It is commonly understood that the Christian Marian devotionalism was influenced by the Goddess devotionalism of the ancient world. And while Mary has never been officially envisioned as divine within official Christian theology, she was clearly envisioned within traditional Christianity as having many of the same powers that only the most powerful of goddesses of the Ancient World would have processed. Isis was certainly one of the preeminent of these goddesses.
The Graeco Roman vision of Isis was as the All-Goddess of whom all other goddesses were manifestations. Thus goddesses such as Athena, Hera and Demeter were all viewed as being Isis in another form, tradition or language. However that world was ended by the rise of Christianity and by the official prohibition of Paganism by the Roman state circa 390 CE. After the triumph of Christianity the closest to goddess worship in the West was the veneration of the Virgin Mary which started developing full steam by 400 CE in th Eastern Mediterranean World. From there it spread into the western half of the Roman Empire.
While Mary never achieved a divine status in official Christian doctrine, the Church and people were certainly willing to envision Mary as having the divine-like powers which only a major goddess within the Ancient World would possess. And it can be legitimately said that she was in essence a Christian goddess in fact if not in theory. So what does this mean to current day worshippers of Isis if anything? I know for many very little, however I am not one of these. I go back to the basic vision of Isis as Panthea (All-Goddess). Thus from an Isian point of view it is proper and right to see the Virgin Mary as an aspect of the fullness of Isis. I am of course aware that Christians will be appalled by that idea but I do not think that they have any justified say in this matter. I am an Isian not a Christian. After all, if it had not been for the Christian suppression of all forms of Paganism, Christian heterodoxies, and other forms of belief, much more developed religious alternatives to Christianity might exist in the West today. Christianity’s monopolization of the West’s religious development prevented that from happening. And the result of the Christian monopolization of the West is that many religious homes which might have been available to people such as myself have been closed to us as a result.
Now back to Mary. If Mary is seen as an aspect of Isis then it is reasonable that the followers of Isis have the right to examine, learn from, and even incorporate into their own life those aspects of Marian devotionalism which might add to our knowledge and devotion of Isis. Now I know that most within the alternative Neopagan and New Age movements feel that there is little to learn from the Abrahamic faiths or from Christianity. They are so much more advanced than the spiritualities represented by these religions I disagree.
Despite Church doctrine that the Virgin Mary was strictly subordinate to God, the Father and to Jesus, the Son, medieval Marian devotionalism often developed a language of devotion to Mary which transcended that understanding. She instead was often seen by her followers as having power and divinity much in the same way that God the father and the son had. And throughout the Medieval Period the devotion offered to Mary seems to have been more heartfelt that was the devotion offered to either Jesus or the Father, who were seen as having much less real relationship with daily life.
So what can the various forms of Marian devotionalism add to Isian devotion. Well certainly aspects of Marian devotionalism particularly its use of Rosaries already are used by certain groups within the alternative religious communities. Many forms of Goddess spirituality today are represented particularly those represented by such small religious communities as the Deanist, and Filianic fatihs have borrowed the use of the rosary as a primary form of meditation on God the Mother.. Another aspect of Marian devotionalism particularly during the Middle Ages was the development of various liturgies and particularly Psalters in which the subject of devotion was primarily toward the Virgin Mary. One of these was a 13th Century anonymous work entitled the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I will deal with that in the next post.
Towards Thea and other subjects 