Taiwan Celebrates Chinese New Year with "Eye-Dotting" Ceremony

From thestar.com.my
Monday February 8, 2010

Dragons and lions come alive at eye-dotting ceremony
GEORGE TOWN: With a thundering roll of drums and cymbals, a huge group of “dragons” and “lions” came “alive” at the Goddess of Mercy Temple. The event – a grand eye-dotting ceremony to usher in the Year of Tiger.

It was a sight to behold as the coterie of 26 lions and two dragons slowly formed a circle and bowed in homage to a statue of the deity.  (Photo: A group of 26 lions and two dragons paying homage to the Goddess of Mercy at the temple in Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling in Penang during a grand ‘eye-dotting ceremony’. Several different kinds of lions performed amid a thunderous roar of drums and cymbals to start the Chinese New Year festivities. GOH GAIK LEE / The Star)
The “heavenly creatures” included five lions bearing the Hokkien head patterns from Taiwan and a dragon with the design of lotus flower on its body.

Tourists and children were seen chattering with excitement and snapping pictures during the ceremony.

Among them was seven-year-old Law Ee Jie, who appeared fascinated to witness such a grand “reunion” of lion and dragon dances.

“I have never seen so many lion heads for an eye-dotting ceremony and it is simply beautiful,” he said.

The ceremony for the animals was performed by state Tourism Deve­lopment and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law.

Penang Ching Xing Sports Gymnasium secretary Jeffrey Goh Thian Hooi said the event traditionally symbolised the animals “coming alive” before being used for performances during their house-to-house visits to bring good luck and prosperity.

“This is the first time we have brought along all our dragon and lion dance heads for a grand eye-dotting ceremony and we are planning to do it every year,” he said.

Senior instructor Kok Siew Hong said the troupe charged between RM600 and RM2,000 for their performances, depending on the type of function they are booked for.

“Many hope the lion dances can ‘roar’ for better luck this year. Our troupes have been fully booked since a month ago,” he said.

*******************************************************************

The Goddess of Mercy is Kwan Yin (also Kuan Yin, Guanyin -- Goddess of Compassion and Healing).

What is an eye-dotting ceremony?  I found some fascinating information.  It is based in Taoist tradition.  In essence, it is a ceremony that brings life force and power to a statue or another object (such as a lion costume -- see below) - it actually represents the "birth" of the object into the world!  According to this description of a recently-enacted ceremony (January, 2010), a special red-colored ointment, the color associated with life, is used to dot the statue in a ceremony designed to "invite" the spirit and soul of the god or goddess into the statute.  Without the ceremony, the statue has no life and no power and, therefore, cannot hear one's prayers and supplications.

I cannot help but feel that it may be a very ancient practice.  The use of red ochre, for instance, on objects and in cave paintings that date back into neolithic times, is often associated with fertility and birth.  Perhaps the ancient "Opening of the Mouth Ceremony" used to "open" a mummified person so that his or her ba and ka could easily travel back and forth from the body to the outside world shares an archaic common source with the eye-dotting ceremony practiced in Taoism, rooted in traditions that date back to shamanistic practices long before writing was invented in China. 

Check out this description of an eye-dotting ceremony to awaken the spirit within a new "lion" - a costume used by dancers in ceremonial dances:  Han Shou Tang Lion Dance: Eye Dotting Ceremony - Hoi Gong. 

New Southern Chinese Lions must be initiated through a traditional ceremony called the Hoi Gong (eye opening/dotting). A new lion should not be used if it has not been through the Hoi Gong ceremony. According to the tradition of the lion dance, if the lion is used at any kind of event without being initiated or awakened, it will bring misfortune and bad luck.

"Dotting the Eye" refers in particular to the Chinese tradition of painting in the eye of the Chinese lion before the start of the lion dance to awaken the spirit of the lion. Hoi Gong is a traditional ceremony to awaken a new lion, or from a more traditional viewpoint, bring down the spirit of the lion from the heaven and give it life. This ceremony signifies the existence or birth of a new lion into the world.Interestingly, the description of this ceremony focuses on - literally - "dotting the eye" - that is, painting in an iris on an eyeball -- a practice the author traces to these stories from Chinese history:

"Eye Dotting" Origin Of The Tradition
(Chinese Text from Ming Pao Daily, Translated by E. Hou)

It is generally believed that the tradition of "eye-dotting" originated from two Chinese stories concerning painting pictures.

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty [314-420 A.D.] a painter named Gu Kai Zhi was famous for painting portraits. However, he had a strange habit of leaving the eyeballs out, even for several years. When he was asked why, he said, "The most life-like strokes of a subtle portrait come from the eyes."

When a painter called Zhang Seng Yu was designated to paint a mural for the An Le Monastery in Nanjing during the Southern Dynasty [420-589 A.D.], people found that all the dragons on the wall-paintings lacked pupils in their eyes. When the Abbot invited him to add the pupils, Zhang replied, "It must not be done, otherwise they will fly away from the wall and into the sky." The Abbot was not convinced and had the pupils painted in. Eventually those dragons with eyeballs painted on them emerged and flew away, while those without stayed on the wall - This is the origin for the Chinese proverb "Draw the dragons, dot the eyes."

When we dot the eyes for dragon boats, lion dance or masks, the meaning is the same: We draw the eyes, we give them life.

*****************************************************************

An old Yiddish proverb tells us "The eyes are the mirror of the soul."  Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson's take on this ancient wisdom - "The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul."

Eyes reflect internal and imputed sources of power. Only think about some of the expressions we know today and the context in which they are used -- "who blinked first" -- "staring someone down" -- giving someone a "hard stare," a "look that could kill." And we've probably all heard about someone getting "the evil eye." There was a very good reason for not looking into the eyes of the Medusa...

Eyes can also invite and seduce. A man will certainly have a different reaction to seeing an attractive young lady staring at him as to, say, a tatooed homey with a gold-plated toothpick dangling on his lip. Well, usually...

Here is what Barbara Walker has to say about the Eye in The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets:

The All-Seeing Eye of ancient Egypt once belonged to the Goddess of truth and judgment, Maat.(1) The Mother-syllable Maa meant "to see"; in hieroglyphics it was an eye.(2)

A late text transferred the All-Seeing Eye to a male god, Horus, and the common symbol came to be known as the Eye of Horus, also representing the phallus as the "One-Eyed God." Yet the same Eye was incongruously described as a female judge: "I am the all-seeing Eye of Horus, whose appearance strikes terror, lady of Slaughter, Mighty One."(3) [sounds like the fearsome lion-headed goddess, Sekhmet, to me] The Eye whose appearance strikes terror was the original prototype of the evil eye which, like the petrifying glance of Medusa, was usually associated with women and was feared by simple folk everywhere, up to the present day.

Staring idols of the Neolithic "Eye Goddess" have been found throughout Mesopotamia. [Image - note below].  In Syria she was known as the Goddess Mari, whose huge eyes searched men's souls.(4)

Ayin was the "eye" in the Hebrew sacred alphabet, possibly derived from Aya, the Babylonian Creatress.(5) Islamic Arabs diabolized her and corrupted her name into Ayin, spirit of the evil eye. Moslem Syrians called her Aina Bisha, the eye-witch.

Like Moslems, Christians diabolized the female spirit of the All-Seeing Eye. Old women were credited with the ancient Goddess's power to "overlook" - to curse someone with a glance. Judges of the Inquisition so greatly feared the evil eyes of their victims that they forced accused witches to enter the court backward, to deprive them of the advantage of a first glance.(6)

Oddly enough, remedies for the evil eye were often female symbols. Necklaces of cowrie shells, those ubiquitous yonic symbols, were and are valued in India as charms against the evil eye. The triangle or Yoni Yantra, representing the vulva, is similarly used in India, Greece, and the Balkans. Northern Indian farmers protect crops from the evil eye by hanging Kali's symbol of a black pot in the field. In 18th-century England, the classic witch's familiar, a black cat, was supposed to afford protection; and sore eyes could be cured by rubbing with a black cat's tail.(7) In addition there were many signs, gestures, and other kinds of counter-spells to be used as instant remedies if one suspected having been "overlooked."

It seems men were very much averse to meeting a direct glance from a woman. In the most patriarchal societies, from medieval Japan to Europe, it was customary to insist that "proper" women keep their eyelids lowered in the presence of men. In 19th-century Islamic Iran, it was believed that every woman above the age of menopause possessed the evil eye. Old women were not permitted in crowds attending public appearances of the Shah, lest his sacred person be exposed to an old woman's dangerous look.(8)

Any person invested with spiritual powers, however, could be credited with the power to curse with a look. Several popes were reputed to be bearers of the evil eye or jettatura. Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)was a famous jettatore. Pope Leo XIII, his successor, was said to have the evil eye because so many cardinals died during his reign.(9) [or maybe he just had them poisoned to get rid of them, ahem].

Notes:
(1) Budge, G.E. 1, 392.
(2) Budge, E.I., 55.
(3) Cavendish, P.E., 167.
(4) Neumann, G.M., 111-12 pl. 87.
(5) Assry. & Bab. Lit., 133-34.
(6) Lea unabridged, 831.
(7) Gifford, 79-81.
(8) Gifford, 47.
(9) Budge, A.T., 365.

***************************************************************

Goddesses and eyes and lions, oh my!  It is, perhaps, no coincidence that the "eye-dotting" ceremony for the lions and dragons reported in the article at the beginning of this post was held within the precincts of a Goddess's sacred Temple. The associations of Goddess and lion, and Goddess with eye, pre-date writing.

Note from above: Alabaster Eye Idol, British Museum. From Tell Brak, north-eastern Syria, about 3500-3300 BC

What is that symbol on top of the pyramid on the flip side of a U.S. dollar bill?  Yep - it's the All-Seeing Eye!  Notice the rays shooting out from it, denoting both divinity/godhood and light - i.e., enlightenment. Sounds like a segueway into Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol!" Hey, the Masons would not have lasted this long if they didn't have at least some things right... Annuit Coeptis...

From the British Museum
Faience wedjat eye
Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 1069-945 BC

An Egyptian healing symbol

The wedjat is associated with Horus, the god of the sky, who was depicted as a falcon or as a man with a falcon's head. In a battle with Seth, the god of chaos and confusion, Horus lost his left eye. But the wound was healed by the goddess Hathor and the wedjat came to symbolise the process of 'making whole' and healing - the word wedjat literally meaning sound. [cf. the Goddess Kwan Yin]  The left eye of Horus also represented the moon. The waxing and waning in the lunar cycle therefore reflected Horus losing and regaining his sight. [Moon = multi-cultural goddess symbol -- think crescent Moon and "horns."]

The first use of a wedjat eye as an amulet was when Horus used one to bring Osiris back to life. Their regenerative power meant that wedjat eye amulets were placed in mummy wrappings in great numbers. Faience is a type of ceramic, commonly used to make amulets.

But, of course, what the Eye Giveth, the Eye Can Taketh Away...
Check out Nazar Boncugu -- a classic response, creating an eye talisman to ward off the effects of the Evil Eye.

Wells: The Waters of Life

Some interesting information on wells, sacred springs, etc. from Barbara Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets." Affirmation of the extremely ancient association of sacred springs and other water sources with the Goddess. The Goddess' ancient and extremely potent symbolism of water/life was expropriated by the worshippers of the Hebrew storm god Yahweh (modeled after the Canaanite storm god Baal) and, later, by the followers of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, who was the son of Joseph (Yahweh) and Mary (Mother Goddess Mari, the consort of Yahweh). The Bible has many references to the "waters of life" and similar analogies: Isaiah 12:3: With exultation YOU people will be certain to draw water out of the springs of salvation. John 7:37-38: Now on the last day, the great day of the festival, Jesus was standing up and he cried out, saying "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He that puts faith in me, just as the Scripture has said 'Out from his inmost part streams of living water will flow.'" Revelation 7:16-17: They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, (17) because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes. Wells Springs, fountains, ponds, wells were always female symbols in archaic religions, often considered water-passages to the underground womb, in northern Europe asosciated with Mother Hel, whose name also gave rise to "holy" and "healing." Many pagan sacred springs throughout England received the name of Helen's Well during Christian times, and chruchmen claimed all these wells were named after Empress Helena, Constantine's sainted mother. But the real "Helen" was Hel, or Dame Holle, whose water-womb was called the source of all the children on earth.(1) There were also many wells named after the Goddesses Morgan and Brigit. Coventina, "Mother of the Covens," was associated with healing wells. Margaret, a traditional witch name, also designated wells and springs. Lancashire legend speaks of a statue called Peg o' the Well beside a formerly holy spring in Ribblesdale, said to claim a human sacrifice every seven years.(2) Ecclesiastical canons of the 10th century expressly forbade "well-worshipings," but they continued nonetheless.(3) The Danish poem Water of Life drew on the pagan tradition of resurrection through the Mother-symbol of a sacred well called Hileva (Hel-Eve). With this magic water, a divine queen put her dismembered lover back together and made him live again, as Isis did for Osiris.(4) [I believe this speaks to the extremely ancient tradition of king sacrifice in many cultures, the king being sacrificed by the sacred priestess/queen, in order to bring the world back to life again]. The grotto and fountain of Lourdes once had a similar pagan tradition, now revamped to the service of the church. In 1770 a curate of Bromfield forbade pagan ceremonies, wakes, and fairs at a spring called Hellywell (Hel's Well), to which site the ceremonies had been moved after they were evicted from the churchyard at a still earlier date.(5) The ceremonies had been going on for a very long time. A medieval Life of St. Columba mentioned them in connection with a fountain-shrine "famous among this heathen people, which foolish men, blinded by the devil, worshipped as a divinity."(6) Notes: (1) Rank, 73. (2) Phillips, 112, 160. (3) M. Harrison, 143. (4) Steenstrup, 186. (5) Hazlitt, 78. (6) Joyce, 1, 366.

Central Park Blessings of Marriages

This sounds like a lot of fun! Blessing of the Brides and Grooms This Saturday in Central Park, June 14 From Wedlok.com Join us for our annual Wedding Goddess Blessing of the Brides and Grooms in Central Park on June 14, 2008, at 4 PM. This is the only event of its kind for engaged couples in New York City. Brides and their grooms, of all faiths and backgrounds, join us each year in one of the most sacred parts of Central Park. The blessing is in a place blessed by the hundreds of weddings that are held their each year. Space is limited so you must RSVP to let us know you want to attend, and for location information. The Blessing of the Brides and Grooms is a ceremony before your ceremony, to help you feel more relaxed, centered and confident …show you how to visualize your wedding going your way … and empower you to be present and there for one another on your big day! It is a blessing meant to help give your marriage the best possible start. The Blessing of the Brides and Grooms is offered by husband and wife officiants, Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway and Rev. Vic Fuhrman. Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway is a leading interfaith and non-denominational wedding officiant. She creates unique ceremonies for couples of all backgrounds and faiths, and is also widely recognized as a bridal stress expert. She is editor of Wedlok.com and author of Wedding Goddess and Your Perfect Wedding Vows. Rev. Victor Fuhrman is an ordained Interfaith Minister. He was officiant for “The Knot Presents My Celebrity Wedding” in 2007. He has been a Reiki Master Teacher since 1996 and heals with both his touch and his voice. He’s a meditation expert for Beliefnet.com and co- author of Pet Prayers and Blessings. [Oh, well, that makes him a real expert on marriage, then...] Our wish for all brides and grooms is that your journey to the altar be blessed! And that their marriages have the best start ever. This blessing is our gift to you each year! PLEASE RSVP to Rev. Laurie Sue ASAP!

* * * * * *

So, who is this unnamed "Wedding Goddess?" It's none other than the Goddess Aphrodite-Mari, from which the Latin word maritare (union under the auspices of the Goddes Aphrodite-Mari occurred).

Goddess Kanyakumari

Undated article/editorial. This isn't a rant on Tibet. I only copied out the part dealing with this interesting Goddess, Kanyakumari. Notice the last part of her name - MARI. That is the same as the Latin root for sea - "mare" - and obviously, Kanyakumari is a Goddess looking out to the sea, and the same word "kanyakumari" also means "land's end." The Latin word "mare" comes from an older Indo-European language that gave rise to Latin as well as many other languages. As I understand it, Sanskrit is the oldest and most pure form of language that can be directly linked to the original Indo-European language. Editorial Road To Liberation Laxmi Bahadur Vaidya Both for the Hindus and the Buddhist, India is very popular, prominent and famous tourist destination all over the world. It possesses several sacred pilgrimage places. Kanyakumari, the land’s end, is a charming, popular and unique religious as well as recreational tourist centre at the confluence of the three seas-the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. A large number of tourists are attracted by the serene beauty of this place and the spectacles of sunrise and sunset. The sunset and the moonrise can be seen almost simultaneously on full-moon days from the same spot. The temple of the virgin goddess Kanyakumari, which is overlooking the sea, is situated at the tip of the land. Posture The goddess stands above the pedestal in a lovely pose. She has a crown on her head in which valuable gems and diamonds are embedded. She also is adorned with gold ornaments containing various gems and jewels including brilliant earrings on her ears. The goddess is holding a rosary in her right hand and touches the garland by her left hand. A sparkling nose jewel too sheds lustrous radiance. The image, made of blue stone, is believed to have been installed by sage Parasurama. According to folktales and mythological stories, the goddess Parasakti in her reincarnation came down to earth as a virgin to annihilate Banasura (king of demons) who has harassed the Gods and tortured the saints, sages and hermits causing them endless misery.

The Owl

From Barbara G. Walker's "A Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets." See also prior posts on Athena:
http://goddesschess.blogspot.com/2008/01/little-owl-of-athens.html
http://goddesschess.blogspot.com/2007/10/athena-goddess-of-serpent.html

Owl
Romans called the owl strix (pl. striges), the same word that meant "witch."(1) Greeks said the owl was sacred to Athene, their own version of the ancient Mesopotamian "Eye-Goddess" whose staring owl-eyed images have been found throughout the Middle East, especially around the Mother-city of Mari.(2) The owl was also the totem of Lilith, Blodeuwedd, Anath, and other versions of the Triple Goddess of the moon. See Trinity.


According to Christian legend, the owl was one of "three disobedient sisters" who defied God and was transfrmed into a bird who never looked at the sun.(3) It is easy enough to see in this idea the shape of the Goddess herself, and the church's hostility to her. One of the medieval names for the owl was "night hag;" it was said to be a witch in bird form.(4) The owl is still associated with witches in the smbols of Halloween.

The owl is also a bird of wisdom because it used to embody the wisdom of the Goddess. Certain medieval magic charms apparently sought to use the bird's oracular power against its former mistress, woman. If an owl could be slain and its heart pulled out and laid on the left breast of a sleeping woman, the owman would talk in her sleep and reveal all her secrets.(5) This seems to have been the basis of the expression, "heart-to-heart talk," which meant a woman's secret conversation with her familiar.

Notes:
(1) Trigg, 96.
(2) Neumann, G.M., pl. 87.
(3) de Lys, 37.
(4) Cavendish,P.E., 100.
(5) Agrppa, 76.

Goddess Mari (known by many names)

From Barbara Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets." Mari Basic name of the Goddess known to the Chaldeans as Marratu, to the Jews as Marah, to the Persians as Mariham, to the Christians as Mary; as well as Marian, Miriam, Mariamne, Myrrhine, Myrtea, Myrrha, Maria, and Marina. Her blue robe and pearl necklace wre classic symbols of the sea, edged with pearly foam.(1) Many place names evolved from Marian shrines. Among them were Amari or Ay-Mari, the Cyrprian home of Aphrodite Marina; Marib, City of the Moon, seat of the queens of Sheba; Marea in western Egypt; Maronea near Lake Ismaris; Maru, mother-city of the Medes; Sa-Maria, a country whose name meant literally "holy blood of Mary." (2) One of the entrances to her underworld womb, a sacred cave accessible only by sea, was Mar-Mari, "Mother Sea."(3) The Goddess's Amorite city of Mari was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Its six-acre temple-palace astonished archeologists who uncovered i in the 1930s. Mari dominated the area now known as the Holy Land until it fell to the armies of Hammurabi in 1700 B.C.(4) Semites worshipped an adrogynous combination of Goddess and God called Mari-El [biblical Mariel] (Mary-God) corresponding to the Egyptian Meri-Ra which combined the feminine principle of water with the masculine principle of the sun.(5) Sometimes the deity was named simply Mere, an Egyptian word for both "waers" and "mother-love."(6) Mer was also a component of the names of Egyptian queens in the first dynasty. One of Egypt's oldest names was Ta-Mera, Land of the Waters, which could also be interpreted as Land of the Great Mothers.(7) The Syrian version of Mari or Meri was worshipped in combination with her serpent-consort Yamm, derived from Yama, the Hindu Lord of Death. Yamm alternated with Baal, "the Lord," as the Goddess' favorite and a sovereign over heaven and the abyss. Indian Yama was one of the consorts of Kel-Mari, as Kali was called in the south.(8) Tantric Buddhists still speak of the "Slayer of the Death King," Yama-Mari, who was identified with the Dalai Lama.(9) [The Dalai Lama is currently in the news because of the riots in Tibet and environs peopled by ethnic Tibetans in China, and the brutal Chinese suppression of the "unrest."] Jews and early Christians used the smae combinatin of names, Mari-Yamm or Mariam, for the mother of Jesus.(1) The spirit of the archaic Mari entered into Bablonian diviners known as mare baruti, sea-mothers, who operated in the bit mummu or womb-chamber, where statues of the gods were said to be "born" (made animate).(11) In similar womb-chambers the Hindu goddess was worshipped as Kau-Mari or Kel-Mari.(12) She is still invoked as Marici-Tara, the Diamond Sow on the lotus Throne, "Glorious One, the sun of happiness." She is the Goddess "whose mayik vesture is the sun," forerunner of the Gospels' "woman clothed with the sun' (Revelation 12:1), who was identified with the virgin Mary.(13) Northern Europe knew the same Goddess as Maerin, wedded to Thor at her shrine in Trondheim.(14) To the Saxons she was Wudo-Maer: literally, a Wood-Mary, or Goddess of the Grove. To the Celts she was Maid Marian, beloved by Robin, the witches' Horned God. Their greenwood cult caused church authorities considerable trouble in the 14th century.(15) Mari was the same Merian or Merjan worshipped in Persia as Queen of the Peris (Fairies).(16) Iran had its mother goddess Mariana from very ancient times.(17) She might be traced to the land of Akkad, created by a Goddess called the Lady Marri, Mother of the World.(18) A king of Mari in 2500 B.C., united with the Goddess, took the royal name of Lamki-Mari.(19) She was also the Great Fish who gave birth to the gods, later the Mermaid, Mare-mynd, mareminde, marraminde, maraeman, or mereminne.(20) [Also the "Great Fish" that symbolically swallowed Jonah in the biblical account, where he stayed for parts of 3 days and nights, just as Christ spent parts of 3 days and nights in Hell talking with the lost souls after his death]. In short, she was always Mother Sea. Her Latin name was Maria, "the Seas." ["Mare" - "sea of" - was used extensively in naming various sections of the Moon, a rather appropriate usage, I must say.] St. Peter Chrysologus [Peter Golden-word, 5th century bishop of Revenna, friend of Pope Leo the Great] called her Christian incarnation, the virgin Mary, "the gathering together of the waters."(21) But she was also the earth ahd heavens, since her earliest form was a trinity. She was worshipped in pre-Roman Latium as Marica, mother of the first king Latinus, who was also her priapic goat-footed consort Faunus. She was probably the same Goddess worshipped by the Slavs under the name of Marzanna (Mari-Anna), who "fostered the growth of fruits."(22) Mari and her pagan consort were incongruously canonized as a pair of Christian saints, Addai and Mari (Adonis and Aphrodite-Mari). Their legends called them "bishops" dispatched to Aphrodite's cult center at Edessa, probably because their portraits appered there, and it was easier to Christianize them than to destroy them. Their cult began with Nestorian Christians who called them "Holy Apostles Addai and Mari."(23) Another Christianization was St. Maura, from the Goddesses' Fate-name Moera, "older than Time."(24) As the Fate-spinner who held men's denstines in her hand, she generated a taboo: on St. Maura's day, women were forbidden to spin or sew.(25) [My guess is that Moera, Fate-spinner, is a direct link to the old proto-Indo-European and later Hindu belief about an astral Spider spinning out the creation of the Universe and its fate. I believe this concept is directly related to the "ashtapada" (eight limbs) game board on which some say proto-chess was first invented]. Medieval Spain knew the Goddess Mari as a "Lady" or "Mistress" who lived in a magic cave and rode through the night sky as a ball of fire.(26) This may have meant the red harvest moon, or possibly the moon in eclipse - always a dire omen. [Or possibly literal balls of fire - meteors, or the more mysterious "light balls" that appear hovering above the horizon, similar to but not satisfactorily explained as "St. Elmo's Fire."] The Goddess Mari was said to give gifts of fairy gold and precious stones, which might turn into worthless lumps of coal by the light of day.(27) In later centuries, the same worthless gifts were given to "bad" children by St. Nicholas at Christmas. The island of Inis Maree had a ruined temple, sacred to a certain "St. Mourie" - none other than the Goddess Mari for whom the island was named. In 1678 the Presbytery of Dingwall "disciplined" some people who sacrificed bulls to the divinity of Loch Maree on the 25th of August, a day dedicated to Aphrodite-Mari for more than 1500 years.(28). Notes: (1) Graves, W.G., 438. (2) Graves, W.G., 410-11; Assyr. & Bab. Lit., 179; Herodotus, 41, 400. (3) Hughes, 159. (4) Keller, 46-49. (5) Budge, G.E., 1, 86; Book of the Dead, 602. (6) Budge, E.L., 76. (7) Budge, D.N. 160. (8) Briffault, 1, 474. (9) Waddell, 364. (10) Ashe, 48. (11) Lindsay, O.A., 41. (12) Mahanirvanatantra, 149. (13) Waddell, 218, 361; Mahanirvanatantra, x1. (14) Turville-Petre, 91. (15) Graves, W.G., 441. (16) Keightley, 22. (17) Thomson, 135. (18) Assyr. & Bab. Lit., 287. (19) Albright, 98. (20) Steenstrup, 105. (21) Ashe, 147. (22) Larousee, 208, 291. (23) Attwater, 31. (24) Bachofen, 57. (25) Lawson, 175. (26) Lederer, 210. (27) Baorja, 238. (28) Spence, 37.