Breakdown of the Mystery - Part II

Why do we study this? Why is this scholarly? It provides the context for

• What the christian and judaic monists were coopting in their own (male) mystery rites, initially.
• What the theocratic governments were erasing in the >1600 years since. Affecting attitudes on drug prohibition, women's place in leadership, even today.

Table of Contents

• Breakdown of the Mystery - Part II
  • Table of Contents
  • Selection of Participants
  • Pre-Induction Phase: Drug Preparation
  • Application of the Death-Inducing Drug (Thōnasimon) to the Initiate
  • Induction of the Death State in the Initiate
  • Administration of the Antidote (Resurrection Drug) to the Initiate
  • Resurrection (Ἐγείρω - egeírō) of the Initiate
  • Aftermath: Enlightenment and Transformation of the Initiate
  • Substances and Delivery Summary
  • Roles Summary

Selection of Participants

• Priestess (Pharmakis):
  • A woman selected as a parthenos—a term in antiquity meaning fertile, but has not borne children.
  • She is prepared via her own drug regimen, including the use of venom absorbed transdermally through medicated linen bandages placed on self-inflicted incisions.
  • She is made to lactate via viper venom, which is said to act as a prolactin inducer, producing a medicinal milk antidote to the venoms (galanē).
• Initiate (Mystēs):
  • Can be anyone, including youths (in antiquity, often underage) (notetaker: is this true????)
  • Must undergo preparation with psychotropic drugs before the rite.
  • Is the recipient of drugs produced by the parthenos, and the ritual.

Pre-Induction Phase: Drug Preparation

• The initiate is preloaded with psychosis-inducing drugs:
  • These include satyrion (a compound containing scopolamine, atropine, hyoscyamine, possibly other components)
  • Effects: hallucinations, delirium, sexual arousal (satyriasis), and unrelenting erection.
• Purpose: To destabilize ego, induce psychotic detachment, and sensitize the initiate to the threshold of death.

Application of the Death-Inducing Drug (Thōnasimon) to the Initiate

• The main death-inducing drug is derived from the “burning purple”:
  • A dye and substance extracted from Mediterranean mollusks (likely Murex).
  • Administered rectally, often using a medicated dildo.
    • Delivery device is often inserted via vagina or anus, sometimes with aid of ointment/salve/unguent from an alabastron (ointment vessel), which is why Mary Magdalene is iconographically associated with one.
• The priestess applies this drug, using an alabastron.

Induction of the Death State in the Initiate

• Initiate is bound, both for restraint (to protect them and others) and experiential containment (a feeling of immobilization).
• Initiate is brought into a trance-like, death-adjacent state, where:
  • Respiratory rate slows.
  • Consciousness fades (e.g. void-like emptiness), or at least internalizes.
  • Orgasm is induced at the peak moment of psychosis and near-death.
• During this, the priestess:
  • Stimulates the initiate sexually (manual or via phallic tool).
  • Sings a ritual song, said to be crucial in guiding the initiate into and back out of the underworld experience.

Administration of the Antidote (Resurrection Drug) to the Initiate

• After the induced death state:
  • The priestess feeds the initiate her breast milk.
    • This milk is non-white, and described by Galen as coming from budding breasts (i.e. early-developed, hormonally manipulated).
    • This milk is called galanē, “the calm after the storm.”
    • It is thought to carry antibodies, immunological factors, and pharmacologically active compounds derived from the venoms in her bloodstream.
• The milk is administered orally, possibly directly from breast to mouth. (notetaker: do we know?)

Resurrection (Ἐγείρω - egeírō) of the Initiate

• After a period of apparent death (no movement, shallow or absent breathing), the initiate is revived.
• Resurrection is accomplished via:
  • Continued song or incantation.
  • Physiological recovery triggered by the antidote-laced milk.

Aftermath: Enlightenment and Transformation of the Initiate

• Initiate returns to consciousness with a transformed mind:
  • Ego dissolved and rebuilt.
  • Claims of cosmic vision (perceiving the aion, the eternal realm, outside the time stream).
  • Experiences of being “born again”, often described as:
    • “Coming out of the pit.”
    • “Eyes opened.”
    • Gaining the ears to hear.

Substances and Delivery Summary

Roles Summary