Twelve Days of Mary – Day 5

 She walked with lions and rode astride one and her
priestesses rode in a chariot drawn by lions.  On her throne,
with a cymbal in her hand, she was flanked by lions.
She was the mother goddess of fertility and her special places
were the forests and the mountaintops.  Holding a tambourine
she inspired wild ecstatic dancing.
As Mistress of Animals she was accompanied by lion.
Her lover/son was her priest and one who renounced
the patriarchal world.

The priestesses of Cybele was also called the Sibyls.
Sibilla is the Latin form of the name of Cybele,
Anatolian mother goddess who was brought to Rome in the form
of a black menhir. Cybele’s priestesses used bee honey in sacred rituals;
as prophetesses they foretold that her black stone will be
taken to Rome as a sign of victory and ‘on the fourth day
of April, two hunderd and four years before the time of Christ,
Cybele’s black stone was placed in the Temple of Victory, on the
ancient Palatine of Rome.’ – Ancient mirrors of Womahood – Merlin Stone

Her son and lover Attis, similarly to the story of Mary and Jesus,
was a shepherd and he died beneath an evergreen tree and his image
was hung upon a tree (similarly to a wooden cross)
One can also see the connection between the stories of Isis and
Osiris in Cybele and Attis.

The sanctuary of the Black Virgin of Montevergine
is built on the site of the black Cybele.  Similarly to the worship
of Cybele, Mamma Schaviona is worshipped by the playing
of the tammorriata.
Another of Cybele’s great temples stood on the site of the Vatican where
the St Peter’s Basilica stands today.
According to Barbara G Walker the games that form part
of the sacred rituals of worshipping Cybele, is the origins of the carnivale.

In many Black Madonna traditions the carnivale plays an important part of the
festivities.  Small minority groups, on the fringe of society, takes part in the
carnivale to highlight the truths that no-one wants to face;  through satire, puppets
and vulgar comedy they shine the light on the shadow of our system, culture
and society.  ‘In authentic carnival festivities, carnival turns everything inside out,
bottom to top, front to rear and unveils, unmasks and uncrowns.’  This is evident
in the festivals of the Black Madonna that I attended in both France, Italy and
Belgium. The carnival has at its heart the wish to break up and dismantle
patriarchal social stratification and husbandry.