/455178_t … z1pA4RyqWW

Akhenaten

Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) meaning ‘Effective spirit of Aten’, first known as Amenhotep IV (sometimes read as Amenophis IV and meaning ‘Amun is Satisfied’) before his first year (died 1336 BC or 1334 BC), was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He is especially noted for attempting to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheistic worship of Aten, although there are doubts as to how successful he was at this.
He was born to Amenhotep III and his Chief Queen Tiye and was their younger son.

Akhenaten was not originally designated as the successor to the throne until the untimely death of his older brother, Thutmose. Amenhotep IV succeeded his father after Amenhotep III’s death at the end of his 38-year reign, possibly after a short coregency lasting between either 1 to 2 years. Suggested dates for Akhenaten’s reign (subject to the debates surrounding Egyptian chronology) are from 1353 BC-1336 BC or 1351 BCÐ1334 BC.

Akhenaten’s chief wife was Nefertiti, made world-famous by the discovery of her exquisitely moulded and painted bust, now displayed in the Altes Museum of Berlin, and among the most recognised works of art surviving from the ancient world.

Pharaoh Akhenaten was known as the Heretic King. He was the tenth King of the 18th Dynasty. Egyptologists are still tying to figure out what actually happened during his lifetime as much of the truth was buried after he died.

Akhenaten lived at the peak of Egypt’s imperial glory. Egypt had never been richer, more powerful, or more secure. Up and down the Nile, workers built hundreds of temples to pay homage to the Gods. They believed that if the Gods were pleased, Egypt would prosper. And so it did.

Akhenaten and his family lived in the great religious center of Thebes, city of the God Amun. There were thousands of priests who served the Gods. Religion was the ‘business’ of the time, many earning their living connected to the worship of the gods.

All indications are that as a child Akhenaten was a family outcast. Scientists are studying the fact that Akhenaten suffered from a disease called Marfan Syndrome, a genetic defect that damages the body’s connective tissue. Symptoms include, short torso, long head, neck, arms, hand and feet, pronounced collarbones, pot belly, heavy thighs, and poor muscle tone. Those who inherit it are often unusually tall and are likely to have weakened aortas that can rupture. They can die at an early age. If Akhnaton had the disease each of his daughters had a 50-50 change of inheriting it. That is why his daughters are shown with similar symptoms.

Akhenaten was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy, a descendent of a Hebrew tribe. The largest statue in the Cairo Museum shows Amenhotep III and his family. He and Queen Tiy (pronounced ‘Tee’) had four daughters and two sons. Akhenaten’s brother, Tutmoses was later named high priest of Memphis. The other son, Amenhotep IV (Later to take the name Akhenaten) seemed to be ignored by the rest of the family. He never appeared in any portraits and was never taken to public events. He received no honors. It was as if the God Amun had excluded him. He was rejected by the world for some unknown reason. He was never shown with his family nor mentioned on monuments. Yet his mother favored him.
Akhenaten and Queen Tiy

In 1352 BC. Akhenaten ascended the throne, succeeding his father Amenhotep III who had died. Akhenaten was just a teenager at the time, but it was the desire of Queen Tiy that he rule. In some version of the story, it is written that father and son shared the throne briefly.
Akhenaten’s reign lasted 16 years. This was a difficult time in Egyptian history. Many scholars maintain that Akhenaten was responsible for this decline, but evidence suggests that it had already started.

Akhenaten is principally famous for his religious reforms, where the polytheism of Egypt was to be supplanted by monotheism centered around Aten, the god of the solar disc. This was possibly a move to lessen the political power of the Priests. Now the Pharaoh, not the priesthood, was the sole link between the people and Aten which effectively ended the power of the various temples.

Akhenaten built a temple to his god Aten immediately outside the east gate of the temple of Amun at Karnak, but clearly the coexistence of the two cults could not last. He therefore proscribed the cult of Amun, closed the god’s temples, took over the revenues. He then sent his officials around to destroy Amun’s statues and to desecrate the worship sites. These actions were so contrary to the traditional that opposition arose against him. The estates of the great temples of Thebes, Memphis and Heliopolis reverted to the throne. Corruption grew out of the mismanagement of such large levies.

The Family

Akhenaten’s Great Royal Wife was Queen Nefertiti.

Queen Nefertiti is often referred to in history as “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.” The Berlin bust, seen from two different angles, is indeed, the most famous depiction of Queen Nefertiti. Found in the workshop of the famed sculptor Thutmose, the bust is believed to be a sculptor’s model. The technique which begins with a carved piece of limestone, requires the stone core to be first plastered and then richly painted. Flesh tones on the face give the bust life.

Her full lips are enhanced by a bold red. Although the crystal inlay is missing from her left eye, both eyelids and brows are outlined in black. Her graceful elongated neck balances the tall, flat-top crown which adorns her sleek head. The vibrant colors of the her necklace and crown contrast the yellow-brown of her smooth skin. While everything is sculpted to perfection, the one flaw of the piece is a broken left ear. Because this remarkable sculpture is still in existence, it is no wonder why Nefertiti remains “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.”

Nefertiti’s origins are confusing. It has been suggested to me that Tiy was also her mother. Another suggestion is that Nefertiti was Akhenaten’s cousin. Her wet nurse was the wife of the vizier Ay, who could have been Tiy’s brother. Ay sometimes called himself “the God’s father,” suggesting that he might have been Akhenaten’s father-in-law. However Ay never specifically refers to himself as the father of Nefertiti, although there are references that Nefertiti’s sister, Mutnojme, is featured prominently in the decorations of the tomb of Ay. We will never know the truth of this bloodline. Perhaps they didn’t know either.

This shrine stela also from the early part of the Amarna period depicts Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Princesses Meretaten, Mekeaten, and Ankhesenpaaten worshiping the Aten as a family. Dorothea Arnold in her article “Aspects of the Royal Female Image during the Amarna Period” discusses the plethora of reliefs depicting intimate family moments. While Akhenaten leans forward to give Meretaten a kiss, Mekeaten plays on her mother’s lap and gazes up lovingly.

At the same time Ankhesenpaaten, the smallest, sits on Nefertiti’s shoulder and fiddles with her earring. Arnold claims that the shrine stela “relates to the Aten religion’s concept of creation” in which the King and Queen are viewed as “a primeval ‘first pair.” At the top of the composition, the sun-god, Aten, represented by a raised circle, extends his life-giving rays to the Royal Family. The relief uses the concept of the “window of appearances” or a snapshot of life. The figures are framed by a fictive structure which suggests the form of a square window. Aldred in his book Egyptian Art calls this “a brief moment in the lives of five beings as they are caught in an act of mutual affection”. In actuality, the royal palace at Akhetaten had a window from which the royal couple could observe the city and address their subjects.
It is accepted that Akhenaten and Nefertiti had six daughters. No son was ever shown in reliefs.

The names of the daughters were; Meritaten (1349 BC) – Meketaten and Ankhenspaaten (1346 BC) – Neferneferuaten (1339 BC) – Neferneferure and Setepenre (1338).

In 1337 BC the official family, with all six of Nefertiti’s daughters was shown for the last time.
In 1336 BC Meketaten died in childbirth.
In 1335 Nefertiti seemed to vanish, assumed dead.

This limestone relief found in the Royal Tomb at Amarna depicts Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and two of their daughters making an offering to the sun-disk Aten. Akhenaten and Nefertiti carry flowers to be laid on the table beneath the “life-giving” rays of the Aten. The figures are carved in the grotesque style, a characteristic of the early half of the Amarna period. Nefertiti, sporting the double plume headdress mentioned in the stela dedication, is the petite figure placed behind her larger scale husband. The composition mirrors early artistic representations of the royal couple. To emphasize the strength and power of the pharaoh, Egyptian iconographical tradition required the female figure to be smaller in scale than the male.

Akhenaten’s minor wives included Merytaten, Kiya, Mekytaten, and Ankhesenpaaten.

Akhenaten’s Vision

It was said that one day Akhenaten had a vision wherein he saw a sun disc between two mountains. He felt that God was guiding him to make change. He was shown the God, Aten, as the Sun Disk – the Light. He felt guided by Aten to build a city between the two mountains.
In the sixth year of his reign Akhenaten rejected the Gods of Thebes. They were never part of his childhood anyway since he had been shunned as a child. Akhenaten had declared for the first time in recorded history that there was only one God – the concept of monotheism. Overnight he turned 2,000 years of Egyptian religious upside down…

The Armana Period

To make a complete break, the king and his queen, left Thebes behind and moved to a new capital in Middle Egypt, 180 miles north of Thebes half way between Memphis and Thebes.
It was a virgin site, not previously dedicated to any other god or goddess, and he named it Akhetaten – The Horizon of the Aten.

Today the site is known as El-Amarna.
In essence he was an cult leader taking his following into the mountains and desert to build a new paradise.

Akhenaten established his new religion by building an entire city dedicated to Aten complete with a necropolis and royal tomb.

In 1346 BC work began on this new city built in middle Egypt, on a site thought to have been chosen as it was not tainted by the worship of the other gods.
In 1344 BC the central section of Akhetaten was completed. Nefertiti’s prominent role in Egyptian royal rule and religious worship reflects her influence in the public sphere. During the early years of her royal reign, Nefertiti as part of her religious conversion changed her name. Nefertiti which means “The-beautiful-one -is come” became Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti or “The-Aten-is -radiant-of-radiance [because] the-beautiful-one-is come”. A different interpretation of the name change, translated Neferneferuaten to mean–“Perfect One of the Aten’s Perfection”.
Following his wife’s lead, Amenhotep IV changed his name in the fifth year of his reign to Akhenaten.
In 1342 BC the seat of government was transferred to Akhetaten.

Art Akhenaten changed thousands of years of art in Egypt.

Gone were the images of Amun and the other gods of Egypt, now replaced by Aten, the solar disc.

When Akhenaten built his monuments with images of the Pharaoh, he moved away from the traditions of a strong, handsome muscular Pharaoh. Images of Pharaohs with idealized bodies were gone.

The Pharaoh was shown as misshapen as was his wife Nefertiti. It became fashionable to show images of the entire royal family with elongated heads, faces, fingers, toes, wide hips, This gave the artists of Amarna new freedom to show scenes of the real life of the Pharaoh, something that had never been done before.

The temple was covered with scenes of the Aten, the sun disc with its rays shining down, ending in hands holding ankhs, the hieroglyph for life.

The people wondered why the images of the other Gods where not represented.

Akhenaten was the first Pharaoh to have images and paintings made of himself and his family, as they actually looked.

Religion

The priests worried about the God Amun and the fact that the ‘Rebel Pharaoh’ had declared their god extinct and deserted the religious capitol of Egypt. Gone were the royal offerings. The resources of Egypt were flowing out of the established cities of Egypt and into the desert. People who earned their livings based on the old religions – wood carvers, scarab makers, and others were out of business. The people worried about their afterlife and what would happen now that they were not worshipping the traditional Gods. All of the old belief systems into the next world were discarded. The vision of the afterlife changed.

The City

In its finished state Armana offered a theatrical setting for celebrating Akhenaten’s kingship. The city sprawled for miles over the plain. There were elegant palaces, statues of the Pharaoh, good housing throughout the city, a royal road that ran through the center of town, probably the widest street in the ancient world. It was designed for chariot processions, with Akhenaten leading the way.

Spanning the road, a bridge connected the palace with the temple area. Akhnaton and Nefertiti appeared before the people on the balcony known as the “window of appearances”, tossing downgold ornaments and other gifts.

The People

At its height the city grew to more than 10,000 people – bureaucrats, artisans, boatmen, priests, traders and their families. Though most were happy, many were not, especially those who did not like to stand in the open sun. Akhenaten worshipers spent lots of time in the sun.
Akhenaten wanted everyone to be happy. He created a beautiful, idealistic religion and Utopia for his people but many just didn’t understand it. Akhenaten was not living in the reality of his worshippers. Though he had found himself and his God but the people were used to Gods they could see, carved in stone with beautiful bodies, many with heads of animals. Akhenaten’s God was too much of an abstraction. Aten was the basic principle of the universe, Light! They also wondered why the sun God only shed its rays on the royal family and not everyone.

According to present evidence, however, it appears that it was only the upper echelons of society which embraced the new religion with any fervor. Excavations at Amarna have indicated that even here the old way of religion continued among the ordinary people. On a wider scale, throughout Egypt, the new cult does not seem to have had much effect at a common level except, of course, in dismantling the priesthood and closing the temples; but then the ordinary populace had had little to do with the religious establishment anyway, except on the high days and holidays when the god’s statue would be carried in procession from the sanctuary outside the great temple walls.

End Times

Akhenaten lived in his dream in Amarna for ten years as conditions grew worse in Egypt. He remained isolated from the true problems of the people. Akhenaten apparently neglected foreign policy, allowing Egypt’s captured territories to be taken back, though it seems likely that this image can be partially explained by the iconography of the time, which downplayed his role as warrior.

Nefertiti is depicted in her advanced years. She wears a long, white linen dress that allows the contours of her body to be seen. It has been speculated that this small statuette was the model for a life size representation that was never executed. Arnold points out that, although she is past her prime, she is not old. While this may be true, the sagging features of the statuette do indicate that she is no longer the vivacious Queen.

In 1335 BC Nefertiti, Akhenaten’s wife and companion, is said to have disappeared and most likely died. His mother Tiy had also died as did his minor wife, Kia. That combined with the loss of his daughter made Akhenaten feel alone and depressed.

Nefertiti’s disappearance coincided with the sudden appearance of a young man named Smenkhkare. Smenkhkare, who was given the same title (Neferneferuaten) as the now vanished Nefertiti, was crowned co-regent to Akhenaten when he (Smenkhkare) was about sixteen. He was married to Akhenaten’s eldest daughter, Merytaten.
There is uncertainty about the relationship between Akhenaten and his successors, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamun. The biggest mystery associated with Smenkhkare was where he came from. It is possible that both he and Tutankhamun were Akhenaten’s sons by another wife, possibly Kiya who was ‘much loved’ of the Pharaoh. As there was inbreeding to keep the line pure we may never know the relationships within their family.

It is also a matter of great controversy as to whether or not Smenkhkare continued to reign after Akhenaten died. According to Dr. Donald Redford, a professor of Egyptology and the director of the Akhenaten Temple Project, Smenkhkare may have succeeded Akhenaten by a short while, during which he made half-hearted attempts at going back to the old religion (something which probably wouldn’t have happened while Akhenaten was alive). Another thing that suggests that he outlived Akhenaten are references to him made in certain tombs. He was also buried in the old capital.

But here one has to consider the way Akhenaten behaved concerning those people who were known to be his children. Every one of his six daughters, whenever referred to in writings from the period, was repeatedly called ‘the king’s daughter, of his loins, (daughter’s name)’.
In Egypt, as with any other kingdom of the ancient or not so ancient world, male heirs were much desired. If Akhenaten had a son, he almost certainly would have repeatedly said so.
Cyril Aldred, a prominent Egyptologist who has written several books about Akhenaten, uses the argument that Smenkhkare must have been born three years before Akhenaten’s reign began, thereby reducing the likelihood of his being Akhenaten’s child.

Yet another possibility is that one of Akhenaten’s many sisters was the mother of Smenkhkare. Because Smenkhkare appeared at the same time that Nefertiti seemingly vanished from view, and because he shared the title “Beloved of Akhenaten” with Nefertiti, some scholars believe that Nefertiti and Smenkhkare were one and the same. Nefertiti did have more power than many of the other queens in Egypt, and is often depicted wearing certain crowns that were normally reserved for kings. Thus, it is perhaps not too out of line to think that she might have disguised herself as a man and shared kingship with Akhenaten. However, Redford notes that, for one thing, it would be odd even for the Amarna family to have Nefertiti posing as a man and marrying her own daughter. Not only that, but to deny the existence of Smenkhkare, one would have to ignore one major finding: the body in Tomb 55.
Tutankhaten came to the throne when he was about eight years old and became known as “The boy king” by modern people. He became quite famous when his tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in the 1920s. Tutankhaten succeeded Akhenaten and Smenkhkare and was married to Akhenaten’s daughter Ankhesenpaaten. Th couple soon changed their names to Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamun, moved away from Akhetaten, and reestablished the old religion. Tutankhaten reigned until he was about eighteen when he died.

Tutankhaten’s origins are just as hazy as Smenkhkare’s. Some would claim that he was Kiya’s son by Akhenaten. However, if Tutankhaten and Smenkhkare were really brothers, as the bodies of the two suggest, then this would again bring up the question of the likelihood of Smenkhkare being Akhenaten’s son.

One theory is that Tutankhaten was Akhenaten’s brother. That would lead to the conclusion that both Smenkhkare and Tutankhaten were sons of queen Tiye.They both bear a strong resemblance to certain portraits of Tiye, but Tiye may have been too old to have children by the time Tutankhaten was born. Another problem is that Amenhotep III was, in all probability, well dead by this time, although there is much speculation about a co-regency between Akhenaten and his father.

One intriguing discovery is an inscription which calls Tutankhaten “The king’s son, of his loins”. This could be interpreted in a number of ways. One is that Tutankhaten really was Akhenaten’s child. However, this possibility has already been mostly ruled out. Another possibility is that Amenhotep III remained virile and active even in his last years and was able to father Tutankhaten just before he died (assuming that there was a co-regency).
Yet a third possibility is that Tutankhaten was Smenkhkare’s son. If Smenkhkare fathered Tutankhaten the same year that he married Merytaten, and then went on to outlive Akhenaten by about three years, then that would make Tutankhaten just barely seven when he came to the throne of Egypt (Tutankhaten was thought to have come to the throne when he was eight or nine).

In 1332 BC Akhenaten died, the circumstances never explained. His memory and all that he had created soon to erased from history not to be found for centuries later.

Akhenaten’s Royal Tomb in Amarna

In 1344 BC the building of the Royal Tomb at Akhetaten began. It was completed while Akhenaten was pharaoh.

The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten was very similar to a ‘standard’ tomb found in the Valley of the Kings – a straight forward design of corridors and rooms along a single axis, but this tomb was to change with the addition of two more separate suites of rooms:

Research at the Royal Tomb has given evidence that Akhenaten was buried in a pink granite sarcophagus – although both this and the remains of another sarcophagus found at the tomb, were smashed to pieces and then scattered over some distance.

Akhenaten’s Sarcophagus

However enough of Akhenaten’s sarcophagus has been recovered to reconstruct it, the corners had figures of Queen Nefertiti extending protective arms like the guardian of the four quarters.

Of all the royal mummies ever discovered none has ever caused more controversy then the one found in tomb 55 of the Valley of the Kings.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, Theodore Davis, a wealthy American excavating in Egypt, discovered a tomb in which a burial from the Armana period had been reinterred. This tomb was clearly unfinished, and the burial a hasty one. Gilded wooden inlay panels on the floor and against the wall. They bore the damaged image of Akhenaten worshiping the sun disc and the name of Queen Tiy.

In a niche were four beautiful alabaster jars that held the internal organs of the mummies. Lying on the floor was a badly damaged but beautiful coffin made with thousands of paste in-lays and semi-precious stones in the shape of protective wings. The cartouches containing the occupants name had been hacked out.

When they opened the coffin they found a mummy wrapped in gold-leaf. But as they touched the mummy it crumbled to dust leaving the excavators with a pile of disarticulated bones at the bottom of the coffin. But beneath the skeleton, the last sheet of gold, seemed to have the damaged named of Akhenaten written on it. The pelvis was wide like a female’s. The head was elongated.

What really became of Akhenaten’s mummy still remains a mystery. Fragments of sculpture and carving from the royal tomb at Akhetaten shows that his body was originally put there, but no sign of the mummy remains. It is possible that followers of the Aten feared for it’s destruction, which would deny him eternal life, and moved the body to a place of safety.
Akhenaten is perhaps unfairly not credited with being a particularly successful Pharaoh. Records seem to indicate that he allowed Egyptian influence wane but this may not be true. These ideas are based on the famous Amarna Tabletsfound in Akhetaten in many of which Egyptian vassal cities plead for assistance, but no replies are preserved.
As there is no surviving record of Egyptian territory being lost at this time it is possible that Akhenaten was merely skillfully playing one city against the other to achieve through diplomacy what would otherwise require military force.

The Amarna Tablets – Letters

The el-Amarna letters, a collection of correspondence between various states and Egypt, were found in the remains of the ancient city of Akhetaten, built by Akhenaten around 1370 BCE. Some of the documents belong to the time of Amenhotep III, while others are from the time of Akhenaten. They provide invaluable insight into the foreign affairs of several countries in the Late Bronze Age.

The first Amarna tablets were found by local inhabitants in 1887. They form the majority of the corpus. Subsequent excavations at the site have yielded less than 50 out of the 382 itemized tablets and fragments which form the Amarna corpus known to date.
The majority of the Amarna tablets are letters. These letters were sent to the Egyptian Pharaohs Amenophis III and his son Akhenaten around the middle of the 14th century B.C. The correspondents were kings of Babylonia, Assyria, Hatti and Mitanni, minor kings and rulers of the Near East at that time, and vassals of the Egyptian Empire.
Almost immediately following their discovery, the Amarna tablets were deciphered, studied and published. Their importance as a major source for the knowledge of the history and politics of the Ancient Near East during the 14th Century B.C. was recognized. The tablets presented several difficulties to scholars.

The Amarna tablets are written in Akkadian cuneiform script and present many features which are peculiar and unknown from any other Akkadian dialect. This was most evident in the letters sent from Canaan, which were written in a mixed language (Canaanite-Akkadian).
The Amarna letters from Canaan have proved to be the most important source for the study of the Canaanite dialects in the pre-Israelite period.

After Akhenaten’s Death Soon after his death the followers at Amana, unable to understand what their Pharaoh had been preaching, abandoned the city, and returned to Thebes and the familiar Gods. The priests branded the name Akhenaten, as a heretic. It was erased from the monuments of Egypt.

It was his son, a young Pharaoh named Tutankhamen who the world would get to know. King Tut moved the capital back to Thebes and returned to the old religion.

Akhenaten’s successors, the generals Ay and Horemheb reestablished the temples of Amun they selected their priests from the military, enabling the Pharaoh to keep tighter controls over the religious orders.

Later Pharaohs attempted to erase all memories of Akhenaten and his religion. Much of the distinctive art of the period was destroyed and the buildings dismantled to be reused. Many of the Talitat blocks from the Aten temples in Thebes were reused as rubble infill for later pylons where they were rediscovered during restoration work and reassembled.

Three thousand years ago, the rebel Pharaoh Akhenaten preached monotheism and enraged the Nile Valley. Less than 100 years after Akhenaten’s death, Moses would be preaching monotheism on the bank of the Nile River, to the Israelis. The idea of a single God once the radical belief of an isolated heretic is now embraced by Moslems, Christians, and Jews throughout the world. The vision of Akhenaten lives on!

Amarna was lost in antiquity until the end of the 19th Century. It was uncovered by the founder of modern Egyptology, Sir Flinders Petrie. They discovered a vast lost city in the dessert with temples, palaces and wide streets.

 

http://www.crystalinks.com/akhenaten.html