Any Mary-worshippers here?

[Mind_Zenith]

Hey all
I've always found the idea of worshipping Mary, the Queen of Heave, very interesting. I'm more or less a folk witch, in that I call on saints and Mary in spells, and I have no real religious ties to catholicism. But yeah, I know there are at least three groups of Mary-worshippers: The Collyridians (more identified with the church of that name), the Philomarianites ("Lovers of Mary", what I used to call myself when I was interested in it: a catch-all term) and the Pagan Marians/ Mary worshippers (who take away christian ritualism from Philomarianism).

But yeah, I'm kind of getting into it again, and I wanted to see if there were any around :drool:

If you could talk about your experiences with Mary as a pagan, or whatever you may be, that would be cool

I basically have had a lot of Marian religious experiences, especially when I include worshipping Mary as the ultimate Goddess, and source of All things. It always makes the casting more powerful, and I get major visions when I do. Some of them are mega trippy lol

I'll note that at the moment, I'm a Nichiren Buddhist, but I'm slowly moving back to Mary lol :angel2:

Anyway, just thought I'd give a line lol.

Peace :rainbow1:

 

[Nightingveil]

Hi Zenith,
I found your post on the board by looking through Google for anything new on the Philomarianites. I fall into that category, and have info to share. I'd post links, but I haven't posted 15 times on the board yet, so just reply if you would like me to email them to you. Barring that, I will look about the board further and maybe get to the 15.
I use the terms interchangeably most of the time, but since I combine Hellenic beliefs with those of the cake eaters, I primarily choose the Philomarianite title. I think many combine the term Collyridian with Christian, although I am not one of them. My rather lengthy term for myself is a Philomarianite Gnostic Shadow Pagan, but that wouldn't fit in the allotted space we're given on our profiles.
Best,
Fate

 

[ecnal]

I worship Mary in the sense that I worship all incarnations of the Goddess. Here's an interesting interview where Dr. Matthew Fox talks quite a bit about the Goddess tradition within Christianity.

mavericks of the mind . com / fox - int . htm

I haven't made 15 posts yet either, so if you take the spaces out of the above url & copy & paste it into your browser it should work.

 

[Ba'al]

I'm not familiar with the religions that worship Mary. Can you elaborate on them a little? How does someone worship Mary? What is the purpose? What do you know about her, other than what's in the bible? Is it different than worshiping Jesus or God? Why Mary?

 

[ecnal]

From the Goddess.ws site:

The Divine Mother of the universe has also assumed the form of Mother Mary or the Virgin Mary mother of Jesus. As such, the Divine Mother makes her presence known to her Christian children. She instructs them in the way of the divine feminine and her aspects of compassion, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional love. It is not really known, nor does it matter, if Mary the wife of Joseph was born as an incarnation of the Goddess. What is certain is the universal Divine Mother now uses this form to communicate with Her children that are predisposed to the Christian path. The Divine Mother can and does assume any form She likes to communicate with Her children in various cultures and for various times. The universal Divine Mother has appeared as Mother Mary numerous times just as She appears as Kuan Yin for many Buddhists.

Mary is celebrated around the world as the Divine Feminine by millions of people, many of them Catholics. Those who are devoted to Mary, honor Her as the mother of Jesus. The Blessed Virgin Mary is known as the dispenser of mercy, the ever patient mother, and protectress of humanity, and special protectress of women and children.

Many believe that with the rise of Christianity and papal power, the Goddess slowly disappeared from westen culture and faded into the Mists of Avalon . . . . So great was devotion to the Goddess that She was ressurected in the hearts of the people by a new Goddess, Mary, Mother of Jesus, the Christian version of the GreenMan.
From the Spiral Goddess website:

Officially, the Catholic Church teaches that Mary was mortal and is not a Goddess, but despite this official position, many Catholics honor Mary as a Goddess. Other Catholics revere Mary as Mother of Jesus, but not as divine.

​

 

[spiritually inclined]

edit.....posted to wrong forum

 

[laughing marmot]

If Mary is the Mother of God, then She's our Mom, too, n'est-ce pas?

 

[Mind_Zenith]

I'm not familiar with the religions that worship Mary. Can you elaborate on them a little? How does someone worship Mary? What is the purpose? What do you know about her, other than what's in the bible? Is it different than worshiping Jesus or God? Why Mary?

It's good to see a bit of curiosity, so I'll try to answer this best I can

Firstly, on the religions that worship Mary:
1. The first historical group to worship Mary as a supreme Goddess were the Collyridians, who were fourth century Arab Christians, that mixed the predominant pagan traditions with the Christian religion being introduced. They were re-educated by the church (as to how, we're not quite sure). There's speculation they worshipped Mary as an incarnation of an unknowable Father-God, who manifested himself in Mary and Jesus. Another name for them is "Philomarianites" (sp?), and this term was used, especially in the Orthodox churches, to describe this heretical act of worshipping Mary.

In recent years, these groups have had a come back in the Pagan world. There have always been those Catholics who feel Mary to be part-and-parcel (as an incarnation or what-have-you ) with God himself: The painter Nicholas Froment created a painting which likened Mary to the God of the Burning Bush; more recently, the Catholic Mariavite Church have taken up the belief that as God the Son incarnated as Jesus, God the Father was as Mary.

The How and Why of Mary Worship:

Mary is worshipped usually in a Pagan context today, and usually with a deal of Catholic ritual added (the amount depending on the individual: I had a very Catholic worship of Mary). It will include offering things like incense, candles, flowers, perhaps food, water and objects (money for example) to an image of Mary, and praying to Her. Structured and spontaneous rituals are used, and perhaps personal prayer to Her is the most important act of worship.

As to the purpose: it is simply because people find in Her the Almighty, a loving Queen of Heaven that is all-powerful, and who sets that feeling of Divine Love in the individual when she is worshipped.

The Bible, Jesus, and other knowledge about Mary

Some Mary-worshippers are extremely Biblical, in that they take what they can about Mary solely from the Bible. Especially in the case of Christo-Paganism, they may reason that She is the incarnation of God the Father, and that Jesus, by pointing to God the Father, we can in fact worship Mary as God the Mother. Others see Mary as an incarnation of the Holy Spirit, and worship Her in the Trinity. Some further see Christ in terms of the saviour, and others as a guide onto God; some don't view him at all, perhaps as a pointer onto Mary. Many also consider the Goddess in the book of Jeremiah to be a sign of Her.
Some are less Biblical: they worship Mary in a totally Christian context, considering Her to be the incarnation of a Greater Goddess. Others see Her solely in the Christo-Pagan realm, that She is a Goddess–and that is that.
When I could say I was totally Philomarian, I could say I considered Her to be the Queen of Heaven and Mother of all, based on UPG, some Biblical reasoning, and some reasoning from the revelations of Fatima and Guadalupe.

I know it may not seem this was a little, but it was in comparison to the essays I could write on the subject :drool:

I hope this answers your questions! :rainbow1:

 

[Raymond Sigrist]

I have a devotion to Mary, but I do not claim that she still exists or ever existed. But being an all-indulgent mother, she does not seem to mind whether I think she exists or not. That is unconditional love. Why the devotion? It works for me.

 

[Random]

Most Catholic-born people (like myself) who retain an interest in Catholicism into adult find the best bits of the religion are the Marian/devotional aspects.

Technically, Mary is said to have been a mortal human woman who was raised up by her son Jesus, she is not a goddess, but this hardly matters since subconsciously all her devotees identify with Her as the divine Great Goddess.

The pagan element cannot be ignored; The BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary) has all the titles and trappings of many templates of the Great Goddess that existed before, such as Isis, Semiramis, Athene, etc.

Similarly with Kwannon/Guan-Yin, the 'Goddess of Mercy' in Buddhist lore, the similarities are striking; once said to have been mortal, raised up by a higher power / enlightened wisdom etc.

It's all the same thing. I light three candles for the BVM, meditate and then say three Hail Marys; that's about the extent of my religiosity these days, but it works for me.

 

[Mind_Zenith]

Just a note on the whole belief among Catholics that Mary was a mortal:
I was actually brought up as a Mariavite Catholic, and in the same way Jesus was God the Son incarnate, we believed Mary was God the Father incarnate.

I'd post a link to the particular Mariavite group (called the "Catholic Mariavite Church", although our church was called "Mariavite Church–Christian") I belonged to, but they no longer are on the internet :sorry1: . Even then, our congregation was quite different in many ways, so I'm not sure how useful it would be.

A search on "Catholic Mariavite Church" on wiki will give some information, though.

Thought that'd be interesting

 

[te_lanus]

I "worship" Mary, But not thye Mother of Jesus. Mary Magdalene, As co-savior with Jesus. To me she is a Demigod.

 

[Random]

Just a note on the whole belief among Catholics that Mary was a mortal:
I was actually brought up as a Mariavite Catholic, and in the same way Jesus was God the Son incarnate, we believed Mary was God the Father incarnate.

I'd post a link to the particular Mariavite group (called the "Catholic Mariavite Church", although our church was called "Mariavite Church–Christian") I belonged to, but they no longer are on the internet :sorry1: . Even then, our congregation was quite different in many ways, so I'm not sure how useful it would be.

A search on "Catholic Mariavite Church" on wiki will give some information, though.

Thought that'd be interesting

Interesting, thanks; I'd not heard of that particular sect.

 

[EverChanging]

I have a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary as well. As the Queen of Heaven, born without sin, assumed (ascended) into Heaven, present in the Eucharist (for Christ's flesh and blood is of the flesh and blood of Mary), Mary is to me the female Christ. Indeed, Julian of Norwich, a devout Catholic nun, spoke of "Mother Christ."

I have also had devotions to Saint Brighid, but it is not constant, as my devotion to Mary. I had good experiences with Brighid, but I feel like some deities are with us for a time, while others remain with us for life.

I came from a non-religious background, but have always had religious instincts. As a child, I always felt that the divine, or the Holy Spirit as I knew it at the time, was in my heart. I remember taking a shell I prized, and burying it in the Earth as an offering. My mother's Catholic friend gave me a book about Fatima and the Virgin Mary as a child, and since then I have had many Catholic friends, so no doubt this led me to the Virgin Mary, who has been very loving to me.

I love both Christian and neo-pagan prayers, and I love the Eucharist above all and have celebrated it on my own and with others. The holy meal is common to many cultures.

The label "atheist" is in my title, and that is in regard to supernatural gods. I understand Deity in a non-supernatural way, and my devotions are in accord with this understanding, just to clarify if there is any confusion. I've posted on this in the pantheism thread.

 

[Kathryn]

Just an aside note - all prayer is not worship, and all worship is not prayer. They may be intertwined, or they may not be.

 

[EverChanging]

I agree. However, veneration of saints, especially the Blessed Virgin Mary, doesn't look any different to me than worship, although I know orthodox Roman Catholics (Eastern Orthodox, etc.) separate the two. In my own practices, I personally, don't.

 

[Antiochian]

I formerly belonged to the Eastern Orthodox church. The Eastern churches have a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary, and she is mentioned many times throughout the Greek Orthodox liturgy. The Anglo-Catholic church I currently attend also has statues and icons of Mary, and the congregation prays the Angelus after mass on Sundays.

For me, Mary serves to balance the masculine-centered tendency in Christianity. Mary is someone we can turn to with our joys and sufferings. Is she a manifestation of the Goddess? I don't know. Maybe she is. But I love her nonetheless, and have many pictures of her in my home.

 

[Kathryn]

I formerly belonged to the Eastern Orthodox church. The Eastern churches have a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary, and she is mentioned many times throughout the Greek Orthodox liturgy. The Anglo-Catholic church I currently attend also has statues and icons of Mary, and the congregation prays the Angelus after mass on Sundays.

For me, Mary serves to balance the masculine-centered tendency in Christianity. Mary is someone we can turn to with our joys and sufferings. Is she a manifestation of the Goddess? I don't know. Maybe she is. But I love her nonetheless, and have many pictures of her in my home.

Personally I don't see a thing wrong with this.

I also don't see anything wrong with praying to saints.

What I DO have a problem with is WORSHIPPING Mary - which the Roman Catholic catechism states is part of Catholic dogma.

 

[EverChanging]

What I DO have a problem with is WORSHIPPING Mary - which the Roman Catholic catechism states is part of Catholic dogma.

I don't have a problem with worshiping Mary. That aside, the Roman Catholic church does not teach worship of Mary, but veneration. She is venerated more than anyone other than God.

Granted, from an outsider's perspective, many Catholic practices of veneration and devotion to the Virgin Mary look like worship to me under a different name. But the official doctrine of the Catholic Church is that the Virgin Mary is not to be worshiped. Many Protestants are not aware of that.

 

[ninerbuff]

I like that many gay men refer to other gay men as Mary.