#kybele

Fourth from my 2023 Pride line is the image of Kybele, the Great Mother, Mother of the Gods.

Cybele / Kybele is the Phrygian Mother of the Gods, syncretized and identified with the Greek Titan Rhea, and worshiped in Rome as Magna Mater. It is her cult into which Dionysos was initiated to cure him of the madness inflicted by Hera. She is famous for the frenzied dancing and drumming of her rites, and for her gender-deviant priesthood – who may have included transwomen and/or eunuchs.

On the front of the talisman the goddess is shown on her throne, flanked by lions. She holds a pomegranate in one hand and a frame drum in the other. On the back is an image of two pine trees, like that found at her shrine in a temple of Aesclepius.

This talisman was commissioned by author Ariana Serpentine as a part of her personal devotional work, made available to the public by her astounding generosity, and included in this year’s Pride line at her particular request. You can find Ariana’s book, Sacred Gender, wherever fine books are sold.

* Talisman is one inch in diameter with an image on each side.

* Available as a pendant with an upeye suitable for a 3mm chain or with three rings suitable for stringing as a rosary piece.

* Available in sterling silver or red bronze.

This piece is not consecrated. That is your responsibility to do in accordance with your tradition or gnosis.

The gods’ mountain Mother once upon a time raced through woodlands and glades, waded the streams of rivers, traversed the resonant salt sea waves in longing for her daughter whose name may not be spoken. The cymbals crashed and the air rang with a shrill vibration when she had yoked wild beasts to her carriage and rode out to uncover the theft of her daughter who was snatched from the circling chorus of maidens. Rushing right after her came the two goddesses, their feet swift as whirlwinds: Artemis with her arrows, Athena, Fierce-Eyed, with her spear and battle armor. But Zeus, as he watched from the sky, brought about a fate for the girl that was very different. Exhausted, the Mother who'd wandered for so long called a halt to her chase, gave up the race and lay down on Ida's palisades swathed in snow where nymphs keep watch. In sorrow amid the rocks and snowdrifts she flung herself in a thicket, helpless in the face of the underhanded theft of her daughter. From the fields of mankind she withdrew the rich harvest; from the flocks she withheld the leaves and green tendrils. People were perishing, cities were withering, the altars were empty: no batter-cakes, no thigh-bones were laid on the flames for the gods. She stopped the waters that once flowed in crystalline springs from the ground, so broken was she by her dreadful sorrow. When Deo had put an end to banquets for the gods and the race of men Zeus tried to soothe the hateful rage of the Mother; he spoke to the Graces and Muses: “Go, relieve the grieving Goddess of her anger over her stolen maiden by wailing in your wildest voice, by singing as you dance.” The earthy voice of bronze and drums made of stretched hide were first taken up by the loveliest deity, Cypris; at last, then, the Goddess laughed as she grasped in her hands the resonant aulos and took some delight in its wild, wailing voice. It wasn’t correct, it wasn’t holy what you did in that inner space. You have incurred the fearsome wrath of the Mother, my child, by neglecting her worship. There’s tremendous power in wearing dappled fawn-skin, weaving a crown of ivy around a sacred fennel stalk, and whirling overhead the circling bullroarer; in hair flying freely at revels for Bromius, and in the festivals lasting all night for the Goddess. When the moon rode overhead, her chariot climbing the sky, you exulted in beauty alone.

Euripides, Helen 1301–1360 (Chorus) From Euripides: Ion, Helen, Orestes, translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien

on a real note, everything i see about her makes my brain light up in a very happy way. i’ve always felt an immense amount of respect for Rhea, Hera, and Gaia and how they have given rise to all gods and men. but my brain has never buzzed in that happy way when i think about those three, just reverence. from what i know, Cybele represents all three of these generations as the Supreme Mother? and i can’t stop thinking about her all day after i’ve seen a post about her.

Cybele / Kybele is the Phrygian Mother of the Gods, syncretized and identified with the Greek Titan Rhea, and worshiped in Rome as Magna Mater. It is her cult into which Dionysos was initiated to cure him of the madness inflicted by Hera. She is famous for the frenzied dancing and drumming of her rites, and for her gender-deviant priesthood – who may have included transwomen and/or eunuchs.

On the front of the talisman the goddess is shown on her throne, flanked by lions. She holds a pomegranate in one hand and a frame drum in the other. On the back is an image of two pine trees, like that found at her shrine in a temple of Aesclepius.

This talisman was commissioned by author Ariana Serpentine as a part of her personal devotional work, made available to the public by her astounding generosity, and included in this year’s Pride line at her particular request. You can find Ariana’s book, Sacred Gender, wherever fine books are sold.

* Talisman is one inch in diameter with an image on each side.

* Available as a pendant with an upeye suitable for a 3mm chain or with three rings suitable for stringing as a rosary piece.

* Available in sterling silver or red bronze.

This piece is not consecrated. That is your responsibility to do in accordance with your tradition or gnosis.