From: paul@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater)
Subject: Re: Merlin, Mithras and Magick
Organization: Home Office in Vienna, Austria
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kosinski@us.oracle.com (Kevin Osinski) writes:

> I recall reading in Michael (?) Rutherford's novel "Sarum" a scene in
> which the son of a Roman nobleman living in Britain takes part in a
> secret ceremony involving a bull.  He stands naked in a pit covered
> with some sort of scaffolding while assistants coax a bull to stand on
> the scaffolding.  They then fatally stab the bull, which douses the
> worshipper in the pit with blood.  This is supposedly some sort of
> rite of passage for members of the bull cult.  I wonder if this is
> related to the Mithras cult?

Yes, this is certainly one of the traditional ideas about the Mithraic
cult (although not the only one.)  It had many elements that seem
to have been borrowed by Catholicism (e.g. the Mass, communion, the
sharing of a sacred meal, consecration of bread and wine, etc.)

For quite an amusing novel that uses this same idea, check out:

The Covenant of the Flame
by David Morrell.

It has some quite interesting occult bits, and lots of killing.
I won't spoil it by revealing the ending, but I will say that it
is relevant to Mithraism.
--
paul@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater)
Home Office in Vienna, Austria
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