Mother Earth goddess, Father Sun god and the son.

Rebirth and regeneration was revered in ancient times, it was of upmost importance to the foundation of belief systems and religiously synchronised with cosmological events, as is still today. Albeit taken for granted, denied or shrugged off by most these religious beliefs brought forth cultural systems based on fertility and creation between the heavens and earth. Actual Gods and goddesses would partake in cult rituals.

One such ritual involved a God or the Sun impregnate a virgin goddess or Earth, to bring forth a son, a incarnation of god.





Sometimes all characters would be played by human counterparts, But sometimes the gods would play their own parts, and a man would play his.



The association with the mound to the womb is well documented and can be seen all around the ancient world, from Europe and the far east to the Americas.

here is a intresting PDF on mesoamerican mound/womb association...

arky.ucalgary.ca...

But to what extent is the association with passage mounds and the female form valid? - What purposes did they serve, beyond a possible representation of the earth-mother-goddess.

Most likely it was for ritual and religious use. In a ritually based society the consensus in belief would breath life into the symbols, and thus bring the virgin birth of a son of god to pass.

Some earth mounds known also as passage mounds, have huge basins in their womb like structures...



The basin, large enough for a man to lay coiled in the fetal position as if within a egg could perhaps symbolise the world/cosmic egg.

The world egg, cosmic egg or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in the creation myths of many cultures and civilizations. Typically, the world egg is a beginning of some sort, and the universe or some primordial being comes into existence by "hatching" from the egg, sometimes lain on the primordial waters of the Earth.

en.m.wikipedia.org...



The basin would align with the entrance to the tomb/womb in such a way as to only allow the sun to penetrate the egg at a certain time of the year.

The 'Mound of hostages' - on the Hill of Tara in Ireland is a legendary sacred site (The Sacred Heart of Ireland). Along with many other passage mounds, it is orientated to allow the passage of sunlight to 'penetrate' its body only once each year. The connection between the female Earth-goddess and the male Solar-God is obvious.

www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk...

Often this alignment would coincide with the winter solstice, the time the sun/son is to be cosmically reborn.

The new grange mound alignment...






Upon solar alignment and the suns penetration into the womb and symbolic impregnation, from the egg emerges the central figure of life. The first born over all creation. The man taking part in the ritual would leave the womb/tomb reborn or resurrected as a incarnation of the sun god.

a reply to: Wifibrains

Correct,

Like most old religions / mythology revolving around the Watchers when Nimrod's Babylon was scattered, it is a direct retelling of the Mystery Babylon religion that was spread throughout the world. The names are differennt (Apollo, Osiris, Horus, etc.) due to the language differences but the Mystery Babylon religion survives through the ages.

a reply to: infolurker

a reply to: Wifibrains

Very nice presentation, I enjoyed the opening post.

The science of Solar, Lunar, and Earth cycles, as well as their impacts upon the seasons, life, and nature of the planet, were among the earliest secrets held by the shamans and priesthoods of pre and ancient history.

The importance of observing, documenting, and predicting the movements of the Heavenly Bodies grew hand-in-hand with the development of agriculture, farming, construction projects, planned migrations/travels, and planned military campaigns. The optimal weather conditions were sought for such endeavors, and accordingly, the cyclical seasonal patterns became predictable by the calendars of men. Initially, such knowledge was only known to and kept secret by the various priesthoods, shamans, and wise men who concealed astronomical knowledge within the stories of their myths and religions, and through the architecture of their monuments. The "Hidden" fundamentals of astronomy, being used as predictive measures, later evolved into astrology.

Sky God Symbolism

You tied-in Orphic symbology rather nicely. In the U.S., there is an ancient ophidian effigy constructed with the Solar and Lunar cycles in mind.





The Great Serpent Mound of Ohio, USA is an earthen-mound of prehistoric construction. It is believed to have been created by a pre-Columbian Native American people associated with the Adena Culture. The opened-mouth of the serpent demonstrates a precise alignment with the setting sun of the Summer Solstice, while the coils of the serpent align to the Winter Solstice, both equinoxes, and the various lunar positions throughout the rest of the year.

a reply to: Sahabi

Glad you enjoyed it.



Could there be connections to the meaning of the serpent mound and the symbology of mithra, the sun god depicted in the last image in the op? He was also given dominion over time and cycles and emerges from a egg. Supposing it works similar to a initiation into and up through a secret cult or mystery school. perhaps the knowledge received through initiation into the priesthood, and the rebirth ritual are told symbolically in the relief carving... Hinging on the serpent and egg having the same symbology of coarse, we already have the winter solstice alignment there.

a reply to: Wifibrains

That is as good as any explanation I have heard for the basin, S&F!

Add in the trance -inducing resonance that these cairns create when drums or pipes were played, and it would be the perfect environment to witness a rebirth from.
Cool thread, Wifi

a reply to: beansidhe

Hello bean.

It makes sense does it not? What if there was like a two tier adulthood? For initiates the second coming would symbolise a death and rebirth from adulthood to godhood, or a transition within part of a elite preisthood or cult. Even today Freemasons take part in a symbolic death ritual, the 3rd degree if I remember correct.

The throne room of Knossos had a basin..



en.m.wikipedia.org...

In view of the civil and religious powers held by the king, there can be little argument against the notion that proceedings of an official character began with sacred ceremonials.

More recently, it has been suggested that the room was only used at dawn at certain times of the year for specific ceremonies.

Hmmm.

Wondering if there are also connections to the holy grail?

The word graal, as it is earliest spelled, comes from Old French graal or greal, cognate with Old Provençal grazal and Old Catalan gresal, meaning "a cup or bowl of earth, wood, or metal"

The most commonly accepted etymology derives it from Latin gradalis or gradale via an earlier form, cratalis, a derivative of crater or cratus.

The Grail was considered a bowl or dish when first described by Chrétien de Troyes.

Hélinand of Froidmont described a grail as a "wide and deep saucer"

" In Old French, san graal or san gréal means "Holy Grail" and sang réal means "royal blood"

originally posted by: Wifibrains

note, the Bull/Taurus is at 11:00 position, over the right shoulder...

proud to be Rat, Wood in Chinese Astrology

nice pagan/Earth presentation

a reply to: Wifibrains

One of the treasures the Tuatha brought was a cauldron/basin (grail?).

From Knowth:



Cauldron?



And the tradition lasted for many, many years:

Visitors come closest to understanding the real significance of Dunadd once they reach the upper part of the outcrop. Here you can find a partial stretch of original wall from the fortress. There may not be much of it, but suddenly you realise you can touch something that Kenneth MacAlpin and his predecessors might have touched. Still more immediate are the rocky slabs at the summit. One of these contains a carved bowl whose purpose is unknown. But nearby is another larger slab, holding an imprint of a foot carved into the rock. It is thought that, following Irish tradition, the King of Dalriada was inaugurated by placing his foot into the rocky imprint. As you can today: and suddenly Dunadd begins to come to life.

Undiscovered Scotland

a reply to: Wifibrains

Cool thread... a few here may be interested in reading Martin Brennan's The Stars and The Stones if you can still find a copy - it's got some awesome analysis of the carvings at the sites at Bru na Boinne. It'll cost a lot now it seems, the gods smiled on me though and a friend found me a copy in a charity shop :p

I've seen some of his work repeated online in the past so a thorough search may save folk some cash.

ETA: it's been republished as "The Stones of Time", well worth a read.

a reply to: beansidhe

That site is basically a outdoor throne room! I too am wondering if there is connection to the Pictish symbol.

I'm also wondering if there was a common theme in what constituted the right to participate and be reborn as a sun god or a king.

There are obvious links to Babylon belief, albeit from later doctrine that tends to demonise what it intends to replace... But we can hypothesise still.

Who was pulling the strings, just who was making the executive decisions back then?...



Did Babylonian temple priestesses hold seat of power?

According to various views, the throne itself may have actually had more religious than political significance, functioning in the re-enactment of epiphany rituals involving a High Priestess, as suggested by the iconography of griffins, palms, and altars in the wall-paintings.

There is a whole other thread to be made here that would scare the whits out of any patriarchal man by thinking woman could ever gain this kind of control and power again. It has been classed as sin for Christ sake. See what I did there?

So what was the production of kings for in ancient times?....

In many historical societies, the position of kingship carries a sacral meaning.

The concept of theocracy is related, although a sacred king need not necessarily rule through his religious authority; rather, the temporal position itself has a religious significance.

From the Bronze Age Near East, the enthronement and anointment of a monarch is a central religious ritual, reflected in the titles Messiah or Christ which became separated from worldly kingship. Thus, Sargon of Akkad described himself as "deputy of Ishtar", just as the modern Catholic Pope is considered the "Vicar of Christ".

Does that mean it was once one and the same thing?

The king is styled as a shepherd from earliest times, e.g., the term was applied to Sumerian princes such as Lugalbanda in the 3rd millennium BEC. The image of the shepherd combines the themes of leadership and the responsibility to supply food and protection as well as superiority.

As the mediator between the people and the divine, the sacral king was credited with special wisdom (e.g. Solomon) or vision (e.g. via oneiromancy).

This whole theme also parallels the Christ symbolically.

Along with initiation into a certain sphere of knowledge as stated in the op...

The notion has prehistoric roots and is found worldwide, on Java as in sub-Saharan Africa, with shaman-kings credited with rainmaking and assuring fertility and good fortune. On the other hand, the king might also be designated to suffer and atone for his people, meaning that the sacral king could be the pre-ordained victim of a human sacrifice, either regularly killed at the end of his term in the position, or sacrificed in times of crisis.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

Just a thought. lol

a reply to: Wifibrains

I think -but I wasn't there, so I don't know - that bloodlines would have been the determining factor. Certainly in Dark Age times, Kings had to be useful, not a figurehead like now. They would have led the charge in battle and they would have had a good knowledge of politics, astronomy etc.
If you think of the Dagda, he was god-like, stronger than other men and was associated with turning the seasons and provision of food. In fact his 'thing' was the cauldron, was it not? Hmm!
Even in the story of him, you get the common theme of nurture and provision, strength and supernatural abilities. So yes, maybe you're right. In fact probably you are, I would say, that sun-kings became godlike in their inaugaration.

Oh, and that other thread is begging to be written!

a reply to: skalla

'Stones of Time', £7, consider it read! Thank you very much.

a reply to: beansidhe

So yes, maybe you're right. In fact probably you are, I would say, that sun-kings became godlike in their inaugaration.

It's a common theme I think, take neos rebirth in the matrix...



There is also the triple goddess reference with the trinity character ect... And his god like abilities in the matrix upon initiation into the real world...

The Matrix Interactive' is an interactive video project which lets you, the viewer, actively participate in the plot of 'The Matrix'.

A far and technological cry from centuries ago... But not undistinguishable...

a reply to: beansidhe

So, I'm watching this and keep getting a urge to post it here for its relevance... Then in the next line I hear something relevant to the pictish thread. Im only 25mins, it's a hr long but very good so far, and and It has been back and fourth with its relevance, so what the hell, I'm posting it here...







Log might like the way it explains altering minds without using mind altering substances though...