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Rosemarie Taylor-Perry’s Followers (3)
Rosemarie Taylor-Perry
* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.
“Demeter, an agricultural goddess, evolved from earlier, pre-agricultural Mother goddesses similar to Gaia, Rhea, or Meter. She was known in the Hellene world as the spirit of the unripe fruit, whereas her virgin daughter Kore was considered to be the spirit of flowering. Linking Demeter to Kore is Persephone, that goddess known in the ancient teachings of Eleusis as “Savior.” In this sense, she is similar to Dionysos, to whose sacred Infant form she gives birth in the Mysteries of Eleusis
Hades, the abductor of Kore, also has a tripartite nature, which defines his archetype. As the underworld lord of the dead, Aidoneus — an appellation of Hades, which is derived from an ancient root word meaning “father”— he abducted the maiden. As Sky God, or Zeus, this tripartite Deity allows, even hallows, the abduction of his own daughter, who is also his paramour. The taking of Kore by Hades is the act which allows the conception and birth of a second integrating force: Iacchos, also known as Liknites, the helpless infant form of that Deity who is unifier of the dark underworld (cthonic) realm of Hades and the Olympian (“shining”) one of Zeus; this integrating force is the Mystery archetype par excellence, Dionysos.”
― The God Who Comes: Dionysian Mysteries Reclaimed
Hades, the abductor of Kore, also has a tripartite nature, which defines his archetype. As the underworld lord of the dead, Aidoneus — an appellation of Hades, which is derived from an ancient root word meaning “father”— he abducted the maiden. As Sky God, or Zeus, this tripartite Deity allows, even hallows, the abduction of his own daughter, who is also his paramour. The taking of Kore by Hades is the act which allows the conception and birth of a second integrating force: Iacchos, also known as Liknites, the helpless infant form of that Deity who is unifier of the dark underworld (cthonic) realm of Hades and the Olympian (“shining”) one of Zeus; this integrating force is the Mystery archetype par excellence, Dionysos.”
― The God Who Comes: Dionysian Mysteries Reclaimed
“Consistency between Dionysos-type godforms is also demonstrated in five minor attributes, which fluctuate in degree depending upon the particular norms, standards, and values of a given culture. These attributes are:
1. Unsurpassed viciousness toward those who would harm the followers of the god. When this aspect of Dionysian godforms is aroused, they are what has been termed “Hunters of Men.”
2. These Deities are lawgivers who, very often, figure in literal or symbolic acts of human sacrifice, whether this sacrifice occurs because of the breaking of laws, as part of worship, or for the granting of special favors to a community at large. Paradoxically, these same godforms ultimately do away with all requirements for human sacrifice.
3. Such archetypes are portals between upper, lower, and middle worlds: Bridges between the realms of life and death, they are gatekeepers, or the companions of gatekeepers, and masters of altered states of being.
4. Godforms of this type are often portrayed as adherents or defenders of the divine feminine, and can often be found in the company of female worshippers, goddesses, or their own mates, without whom they are incomplete, and upon whom they rely in order to fulfill their multiple roles of Divine Child, Bridegroom, Father, Savior, and Reborn One. Sensuality, too, is a Dionysian trademark: This is usually a paradoxical sensuality, at once childlike and ravaging, remarkably androgynous yet undeniably masculine in its expression.
5. Bewitching is an acceptable description of Dionysos-syncretistic Deities; many are unsurpassed in the powers of discrimination, response, wisdom, healing, fertility, prophecy, and magic in general. When Dionysos was invoked or worshipped by the ancient Greeks for his command of the powers listed above, he was considered agathos daemon, or “the good demon”: Demons, to the pagan Hellenes, were not necessarily wholly evil forces of the kind espoused by the Christian faith. They were seen as demigods capable of bringing either wealth and happiness or pain and suffering to mankind, of appearing in any sort of theriomorphic form — including no form at all — and of interceding between the supreme godhead and mankind.”
― God Who Comes, Dionysian Mysteries Reclaimed: Ancient Rituals, Cultural Conflicts, and Their Impact on Modern Religious Practices
1. Unsurpassed viciousness toward those who would harm the followers of the god. When this aspect of Dionysian godforms is aroused, they are what has been termed “Hunters of Men.”
2. These Deities are lawgivers who, very often, figure in literal or symbolic acts of human sacrifice, whether this sacrifice occurs because of the breaking of laws, as part of worship, or for the granting of special favors to a community at large. Paradoxically, these same godforms ultimately do away with all requirements for human sacrifice.
3. Such archetypes are portals between upper, lower, and middle worlds: Bridges between the realms of life and death, they are gatekeepers, or the companions of gatekeepers, and masters of altered states of being.
4. Godforms of this type are often portrayed as adherents or defenders of the divine feminine, and can often be found in the company of female worshippers, goddesses, or their own mates, without whom they are incomplete, and upon whom they rely in order to fulfill their multiple roles of Divine Child, Bridegroom, Father, Savior, and Reborn One. Sensuality, too, is a Dionysian trademark: This is usually a paradoxical sensuality, at once childlike and ravaging, remarkably androgynous yet undeniably masculine in its expression.
5. Bewitching is an acceptable description of Dionysos-syncretistic Deities; many are unsurpassed in the powers of discrimination, response, wisdom, healing, fertility, prophecy, and magic in general. When Dionysos was invoked or worshipped by the ancient Greeks for his command of the powers listed above, he was considered agathos daemon, or “the good demon”: Demons, to the pagan Hellenes, were not necessarily wholly evil forces of the kind espoused by the Christian faith. They were seen as demigods capable of bringing either wealth and happiness or pain and suffering to mankind, of appearing in any sort of theriomorphic form — including no form at all — and of interceding between the supreme godhead and mankind.”
― God Who Comes, Dionysian Mysteries Reclaimed: Ancient Rituals, Cultural Conflicts, and Their Impact on Modern Religious Practices
“Dionysos-syncretistic archetypes display consistency in two aspects, which tend to appear together regardless of secondary, cultural traits. The first of these constants is shapeshifting, imparting a “trickster” aspect to such Deities, generally utilized for evasion or as a test of the faithfulness of a worshipper. Such godforms as the Greek Hermes and the Native American animistic forms Raven and Coyote exhibit this tendency. The second Dionysian constant is rebirth from death, the promise of which is conveyed upon adherents. (It might be successfully argued that rebirth itself is a form of shapeshifting, meaning that there is really only one major constant among Dionysian-syncretistic divinities). Dionysos is the only Hellenic godform who can instill life as well as take it away: Among various cultures, such an archetype is usually portrayed as some form of vegetation Deity, perhaps because of the seemingly miraculous and endless regenerative ability of plant life.”
― God Who Comes, Dionysian Mysteries Reclaimed: Ancient Rituals, Cultural Conflicts, and Their Impact on Modern Religious Practices
― God Who Comes, Dionysian Mysteries Reclaimed: Ancient Rituals, Cultural Conflicts, and Their Impact on Modern Religious Practices
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