Ritual to consecrate a Tauroctony

A Ritual for the Consecration of the Sacred Tauroctony 

Dramatis Personae:

• Pater: The highest initiate, presiding over the rite.
• Heliodromus (Sun-Runner): Assists the Pater.
• Perses (Persian): Assists with offerings.
• Leo (Lion): Guardians of the threshold and handlers of incense.
• Miles (Soldier): Bearers of the veiled Tauroctony.
• Nymphus (Bridegroom): Handlers of light and water.
• Corax (Raven): Messengers and attendants.
• Syndexioi (Initiates): The assembled congregation, seated upon the flanking podia.

Setting: A Mithraeum, meticulously prepared. Benches line the long walls. At the far end, an apse contains a stone altar, currently bare save for a brazier emitting fragrant smoke. Torches in sconces provide the only illumination.

(I. The Preparation and Solemn Assembly)

The Pater stands before the empty altar space, clad in robes signifying his rank. The Heliodromus is at his right hand, the Perses at his left. Two Leones stand vigilant at the entrance, ensuring none uninitiated might intrude upon these sacred mysteries. The Syndexioi sit in disciplined silence, their faces masks of reverence in the chiaroscuro.

Pater: (Voice echoing slightly in the chamber) Hark, ye Syndexioi, bound by oath and enlightened by the grades! Prepare your hearts and minds. For this night, beneath the vault that mirrors the very cosmos, we welcome the eternal image, the very fountainhead of our salvation, into its consecrated dwelling. Let silence, heavy with anticipation, possess this sanctified precinct.

(The Nymphoi check the torches, ensuring a steady, though subdued, light. A Corax sprinkles purified water near the entrance.)

(II. The Procession of the Veiled Effigy)

From the entrance, a slow procession begins. Four Milites, stern-faced and resolute, bear upon their shoulders a wooden frame draped entirely in a heavy, unadorned cloth of deep crimson, concealing the Tauroctony carving or relief.

They advance with measured tread between the rows of seated initiates, the only sound their footfalls and the rustle of the covering veil. They halt before the Pater and carefully lower their burden onto blocks set before the altar.

(III. Invocation to the Unconquered God)

The Pater raises his hands towards the veiled object. The Heliodromus places more incense upon the brazier, sending a thick plume upwards.

Pater: Attend, O Mithras Invictus, thou Rock-Born God, whose generative might first shattered the primordial darkness! Lord of Light, mediator betwixt the heavens and the struggling earth, hear us! From the cold stone You burst forth, bearing the knife and the torch, harbingers of the necessary act and the ensuing illumination! Sol, thy companion, bears witness! Luna, from her nocturnal chariot, looks down! We, thy devoted followers, gathered in this terrestrial cavern, this image of the universe itself, invoke thy presence! Let thy divine essence permeate the veil and prepare the vessel!

(IV. The Formula of Consecration and Unveiling)

The Pater steps forward. He places his right hand upon the veiled Tauroctony.

Pater: By the fire sprung from desolate rock, by the waters that answered thy striking spear, by the arduous chase and the reluctant capture of the First Bull, that creature magnificent and potent, source of all terrestrial life! By the command brought forth by the Raven, thy swift aerial messenger! By the solemn pact sealed with Sol, bright chariot-master of the day! We conjure thee, O Mithras! Infuse now this form, shaped by diligent hands in thy likeness, with the unending power of thy salvific deed! May this stone (or wood, or pigment) henceforth transcend its mortal substance!

(With deliberate gravity, the Pater and the Heliodromus grasp the corners of the crimson veil.)

Pater: Let that which was hidden be revealed! Let the act that sustains the cosmos shine forth in this holy place!

(They draw back the veil with a flourish. The Tauroctony is revealed in the flickering torchlight: Mithras, Phrygian cap askew, knee upon the back of the bull, pulling back its head as he plunges the knife into its shoulder. The dog leaps, the snake rears, the scorpion attacks the genitals, the raven observes, Cautes with raised torch and Cautopates with lowered torch stand witness. Wheat springs symbolically from the tail or wound.)

Pater: (Voice filled with awe, addressing the image) Behold the Tauroctony! Not death, but genesis! Not end, but glorious continuation! From this sacred wound flows the lifeblood that nourishes the earth, that gives rise to the grain, the vine, all bounty by which mortals thrive! This image stands now consecrated! It is the focus of our mysteries, the emblem of life wrested from reluctant chaos, the promise of ascent for those who faithfully follow the path! Henceforth, let it be the locus of our worship, the mirror of the divine sacrifice!

(V. The Affirmation and Offerings)

The Perses steps forward, bearing a tray with small loaves of bread and a vessel of wine.

Pater: As the Bull, through its sacrifice, gave sustenance to the world, so do we offer now these tokens, symbols of that celestial gift.

(The Pater takes a loaf and a cup. He holds them aloft before the Tauroctony.)

Pater: To Mithras Invictus, who commands the stars and ensures the turning of the seasons! To Sol, his ally! To the life that springs eternal from the sacred slaughter! Accept these gifts, O Lord, and bless us, thy Syndexioi, who partake in remembrance of thy cosmic labour!

(He places the bread and wine upon the altar before the Tauroctony. Libations may be poured.)

(VI. The Communal Seal (Optional Feast Prelude))

The Pater may break a small piece of the consecrated bread and consume it, followed by a sip of wine. He may then gesture to the Syndexioi.

Pater: Partake when the feast is shared, remembering this moment, this consecration, this binding of the divine to the earthly through the sacred image, now awakened in our midst!

(VII. The Final Admonition and Dismissal)

The Pater turns back to the assembled initiates.

Pater: The effigy is consecrated! Its power resides now within these walls, a perpetual font of strength and illumination. Gaze upon it often, recall its profound meaning in your hearts. Let the order wrested from chaos by our God guide your actions in the world beyond this cave. The work is done. Depart in peace, bearing the light of Mithras within you.

(The Leones extinguish some, but not all, of the torches, returning the Mithraeum to a deeper gloom. The initiates rise and depart in reverse order of rank, filing out silently, leaving the newly consecrated Tauroctony gleaming faintly upon its altar in the hallowed dark.)