as an example of something he didn't agree with, said person went on to highlight my idea of the temple being square outside, and rounded within. he pointed out that the earth rune must have some mystical significance for the worship of the goddess, and that he felt the interior of the temple should be square. i hope i have represented his views accurately (damn that lost mail) - if not then send down spirits of reprisal on me.
in my defense: i was thinking that the squareness of the earth rune relates to the outer form of the earth, really to the shape of the lozenge itself, the physical manifestation of 'earth'. that is certainly one facet of the goddess. another facet is mysterious, hidden inside the exterior manifestation, and that is the earth's fertility. the layout of the temple interior on the model of the female reproductive system, not a square thing itself, or so i understand, represents this.
the curvature of the interior increases the deeper one reaches into the temple, so the men, who can pass no further than the first courtyard, see only a slight curving of the outside square. perhaps they may not ever actually notice it, and if they did they might still never see the further interior and make any deductions about the overall pattern. the square rune is an easily understood and recognisable symbol - for everone - that can be used to designate the earth, in physical and other aspects, but, in every cult/system i can think of, initiation leads one past the common/mundane symbols and into a deeper level of meaning and symbology - often this is very different, even condradictary, to the symbols used by the uninitiated.
i haven't thought much about female initiation, but perhaps a young girl, in the pain of her first menstruation, is given some broth to drink, and taken by two gydas to the temple. the broth contains herbs that make the almost-woman feel strange and light-headed, and one woman that has come for her has blood smeared on her face - she carries the regalia of babeester. the other the regalia of voria. the temple, usually a place that she thinks of as strong, one of the centres of her life, a happy place, now appears overbearing and fearful - combined with the terrible appearance of the babesteer woman that has come for her, the drugs and the pain, the young almost-woman is now in a suitable state of mind to receive the mysteries.
in the temple courtyard she is lead directly to the gate that leads to the inner sanctum, beyond which she has never passed. the women pause and order her to go on alone, babeester intoning a ritual formula that seperates the girls from voria. simply walking through this door, passing into the unknown, and the sight of the death runes (axes) carved on the doorposts, is probably terrifying to many if not most, heightening her sense of anxiety. at the door there is probably the recitation of a ritual formula with an unseen voice, then she walks down, into the earth. almost immediately she is aware of the change in the shape, smell and feel of the temple around her, but cannot tell what it means. the passage way is dark, she is alone, whatever may await her is unknown.
where the passage way meets the initiates' chamber the no-longer-girl-but-not-yet-woman is met by represtatives of the remaining four earth goddesses - asrelia and maran gor, ty kora tek and ernalda. with each she recites a ritual formula that relate to the cult virtues and vows of membership. then accepted in to the round chamber beyond her fear is transformed into a state of wonder, relief and receptiveness. she is at once aware of the difference between this place and others she has been to... the shape of the room, so different to her expectation, the soft damp dirt for a floor, its comforting smell. the representatives of the gods shed their intimidating formality, the other initiates present draw around and offer comfort and blessings to the new initiate, who suddenly finds that her pain has vanished, and that her light headed confusion has become a sense of deep, sensual satisfaction. she is then instructed in the mysteries. (perhaps the phrase "a little blood is nothing when life is to be gained" is part of the formula used to explain her new fertility to her.)
this building up of fear raises the emotional level of the initiate, and then the fear is then resolved through trial into deliverance and relief, fixing the subsequent emotions on the soft, nestling interior of the temple.
for ever after the the woman will approach the courtyard passage gate with some apprehension, but will embrace the comfort of the inner sanctum, and will even long to be there. she will also smile wisely to herself when she hears men say things like "square as the earth", and, perhaps lazily digging with her toes into the earth on her steadfarm, she will ponder that it is not the surface of the goddess that is so important, but the mystery within her that gives life.
anyway - don't know if all this makes my point of view any more convincing. what we all want to know is what master hughes thinks.
cheerz,
guy
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