The goddesses of world mythology are not always merciful and kind. Many of them demanded a special kind of worship from their followers.
Cali
Even if you do not know anything about the goddess Kali, you have probably heard about the fact that according to the Hindu calendar we live in the era of Kali-yuga. From the name of Kali comes the name of the former capital of India, Calcutta. Here and today is the largest temple of worship of this goddess.
Kali is the most formidable goddess of world mythology. Her image alone is already scary. She is traditionally depicted in blue or black (the color of endless cosmic time, pure consciousness and death), with four arms (4 cardinal points, 4 main chakras), and a garland of skulls hangs on her neck (a series of incarnations).
Kali has a red tongue, which symbolizes the kinetic energy of the universe guna rajas, the goddess stands on a defeated body, which symbolizes the secondary nature of physical incarnation.
Kali is frightening and not in vain. In India, sacrifices were made to her, and the thagi (tugi), a sect of professional assassins and stranglers, became the most zealous adherents of this goddess.
According to historian William Rubinstein, 1 million people were killed by the thugs between 1740 and 1840. The Guinness Book of Records attributes two million deaths to their account. In English, the word "tagi" (eng. Thugs) has acquired a common noun meaning "killer thugs"
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Hecate
Hecate is the ancient Greek goddess of moonlight, the underworld and everything mysterious. Researchers tend to believe that the cult of Hecate was borrowed by the Greeks from the Thracians.
The sacred number of Hecate is three, since Hecate is a three-faced goddess. It is believed that Hecate ruled the cycle of human existence - birth, life and death, as well as the three elements - earth, fire and air.
Its power extended to the past, present and future. Hecate drew her strength from the Moon, which also has three phases: new, old and full.
Hecate was usually portrayed as either a woman with two torches in her hands, or in the form of three figures tied back to back. Flames or horn-rays were often depicted on the head of Hecate.
The altar dedicated to Hecate was called the hetacomb. The description of the sacrifice to Hecate is found in Homer's Iliad: "Now we will lower the black ship to the sacred sea, // We will choose strong rowers, we will put a hecatomb on the ship."
The sacred animal of Hecate was a dog, puppies were sacrificed to it in deep pits, or in caves inaccessible to sunlight. Mysteries were held in honor of Hecate. Greek tragic poetry portrayed Hecate as dominating evil demons and the souls of the dead.
Cybele
The cult of Cybele came to the ancient Greeks from the Phrygians. Cybele was the personification of Mother Nature and was revered in most parts of Asia Minor.
The cult of Cybele was very cruel in its content. From his servants was required complete submission to their deity, bringing themselves to an ecstatic state, up to inflicting bloody wounds on each other.
The neophytes who surrendered themselves to the power of Cybele were initiated by emasculation.
The famous English anthropologist James Fraser wrote about this rite: “A man threw off his clothes, ran out of the crowd screaming, grabbed one of the daggers prepared for this purpose and immediately performed castration. Then he ran like a madman through the streets of the city, squeezing the bloody part of his body in his hand, from which he got rid of at the end, throwing it into one of the houses.
A convert to the cult of Cybele was given women's clothing with women's jewelry, which he was now destined to wear for the rest of his life. Similar sacrifices of male flesh were performed in honor of the goddess Cybele in ancient Greece during the celebration known as the Day of Blood.
Ishtar
In Akkadian mythology, Ishtar was the goddess of fertility and carnal love, war and strife. In the Babylonian pantheon, Ishtar had the role of an astral deity and was the personification of the planet Venus.
Ishtar was considered the patroness of prostitutes, heterosexuals and homosexuals, so her cult often included sacred prostitution. The holy city of Ishtar - Uruk - was also called "the city of sacred courtesans", and the goddess herself was often referred to as "courtesan of the gods."
In mythology, Ishtar had many lovers, but this passion was both her curse and the curse of those who became her favorites.
Guiranda's notes say: “Woe to him whom Ishtar honored! The fickle goddess treats her casual lovers cruelly, and the unfortunate usually pay dearly for the services rendered to them. Animals enslaved by love lose their natural strength: they fall into the traps of hunters or are domesticated by them. In her youth, Ishtar loved Tammuz, the god of the harvest, and - according to Gilgamesh - that love was the cause of Tammuz's death.
Chinnamasta
Chinnamasta is one of the goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. Her cult contains interesting iconography. Chinnamasta is traditionally depicted as follows: in her left hand she holds her own severed head with an open mouth; her hair is disheveled, and she drinks the blood gushing from her own neck. The goddess stands or sits on a couple making love. To the right and left of her are two companions who joyfully drink the blood flowing from the neck of the goddess
Researcher E. A. Benard believes that the image of Chinnamasta, like the rest of the Mahavidya goddesses, should be viewed as a mask, a theatrical role in which the supreme deity, on a whim, wishes to appear before his adept.
One of the important details of Chinnamasta's iconography, the fact that she tramples a couple in love with her feet, develops the theme of overcoming the goddess of lust and love passions
The fact that Chinnamasta herself drinks her own blood symbolizes that by doing so she achieves the destruction of illusion and receives liberation-moksha.
In ancient and medieval India, the practice of ritual suicide was well known. The most famous is the self-immolation of widows - satī, sahamaraņa. Among the most ardent worshipers of deities, there was also the custom of sacrificing one's own head. Unique monuments have survived - relief images with scenes of such a sacrifice, thanks to which we can imagine how it happened.
A similar rite is found in the notes of Marco Polo. He mentions the custom that existed on the territory of the Malabar coast, according to which a criminal sentenced to death could choose, instead of execution, such a form of sacrifice in which he kills himself "out of love for such and such idols." This form of sacrifice was perceived by the people as most pleasing to Chinnamasta and, therefore, could serve the prosperity and welfare of the entire community.