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Festival of the Return of the Daughter
The most famous and revered seat of Goddess worship was in Eleusias, and although the rituals became polluted with
Dionysian mysteries during
patriarchal rule (as a way to survive), the splendor and prestige attached to this holy place remained. Thus, we have an
idea of what the matriarchal mysteries were. The Eleusinian Rites began on September 13 and continued for the rest of
the month.
New initiates were assembled on September 15 and a cry, "To the sea, ye mystics!" heralded a banishing procession
on the 16th, when all concerned went to the sea for a purifying bath. For their part, community members took piglets
and images sacred to Demeter with them to be bathed as well. (Note: Piglets were so important to Eleusinians for
acting out Demetrian customs that when they were allowed to mint their own coin, about 350-327 BC, they chose an
image of the piglet standing on a spray of ivy. The other side of the coin showed the Goddess Demeter and Her Snake,
seated upon Her throne with the Wheel of Fortune.)
There were different rites for the children. Nymphs passed through fire for purification, followed by a mock fight,
throwing stones at each other or wrestling. On the night of the 19th or 20th, all purified mystics made a procession
back to the temples, where they were now fit to handle the sacra and holy foods.
An inscription from the fifth century BC reads:
Let the Hierophant and the Torchbearer command that the Hellenes should offer first fruits of their crops in accordance
with ancient usage. To those who do these things, there shall be many good things, both fine and abundant crops;
whoever of them do not injure the Athenians or the city of Athens or the two Goddesses.
And elsewhere:
I fasted, I drank the kykeon, I took from the chest, I put back into the basket, and from the basket into the chest.
These cryptic lines describe what the mystics did in their rituals, without telling us too much, since they were sworn to
secrecy. For ancient people, this needed no explanation since everybody knew what was in the basket and understood
what kykeon was.
The fasting is an obvious act of purification, sometimes accompanied by an herbal laxative (still used in some so-
file:///X|/B2DvD_1008____Wisdom_Ancient/The_Holy_Book_of_Women's_Mysteries/pp%20104-305.txt[8/19/2009 6:46:19 PM]
called primitive societies). After this, kykeon, a souplike mixture of vegetables and barley mixed with pale honey,
onion, and Pramnian wine, was drunk. Some of this mixture was also poured out onto the ground as a libation for
Demeter, but only before the wine was added.
"I took from the chest," refers to the sacra, which could have been tokens of good luck such as a ball, a symbol of the
Wheel of Life; a cone
for fertility, symbolizing of virile manhood; a mirror for self-knowledge. Today there are covens that still use a mirror,
given to new initiates with this command: "Look therein and see. Thou art Goddess."
"I put back into the basket," means that's where one put the first fruits one brought. The basket held loaves of bread
and other good food, and the offerings were placed there.
"From the basket into the chest," simply refers to the completion of another cycle of life. One takes something from
one place and replaces it in kind again, so that more can grow. The celebrant might have put grains back into the chest
for the next year's harvest. Even a few grains would have done it in token, in the belief that ritualistically, it was done.
Since there were very important moments in the social lives of the people, things that were placed back into the chest
could have been personal spells, art, sacred images of the Goddess, clay or stone representations of sacred symbols, or
healing prayers.
The Mysteries were not uniform, varying as rituals do today. Another version of the just-mentioned rite was: "I ate
from the timbrel, I drank from the cymbal, I carried the kernos, I passed beneath the pastes." These were the words
pronounced by other participants in the Mysteries.
The kernos was an agricultural tool, a winnowing fan that separated the grain from the dirt and dust, purifying it. It was
also a vessel containing many smaller bowls, all set in a triple circle. In each bowl there was some natural product:
white poppies, wheat, barley, pulse, vetch, ochroi, lentils. These things were carried by the celebrants, who "tasted
from the timbrels" and then "drank from the cymbals," which were used to play music with as well. The pastes was a
white umbrella that was often used for petitions for blessings from the Sky Mother. It was raised for the celebrant to
stand under, with its four-pointed covering directing petitions to the four corners of the universe.
Mysteries were never quite confined to Demeter and Kore alone. Other goddesses had their rites performed as well
(Ino, Hecate), and other male gods were added later (Hermes, Dionysus). In general, Mysteries such as these were
"rites in which certain sacra are exhibited, which could not safely be seen by the worshiper until she had undergone
purification."
Chapter 5
The Goddess and the God
Love: Understanding the true being of Aphrodite
The Goddess of Love is the only aspect of the Goddess that has not been totally discarded, even though She has been
negatively regarded and severely misunderstood. The Goddess of Love represents both beauty and wisdom and is the
second aspect of the Triad. It is possible " that this particular aspect of the Goddess survived patriarchy because of Her
ability to bear children and Her relatively easy accessibility as a tool for men's pleasure.
In truth, the Goddess of Love is the Great Mother. It is Her seasonal condition to procreate, after which She bathes in
water to regain her virginity. In mythological terms, childbearing never impairs or impedes the Lady's independence.
The matriarchal Aphrodite always stood proudly naked, gently pointing out Her genitals as the Source of Life. She was
muscular, strong and dignified, with no coyness or submission evident in either Her gestures or facial expressions.
The Goddess of Love has many names, the most important of which are those connecting Her to the water element,
because all organic life depends upon it. Thus, She is known as Aphrodite, Marianna, La Mer, Mary, Themis, Marina,
Tiamat, Ua Zit, and Wrushemu, to mention a few. Her favorite name is Isis, Who defines Herself as "She Who binds
hearts together." Notice that She does not mention sexual preference. She does not bind men with women exclusively,
because a genitalia philosophy has no part in Her law or worship. Isis speaks to the hearts of people and generous play
is Her favorite pastime.
All women served in the temples of the Goddess of Love. Priestesses who chose to live in the temples worshipped Her
as Queen of Heaven by extending Her life-giving powers to impotent men. These Holy Women were violently
attacked by the emerging Levite priests as prostitutes, a deliberately demeaning epithet. Offspring of the qadishtu
(Holy Women) inherited their property and name. It was not unusual for many generations of temple "family" to serve
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