In my book The Hidden Camino, I come to the conclusion that the origins of Mary Magdalene could be traced back to Cybele, the Great Phrygian Mother of Gods. You will have to read the book to learn how I come to this conclusion, but I would like to spread a little light on this mighty Goddess, as she is almost forgotten today.
Phrygia today is a part of what we know as Turkey. However, the worship of Cybele stretched far and beyond its borders, and blended into the later Goddess worship and spiritual traditions of Artemis and Diana. Cybele herself was also part of even older spiritual traditions, and was believed to be one of the earliest goddess to exist.
Photo's: by Louise Sommer/Shutterstock
Her Crown of Towers
The way you can recognize Cybele is her crown of towers, or city wall with towers. No other deity possesses that symbol. On coins found from the time of Cybele's worship, Cybele was always depicted with her crown of towers. She was also depicted in either a golden chariot pulled by lions, or sitting on a throne with lions at her feet.
An oracle from Delphi once told ancient Rome, that they had to restore the religion of Cybele, as that was the only thing that could save them. As they didn't listen to the oracle's advice, Rome fell soon after!
Indications of Cybele's Teachings
Cybele was born from Oneness. Some describe this 'Oneness' as an energy, a Cosmic consciousness, others describe her as a heavenly hermaphroditic 'being'. This tells us that She was above male, female, masculine and feminine - above human life in general. Cybele's story of creation indicates that Cybele's wisdom was about Spirit & Matter; the great Cosmic consciousness we come from and its connection with our lives here on Earth - that we are a great soul in a body.
This makes me suspect, that the way we today understand the practices in some of her temples (some of her male priests would supposedly have cut off their penis's) is misunderstood, or at least, exaggerated.
In her time, Cybele was the most powerful and worshiped deity, and was considered a Universal Godlike figure. Much the same way we Christians understand our 'God'. The Christian God gave Life to Jesus. Cybele gave Life to the Gods.
Artemis
Many goddesses have arisen from Cybele throughout different cultures. One of the most famous ones we have today, is Artemis as shown on the photo above. However, try and see the two pictures below.
The first photo is of Artemis with the holy veil of initiation from Viterbo, Italy. The second photo is of Cybele. This gorgeous figurine was found at Ephesus in Turkey. See the similarity?
If you would like to learn more about Cybele, you can buy my book here.
Photos: Shutterstock and Louise Sommer
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