The Goddess and the Rose in the Ancient World

The rose (Latin, rosa, in Greek, rhodon) a symbol that has a rich and ancient history. And like the cross, it can have paradoxical meanings. It is at once a symbol of purity and a symbol of passion, heavenly perfection and earthly passion; virginity and fertility; death and life. It is a symbol of transmutation - that of taking food from the earth and transmuting it into the beautiful fragrant rose. The rose garden is a symbol of Paradise. It is the place of the mystic marriage. In ancient Rome, roses were grown in the funerary gardens to symbolize resurrection. The thorns have represented suffering and sacrifice as well as the sins of the Fall from Paradise.

Of all the flowers, the rose is a singular example of a natural form that has been included in the symbolism of many cultures, spiritual traditions and folklore throughout the centuries. This flower has been intricately connected to our ideas of love and beauty and as such has enjoyed an association with several Goddesses, among them are Inanna, Ishtar, Aphrodite, Venus, Lakshmi, Chloris, Cybele, Flora, Demeter, Astarte, Aurora, and Hecate. The rose also has associations with a few Gods, Cupid, Dionysius, Eros, Mars and Bacchus.

There is one other Deity who came to have a deep connection to the symbolism of the rose, and that is the Goddess Isis. In the Mysteries roses were sacred to Isis. It is also the flower of her son Harpocrates or younger Horus, the god of silence. Many of the Gods and Goddesses mentioned above came to have an association with her eventually, as her worship spread throughout the Mediterranean region and the Roman empire. In her role as She of Ten Thousand Names, Isis was corresponded to many other Goddesses, taking on their attributes, both in and outside of Egypt. By the Greco-Roman period, when the rose had become a popular addition to religious festivals and secular feasts of the Romans and the Greeks, this flower had become intricately associated with Isis, and the association would only deepen over time.

In Sumeria, Babylon and Assyria

“A rose, bent by the wind and pricked by thorns, yet has its heart turned upwards” - Huna of Babylon

The oldest known use of a rose as the basis for a stylized design come from Sumeria. One is a Sumerian seal showing two scorpions protecting the rosette of the Goddess Inanna, dating to the Early Bronze Age or Uruk period, circa 3300 BC. The rosette was a sacred symbol of this Goddess. Seals dating to Early Dynastic I (2900-2800 BC) in the Sumerian city of Ur, combined the rosette symbol of Inanna with those of several other cities of the period. Scholars believe these were originally used for the purpose of sealing store room doors to preserve the materials and contributions made to the great temple of Inanna.

Roses were included in the Hanging Gardens of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Historians record that the gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar for one of his wives, Amyitis. Part of the gardens are believed to have been located near the Gate of Ishtar.

The earliest known written reference to roses exists on clay tablets from the royal library at Nineveh (modern day Mosul) of King Ashurbanipal. They contain the word “amurdinnu” or “murdinnu” which scholars believe refers to the ‘bramble rose’ or ‘wild rose’. Use of this word has also been cited in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Kuyundjik Tablet 2252). The Epic of Gilgamesh (also referred to as the Epic of Ishtar and Gilgamesh) as translated by Hamilton (1901) contains the following passage:

" ... Oh, could we hear those whispering roses sweet,

Three beauties bending till their petals meet,

And blushing, mingling their sweet fragrance there

In language yet unknown to mortal ear ..."

The author and scholar Joseph Campbell, along with many others, has pointed out the strong parallels between the myths of Inanna, Ishtar and Isis. Their consorts have been equated with the cycles of vegetation. All three of these Goddesses held the title “Queen of Heaven”, they were associated with love, loss, death and eventual restoration. Their stories echo a cycle of love, loss and rebirth that has been intimately connected to the symbolism of the rose.

In Crete

“Each common bush shall Syrian roses wear.” - Virgil, “The Eclogues,” IV, (Dryden translation)

Isis certainly had a presence in Crete by the Greco-Roman period. A sanctuary of Isis and Serapis existed near the city of Gortyna in southern central Crete. Gortyna was a major Roman settlement and the chief city of Crete during this time period. A life sized statue of Isis found in Crete is now in the Herakleion Museum (item no. 314). Evidence for an earlier presence may be indicated by a passage from “The Transformations of Lucius, Otherwise Known as the Golden Ass,” by Lucius Apuleius. In it the Goddess Isis speaks these words: “… for the archers of Crete I am Dictynna …”. Dictynna is an ancient Goddess of Cretan origin, who had many attributes. She is considered to be Patroness of Fisherman, Lawgiver, and possibly the Minoan Mother Goddess, whose sanctuaries were believed to be situated on mountaintops.

The oldest known visual evidence of roses is preserved in a fresco from the palace of Knossos on Crete. This piece of art dates from around 1600 BC. The fresco was partially destroyed during the earthquake of 1500 BC which brought down the palace. Portions of the fresco, though broken, vividly depict animals and flowers - among them are several examples of roses.

Roses may have originally been introduced to Syria and Palestine from northern Persia (modern day Iran), and later introduced from these regions into Greece, Italy and eventually into Egypt. Scholars believe the roses of Knossos may have been brought to Crete through trade with Syria. Whatever the route taken by the rose, the worship of Isis spread throughout the same region in much the same manner, if by a slightly different route. Barbara Watterson writes in her book “The Gods of Ancient Egypt”  that the worship of Isis spread from dynastic Egypt “northwards to Phoenicia, Syria and Palestine; to Asia Minor; to Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, Samos and other islands in the Aegean.”  Perhaps it was the ancient Syrian roses of Crete that were first introduced into the worship and temples of Isis in Egypt.

In Egypt

“The buds from Hatti are ripe … all the meadow blossoms with burgeoning buds.” - Cairo Love Song 21e, “Seven Wishes”, New Kingdom

In Egypt during the Greco-Roman period, wall paintings within Egyptian tombs included roses as a part of their subject matter, objects were decorated with rose motifs, and roses were used in funerary wreaths. Attar of roses was one of the oils used in the later periods during mummification.  Roses and rose oil were used in ancient Egyptian medicine. Private and temple gardens included roses in their flower beds.

Hair ornaments of Senebtisy in the form of gold rosettes, 12th Dynasty Evidence of two types of roses used in pharaonic Egypt have survived. One is the "Rosa Gallica" which was widely cultivated in parts of Europe, in Rome and Greece, and still survives today. The other is "Rosa Ricardii", which became extinct in Egypt by Islamic times. It was “Rosa Ricardii” also known as “Rosa Sancta” that was identified as the type of rose included in the funerary wreaths found in tombs of Hawara by Egyptologist William M. Flinders Petrie in the later part of the nineteenth century. These wreaths have been dated to 170 AD.

Some recipes for Kyphi, an incense used in ancient Egyptian temples called for the use of rose oil. The ancient Egyptians believed that perfume exuded from the bodies of their Deities, and that to breathe in the scent of the sacred Kyphi incense brought communication with the divine. It is not surprising then, that from the time of it’s introduction into Egypt (possibly sixth to seventh century BC), the fragrant and beautiful rose became one of the most sought after flowers, eventually associated with Isis, whose popularity and worship became so widespread.

Throughout the classical world, Egypt was renowned for it’s perfumes. One of these was called “Rhodinon” (‘rose perfume’). It is mentioned by Pliny, Theophrastus and Dioscorides. Theophrastus in his work titled “On Odours” writes of this perfume: “… being very delicate and acceptable to the sense of smell, by reason of its lightness it penetrates as no other can …” To better enhance the color to a more rose like hue, alkanet (a plant used to make dye) was sometimes added.

Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt had coinage issued during her reign that titled her “The New Goddess”, identifying her with Isis. She was not the first Ptolemaic Queen to be identified with Isis, but she was certainly the most famous. It may have been her association to Isis that first drew the displeasure of Roman politicians. The Cult of Isis in Rome was very popular during this time period. Cleopatra’s proclamation of herself as the living personification of Isis on earth would not have been recognized in Rome.

She was said to have a passion for roses. Cleopatra regularly enjoyed fountains filled with rosewater at her palace. In “The Deipnosophists” Athenaeus wrote the following about her: “On the fourth day she distributed fees, amounting to a talent, for the purchase of roses, and the floors of the dining-rooms were strewn with them to the depth of a cubit, in net-like festoons spread over all.” Legend has it that she even had the sails of her barge soaked in rosewater. Shakespeare refers to this in "Anthony and Cleopatra:” "Purple the sails, and so perfumed, that the winds were lovesick with them …” This "New Goddess," has been identified with love, queenship and the rose in art and literature down through the ages.

In Greece

“Venus … anointed him with ambrosial oil of roses …”  Homer, “The Iliad,” Book XXIII

The Gnostic Gospels found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt contain a story of the origin of roses which is based on an ancient Greek myth: “But the first Psyche (Soul) loved Eros who was with her, and poured her blood upon him and upon the earth. Then from that blood the rose first sprouted upon the earth out of the thorn bush, for a joy in the light which was to appear in the bramble.” - (Robinson, “The Nag Hammadi Library” pp. 169 - 170)

The ancient Greeks cultivated a form of the Gallica rose. The name ‘rose’ comes from Latin ‘rosa’  which derives from the ancient Greek ‘rhoden’ meaning ‘red’. The rose was eventually brought to southern Italy by Greek colonists.  Both the Greeks and the Romans used roses for perfume, medicine, festivals and temple rituals.

The ancient Greeks developed a system of corresponding specific plants and flowers to specific Deities, and then subsequently allocating certain plants and flowers for wreaths, to adorn the statues of Deities and the heads of persons of renown.  Followers of Isis used roses in the Greco-Roman period to create 'Wreaths of Justification' for the righteous dead, as a sign the deceased had successfully passed through the Judgement Hall of Her husband, Osiris.

It was the poetess Sappho who first named the rose ‘Queen of Flowers’ in her poem “Ode to the Rose.”  It became the flower of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, and in Rome the rose was dedicated to the Goddess Venus. When the worship of Isis spread into Greece and Rome, the rose was considered the most sacred of floral offerings to Her.

A temple dedicated to Isis located near Mikro Elos in Brexiza on the borders of the Marathon and Nea Makri is under excavation. This area is located in Attica in southern Greece. Statues of Osiris and Isis have been recovered from the area, the originals are in the Marathon Museum, copies have been situated on the excavation site for tourists. Since the discovery of the first two Egyptian-style statues on the site in 1968, six statues have been found, including an intact marble sphinx, a gray stone sphinx in two pieces and a portrait of Polydeuces. One of the most striking of these statues depicts Isis holding a rose in each hand.

There were several established centers for the Cult of Isis in ancient Greece, particularly in Attica. One of these was in Athens. Isis was also established just east of Athens in Corinth, in Cenchreae (Kenchreai), Eleusius, Piraeus, and notably on the island of Delos. In Athens, evidence suggests that a Cult of Isis existed during or before the last third of the 4th century BC, officially recognized in the early part of the 2nd century BC and continued to flourish until the 2nd half of the 3rd century AD. The surviving physical evidence amply corresponds Isis with the rose in ancient Greece. Some scholars feel that the rose may have had a deep connection to Demeter and it was through the association of Isis with Demeter that the rose first became corresponded with Isis.

Diodorus Siculus writes an account which may demonstrate how this ancient introduction of Isis of Egypt into the Mysteries of Eleusis and into Attica of Greece first took place: “Erechtheus also, who was by birth an Egyptian, became king of Athens, and in proof of this they offer the following considerations. Once when there was a great drought, as is generally agreed, which extended over practically all the inhabited earth except Egypt because of the peculiar character of that country, and there followed a destruction both of crops and men in great numbers, Erechtheus, through his racial connection with Egypt, brought from there to Athens a great supply of grain, and in return those who had enjoyed this aid made their benefactor king. After he had secured the throne he instituted the initiatory rites of Demeter in Eleusis and established the mysteries, transferring their ritual from Egypt. And the tradition that an advent of the goddess into Attica also took place at that time is reasonable, since it was then that the fruits which are named after her were brought to Athens, and this is why it was thought that the discovery of the seed had been made again, as though Demeter had bestowed the gift … their ancient ceremonies are observed by the Athenians in the same way as by the Egyptians … they are the only Greeks who swear by Isis, and they closely resemble the Egyptians in both their appearance and manners.”

Reliefs from graves dating to this period in Athens and other areas of Attica show women wearing garlands that alternate laurel leaves and roses. They are also represented wearing rose wreaths. A late Hellenistic Hymn from Andros describes “the flower laden locks of Isis”. The women in these reliefs are shown wearing a kind of knotted mantle, whose knot in some depictions closely resembles the open flower of a rose.

The reasons for these women to be depicted wearing roses in a funerary context are known. The exact reason for these women to be dressed in the manner of the Hellenistic Isis is a matter of debate amongst scholars, due to lack of conclusive physical evidence. They suggest that the women could be representative of Isis Herself, priestesses of the Cult of Isis, or women who have been participants in Her worship. Whether as a personification of the Goddess, as Her priestess or as Her devotee, by assuming the dress and bearing the symbols of Isis, these women hoped to be protected by the Goddess in a final act of salvation - life renewed in the Kingdom of Her husband Osiris.

In Rome

“As she talks, her lips breathe spring roses” - Ovid, “Fasti,” Book V: May 2

In the time period when the temple of Isis in Attica was built, the rose was already sacred to Isis in ancient Greece and in Rome. A famous correspondence of the rose with the worship of Isis occurs in passages from “The Transformations of Lucius, Otherwise Known as the Golden Ass,” in which the Goddess Isis appears to Lucius when he has reached a state of total despair. Isis gives him the following instructions on a way to escape his condition: “I shall order the High Priest to carry a garland of roses in my procession, tied to the rattle which he carries in his right hand. Do not hesitate, push the crowd aside, join the procession with confidence in my grace. Then come close up to the High Priest as if you wished to kiss his hand, gently pluck the roses with your mouth and you will immediately slough off the hide …”

Strength - Rider Waite tarot deck After Lucius was transformed back to his human self, he underwent a period of study and training within the temple of Isis and became an initiate of Her Mysteries. The act of eating the roses in this novel is symbolic, of taking on and absorbing the mysteries of Isis into his person. Leaving behind the dross side of his nature and becoming aware, attuned to his higher self. (Note: interesting that the Strength card of the tarot, shows a woman gentling a raging lion, and she is crowned with roses and wearing a trailing garland of roses at her waist.)

This novel was written during a time period when the demand for roses throughout the Roman Empire had been very high, turning the growing of roses into an important industry. The type of rose that has come down to us from the flower breeders of ancient Greece and Rome is called the “Gallica”. When Classical writers referred to the rose (rosa) they meant the Gallica, the wildrose or briar rose was termed Cynorrodon, the Dog Rose.

Statue of a woman with draped hands, 2nd century BC. Found in the Villa Adriana, Tivoli Objects sacred to the worship of Isis, such as the urnula, the type of pitcher used for Isian and Osirian mysteries in Her temples, were held by the draped hands of the priestesses. Often these objects were adorned with roses. Wreaths and garlands of roses were placed within the temple. So synonymous did the rose become with the Goddess Isis as Healer and Protector to the people of Rome, rose amulets were worn in Her Name as protection against the evil eye.

It was through Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, that we find the origin of the term ‘sub rosa’. Horus was incorporated into the cult of Isis and Serapis which flourished in Greco-Roman Alexandria in particular, and in Rome, where he became known by the Greek version of his name, 'Harpocrates'. The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic sign used for a child was a seated boy with his fingers to his mouth, actually in the pose of a young child about to suck his finger, a way of designating extreme youth. This pose was interpreted by the Greeks as a sign of silence and secrecy. By the time of Caligula in the first century AD, Horus had reached a great height of popularity among the Romans. A story circulating at that time told of Cupid, son of Venus, who gave a rose to Horus/Harpocrates. The rose  was a gratuity for the silence of Harpocrates about the affairs of Cupid’s mother. Through this story, the rose became the symbol of keeping a confidence. The practice of hanging a rose hung from the ceiling served as a reminder that anything said in the room was to be considered ’sub rosa’ (under the rose) and therefore completely private.

In Rome the feast called "Rosalia" was a feast of the dead: thus the flower referred to the next world.

Isidis Navigium and the Star of the Sea

"Rose of all Roses, Rose of all the World" - W.B. Yeats, “The Rose of Battle”

During the Greco-Roman period, Isis was patroness of sailors and ships. The Romans credited Her as the inventor of the sail. One of Her many titles, Isis Pharia, grew from this patronage. As the protectress Deity of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Pharos lighthouse of Alexandria, She guided ships to safe harbor. The use of female figureheads on the prows of ships is thought to derive from this ancient association of Isis as Protectress of mariners.

A famous Isian festival in the classical period was the Isidis Navigium (known as the Ploiaphesia in ancient Greece). It was celebrated in the ports of ancient Greece near Corinth, Cenchreae and Piraeus, the harbors of Rome, the shores of Greco-Roman Egypt and to far reaches of the Roman Empire, where it was held on the Seine. Imagery of the Navigium was incorporated into the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris. Robert Eisler writes in “The Royal Art of Astrology” of the main porch of the cathedral which contains a depiction of the Zodiac: “Still further left (i.e. of January) Aquarius and Isis launching a ship. The ship is Navis seen just opposite Aquarius. Over this figure we see Pisces.” The Isidis Navigium is still celebrated today by Fellowship of Isis members in California and in London.

Traditionally the Isidis Navigium is celebrated on March 5th. Apuleius writes in his work “The Transformations of Lucius, Otherwise Known as the Golden Ass,” these words of the Goddess Isis: “Devote to my worship the day born of this night … for at this season, the storms of winter lose their force, the leaping waves subside and the sea becomes navigable once more.” Participants in the festival were known to carry garlands and bouquets of flowers and to sprinkle the ground with perfumed oils. Among the flowers used were roses.

Isis was titled “Star of the Sea” (Stella Maris) by this period, the star in question being the North Star, which was used by sailors to guide their vessels at night. When ancient mariners followed the light of Stella Maris, they knew they were on the right path, steering true. The petals of the sacred rose of Isis, Patroness of sailors and ships, may have lent their name to other means of steering sailors safely through the seas. In the classical period, before the use of the Compass Rose, which dates to around the 13th century on charts and maps, mariners used the Wind Rose. The names of the eight winds were used instead of names of directions on these charts.

There is a Tower of Winds in Athens, built around 100 BC, which is still standing today. Inscribed in the stone walls of this tower are the names of the eight winds. This edifice may have been employed as an observation tower, it did serve as a clock tower with a water clock, or clepsydra, a time keeping device that was used in ancient Egypt, especially in the temples. (The water clock is not the same thing as a Nilometer which was also used in ancient Egyptian temples to gauge the level of the Nile River.) The oldest known example of a clepsydra in Egypt dates to 1400 BC. Archimedes is credited with learning the technology of the water clock in the city of Alexandria in Egypt and bringing it to Athens.

Christianity

In the Latin West the symbolism of the rose is of Greco-Roman heritage but influenced by and finally transformed through Latin biblical and liturgical texts. The rose was a privileged symbol for Mary, Queen of heaven and earth.

During the Middle Ages the rose was cultivated in monastery gardens and used for medicinal purposes. It became a symbol in religious writing and iconography in different images and settings, to invoke a variety of intellectual and emotional responses. 

The third-century Saint Ambrose believed that there were roses in the Garden of Eden, initially without thorns, but which became thorny after the fall, and came to symbolize Original Sin itself. Thus the Blessed Virgin is often referred to as the 'rose without thorns', since she was immaculately conceived. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux compared her virginity to a white rose and her charity to a red rose. With the rise of Marian devotion and the Gothic cathedral in the twelfth century, the image of the rose became even more prominent in religious life. Cathedrals built around this time usually include a rose window, dedicated to the Virgin, at the end of a transept or above the entrance. The thirteenth century Saint Dominic is credited with the institution of the Rosary, a series of prayers to the Virgin, symbolized by garlands of roses worn in Heaven.

The rose has also been used as a sign of silence and secrecy. The word sub rosa "under the rose" referring to the demand for discretion whenever a rose was hung from the ceiling at a meeting. 

The mystic rose appears in Dante's Divine Comedy, where it represents God's love. By the twelfth century, the red rose had come to represent Christ's passion, and the blood of the martyrs.

"Mystery glows in the rose bed, the secret is hidden in the rose." -12th century Persian poet.


Also read:

• Sophia's Power: Veiled

Sophia’s Power: Veiled

Sophia in Greek, Hohkma in Hebrew, Sapientia in Latin, Celtic goddess-figure Sheela-na-gigs - all mean wisdom. The Judeo-Christian God's female soul, source of his true power is Sophia. As Goddess of wisdom and fate, her faces are many: Black Goddess, Divine Feminine, Mother of God, Mother of Creation. She is both Mother Mary, in her ascendant form, and Mary Magdalene, as the earthly companion of the Christ potential in Christian Gnosticism.

Sophia in her early form:

The earliest forms of Sophia emphasized her power and influence on earth and in the human psyche.  In the ancient text of Hypostasis of the Archons, found at Nag Hammadi, it is written that Sophia preexisted and gave birth to the male godhead. She chastises his arrogance when he says there is no other god before him. She claims her spiritual authority. She says “you are wrong, Samuel” (meaning Lord of the blind) and stretches forth her finger to send light into matter. She then follows the light down into the region of “Chaos.”

This power of Sophia within the earth realm was seen in early visions:  “I am nature, the universal mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen of the immortals, My nod governs the shining heights of heaven, the wholesome sea breezes, the lamentable silences of the world below. I know the cycles of growth and decay.”

Certainly, from the beginning of time Sophia has been represented by the Great Mother from whom all life arises and is sustained. She was worshipped from 25,000 to 5,000 BC, an immense period of time in human history. 

Themes of the intertwining of nature and spirit, and the paradox of life and death are everywhere in images of the Great Feminine. In ancient Mesopotamia, she was depicted as Ishtar, with a winged headdress and holding the ring of divine authority. She was sculpted with owls at her feet representing the secrets of the underworld and death.

In pre-dynastic Egypt she was often shown as a bird goddess with her arms uplifted, again like wings. Another frequent association was with the lion: a fire symbol.  This theme was evident in the statues of Sekhmet. It was said that Sekhmet, carrying the paradox of fierce feminine power, would return in times of epoch change.

The uniting of paradoxes is evident in Isis: the great Goddess of the two lands of light and dark of Egypt. She is the agent for the resurrection of Osiris; by conceiving Horus, she brings forth the basic symbol of transformation in the uniting of the paradoxes.

She is Shakti in Sanskrit, the powerful Hindu personification of feminine wisdom, and the personal and collective linking soul as atman, realized in the transcendent state of samadhi (Gnosis). 

She is the compassionate boddhisatva (Avalokiteshvara) in Buddhism, returning to light the path to nirvana (Gnosis); personified by the deity Guanyin. 

For a period of time Sophia was evident in the city states of Greece and Rome. Her qualities were expressed through the ancient goddess Cybele. Here, also, she was often shown with lions, thought to represent the fiery and ecstatic state associated with her worship. However, Cybele began to fade in Rome about 200 BC as did the goddesses worshipped elsewhere: Isis in Egypt, Artemis in Ephesus, and Demeter in Greece. Similarly, Athene (Minerva) goddess of wisdom; became redefined as the daughter of Zeus, now the goddess of civilization. She was occasionally portrayed with only a small reminder of her heritage: an owl in her hand. To add insult to injury, she was considered to be the inventor of the bridle to tame the horse.

With the further emergence of the Greek Culture there was a marked decline in the power of Sophia.  In particular, when the work of Aristotle stressed the world of ideas, and rationality; Logos, which had been her prerogative, became defined as masculine.

Buddhism, Christianity, Islam: (530 B.C to 0 – 600 A.D) all make mention of Sophia, yet each tradition adapts her to their own cosmology; and all increasingly become critical of nature. The goal of all these spiritual traditions is to rise above the earth and achieve Nirvana. Heaven, or Paradise.

The strongest belief in Sophia was retained by Gnostics (2-3 A.D.). While some Gnostic sects saw Sophia as God’s playmate, existing before the manifest world and responsible for helping man journey back to the Source, others blamed her curiosity for the fall of the soul into matter. This, for them, was a tragedy, for the material world was seen as unworthy. Women and earthiness were judged as the cause of all man’s problems. These Gnostics held a dim view of sexuality and treated women in the patriarchal style of the times. And so Sophia became split; her more negative aspect was called the Whore of Babylon, and earth, as a valued expression of creation, was lost.

"Matter" comes from the root word "Mater" or "Mother" and is ultimately the "Great Mother" (Sophia) which gives form to all of Creation and consequently has historically been legitimately worthy of the highest respect and veneration.

Sadly over recent centuries the role of "Matriarchy" has in many circles been an object of denigration.

One can only hope that at the Dawn of the 21st Century that the utterly majestic role of The Feminine will be more widely understood and embraced.

[It is a tragedy that even at the dawn of the 21st Century "Matter" is rejected and considered to be "Evil" as in so doing harmony with the soul and the attainment of "Gnosis-Individuation" shall not be attained.]

Psyche cannot be totally different from matter, for how otherwise could it move matter?

And matter cannot be alien to psyche, for how else could matter produce psyche?

Psyche and matter exist in one and the same world, and each partakes of the other, otherwise any reciprocal action would be impossible.

If research could only advance far enough, therefore, we should arrive at an ultimate agreement between physical and psychological concepts.

~Carl Jung; Aion; Page 261.

Sophia, in her new form, surfaced as the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. She is first really noticed within the Catholic Church in 431 A.D.  She became very prominent in early art where she was depicted as a vessel of rebirth and higher transformation. She was seen, usually, as a divine protector in early Renaissance times: a figure that mankind could appeal to in times of trouble. She became increasingly “elevated” through the years and in 1950 the church declared the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. Jung wrote that while it was good that the Church finally recognized the importance of the feminine, it had exalted Mary in the masculine sense and this would be injurious to the feminine principle of wholeness.

It was through the Black Madonna that Christianity retained Sophia’s connection with nature. The Black Madonna was sometimes called the lady of the caves where her statues were often hidden. The blackness there may have been related to the fact that she had been rescued by the locals after being burned as “pagan” by the church. The Black Madonna became the Mary of indigenous people and is still found in Poland, Spain, Mexico.

In the Biblical Wisdom literature, she teaches men that clear perception and discernment are more important than gold. Because the teachings were rooted in life instead of doctrine and spoken by a divine female, Sophia became problematical and excluded from the religious formulations of monotheism. Sophia's exile from mainstream religion mirrors the alienation suffered by modern individuals who experience betrayal, abandonment, scapegoating, exclusion, and loss--of homeland or loved one.

"The word philosophy was coined by Pythagoras and comes from the Greek word philein (brotherly love) and sophia, wisdom. He was the first person to call himself a philosopher, which he defined as one who is attempting to find out. Before Pythagoras (6th c. BCE), wise men called themselves sages, meaning those who know."

 (Manly P. Hall, An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic Hermetic Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Philosophy, LXV).

Sophia, the "person" in the word "philosophy," was named Sophia after the Greek word for wisdom. She was described in the five Biblical books classified as wisdom literature, written in the postexilic period, from 500 B.C.E. on. Sophia is not only a teacher of men in these texts, but also co-creator of the world. Sophia speaks about her identity, power and function and her mysterious presence with God at creation in passages reminiscent of earlier speeches of wisdom goddesses found in sacred texts in India, Egypt, and Sumeria.

Sophia eventually disappeared from the development of mainstream theological tradition in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because she was problematical. Being a "she" did not fit into the increasingly male-dominated religions that excluded the feminine in favor of an all-male god that creates everything. Such a concept would be ludicrous for the earlier matrifocal societies who were well aware that the source, bearer, and protector of newborn life is the woman, not the man.

For centuries, the frequent presence of Sophia in the Wisdom literature was a difficult issue for Biblical scholars attempting to account for her apparent divinity and role in creation:

• Her divine status, evident from her speeches, does not easily fit into monotheism.
• Her teachings are rooted in life, not in obedience to rules, gods or priests; these teachings demand individual integrity and justice in the marketplace and royal court, and are achieved through clear perception and devotion to her, wisdom, and by abandoning "marketplace consciousness"--giving up the quest for gold & possessions.
• She is associated with the natural order and meaning of creation, rather than the revelation and salvation of monotheistic religions. Sophia had many of the characteristics of earlier wisdom goddesses who carry the banner of the supremacy, primacy, and justice of the natural order of the cosmos rather than the capricious brutal rule of man whose focus is on profit and domination.
• Her gender is unacceptable in religions that deify only the male. The strenuous effort of Hebrew prophets to turn their people away from the worship of popular local deities to an ever-stricter monotheism admitted no divine reality save one demanding wifeless male god.

Sophia was so problematical for the translators and interpreters of the texts composing the New Testament that her development as a divine figure gradually disappeared from the main stage of Christianity, except in Russia.

The Russian Orthodox Church has a school of "Sophiology" to explore the theology of Sophia without contradicting the Russian Orthodox theology.

She remained, however, a vital force in religious visions, esoteric traditions, and schools of philosophy. She appeared as two Sophias in gnosticism: the world soul and the embodied soul. In medieval alchemy, as Sapientia she was the goal of the transformation process. In Persian Sufism, Sophia inspired mystical devotion and poetry.

Translate Baphomet into Hebrew letters. Beth, Peh, Vav, Mem, Tau (or BPhOMTh).

Now write out the common Hebrew "Atbash cipher": Write the Hebrew alphabet on one line from Aleph to Tau. Then write it again on the next line down, this time from Tau to Aleph.

Now use the Atbash to transpose the letters of BPhOMTh:

B = Sh (Beth = Shin)
Ph = O (Peh = Vav)
O = Ph (Vav = Peh)
M = Y (Mem = Yod)
Th = A (Tau = Aleph)

So BPhOMTh = ShOPhYA

And now you know the true identity of Baphomet. It is Sophia - the Mother Goddess.

Ereshkigal the Mesopotamian Goddess of the Underworld

In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal was the goddess of the underworld or Irkalla (the land of the dead). Her name translates as 'Queen of the Great Below' or 'Lady of the Great Place.’ Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler.

Ereshkigal is a granddaughter of Enlil, and the older sister of the goddess, Inanna (the Queen of Heaven, and later known as Ishtar) and best known for the part she plays in the famous Sumerian poem The Descent of Inanna (c.1900-1600 BCE). Inanna and Ereshkigal represent polar opposites.

She is wife of Nergal, the king of death who brings disease, plague, and all misfortunes caused by heat.

In Sumerian myths, Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and give laws in her kingdom. The main temple dedicated to her was located in Kutha. 

By the time of the Old Babylonian Period (c. 2000-1600 BCE) Ereshkigal was widely recognized as the Queen of the Dead. 

Although goddesses lost their status later in Mesopotamian history, early evidence clearly shows the most powerful deities were once female.

In later times, the Greeks and Romans appear to have syncretized Ereshkigal with their own goddess Hecate. In the heading of a spell in the Michigan Magical Papyrus, which has been dated to the late third or early fourth century A.D., Hecate is referred to as "Hecate Ereschkigal" and is invoked using magical words and gestures to alleviate the caster's fear of punishment in the afterlife.

It’s interesting to see that the story of Ereshkigal and her husband Nergal is a “gender-swapped” version of the more famous Persephone/Hades story, even though Ereshkigal is much older than the Greek story.

Her husband Nergal actually seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only a representative of a certain phase of the sun. Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle.

Read: 

• A Mesopotamian Underworld Love Story
• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld 
• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld
• Hecate, Greek Goddess of the Underworld 
• The Morrigan, the Irish Dark Goddess 

Carl Jung and The Spiritual World

My Soul, where are you? Do you hear me? I speak, I call you—are you there? I have returned, I am here again. I have shaken the dust of all the lands from my feet, and I have come to you, I am with you. After long years of long wandering, I have come to you again….  ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 232.

It was universally believed in the Middle Ages as well as in the Greco-Roman world that the soul is a substance. Indeed, mankind as a whole has held this belief from its earliest beginnings, and it was left for the second half of the nineteenth century to develop a “psychology without the soul.”  ~Carl Jung; CW 8.

Thus your soul is your own self in the spiritual world. 

As the abode of the spirits, however, the spiritual world is also an outer world.

Just as you are also not alone in the visible world, but are surrounded by objects that belong to you and obey only you, you also have thoughts that belong to you and obey only you.

But just as you are surrounded in the visible world by things and beings that neither belong to you nor obey you, you are also surrounded in the spiritual world by thoughts and beings of thought that neither obey you nor belong to you.

Just as you engender or bear your physical children, and just as they grow up and separate themselves from you to live their own fate, you also produce or give birth to beings of thought which separate themselves from you and live their own lives.

Just as we leave our children when we grow old and give our body back to the earth, I separate myself from my God, the sun, and sink into the emptiness of matter and obliterate the image of my child in me.

This happens in that I accept the nature of matter and allow the force of my form to flow into emptiness. Just as I gave birth anew to the sick God through my engendering force, I henceforth animate the emptiness of matter from which the formation of evil grows. 

Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 288

Hecate, Greek Goddess of the Underworld

HEKATE (Hecate), Greek goddess of the crossroads, magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, and necromancy, guardian of the household, and protector of everything newly born -- once a widely revered and influential goddess, the reputation of Hecate has been tarnished over the centuries. In current times, she is usually depicted as a "hag" or old witch stirring the cauldron.

But nothing could be further from the image of Hecate's original glory.

A beautiful and powerful goddess in her own right, Hecate was the only one of the ancient Titans who Zeus allowed to retain their authority once the Olympians seized control. Zeus shared with Hecate, and only her, the awesome power of giving humanity anything she wished (or withholding it if she pleased).

A lover of solitude, Hecate was, like her cousin Artemis, a "virgin" goddess, unwilling to sacrifice her independent nature for the sake of marriage.

Usually classified as a "moon goddess", her kingdoms were actually three-fold . . . the earth, sea, and sky. Having the power to create or withhold storms undoubtedly played a role in making her the goddess who was the protector of shepherds and sailors.

In her role as 'Queen of the Night' she was both honored and feared as the protectress of the oppressed and of those who lived "on the edge". 

It is hardly surprising that a woman who needed to make a trip alone at night would say a brief prayer to Hecate to seek her protection.


Also read:

• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld 
• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld
• The Morrigan, the Irish Dark Goddess 

The Morrigan, the Irish Dark Goddess

The Morrigan: Irish-Celtic Goddess of War

A popular dark goddess is the Irish Celtic Goddess of War and Shapeshifting—The Morrigan. She is often depicted as a goddess accompanied by crows, and she is very often depicted on a battlefield.

The Morrigan was a Goddess of War, Destruction, Death, and Transformation. She is called The Phantom Queen. She was known to have the ability to shift into the form of various animals at will—the crow, the bull, the eel, the wolf, and more. She uses her shifting powers and magic in order to win battles.

The Morrigan is thought to have been a Triple Goddess... or perhaps three goddesses in one, similar to the Trinity. Her three aspects are Macha, Badb, and Nemain. She is the daughter of one of the Tuatha de Dannan (the first divine gods of Ireland). She foresees warriors' death before they happen, and is also considered a goddess that protects the king. She is a goddess of sovereignty and many believe she is an ancient earth goddess because of her association with the cow, crow, and wolf. Her war aspect is somewhat dark, in that we can see The Morrigan as the crow that eats the remaining dead off of the battlefield. But out of destruction and chaos comes new life. And let us not forget her other associations with the earth and protection of her people!


Also read:

• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld 
• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld

Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld

Hel (Old Norse Hel, “Hidden”) is a goddess who rules over the identically named Hel, or Helheim, the underworld where many of the dead dwell.

Hel is one of three children born to Loki and Angrboda, the giantess. Her body and face were described as half in light and half in darkness. She was half dead and half alive.

Hel gifted to Odin his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn. Ravens are messengers between this realm and the next, opening pathways to death’s realm.

Her kingdom was said to lie downward and northward, and appears to have been divided into several sections. It was said that those who fell in battle did not go to Hel but to the god Odin, in Valhalla, the hall of the slain.

It was her job to determine the fate of the souls who entered her realm. Hel stands at the crossroads in judgment of souls who pass into her realm. In that, she is linked to Osiris and Isis as well as Hecate. 

The evil ones are banished to a realm of icy cold death and torture. This particular aspect of Hel’s realm was the basis for the Judeo-Christian “hell” to which sinners are banished and tortured for eternity. Unlike the Judeo-Christian concept, Helheim also served as the shelter and gathering place of souls to be reincarnated. Hel watches over those who died peacefully of old age or illness. 

She cares for children and women who die in childbirth. She guides those souls who do not choose the path of war and violence through the circle of death to rebirth. 

Because of Hel’s special role in the deaths of mothers in childbirth and children of all ages who die, she has become, according to some sources, the special guardian of children.

The Vikings viewed her with considerable trepidation. The Dutch, Gallic, and German barbarians viewed her with some beneficence, more of a gentler form of death and transformation. She is seen by them as Mother Holle; a being of pure Nature, being helpful in times of need, but vengeful upon those who cross her or transgress natural law.

Hel has fallen from her privileged position as guardian and ruler through years of being represented as an evil, ugly entity waiting to devour and torture lost souls. Ignorance has used her as a means of scaring children and adults into a supposedly righteous path (instead of allowing free will to guide their actions to do what is right). May we learn and dispel the slander of years by seeing her for the protector, judge, and guide that she originally represented.


Also read:

• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld

Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld

In Aztec mythology, Mictēcacihuātl (literally "Lady of the Dead") is the Queen of Mictlan, the underworld, ruling over the afterlife with her husband, Mictlantecuhtli.

Mictecacihuatl's role is to guard the bones of the dead and preside over the ancient festivals of the dead. These festivals evolved from Aztec traditions into the modern Day of the Dead which is also heavily influenced by Catholic Spanish traditions.

According to myth she was once alive countless ages ago—a member of an ancient pre-human race of beings who lived when the world was new. But her time in the living world was short since she was sacrificed to the underworld as an infant. After her death, she grew to adulthood as queen of the underworld. A deity of immense power. 

One of her foremost duties as the ruler of the dark realm is to guard the skeletal remains of extinct earlier races. In the past Mictecacihuatl failed in her duties. According to Aztec legend, the twin gods Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl were sent by the other gods to steal the sacred corpses of those who lived long before–which the gods of the sky then fashioned into living modern human beings. Now Mictecacihuatl must also guard the bones of dead humans, for she believes that our remains could be used by capricious sky gods to build an even more ruthless group of alien new beings.

• Also read:
• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld 

Mistakes people make when learning magick

Avoid these common pitfalls when studying magick, meditation or mysticism.

Poorly defined goals

What do you want?

It’s a simple question, but most who enter the world of magick and alternative spirituality never ask it, or never fully define the answer. As a result, they’re caught up in the “dazzling lights” of the New Age Pinball Machine, and bounced around between experiences, groups and teachers, never finding themselves or getting to their core issues and drives.

You need to ask this question up front: What do you want? Do you want greater creative skill and power? Do you want to fix a trauma or personal challenge? Are you willing to give up everything and seek enlightenment? Whatever it is, define it now, and then ask yourself if magical means are really the answer, or if more mundane means would be a lot easier. Be clear on this, or you risk getting caught up in the glamour of magick, and forgetting that it’s just a tool, and only one tool of many available to you right now.

Staying in the shallows

Magick is a giant buffet table. Thanks to the shrinking of the world by global communications, you’ll find material from every world faith and esoteric path readily available to you. Hermeticism/Golden Dawn/Thelema; Yoga; Vedanta; Vajrayana Buddhism; Sufism; NLP… the list is limited only by the demand of the New Age marketplace for the next big kick. Just a hundred years ago—in some cases, just a few decades ago—all of these subjects would have been incredibly hard to discover information on. You wouldn’t have been able to just pop down to Barnes & Noble or go on Amazon and have it all handed to you. And in all cases, once you discovered the entry to a path, you would be confronted with a teacher who would explain that the path was the work of a lifetime.

That puts modern seekers in a unique position. We don’t lack access—but what we do often lack is commitment to a path. Most likely, students will browse here and there, reading on a wide variety of paths, or even joining several groups in sequence. This is an incredible way to learn quickly; however, if the buffet table approach takes the place of deep, committed learning in one path or tradition, what happens is you stop making progress. You just get to the edge of your comfort zone in one path before starting over in another, never taking that crucial jump into the unknown. Ironically, this probably takes more time than sticking to one path, at least until you reach that path’s completion stages.

Thinking there is one true path

Once you’ve experienced peak states or personal breakthroughs in a system, it’s easy to generalize: “This is absolutely incredible… everybody should experience this!”

If you’re not careful, you soon become a missionary, talking non-stop about what you’ve experienced, trying to get your friends or family into whatever practice caused the peak state or breakthrough, or even, at the high registers of “Kool-Aid Intoxication,” thinking that you have found the One True Path, and that all other paths are lesser or deluded.

People can stay stuck in this state for days, weeks, months, or years—even their whole life. It tends to be a blockage to progress. It’s a classic behavior of an individual with a weak sense of self: Deep down, they feel themselves to be inferior or lesser than others, so they place all their focus on an all-consuming ideology or charismatic leader that they derive strength and self-worth from serving. If this sounds like an obvious trap, and one you would never fall for, think again: The “One True Path” disease has been responsible for many of history’s greatest tragedies, or the many historical genocides committed by overzealous religious missionaries that worked to “convert by sword.”

If your path is the One True Path, it’s time to leave your cloistered room or insular community and experience what life is like for others of different faiths and life backgrounds. 

Us vs. them mentality

Because people who are into magick and alternative spirituality are often on the fringes, it’s easy to adopt belief systems that reinforce an oppressed identity or “us vs. them” story. This becomes a particularly acute problem when the magick that people are doing isn’t working, or not producing a good quality of life, and instead of changing the behaviors or beliefs that aren’t working, people create a narrative in which some “other” individual or group is keeping them down. These stories about why failure is OK quickly blossom and cross-pollinate, becoming wide-scale conspiracy theories potent enough to infect whole cultures, leaving disempowerment, misery and even genocide in their wake. Examples of this include:

• “The Illuminati are out to get me because I have secret knowledge.”

• “Shapeshifting reptilians/Archons/evil spirits/Satan/etc. are controlling reality and don’t like me.”

• “I’m way too enlightened/edgy/intense/real for mainstream society to handle.”

• “I am a lightworker charged with battling the dark forces, and the dark forces are in control.”

Do you have any of these beliefs, or any similar ones? Let’s take a look at them—what’s the underlying message of all of them? Personal significance. Me me me. All of these scripts allow for personal significance through failure. They all allow you to be a complete fuckup and to simultaneously have the illusion of “winning.”

They are all poison. Jettison them immediately, and instead focus on your personal growth and happiness, and how you can be of service to the people around you.

Trying to be the “best magician” instead of the “best you”

When overachiever types get into magick, they try to learn every single aspect of it and become a Total and Formidable Master. There is no mastery; leave this archetype in the Saturday morning cartoons it came from. Remember: Magick is just a tool. Know your goal, and use the tool to achieve your goal.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be so linear: You may simply be seeking the regular, sustainable spiritual growth that comes from a regular practice of meditation, dreamwork, journalling, yoga, ritual and any other tool you have chosen to use. Wonderful.

The key here is: It’s not a competition. There is no prize, other than becoming more yourself.

Giving your power away

Particularly as a young and untested magician, you will likely be confronted with situations or people that tempt you to surrender your power. Whether it’s an autocratic or abusive guru, a regimented and controlling magical order, or even a tightly controlling ideology, you might be tempted or even frightened into surrendering control of your life in exchange for some tangible or intangible reward.

If you do this, get ready for a painful learning experience!

[Credit: ULTRACULTURE by Jason Louv]

A Mesopotamian Underworld Love Story

Ereshkigal, being queen of the underworld, can’t leave her kingdom. Why? Not sure but I’m guessing that if she does, she’ll unleash the zombie apocalypse. So when the gods are partying and feasting, they send proxies instead so that Ereshkigal can feel included. They send this guy Kakka to Ereshkigal with a message: “Hey sis, thinking of you, xoxo, your brother Anu.” Ereshkigal sends her vizier Namtar to take part in the feast instead.

However, when Namtar gets there, he isn’t shown proper respect by this one guy Nergal. So, of course, because they’re all reasonable all-powerful gods, Anu punishes him by sending Nergal to the underworld (to make amends, possibly? Or just to die a horrible death by zombie. UNCLEAR). The gods give Nergal advice to help him survive (the usual, “don’t eat or drink or smell or cuddle ANYTHING YOU SEE” advice when one is traveling to Hell/Faerie/Underworld), and a chair which will ensure his ability to come back to the world of the living. I’ve always wanted a chair that can take me to the underworld and back again.

So Nergal gets down there, and obeys all of the rules very faithfully, until Ereshkigal puts on a MIGHTY FINE DRESS and takes a MIGHTY FINE BATH and then Nergal is like “one little cuddle couldn’t hurt, right?” And then they cuddle strenuously for six days.

Of course, on the seventh day, Nergal is like, “I’m taking my chair and getting out of here” and goes back to the land of the living.

Ereshkigal wakes up and is Displeased and utters the same curse that our girl Ishtar did in “The Descent of Ishtar”: Send my boyfriend back or “I shall raise up the dead, and they will eat the living. I shall make the dead outnumber the living!”

You know, normal break-up threats.

She then sends Namtar (her vizier) to get Nergal back. Namtar tells the gods that they better just send Nergal back or they’re going to have a zombie apocalypse on their hands.

Nergal, whether willingly or under orders (I can’t tell), goes back. However, this time instead of being let in through the seven gates of the underworld, he breaks them down like an invader. He goes into Ereshkigal’s throne room, marches right up to her, and throws her off of her throne.

And then they cuddle strenuously for another six days.

Nergal and Ereshkigal rule the underworld together after that, and live happily (?) ever after.

The End. 

(Credit: Bahnreads)

It’s interesting to see a “gender-swapped” version of the more famous Persephone/Hades story, even though Ereshkigal is much older than the Greek story.

Nergal actually seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only a representative of a certain phase of the sun. Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle.